“Duck your head! The beam is right there!”
I listened to Arnie and crawled forward a few more feet until the mud turned into grass beneath me.
“Can I stand now?”
“Yes! Great job!”
Climbing to my feet, I shook my arms out at my side, removing some of the excess wet mud. I sniffed myself, horrified to find that I now smelled like a barn animal. At least I’d run into Eli before this portion of the maze.
“That saved you a ton of time!” Arnie yelled. “Everyone else went a different way.”
“Why would they go another way?” I asked.
“Keep moving forward. Fair warning, there are a few goats in front of you. Everyone else is avoiding them, but just go straight and go slow.”
“Seriously?” I called.
“It’s just goats, Calla.”
I threw my hands out in front of me and waved them as I took cautious steps forward.Just goats, my ass.Easy for him to say from the sidelines.
“There you go, Calla. Just slow and steady.”
My hand brushed something solid and furry, and I screamed.
“Go around him.”
This was a far cry from the show I had signed up for. I had envisioned myself curled up on a leather sofa brainstorming my next outline, not sifting through barn animals, blindfolded, with only the words of a stranger to guide me. I winced as I felt along the goat’s body, working my way around him.
“There, there. Good goat,” I cooed.
“BAA,” it bleated loudly and I jerked my hand away, screaming again.
“It’s just a goat,” Arnie repeated.
“You get over here and pet it while you’re blindfolded then,” I snapped.
“You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry.”
“How many more are there?” I asked. Before he could respond, something hard jammed into my knee. “What the—” Another hard slam caused me to fall back on my butt.
“They’re attacking me!”
“Just get up and move! Hurry! There are only a dozen or so more.”
My jaw went slack as I scrambled to my feet, crouching down and placing my hands in front of me like a shield. “A dozen!? Screw that, Arnie; I’m going the long way.”
“Fine,” he relented. I could hear the defeat in his voice as he gave me instructions to go back the way I’d come. I’d rather dive into the mud again than get knocked over by a goat any day.
I did my best to move as fast as possible, knowing we had fallen behind because of me.
“You’re almost there, Calla. Come on. A few steps forward.” Arnie’s voice was painfully close. So close it felt like I could reach out and touch him. I flung myself forward the last few steps and hit what must be Arnie’s outstretched arms.
“You did it!” he cheered.
Ripping my blindfold off, I had to blink a few times to adjust to the light. Arnie caught me when I stumbled backwards, and I allowed him to steady me as I oriented myself. Glancing around, I saw Rachel and Danny, and Trace and Grant, already done with the challenge. Eli was still in the maze, moving slowly, only ten feet from the finish line.
Sofia stood to our right and screamed at him. “Hurry up! How can you be going so unbelievably slow?”
