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SUMMER
We ate quickly, giving bits of food to Tumbles, who ate as eagerly. I was grateful I had my little friend, but equally grateful for Adone. I would never be able to do this alone.
My cheerful mood had fled. I had a wary respect for the monitors. Despite the wonder of the oasis, I needed to remember this was a life-or-death game.
Soon, we had to leave. The day was progressing whether we stayed at the oasis or traveled, and I worried we might not make it to the course on time. Burmoot was worried.
What would we find when we got there? I guess I’d find out.
We packed as much of the food as we could carry. With a jug of water in hand each, and me holding my leaf umbrella, we left the oasis and started walking in the desert. The sun shone down, baking us, and my clothing quickly dried. Sweat coiled down my spine.
The pesky monitors zipped down from the sky and hovered near us, watching our every move, and flying in close to record our facial expressions. One even soared close to Tumbles to add his image to the mix.
I sipped the water periodically, determined to make it last as long as possible, but I was dismayed to see it evaporating, the dry air sucking it away.
We walked for hours, Tumbles rolling with us, and the sun rose overhead. My umbrella helped. Without it, my skin would be blistered by now.
Early afternoon, we hit a roadblock.
We stood on the edge of an enormous cavern that stretched for as far as I could see. It was so deep that I could barely see the bottom. The ridge we stood on stretched far to the left and the right.
The monitors hovered ten feet or so out in the cavern, and I swore I heard them cackle. It couldn’t be them, however. They were just machines. But the Universal Council—no, the entire universe—watched us, and many of them would be laughing at our dismay.
“Can we walk around the cavern on the top?” I asked.
He shrugged. “We can try. Climbing down and then back up the other side will add to our journey.” He pointed to the opposite side. “Our destination is in that direction.”
We started to the right, traveling for quite a while before stopping. The monitors zipped along beside us, and I tried to tell myself again they were not jeering.
“We’re not making progress,” I said, peering over the side. Frustration boiled inside me, but it was solely because of the monitors, not Adone or even the location we found ourselves in. There was a way out of it, and we’d find it. “We’re going in a straight line.”
“You’re right.”
“I think we’re going to have to climb down.”
It appeared to be made up of the same sand we stood on, but it must be solid underneath to give the cliff structure. A few big rocks peppered the sharp incline.
“Let me start down and test it,” Adone said, his wings stretching partway outward to give him added balance. “If it’s safe, you can follow.” He started to hand me what was left of his food and water.
“If it’s not safe, you could be hurt. I think we should go down together.”
“But then we’ll both be hurt.”
“I’ll have to climb down eventually,” I said.
He grumbled. “We should eat and drink what we can and leave the rest. We don’t dare try to carry it. If we start sliding, we’ll need our hands free.”
I stared forlornly into my pitcher, but I only had a few sips left. After draining the vessel, I chucked it aside. I wasn’t worried about littering; the computer would make it disappear. After stuffing in a bunch of food, I nodded and tossed the rest aside as well. “I’m ready.”
We sat and slowly eased our feet onto the sandy surface.
The monitors flew in close.
“We need to be careful,” I said, sensing they metaphorically held their breath. This part of the course would be dangerous. They wanted to broadcast the shock and pain that might soon bloom on our faces.
“Yes,” Adone said, scowling at the monitors.
When the ground felt stable, I added more weight.
Tumbles watched us from the top of the cliff before starting down the side a short distance away from us.
“Looks okay,” I said. “Maybe this won’t be too—”
The ground gave way, and we started sliding.
