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Positioned across the top of the well, tied to a broken winch, is the end of a piece of rope. I peak over the mossy stone wall, but see only darkness. At first glance, there is no way to estimate its depth. Braxton fetches a rock and tosses it over the side of the well and we wait for a sound to indicate the bottom. Minutes pass and after what seems like an eternity, we hear a resounding splash from the abyss.
“This pit seems fathomless. It will take hours to pull the rope up by hand, even if we take turns. Any brilliant ideas on how we can raise the bucket?” I ask.
“Not yet. The well refers to the ‘hollow’ line of the clue. I’m guessing we should now search for something solid,” he replies whilst kicking the surrounding dirt and raising a pile of dust. The movement catches a stone that ricochets off his shoe and into the side of the cobbled well. “That’s it. We’ll use a large boulder and tie the end of the rope to it, then lower it. That should catapult the bucket to the top much faster than we could manually pull it,” he figures.
“Brilliant. Great thinking Braxton.”
Moving back through the thicket, we manage to locate a decent sized boulder. It takes our combined strength to roll ittoward the well. Sweating and dusty, Braxton unties the rope from the winch and secures it around the stone’s girth. I fuse the end of the knot together with a zap of electricity and together we raise the boulder to the side of the well. Then, with a mighty shove, we launch it over the edge. Braxton was right, the bucket flies to the surface within seconds. I plunge my hand into the bottom of the bucket and take out our third clue.
I hug him in congratulations “Great job partner. Who knew this challenge would be so dirty?” I laugh looking down at my now grey streaked training shirt. “But seriously, do you think we’ll catch the other teams? There’s got to be at least three in front of us now,” I add earnestly.
“Don’t fret my lady, we have all the time in the world.” He chants and the ribbons of Time appear in his palm.
“I’m guessing you reversed time?” I laugh noticing the bucket is no longer hanging from the winch. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the feeling of something missing and not knowing quite what it might be.
“Indeed, I did.” Braxton says handing me the third clue.
It reads:
Well, look and see, here’s clue 3;
You’re halfway there;
So, don’t despair;
About your position in this race;
You may come 1st, 2nd or even last place;
Don’t give up, keep on searching;
The winners will be truly deserving.
A crunching sound followed by voices can be heard in the distance, indicating another team is right behind us.
“Shhh,” Braxton whispers, finger over his lips.
Nodding my agreement, we move without a backward glance, silently creeping undetected out of the Ovallium Forest.
We find Sage and Brooklyn sitting beside the concrete pathway on the grass with their heads bent. They are studying the latest clue. Braxton and I nod toward them and continue moving forward. Both girls stand and trail behind.
“Looks like we have company,” Braxton lowers his voice. “I think, they think, we know where we’re going.”
“Don’t we?” I chuckle.
Jumping on a boat to catch our breath and conserve some energy, we find a space to rest and scan over the third clue. From the corner of my eye, I spy Sage and Brooklyn follow and sit behind us. Braxton folds the clue and pops it into his backpack.
The boat docks by the meadows and we exit, the girls keeping a close distance. I stop abruptly and scratch my head.
“Do you guys know where you’re going or not?” Sage asks impatiently as she reaches our standstill.
“Not.” Braxton responds innocently.
“For gods’ sake, we’ve wasted our time following these two.” Brooklyn adds before taking Sage’s hand and retreating in a huff, leaving us alone.
“Now they’re gone, let’s figure out this clue,” Braxton suggests, sitting on a patch of soft clover covered earth.
I sit next to him and lean in closely to read the riddle. Braxton flinches at our new proximity and my face flushes in response. I reread the same line over and over, even though I know them by heart. One word seems misplaced. “Why do you think the clue calls the Challenge a race? It’s not just about speed.” I ask somewhat preoccupied.
