Page 81 of Knight Moves

I felt someone looking at me, and when I turned, I saw Jax’s eyes on me. I gave him a tenuous smile, and he nodded briefly but said nothing.

“Throughout the trial, there will be multiple obstacles or objects that are painted red or lit with red lights.” Mr. Donovan spread his arms. “These objects may not be touched by any student, nor may any object be used by a student to touch a red area. For example, a student may not walk across a red-painted moat, nor may you lay a board on the moat to walk across it. If any competitor touches a red area, or an item they’re controlling touches a red area, it will result in a five-minute penalty for that individual and they must return to where they were before they touched the red area along with any items. Progress will be monitored and penalties assessed by video monitoring.”

That sounded ominous. Wally exchanged a worried glance with me.

“If you incur too many penalties and run out of time, you’ll fail the challenge. Please be reminded that only two competitors will be selected. There are a lot of points up for grabs in this final challenge, so good luck to each of you. Are there any questions?”

We stared at each other, but no one spoke. I had a hundred questions, but without having seen the challenges, it was difficult to articulate them. Instead, I wrapped my arms around my waist and kept quiet. Everyone else must have been in the same boat, because no one else spoke up.

“Fine. I’ll move on.” Mr. Donovan unsnapped his briefcase and pulled out a flattened brown paper bag. He opened it and stuck his hand inside. “For the first challenge, there are no red zones, which is good because most of you won’t be able to see. I’m going to draw a name out of this paper bag. That person will be referred to as Eyes. The rest of you will don swim goggles that have been painted black so you cannot see. We will then proceed around those bushes behind me. You’ll be required to assemble the object on the far side. I will show Eyes a picture of what you’re to assemble. Once you begin, Eyes will not be able to touch anything to help you with the assembly nor can they tell you what it is you’re assembling. However, Eyeswillbe able to provide you with directions to assemble the item. Once you hear a bell, you’ll know that the item is satisfactorily assembled. You may then remove your goggles and proceed to the next station. I will leave as soon as we proceed around the bushes, after I show Eyes the picture. I will give Eyes up to two minutes to survey the station and develop a plan. The timing for the overall challenge begins at the end of two minutes or when Eyes gives the first instruction. You’ll have to figure out where to go and how to pass each subsequent station on your own. You will not see me again until after you have completed the trial or the time limit is up. There will be timers along the way to show you how much time is left. Pay close attention to them. Every minute matters. Are you ready?”

He studied us one by one, waiting for us to nod. Was it my imagination or did his look linger a little longer on me?

He reached into the brown bag and pulled out a piece of paper. He lowered his sunglasses and said, “Angel Sinclair.”

I blew out a breath, and everyone stared at me. Anxiety flooded my veins. If I failed in my duty, I would sink everyone. Holy crap. No pressure.

Mr. Donovan remained staring at me, waiting for an acknowledgment, agreement, or something. I straightened my shoulders and gave him a curt nod.

I could do this.

Satisfied, he put the bag away and pulled out a handful of swim goggles that had blackened eyepieces. He handed them out to everyone but me and instructed the students to put them on. Once they were on, he checked each student for tightness and fit to make sure no gaps were visible.

“Just a reminder, we will be monitoring each of you by video and will issue severe penalties for anyone caught cheating.”

Once we were duly warned, he arranged everyone behind me in a straight line, each person holding on to the shoulders of the person in front of them. I walked slowly as everyone shuffled awkwardly behind me.

We came out into a grassy clearing near the side entrance of the large white building we’d seen on our trek up. I could see a closed door with a large number two over it. I assumed that would be where we’d go if we completed the first obstacle.

Mr. Donovan moved toward me holding a card. “Ms. Sinclair, please remember you may not tell your fellow students what they’re assembling. If you do, you will fail the obstacle. Do you understand?”

I nodded. “I understand.”

He handed me the card. It had a picture of a large four-pole awning, the kind that people raised at the beach and soccer games to stay out of the sun. The card also contained a one-sentence instruction that read:Raise the awning.

My eyes widened. Raise an awning? I’d never even put up a tent in my life.

A closer look at the grassy area indicated there were some indistinguishable items located there. I started to hyperventilate. Why the heck had he pulled my name out of the paper bag? Why couldn’t it have been Bo or Mike who could have easily explained to us how to assemble something like this?

I had the worst luck!

Mr. Donovan clapped me on the shoulder. “Okay, students, I’m going to leave now. You’re on your own. We will be watching carefully. Good luck to all.” He turned and disappeared back down to the parking lot.

For a moment, I stared at him, wishing I could shout at him to come back and take this responsibility from me. But the rest of the kids were standing there blindly with blacked-out goggles, waiting for me to lead them.

I breathed deeply and stared at the photo of the large tent-style awning, trying to decide what the right order of tasks would need to be performed. Time was going to be of the essence.

“Stand by,” I said to the others. “I’ve got two minutes to figure how to best do this.”

I dashed out into the clearing and saw at once what my problem would be. The items for the awning were in different piles and not centrally located. The awning fabric was rolled up on one part of the clearing and appeared to have some kind of tie around it. Farther away on the same side, I could see some long poles. About fifteen yards from the poles was a pile of ropes. I dashed to the opposite side of the clearing and found a small canvas bag with a hammer lying in the grass. I couldn’t see what was in the bag, but my best guess was they were the stakes that would hold the awning up once it was raised. My eyes lingered on the hammer. Trying to hammer stakes in the ground without being able to see was going to be extremely difficult, not to mention downright dangerous.

How in the heck was I going to walk them through that? I forced myself to calm down. We’d just have to cross that bridge when we got to it.

“Red?” I heard Jax call out. “What’s going on?”

I jogged back to the group. “Okay, this is what we’re going to do. I want Bo, Mike, Jax, and Kira to hold on to each other’s shoulders and take ten large steps to your direct right and wait for me. Frankie and Wally, you go straight ahead fifteen steps. Hala, turn left and take ten large steps.”

The group starting bumping into each other and cursing, tripping over each other. It might have been a funny situation, except we didn’t have time for my incompetent direction.

---