Page 97 of Game of Destiny
“But you are going to do it?”
“I think I am. I feel terrible about it because I know how much you hate the idea. But before all of this, James was my friend, and even if we will never be as good friends as we used to, I would like to see if we can salvage something. If for no other reason but because it would make it easier for me to keep in touch with my family. The Eagle Forest pack is a good pack. It would be nice to have them as allies,” I told him. He gave me a smile which didn’t reach his eyes.
“Don’t feel bad, Red. If you think this is the best thing to do, I trust you have considered all the options. I might not like it, but I also know you aren’t a fickle person. I know your heart belongs to me. I am satisfied with that. For now.”
Chapter 48
Finlay
The fifth game day had arrived and I felt more anxious than I had done on the fourth. I was determined to make sure Amie, and my other pack members were kept safe. I made sure to stay close to Amie as we entered the stadium and waited for our instructions.
‘Is it just me or are we getting more attention than usual?’ Sam asked after a while. I noticed the same and nodded.
‘I think it’s due to a certain red wolf,’ Ramses told us with a grin. We all looked at Amie.
‘Me?’ she asked.
‘What do you know?’ I asked.
‘I was at one of the social gatherings yesterday,’ Ramses began. We all nodded. It was natural for an unmated wolf to make sure they met as many new wolves as possible when given the chance. ‘I heard a lot of talk about our Beta. They were talking about how irritating she had been, and both her red fur and her agility and speed impressed them all. I would say you have got a lot of new fans,’ he told Amie. Great, as if one lovesick Alpha wasn’t enoughcompetition. Now I needed to compete with half of the males around me.
‘It will pass. Someone else will do something and their attention will be somewhere else,” Amie said. I should have known it wouldn’t go to her head. There was some static from the speakers and all of our attention was diverted to the incoming message.
“Welcome to the fifth game. After today we have reached the halfway point of the games and you should have got used to things. This game will be performed by every pack separately. We have set up ten identical rooms. Please wait for an official to call you for your turn. We wish you all luck.” We looked at each other and I relaxed. No one would get hurt. If they did, it would be because we messed up, and I knew we were better than that.
‘What do you think we will have to do?’ Jake asked.
‘Wrestle crocodiles?’ Sam suggested.
‘No,’ Jake said, then laughed nervously. ‘They wouldn’t do that. Right?’
‘Probably not,’ Ramses agreed.
‘Oh, stop it. No, they won’t make us wrestle wild animals,’ Amie told them.
‘I wouldn’t put it past them,’ I jokingly said. We had barely got comfortable when an official walked up to us. We had never been called this early before. I didn’t know if it was a bad or a good sign, or just a coincidence. We were led to a door and told to go inside. The room inside was a sixteen by sixteen feet room. There were things everywhere and my first instinct was to assume our task was to clean and organise it.
‘It looks like our ‘will be useful someday' kitchen drawer has become a room,’ Sam said. I chuckled. It was a good description. The things in the room didn’t have a theme or any logic to why they all should be there. There were balls, books on differentobjects, toys, wood planks, a ladder, paper, bowls, kitchen utensils, tables, chairs, everything in heaps and piles.
‘If they ask us to clean this mess, I say we give up. I’m fine with taking a penalty point for that,’ Amie said. I was about to agree when the speaker came to life.
“For your next game, your objective is to create a Rube Goldberg machine. It needs to have a minimum of five distinguishable stages, and the last one will make the red bell in the right corner of the ceiling ring. You will be judged on creativity, teamwork and speed. There is no time limitation. If your machine fails to ring the bell, your points will be cut in half. If you are ready or want to give up, knock on the door. Good luck to you.”
‘They want us to build a machine? Like a robot?’ Sam asked.
‘No. A Rube Goldberg machine,’ Jake said, and he sounded like Christmas had come early.
‘Okay?’ I asked. I had no idea what it was we needed to do.
‘Like when you set up dominos and they fall down and end up tripping a marble that falls into a bowl,’ he explained. ‘Mari and I can spend hours building them at home. I tried to get Cade to join us, but he doesn’t see the fun in spending hours building a thing just to destroy it.” Amie smiled.
“Right. I see videos of those online sometimes. There are a lot of things falling over and in the end it butters your toast or something,’ Ramses said.
‘Exactly. You can make them super complicated, or really easy.’
‘We needed five stages, so five different things to fall over, or roll or whatever,’ I said.
‘But we get more points for creativity, so let’s add a couple of more stages,’ Amie suggested. Jake happily nodded.
