The Competition Heats Up
Trixie stared at the spot where Dungay had disappeared moments earlier, oblivious to anything going on around her.
"How did they do it?" she muttered to herself, "He was just as keen as me to get rid of nobody in particular, especially at the end. How did they change his mind?"
The thought that her close compatriot could have been so easily turned worried Trixie deeply. What was to stop her from being made to sing the praises of nobody in particular before the end? How could anyone stop the victory of nobody in particular if the whole show seemed to be supporting his victory? Or was it more of a revenge thing against Dungay for the rabbit trick? Even if this was true, it still was a worry for Trixie. After all, two contestants had done the rabbit trick, and one of them was still in the game.
And that one was her.
And furthermore, it seemed to her that...
"Trixie. Are you coming?"
Trixie looked up in surprise to see Pam and Taylor staring at her with concerned expressions on their faces.
"Huh?"
"Trixie, the round has already begun. Are you coming?"
Confused, Trixie looked around, and realised that the Tribal Circle was already emptying of competitors, each of them running out various exits - even Desmond, who now seemed to have remembered the plunger-leg the Goblin had made for him, and was putting it to good use, rather than continuing to hop as he had previously been witnessed doing.
"Come on Trixie, lets go!" Pam hissed urgently, Taylor tugging on her arm nervously.
"What? Why? Whats this round about?"
"Just run!" Taylor commanded.
There was a rumbling in the middle of the Tribal Circle, and jets of steam began shooting from the ground. Trixie stared at them in horror as Taylor and Pam each took one of her arms and forcibly dragged her from her seat and out of the Circle.
The rumbling intensified, and small globs of lava began shooting into the air as if they were cannonballs from a cannon, or spitwads from a straw. A crack began forming in the ground of the Circle, and just before her view was obscured, Trixie noticed more lava visible rising up from within it.
"What on earth? Its a volcano!" she gasped.
"Yes, its the next round!" Taylor explained. "Making our way through the jungle to the new Tribal Circle while the old one turns into a super-volcano behind us."
"Its a race!" Pam smiled. "Beat the volcano or get a short trip home."
"But thats insane," Trixie gasped, "Who in their right mind would come up with that for a reality show round?"
"Probably the same person that came up with the last two rounds," Taylor guessed, "Maybe they're running out of ideas."
They ran through the jungle, leaping over logs and weaving around trees. As they ran through one clearing, Trixie noticed three Echidnas scurrying for cover.
"Quick!" she shouted, "Follow us to safety! A super-volcano is right behind us!"
"No!" one of the Echidnas shouted back, "We will be safe in our tunnels, and if not, we must accept our fate! No one can fight their destiny!"
"Those must be Calvinist Leaning Echidnas" she said to herself as she continued running.
Fireballs were now hitting trees all around them, and ash rained down like a purple rain, only grey and ashy rather than purple and watery, and with far less drug taking involved.
They rounded a burning tree, and suddenly came face to face with Krulnor.
The barbarian was standing in the midst of a trail, holding the mighty ice axe he had gathered in the previous round, and facing them with a determined look on his face.
Or it might have been a hungry look.
To be honest, the broken jaw was really distracting, and it was kind of hard to tell what sort of expression he was attempting.
Pam, Taylor, and Trixie stopped, Trixie trying to ignore the sounds of explosions and fire raging all around them.
"Krulnor?" Taylor asked, "What are you doing?"
Krulnor replied, but with his broken jaw it was hard to understand him.
However, the gist seemed to be that Krulnor ran from nobody in particular, and that by that, he didn't mean nobody in particular, but rather nobody in particular, including wussy super-volcanoes.
He tightened the grip on his ice axe, and stared past them at the approaching death-storm.
"But Krulnor," Trixie tried, "Its a volcano. Its not an enemy. You can't fight a volcano."
Krulnor mumbled something else, which seemed to be something about how people said that when he battled the Tornado of Doom in his fifth epic quest, and everyone knew how that had turned out.
The trio nodded understandingly.
It was true.
If anyone could do battle with a super-volcano and win, it was the heroic Krulnor, who had never lost a battle, except for his battle with the IRD, but to be fair, they are really hard to win against.
Giving Krulnor the traditional "Good-luck-facing-certain-death-and-hope-you-don't-get-charbroiled" pat on the shoulder, Trixie, Taylor and Pam ran on, leaving the barbarian standing in the middle of the trail, watching the approaching fire and shadow with a look of utter bewilderment on his face.
Oh, sorry, that was a look of determination.
Sorry, its the jaw thing.
The rolling waves of lava poured into view, and seemed to pause for a moment, sizing up the masculine hero.
Krulnor garbled something, which seemed to be some sort of "You shall not pass!" type statement, and raised the ice axe above his head.
The lava took a step forward, metaphorically speaking. It flexed its fiery wings, and roared a fiery roar, also metaphorically. Its whip of fire flicked metaphorically through the air. Krulnor garbled again, and brought the ice axe down heroically.
Metaphorically, the lava stumbled, and fell into the metaphoric chasm below.
Krulnor had beaten the volcano!
Satisfied with his victory, Krulnor turned from the scene, with what could have been a satisfied smile on his face, only for the lava's metaphorical fire whip to wrap around Krulnor's leg, and metaphorically pull him into the chasm behind it.
Krulnor garbled something else, which could have been "Fly you fools" or possibly "Dang, so close!" and disappeared from sight into the metaphorical chasm, never to be seen again, or at least until the next sequel.
But his sacrifice gave the remaining competitors enough of a head start to make it out of the metaphorical Mines of Moria (the flaming lava-covered forest), and into the metaphorical Lothlórien (the new Tribal Circle).
And then it was time for the next Round.
Chapter Ten *** Chapter Twelve
"How did they do it?" she muttered to herself, "He was just as keen as me to get rid of nobody in particular, especially at the end. How did they change his mind?"
The thought that her close compatriot could have been so easily turned worried Trixie deeply. What was to stop her from being made to sing the praises of nobody in particular before the end? How could anyone stop the victory of nobody in particular if the whole show seemed to be supporting his victory? Or was it more of a revenge thing against Dungay for the rabbit trick? Even if this was true, it still was a worry for Trixie. After all, two contestants had done the rabbit trick, and one of them was still in the game.
And that one was her.
And furthermore, it seemed to her that...
"Trixie. Are you coming?"
Trixie looked up in surprise to see Pam and Taylor staring at her with concerned expressions on their faces.
"Huh?"
"Trixie, the round has already begun. Are you coming?"
Confused, Trixie looked around, and realised that the Tribal Circle was already emptying of competitors, each of them running out various exits - even Desmond, who now seemed to have remembered the plunger-leg the Goblin had made for him, and was putting it to good use, rather than continuing to hop as he had previously been witnessed doing.
"Come on Trixie, lets go!" Pam hissed urgently, Taylor tugging on her arm nervously.
"What? Why? Whats this round about?"
"Just run!" Taylor commanded.
There was a rumbling in the middle of the Tribal Circle, and jets of steam began shooting from the ground. Trixie stared at them in horror as Taylor and Pam each took one of her arms and forcibly dragged her from her seat and out of the Circle.
The rumbling intensified, and small globs of lava began shooting into the air as if they were cannonballs from a cannon, or spitwads from a straw. A crack began forming in the ground of the Circle, and just before her view was obscured, Trixie noticed more lava visible rising up from within it.
"What on earth? Its a volcano!" she gasped.
"Yes, its the next round!" Taylor explained. "Making our way through the jungle to the new Tribal Circle while the old one turns into a super-volcano behind us."
"Its a race!" Pam smiled. "Beat the volcano or get a short trip home."
"But thats insane," Trixie gasped, "Who in their right mind would come up with that for a reality show round?"
"Probably the same person that came up with the last two rounds," Taylor guessed, "Maybe they're running out of ideas."
They ran through the jungle, leaping over logs and weaving around trees. As they ran through one clearing, Trixie noticed three Echidnas scurrying for cover.
"Quick!" she shouted, "Follow us to safety! A super-volcano is right behind us!"
"No!" one of the Echidnas shouted back, "We will be safe in our tunnels, and if not, we must accept our fate! No one can fight their destiny!"
"Those must be Calvinist Leaning Echidnas" she said to herself as she continued running.
Fireballs were now hitting trees all around them, and ash rained down like a purple rain, only grey and ashy rather than purple and watery, and with far less drug taking involved.
They rounded a burning tree, and suddenly came face to face with Krulnor.
The barbarian was standing in the midst of a trail, holding the mighty ice axe he had gathered in the previous round, and facing them with a determined look on his face.
Or it might have been a hungry look.
To be honest, the broken jaw was really distracting, and it was kind of hard to tell what sort of expression he was attempting.
Pam, Taylor, and Trixie stopped, Trixie trying to ignore the sounds of explosions and fire raging all around them.
"Krulnor?" Taylor asked, "What are you doing?"
Krulnor replied, but with his broken jaw it was hard to understand him.
However, the gist seemed to be that Krulnor ran from nobody in particular, and that by that, he didn't mean nobody in particular, but rather nobody in particular, including wussy super-volcanoes.
He tightened the grip on his ice axe, and stared past them at the approaching death-storm.
"But Krulnor," Trixie tried, "Its a volcano. Its not an enemy. You can't fight a volcano."
Krulnor mumbled something else, which seemed to be something about how people said that when he battled the Tornado of Doom in his fifth epic quest, and everyone knew how that had turned out.
The trio nodded understandingly.
It was true.
If anyone could do battle with a super-volcano and win, it was the heroic Krulnor, who had never lost a battle, except for his battle with the IRD, but to be fair, they are really hard to win against.
Giving Krulnor the traditional "Good-luck-facing-certain-death-and-hope-you-don't-get-charbroiled" pat on the shoulder, Trixie, Taylor and Pam ran on, leaving the barbarian standing in the middle of the trail, watching the approaching fire and shadow with a look of utter bewilderment on his face.
Oh, sorry, that was a look of determination.
Sorry, its the jaw thing.
The rolling waves of lava poured into view, and seemed to pause for a moment, sizing up the masculine hero.
Krulnor garbled something, which seemed to be some sort of "You shall not pass!" type statement, and raised the ice axe above his head.
The lava took a step forward, metaphorically speaking. It flexed its fiery wings, and roared a fiery roar, also metaphorically. Its whip of fire flicked metaphorically through the air. Krulnor garbled again, and brought the ice axe down heroically.
Metaphorically, the lava stumbled, and fell into the metaphoric chasm below.
Krulnor had beaten the volcano!
Satisfied with his victory, Krulnor turned from the scene, with what could have been a satisfied smile on his face, only for the lava's metaphorical fire whip to wrap around Krulnor's leg, and metaphorically pull him into the chasm behind it.
Krulnor garbled something else, which could have been "Fly you fools" or possibly "Dang, so close!" and disappeared from sight into the metaphorical chasm, never to be seen again, or at least until the next sequel.
But his sacrifice gave the remaining competitors enough of a head start to make it out of the metaphorical Mines of Moria (the flaming lava-covered forest), and into the metaphorical Lothlórien (the new Tribal Circle).
And then it was time for the next Round.
Chapter Ten *** Chapter Twelve
posted by Lark Victory | 1:01 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home