Marathon(4)

After getting call from Arnas. The kids started running Jonas was among them.

'I will win it' like every other kid, Jonas too was obsessed with winning the game.

He started at a moderate pace, many kids have exceeded him, but he didn't care about them...

His friends were in the distance as they met with each other. They have made preparation too. Around ten days before they all had gathered to train till they were asleep.

"Tim, here," Rich said as he ran forward, along the tracks while waving toward Tim.

Tim was in his tune. The fact that Arnas had taken his food bag had made him quite upset.

"I don't know if there will be more food" Tim was running as he unknowingly said those words.

Rich was quite eager, to met with his friends to race along with. He was walking toward Tim when he heard Tim saying those words.

"Haha" Rich laughed as he moved. Tim heard the laugh and turned around when he saw Rich laughing as he ran toward him.

"Why are you laughing" Tim was curious, was it some sort of joke that made Rich laugh.

"Tim, ah you can take some of my food," Rich said as he ran forward clutching his stomach.

"You!!!" Tim's face was red all over. He was embarrassed by the fact that Rich had heard him complaining about insufficient food.

***

Frieda, Annie, Leon and Robin were running at their own pace.

Everywhere around 10m of their vision was filled with mist. They could only see other kids running along with them toward the checkpoint.

There were strangers as well some of their class kids that they met along the route.

Some of the kids who got lucky could find badges scattered across unique points. The participants peered toward trees, plants, stones along their path as they moved forward.

Jonas ran as he reached toward the first checkpoint. 'What is it he thought as the first checkpoint came in his 10m range.

"Haha, mom is it you" He was quite happy that the first checkpoint would be hoisted by his mom.

He ran entering the forest.

"Audience, it seems many people have found out the first checkpoint," said Linz the commentator.

"This Checkpoint is 'The dark and gloomy Forest'"

It was the first one starting at 500m along the tracks. The trees were large as they covered the entire forest without a single trace of light entering it.

Unique and bizarre-looking plants and creepy vines dangled all over the place.

"It's creepy" Jonas was disgusted with the temperament and creepiness of the forest, but he was not scared.

He was quite eager to climb the trees.

"Let's go" Jonas reminded himself as he grabbed one of the creepy vines. Swinging forward with it.

Jonas's mother Nasha was in charge of the whole forest. She was watching the projection of the forest send by the control team.

" Aha, it feels good," said Nasha as she watched one of the kids who fell weak on the knee and he started crying.

After watching more and more of it, she got bored by it as she pondered 'Where is my baby'

Jonas has reached the first Rest Zone. He decided to wait for 2 minutes as he drank water and emptied his bladder.

"Gaga, now I will run fast," Jonas said in his iconic laugh. It was fun for him as he passes through the forest.

But not for other people.

Many Players had slowed down their pace as they watched toward their path in fear.

Some of them decided to form a group as they were scared by those unnatural elements.

"Mommy" shouted a kid as he trembled all over the body. He was in the process of calling for help when he saw a person passing him.

Jonas was swinging all over the forest as he met different kids, some with their moderate pace as they ran through the trees and plants alike. While some were scared shitless if they got touch by a leaf or vines.

"Hmhm" Jonas was humming his favourite tune as he takes charge of one vine with another. He was taking his steps toward another clinging root when he found something different about it.

"Huh," Jonas said as he looked around his area after grabbing the vine. It was darker than the previous route.

"It seems many have entered the domain" Nasha was smiling as she swung back and forth from the canopy.

It would look good if it wasn't for the fact that the trees, vines and plant around her area were wriggling like worms.

"Time for some fun" Nasha said as she disappeared among the leaves.

Rich, Tim and Annie were together while Frieda had found Leon. Only Robin was alone as he walks through the forest with other teammates he had gotten for the checkpoint.

The people around him were like his best buddies for the fact that they were all panicking as they moved forward the track.

One of his teammates got scared as he shouted in his loudest voice as if his whole life was on the line.

*aaaaaa*

The other teammates and Robin didn't bother to even ask him his problem as they choose their own direction for running disappearing from each other's sight.

"Where are they," Robin asked himself as his voice trembled. He gathered his courage walking forward.

'Don't panic, don't panic' he thought as he found something was wrong with his surroundings. The trees were higher and tougher and the vines more like a sleek looking worm, the plants too looked like they had their own face.

He was comforting himself when someone touched his shoulders. "Guys don't worry we will leave from here" Robin was in a panic, he forgot the fact that his teammates had left him.

Robin felt it again, it was heavier than before. He remembered that he was alone.

"W--who i~is it" He stuttered as he turned around finding no one but a vine on his shoulder.

His legs were trembling and his mind blanks when his survival instinct kicked in. 'Run' he thought as he started running while screaming.

"What was that voice," Jonas said as he dodged another vine. The vines were lurking after him from all directions. Attacking him at unexpected moments, but he was prepared.

'Love you Mom' he thought in his mind as he could get away from them while stretching and flexing his body.

"Final one," he said as he could see the opening toward shallow woods.

Nasha eyes were closed as she meditated.

"Let me give you a lesson kid," Nasha said as she grinned.

"What?" Jonas was surprised by the unexpected event.

The trees were binding with each other as they started blocking toward the path to the swallow woods.

'Mom, why bully me' Jonas thought as the vines around him got fast.

The branches, leaves, plant and vines held each other to lock the exit.

Jonas's muscle tensed as he started climbing, jumping and leaning with his utmost concentration.

'I have to go through this' he thought. His mind was aching as he did all those stunts.

"The last one" Jonas said as the roots assaulted the exit to lock them up.

'I have to go' he thought as he climbed the vine that was going to assault him from the front, taking advantage of the momentum, he passed through the gap, getting out.

*Woooo* the audience cheered, Jonas was on the screen as it showed him getting out from the forest.

"What an incredible movement" Linz applauded for Jonas as the crowd cheered for him.

Jonas was sitting on the ground, as he rested with his eyes closed.

"Gaga, I did it"

The people that had gone through the deeper forest, were getting out one by own. Some had shots and tears filling their face while others had gone out with confident smiles.

Some of the people had abandoned the checkpoint moving through the other route without any challenges waiting for them.