A Night of Survival

We spent two more days on the cave so I could heal enough to move and walk. My teammates were surprisingly patient, I felt guilty. It was my fault. Because of my carelessness, we might never pass the exam. The other squads must have found two or three coins already. It was our third night on the cave. They finally agreed to search for the other coins the next morning. I was able to convince them that I was feeling better. Truth be told, my back still hurt and my leg felt like it was being pricked by countless needles every time I moved it. But two days was already too long. I was getting anxious. It was a very quiet night. The silence was deafening. I got up and slowly walked to the cave's entrance, limping. The sky was clear and the stars were shining brightly. My brother and I used to go stargazing a lot.

Then the silence was disturbed by laughter. I could make out four people's silhouettes from a distance. The people walked closer. I recognized them at once. It was Tyler Moris and his 'bodyguards'. They were making too much noise, goofing around like idiots. Their actions, their confidence, spelled trouble. I was not scared though, I got a score to settle with the guy. I took a deep breath. I was about to go drive them away when a big warm gentle hand covered my mouth and stopped me from moving. It was Daniel. He signaled to keep quiet. He removed his hand from my mouth, then slowly moved in front of me, shielding me. I turned to the others. Mike poured water onto the warm fire. It went out and the cave was covered in darkness. I shivered from the cold. I could see Clarisse in the darkness a little. She sat unmoving in a corner. She was probably scared. I don't blame her. She had a bad memory with those guys. We kept hidden in the darkness. Tyler Moris and his team walked pass the cave. When we couldn't hear them talking anymore, we decided to move out and spend the night somewhere else. We silently collected our things and got out of the cave. We headed towards the direction opposite to where Tyler Moris' team went. We only walked a few steps when Daniel shoved me out of the way. My broken leg made a sound. I raised my head and saw the dagger stuck in the tree in front of me. Then someone chuckled. It was Tyler Moris and his gang, with mischievous smiles on their faces. Tyler spoke. He said they were lucky to have found us. They managed to find two gold coins and asked us to hand over one of ours so they could complete the mission. So that was their game. Cheaters. Clarisse came running to my side. Daniel and Mike stood in front of us. They were ready for the fight.

The fight took longer than expected. I thought we would lose immediately. I was actually contemplating on handing over the coin, but Daniel and Mike was winning, surprisingly. It wasn't an easy feat, of course. They had been punched in the face or kicked in the knee, but they were doing well against four. They managed to knock down two of the enemies. Only two left. Tyler Moris charged towards Mike. Mike didn't move until the last minute and gave him the uppercut he so deserved. The force was too strong, it knocked him back. That was payback for before. The fight ended with Daniel putting the other guy to sleep with a kick on the ribs. If only I wasn't injured, I could have been more useful. How pathetic. The boys handcuffed the four together under a tree. Then they tied the keys to the handcuffs above the sleeping idiots. We decided to leave them the keys so they won't be stuck there. Although, it depended on whether they realize the keys were above. The thought made us laugh. We took one of their coins as a consequence for their actions. Hmm. I guess teamwork was possible for our squad. Next time, I'll be on top form.