6-My First Ogre Encounter

Clementine:

"This bitch just pushed Ian over to the red flag," Haiden screamed louder, already standing at the line with Troy.

I suddenly stopped because of the way they were screaming and grunting at me. I had a feeling if I went near the line, they would push me back and not let me cross. I looked around in confusion— Yorick and Riv were still not there.

That's when I saw Riv in the distance. She was struggling, sitting on the ground with the flags in front of her.

"What is she doing?" I asked myself, changing my plan to go get her. She seemed too distracted to focus on the ogre. That wasn't good. She could get killed.

"Riv, what are you doing?" I yelled, running towards her. The ogre was busy trying to squash others when I reached Riv.

"I don't have the flags," she whispered, making me sit down and quickly count hers. She had only 3 flags.

"Wait," I started to count mine.

"I have extra," I said, watching her eyes light up with hope. "Here, take the rest. Now you have—15." I watched her smile return, but then another worry hit her.

"I don't have the rest," she said, staring at the ones in my hands. And then, without a second thought, she lunged at me.

I didn't expect that. She got on top of me, trying to snatch the flags from my hands. She punched me in the face, but I didn't hit her back. I didn't want to hurt her, even when she gave me a split lip, but I had to protect myself. I used my strength to push her away from me. She stumbled backward. I didn't mean for her to fall so hard.

But there was a ditch right behind her. I had no clue we had rolled a few times and reached the ditch. She slipped and fell into it.

I heard her scream and my body went on alert. I got up and ran to the edge. She was on the ground, holding her leg, clearly in pain.

"Help me!" she shouted, reaching up to me.

Even after what she did, I couldn't leave her behind. I understood she was just desperate. I climbed down a bit and gave her my hand.

"Come on, hold my hand. Just climb, and then together we can find you the flags. We still have five minutes," I yelled, shaking my hand to get her attention. It would be easy to get flags unless Ian had the spare. He wouldn't share them with anyone, not after I pushed him into the red flag.

But when she grabbed my hand, something felt wrong. She didn't pull herself up, she pulled me down.

I gasped and almost lost my balance. My chest hit the dirt, and my legs started to slide. She wasn't just asking for help. She was trying to pull me into the ditch with her. The ogres in the distance were going crazy too.

I tried to pull back, but she kept holding on tight. I looked at her face, she looked scared, but also wild, desperate. She knew I was slow at climbing, and maybe she thought if I went down, she could take my flags and climb up instead.

"Riv, what are you doing? I can help you get the flags," I yelled, trying to make her understand that betraying each other wasn't the right thing to do at that moment.

"I can't risk it. I'll climb if you give me your flags," she screamed back at me.

That's when I heard it, the ground shaking, the heavy steps.

An ogre was coming.

I looked up and saw its shadow getting closer.

"Riv, it's coming," I said, fear carved into my heart as panic hit me. I was shaking my hand, trying to pull her up, but she kept pulling me down instead.

I didn't know what to do. The ogre had come so close. I felt my knees go weak from fear. I had never seen anything so deadly before. As sweat covered my face, I looked at Riv to have one last word with her.

"Please, Riv, we'll both die," I begged.

"Then give me your flags," she hissed angrily. "I'm going to die anyway if I don't have any flags."

It shocked me because to her, it was only about her own life. She didn't want my help to find flags. Her idea of survival was to steal my flags and leave me in danger. Even if I gave her my flags, the others would never share their spare ones with me, but they would be happy to help her out.

Then I realized I had to save myself. I'm no hero!

With my free hand, I reached down and pinched her wrist hard, right where the muscle is soft. She screamed and let go. I pulled myself up, shaking, and crawled away from the edge just as the ogre stepped into the ditch.

She was still down there, staring up at me, her face full of fear. Then the ogre blocked my view completely.

I turned my back as I heard a loud scream echo through the air.

And then— she was gone.

I couldn't move for a moment. I just stood there, shaking, not knowing what I had done. I didn't want her to die. I just wanted her to let go.

But it was too late.

I got to my feet, my eyes on the big clock in the air, showing I had only two minutes left now. My running was much slower this time because of the grief.

Desperation can be a real killer. She didn't want to understand that she had to clear this trial on her own, and not by dragging others down with her.

I sprinted, and finally, here I was. I reached the finish line with my head down and tears blurring my vision. I expected them to push me out, but once I crossed the line, I dropped to my knees. And after steadying my breath, I realized–they didn't push me out.

But why?

That's when I heard it.

The voice I thought I had left behind:

"She killed Riv."

I raised my head and saw them standing around me, but my eyes were locked on Ian, who had somehow managed not to cross the red line and had made it back to the black flag.

"She killed Riv."

And then the words hit me.

I was being accused of killing one of us by all four of the alphas.