Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Next Level Obstacle Course (3)

I can make it.

The landing feels squishy underneath my paws, and I bounce, just a little to test my theory. What do you know–I bounce higher. Whoever designed this was genius. You can’t leap across a chasm without some help, at least. Something has to set you in motion. This bouncy leather-type landing is perfect for getting a jump start.

[Come on, Blaze!] Demos faces me across the cast, egging me on.

Lobo can’t resist trash-talking me, too.] [What are you waiting for, a sign from the Primal Beast?]

[Don’t need one.]

I back up a bit, then spring forward. My muscles get a jolt, and the world spins, and I can smell the water waiting below should i miss that first ring.

Don’t think about how far it is. Aim for the center of the ring. Claws out. Adjust tail to make sure it doesn’t get in the way.

JUMP!

I’m flying across the chasm, the space whizzing past me, the ring growing in size somehow. Before, it seemed almost too small for me to pass through. But now? It’s like a tunnel that I’m going to drive right through.

“The holes!” Gussie squawks behind me. “Aim for the holes!”

[Yes! The center. I know.]

[No!] Gussie sounds like she’s on fire. [The holes on the sides.]

[Gussie, I don’t understand–]

Her voice is urgent. [Now! Grab on with your claws!]

No time to ask a billion questions. I have to trust Gussie and hope for the best. She wouldn’t steer me wrong.

I reach my claws out when the metal ring is within inches of my face.

OH.

There are tiny holes on the sides! Just big enough for claws to fit through, at least partly. That should be enough.

Indeed, my claws click into place, giving me stability, enough to hang on and maneuver myself partway through the ring without falling. Genius.

[Gussie, I owe you one!]

She squawks with glee. “Blaze owes me! Blaze owes me!”

Seconds later, she adds in my mind. [You don’t really owe me anything. I am just so happy you didn’t get hurt like Lobo.]

[I like that! It was an accident.] Lobo growls, sulky. [And where was that warning when I was jumping on the platforms?]

Gussie tut-tuts. [Oh, stop complaining and say, “Thank you for saving me!” And don’t distract Blaze. He’s going to jump again.]

I leap. hard. I have to let go. After all, the view is interesting, but no sense just hanging around here all day. Besides, there’s a magic pill on the other side with my name on it.

Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t…

I’m falling. The world’s spinning. Think. Grab onto something. Anything.

Gotcha!

My claws click into place once again. There’s a fire burning in my chest, and in my lungs. Take a second to breathe. Slow down.

Can’t slow down. I have to keep going. Ten more rings to go.

The next one is easier. And the next one. Unbelievable. Almost halfway there. I even push too hard and blow right through the target. Obviously, adrenaline is to blame. I can’t turn it off.

SAFE! Sixth ring. Thank the Primal Beast, God, a Higher Power, or whatever deity is protecting me. I am clinging to the sixth ring, panting hard, my muscles still firing and my neurons on overdrive. Time to go for the next ring.

I did it! Yes! These claw-holds are brilliant. No one told me about those. Kaline didn’t say a thing. Perhaps she didn’t know, or her parents swore her to secrecy. But a little warning might have been nice. Still, it didn’t hurt me.

WHOOSH. I’ve reached the seventh ring. The wind whistles in my fur, and the sun bathes me, and so far, the weather is perfect.

My fur sticks up, and I feel the electricity in the air. I can taste the dampness and the sharp bite of a storm coming. And I can smell a hint of lightning, a sharp scent. Also, there is that marine smell, a scent of water in the air.

It’s only a little rain, right? A little storm won’t hurt anything. After all, soldiers in W City Army in the human world do boot camp in rain, mud, fog, and even the dead of summer when no sane person would be exerting themselves. I can handle this.

However, the storm is an unknown. And an incentive. I want to be inside when it hits.

I have never moved as fast as I do through the rings. Whoosh. Whoosh. Eight. Nine. Ten.

Incredible! I’m on the tenth ring! Two more to go. Close by, framed by the twin rings, Demos and Lobo start jumping up and down on the landing and cheering me on with loud animal noises. In his jubilation, Lobo seems to have forgotten his earlier injury. Both of them are clamoring for me to get over and join them.

Very well. I can do this. I’ll go for the eleventh ring. With another mighty leap, I make it.

Oh no! My claws scrabble against the cold metal of the ring. Now I can’t find my safe handholds. Where are they? Maybe whoever designed this course decided to make this last part trickier? The sheer audacity! Well, I’ll show them!

I use my Super Jump ability to its full extent. Not that I haven’t been using it up till now, but I step on the gas and launch myself full throttle. So hard that I shoot through the eleventh ring and, heart-soundingly, clear the last one.

With extra nerve I didn’t know I possessed, I do a flip that lands me face first on the platform, nearly knocking into Lobo, who scrambles out of the way.

[Watch it!] Demos helps me up. [Or I’m going to get that tasty pill waiting for you.]

I snap at him, without any real animosity, and leap up to grab the Pill of Power suspended in the air above me. The endorphins flood through me. I’ve never felt better in my whole life!

[Blaze Extra Speed Boost for navigating the Ring Course. Next lap awaits.]

Gussie, of course, flies through the rings as if she’s just enjoying the view, snatches her Pill of Power, and lands beside us. Spreading her wings, she cries, “Let’s finish this!”

With a few growls, howls, and words of congratulation, we get ready to complete this obstacle course. So far, it’s demanding, but not horrible.

We pass through a short tunnel and hear a crushing, smacking sound. On the other side of the tunnel is an enclosed rectangular room. Directly ahead of us is one of my worst nightmares.

A narrow wooden path through rows of metal jaws constantly clamp shut. Smack. Smack. Their teeth are wicked sharp. Sharper than any beast’s teeth. Perhaps that is the design inspiration.

I let out a whining growl. [Oh no.]

[NO.] Lobo goes pale. [Someone’s tail could get caught in those.]

Gussie flaps so hard that I know she is having an anxiety attack. [Or someone’s wing could get clipped. Literally.]

[They’re timed.] Demos squints at the hungry jaws. [Just like the platforms.]

I try and keep a cool head. [Brilliant. Count with me, everyone!}

We all count how many second pass between the jaws snapping shut, which they all do at once. One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…

The count reaches sixty-one seconds. CLAMP.

Demos stomps his feet on the edge. [Not much time at all, but we don’t have much of a choice. Everyone follow me!]

I pant, trying to get my breath. [Demos, wait…]

But he’s off! He runs along the walkway, and we all follow, jumping when he jumps, running when he runs, except for Gussie, who flies through the smashing jaws at incredible speed, an orange and red streak.

Ahhh! What’s that? Did those jaws get my tail? No. They did shave off a little of my fur. Golden fur dances in the air.

[Gussie! Are your wings okay?]

She’s talking as fast as she flies. [Don’t ask silly questions. i’d tell you if I got clipped. Keep going. Don’t stop now.]

Almost across. We can make it. One more burst of speed, and we’re through!

[Good work, everyone.] I keep running, eating up the catwalk, and finally emerge on the other side, where i promptly plummet into darkness.

Oh! I’m on the slide, zipping into the dark. And I can smell fresh air blowing. Faint light appears ahead as the slide flattens out, and I can see Demos’ hairy posterior zipping along until he bursts into the light. Next. I burst out into the open, with no more obstacles, but with cheering and applause at the end of the slide.

Once I’m out and on solid ground, I shake my fur into its regular fluffy shape and stand beside my friends. Gussie is radiant, Lobo relaxed, Demos proud.

[Blaze +4 XP and increased stats.]

I am so thrilled by my performance. And when Kaline hugs me, I don’t mind her messing up my fur again. I can’t wait for my next round of training.

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