As soon as he stepped outside the door, he was pelted with raindrops from all directions. He put his head down and hurried towards the bathroom.
On his way back to his cabin, lightning flashed above him, setting the sky alight. Thunder followed, so loud and so close that Billy could have sworn he felt the ground shake. Blinking, he stepped under the awning of the nearest cabin for shelter as his eyes adjusted.
He blinked again, trying to clear his vision. Had he just seen a flash of lightning inside the cabin? There! Again! A flash of blue light, zigzagging across the cabin, illuminating it from the inside. And in the centre of the room, emitting its own light, sat a glowing silver orb. The blue lightning seemed to be coming from it, or going towards it, Billy wasn’t sure. But he was sure he was seeing something very strange.
A crash of thunder snapped Billy back to his senses, and he was suddenly very aware of his soggy feet and wet hair. With a final glance back at the strange blue light, he ran to his own cabin, wondering what he’d just seen.
The Great Race
The next morning dawned bright and clear. Water droplets glistened from the cabin eaves and tree branches. Billy rubbed his eyes, remembering what he’d seen last night. Or at least what he thought he’d seen. A mysterious glowing blue orb. Now, in the bright morning sun, it seemed ridiculous. It had been late, he’d been tired, and it had probably been the reflection of the lightning on the window. He put it out of his mind, and hurried to the canteen for breakfast.
Everyone was in much better spirits today. There was a giddy buzz of excitement in the air. After breakfast, Old Gold called the campers to the tree stump in the clearing.
‘Now that the weather has decided to co-operate, we can have our first official camp challenge!’ He unfurled a scroll showing twelve animals, with a rat at the top and a pig at the bottom. ‘Does anyone know what these animals are?’
This Billy knew. He put his hand up quickly, even faster than Charlotte. ‘The animals in the Chinese zodiac,’ he said.
Old Gold beamed. ‘Correct! What you might not know is that a very, very, very long time ago there was a Great Race to determine which twelve animals would make it into the zodiac and what their order would be.’ He paused and chuckled. ‘As you can see, the rat won the race and came in first. But what you won’t see is a cat in the zodiac. That’s because the cat and rat worked together to get to the front, but then the rat pushed the cat into a river, which is why to this day cats hate water and will always try to catch rats.’ He rolled up the scroll. ‘Now, I thought it would be fun to have our own Great Race to determine which group can work the best together.’
Old Gold hopped off the tree stump and handed each group a single red envelope. ‘In each of these envelopes is a riddle that describes an object found in this region of China. Your challenge is to solve the riddle and bring me that object. Remember, it isn’t just about speed. The rat won the race through cunning. I’m not saying to follow the rat’s example and push the other team into a river –’ he chuckled again – ‘but you will need to use your brains too! The order you finish in will determine the order in which you get to choose things for the rest of your team here at camp, from meals to special excursions.’
He looked over at Billy and his team. ‘Now, I realize Ling-Fei’s team is at a bit of an advantage as she is more familiar with the area, so you have been given a more difficult riddle with something harder to find.’
‘That doesn’t seem fair,’ Charlotte muttered. Billy agreed, but didn’t say anything. He liked Ling-Fei, but right at this moment it felt like having her on their team was more of a disadvantage if it meant they were being given a harder challenge. Even if he wasn’t as outwardly competitive as Charlotte, he wanted to win too.
‘The first team back in this very spot wins. Let the race begin!’ shouted Old Gold. He threw a small ball high into the air and it exploded into a cloud of red and gold confetti. ‘GO!’
Charlotte snatched the envelope from Dylan and ripped it open. ‘We’ve got to win this,’ she said.
‘Someone is a bit competitive, aren’t they?’ said Dylan.
‘Stay focused and pay attention,’ said Charlotte as she pulled a small gold card from the envelope and read it aloud: ‘I bear the name of an almighty beast, but beneath my spikes and scales I am a treat to eat.’
‘Any ideas?’ Dylan asked after a short pause.
Billy sighed. He was terrible at solving riddles. The last time he’d got the right answer to a riddle was only because he’d seen the answer sheet beforehand. ‘Maybe it’s some sort of animal?’
‘It’s obviously an animal,’ huffed Charlotte. ‘Spikes? Scales? What else could it be?’
Billy crossed his arms. ‘You know, for someone who wants to win so badly, you aren’t making it very easy for us.’
‘If we’re going to finish first, we need to work together,’ Ling-Fei said, stepping in between them. She took Billy’s and Charlotte’s hands in each of hers as she closed her eyes. ‘Close your eyes and take a deep breath with me.’
Billy and Charlotte watched as Ling-Fei closed her eyes and took a long breath. Billy knew what she was trying to do, but, instead of helping him become less annoyed at Charlotte, now he was annoyed at Ling-Fei too.
‘Don’t you feel so much more relaxed?’ Ling-Fei opened her eyes to find Billy and Charlotte still staring at her.
‘We’re wasting time!’ said Charlotte.
