“Half a minute!” James exclaimed. “This pit sure is deep!”
Suddenly James looked back and saw the Scavenger running towards the hole.
“What’s he doing?” Daniel shouted.
“He’s jumping across,” Matt replied. “Make way for the madman!”
The children quickly stepped clear of his path.
“He’ll kill himself!” Archer said.
The Scavenger increased his speed as he neared the hole. Then, when he was at the edge of it, he leapt.
The ground reached up. The Scavenger’s eyes narrowed to slits as he realized that -
“He is not going to make it!” James shouted.
The Scavenger was dropping into the pit now.
He made a wild jab with his hands, nearing the edge of the pit, about to catch the grass, just making it...
And he missed.
He fell inside the pit.
James freaked out. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”
“He’s fine!” Matt pointed below.
The Scavenger caught a protruding rock just in time and was now hanging from it. He quickly swung himself onto the rock and then jumped. He caught hold of the edge of the pit and pulled himself up and brushed the dust from his clothes.
Meanwhile, the children had found a much safer and quicker way to cross to the other side. They climbed the wolf’s back, and Thunder, the wolf, flew into the air and deposited them on the other side.
“Aw!” The Scavenger was amused. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
The scroll led them forward into the Pain Trail. They had walked maybe ten metres when suddenly Archer began shouting. “OW! My feet are burning.”
Daniel started jumping a little. “You’re right. OUCH! OUCH! OWWWWW!”
“OWWWWW!”
“STOP IT!”
“TOO HOT!”
The Scavenger glared at them. “Oh, please. It’s not that – OWWWWWW!”
Now all of them were running fast to escape the hot ground. Then suddenly, the heat disappeared.
“Wowwww... so cool,” James said. The ground started becoming cooler and cooler.
“It’s amazing...”
“Awesome...”
The coldness was a relief from the burning ground they had experienced before. But soon it got too cold.
“OWWWW! So cold.”
“It’s biting cold!”
“I’ll get frostbite!”
Now they were running once again, this time because of the cold, covering distance fast. And then the cold disappeared and the regular ground appeared once again, neither too hot nor too cold.
The children heaved a sigh of relief.
“James, I have an amazing joke to tell you.” Daniel nudged James to lighten their stress.
“What?”
“Once two friends went to see Niagara Falls. Then suddenly, one of them slipped and fell into the falls. What did the other friend say?”
“What?”
“What a fall! Ha ha!”
“Huh?” James couldn’t understand.
“You didn’t get it? What a fall. Waterfall.”
James looked blank.
“Oh, never mind.” Daniel groaned. “All my great jokes are just wasted on you. Wasted, I say!”
“Jokes should be good if you want someone to laugh,” Archer said, “But your joke will make someone cry; it’s so lame.”
“Whatever,” Daniel muttered. “Your jokes aren’t great either.”
Archer looked shocked. “What? Oh please. I was selected as the comedian in my school assembly. And after I had told my jokes and was walking out of the stage, everyone was clapping like crazy.”
“Because you were leaving the stage, that’s why,” Daniel said.
James sneered. He was about to say something when the ground shook so hard that he fell at once. It was like a massive earthquake. Suddenly, the ground sloped downwards, and they skidded to a stop on a circular ground in which the shape of a face was engraved.
Welcome. A voice boomed all around.
“Who are you?” The Scavenger demanded.
I have no name, but all call me the Warhead.
The Scavenger took a deep breath. “The Warhead. Finally.”
Many have tried, but only a few have succeeded in meeting me.
“We need the -”
Poison. Yes, I know. The Warhead promptly replied. But first, you deserve a reward for crossing all those obstacles. And your prize will be... meeting me. The voice of the Warhead echoed around them.
And then… the ground below them dissolved, and they fell.
When he opened his eyes, Archer saw that he was surrounded by water. He rose. The water was knee-deep. He noticed his other friends and the Scavenger beside him in the water, lying unconscious. The wolf was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly the Scavenger shook and his eyes snapped open. “Oops. Come on, wake up your friends. We have to meet the Warhead.”
Very soon, they were all awake and out of the water. The Scavenger bellowed into the hall, “Where are you, Warhead?”
Hello, travellers. They heard the Warhead’s voice. So far, you are going great. But now comes the real challenge.
“What challenge? Why don’t you meet us?” Urrax asked.
Have patience, my boy. We will play a game. A Maze game. Ha ha ha…
“Meet us, Warhead; there are important things to be done,” the Scavenger said.
One has to be worthy enough to meet me. Let me test you.
“As you wish,” the Scavenger said. “Start the Maze Game.”
Good luck, travellers. Hope you survive!
With that, the ground below them disappeared.
They emerged in a small empty room. At the far side was a door.
They walked to the door and the Scavenger pushed it. But it didn’t budge. The Scavenger kicked it, punched it, shoved it and barrelled into it, but it didn’t open.
“You’re soooooooo stupid.” James groaned. He went up to the door and pulled it. It opened. “Pull, not push. I wonder what you’d do without me.”
They entered a narrow pathway, and the children gasped. The walls on both sides were on fire!
After a while, they reached a dead end. There was a wall blocking any further movement.
James went near the wall and touched it. Immediately, he had to pull his hand away as the wall was burning hot.
“It’s too hot,” James said.
“What do we do now?” Daniel said nervously. “I can’t tolerate this heat anymore.”
“Maybe...” Archer looked at the wall and moved towards it. He put a hand on it, and nothing happened to him.
“I get it!” James said. “We have lost our Elemental Powers. We can’t control them anymore. But we can tolerate them, at least.”
They cheered a little and then Archer found a handle. He pushed, and the wall opened like a door.
8
They
