Saving The Mission, page 18
part #1 of The Race to Space Series
Samantha put her knees up to her stomach and did not have the energy to sit up, let alone stand. “Can we have a minute please?”
The answer was short and stubborn. “No.”
Samantha stood up shivering. Her cold, damp clothes clung to her skin. She waited for Elizabeth and Ross to stand up and they walked back into the hall, leaving wet footprints behind them. Samantha turned around but could not see the remainder of their group.
Samantha entered the school through the same doors she had entered at the start of the day. She could feel herself shivering and knew that if she didn’t dry off she would at the very least get a cold that she wouldn’t be able to shift. Samantha looked at the main reception desk and followed a sign for the nearest toilets. She noticed the floor was covered in wet footprints and felt some comfort in knowing that they were all in the same boat.
Samantha entered the door with a woman on and went inside to dry herself under the hand dryers. The toilets were full of other people who were in the same predicament. Samantha decided that she would try and find somewhere else to get dry. She turned to leave when she heard a voice.
“Samantha? I thought I recognised you.” She turned around and saw Carly. Inside Samantha thought that Carly Bright was the least person she wanted to see right now. “You got soaked too I see.”
Samantha turned and said, “yeah someone had to.”
She turned around to leave when she heard, “Samantha? Where are you going?”
Samantha replied, “it's too crowded in here. I’m going to try and find somewhere else.”
Samantha turned and walked away, leaving the bathroom. She could hear the trudge of the wet footsteps behind her and knew that she was being followed by Carly and her three new friends. Samantha decided that she would carry on walking, pretending that she didn’t know they were following her. She felt like she was at school again, ignoring the bullies as she tried to go to lessons.
She walked up the grand staircase which was behind the reception desk. It had a red carpet and a gold bannister. Halfway up the staircase was a large mirror. Samantha looked at herself, she looked like a drowned rat. In the reflection, she could see Carly and her friends. Carly was fixated on her, her face not showing any emotion except intent. The three friends were giggling next to her.
Samantha reached the top of the staircase and started opening random doors in the hope of seeing the familiar female sign on one of them. She guessed that she had around ten minutes before the next talk started, judging by how long they had taken in the last challenge. Eventually, she saw the familiar sign for a toilet and went inside and jogged towards the hand dryer. The warm blasts of air on her cold skin made her skin tingle. She started to regain the feeling in her feet. She had barely been under the hand dryer one minute when Carly entered.
“It’s our turn now Samantha.”
Samantha shivered. “Just a minute and I’ll pass it over.” She spoke through chattering teeth, Samantha huddled under the dryer, trying to dry the wet t-shirt that clung to her skin. The next thing she felt was two sets of arms pulling her back and onto the bathroom floor. Samantha landed on her backside with a loud thud that sent a jolt through her spine. The base of her spine felt numb with pain as did her wrists which she had put out to sustain the impact.
Carly looked over her with an amused look on her face. Samantha instantly felt like an awkward teenager once again. “Sorry Samantha, but let's face it, you're not going to get the part. Why would they want an unemployed single person like you? You may as well give the people who actually have a chance the dryer. Besides the wet dog look suits you.”
Samantha desperately tried to think of an amusing or insulting reply but the pain in her back made her mind fill with fog and so she sat, on a floor covered in piss with her mouth open like a goldfish. Samantha heard them cackle as they stepped over her towards the dryer. Samantha stood up, trying to regain her little dignity and tried to claw her way through them towards the dryer but the person at the back pushed her away. She sighed and realised it was no use. She turned to walk towards the door and thought about just returning to the hall when she felt a shove in her back and her face bashed into the door. She felt a blinding flash of pain and felt the warm blood run down her face coming from her nose. She looked at the floor through her involuntary tears in her eyes and saw the blood dripping from her nose onto the floor. It took her a minute to regain her thoughts and when she did, she grabbed the handle and walked out.
Samantha sat on the top step of the staircase, stemming the flow of blood from her nose with her sleeve. She looked in the mirror opposite and saw herself looking wet, bedraggled and bloody. She looked like she had been in a fight and lost magnificently. Samantha stared at herself in the mirror and wondered what she was doing here. Samantha thought perhaps Carly was right, she might be a cow and a bully but perhaps there was some truth in what she said. As Samantha rung her hair and watched as her hair dripped onto the expensive plush red carpet. She felt as low as she did after being fired. Samantha felt the urge to have a drink rise and decided that at that moment, this experience wasn’t for her. Samantha surmised that she had probably failed the test anyway, she knew she had got several of the questions wrong and thought that her group had likely failed to unlock the other members of their team in time. Therefore on the balance of probabilities, she had failed two out of three tests. That realisation made her mind up and she proceeded to walk down the stairs and towards the main exit. Each step felt weighed down and heavy as if the burden of failure had weighed down her physical and mental state,
Samantha stood at the main entrance and saw the last group enter, looking equally as wet and bedraggled. However, Samantha felt there was a key difference, they looked happy. As if they were enjoying the experience, Samantha thought that this was telling, that it was a sign that this wasn’t for her.
Samantha approached the desk and waited for someone to appear behind the desk so that she could collect her phone and leave. She heard Mike’s voice and turned around to see him laughing and joking with the group. She turned around in haste, hoping that he hadn’t spotted her.
“You look wet,” he said and laughed. She turned to face him but quickly turned back to avoid him looking at the bloody mess of her face.
Samantha replied, “don’t.” Mike put his hand under her chin, cupping it gently. He gently manoeuvred her head towards him. She could have resisted, but her head complied and she looked into his eyes. He looked at her and she saw his eyebrows frown.
“Where are you going, Samantha?” He surveyed her and stared at the red marks under her nose. Samantha could feel that her nose was getting larger and her face puffy. “More importantly, what happened to your face?”
She sighed and avoided the question, not wanting to sound childish.“I don’t belong here, Mike. You do. This is your kind of world not mine. I’m going home.” She turned her face around releasing his gentle grip.
She saw out of the corner of her eye, Mike lean of the desk and he whispered close to her ear. “Have you seen this group, Samantha? In my group, there is a cleaner, a librarian, a physicist and a student. How do you not fit in? Don’t you see? None of us does and that is the point. There is only one challenge left anyway. May as well stay and get it over with. Can’t be any worse surely?” He smiled at her. Samantha looked at the reception desk, then at Mike and said “OK. One more challenge, then I’m out of here.”
“Great,” Mike replied. “To throw in a sweetener, I’ll give you a lift back to London if you do.” He tapped the desk and walked back into the hall. She stared at the desk, hoping someone would appear but no-one came. She decided that she may as well hear about the next challenge. Samantha knew that deep down, despite the odds being stacked against her, a big part of her wanted or hoped to hear a reason to stay.
Samantha made her way back to the hall, she thought she saw someone out of the corner of her eye watching her. She looked towards the staircase but saw no-one. Had Samantha looked towards the entrance she would have seen that someone was indeed watching her with great interest. Stood in the corner of the room, with their arms folded and a slight frown on their face.
18.
Samantha made her way across the hallway and into the grand hall. Samantha took an empty seat at the back of the hall. Scott was already waiting on the podium and Samantha noticed that the man she knew as Brady was stood next to him. She looked at him up and down and felt herself assessing his physique. She realised she was staring at him. His focus was on the back of the hall, deep in thought.
When the hall was quiet, barely a murmur to be heard, Scott started to speak. “Right then,” He paused, waited for the few murmurs to quieten. “Now that the final few have decided to join us, I will fill you in on your third and final challenge. In the car park, there are ten minibuses that will transport each group to a different location within thirty minutes of this location. You will be required to find your own way back here, by whatever means, within one hour. There are no rules as to how you get back, as long as you do within the time. Oh, and you will each be blindfolded on the journey there to make it a bit more challenging. Gather up your things and make your way to the relevant bus, each has the number of your group on the front. Good luck.”
As Scott left, there was a rumble of conversation as people discussed the challenge ahead. Samantha gathered her bag and joined the slow shuffle out of the hall towards the main entrance. On the way out, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. She saw Mike and said, “well that doesn’t sound very feasible.”
Mike replied, “not if you walk.”
Samantha looked at him puzzled. “How can you get back otherwise? No money, no phone.”
“Well, that is the challenge after all isn’t it” Mike replied. They walked out of the main entrance and towards the car park where, as promised, ten minibuses were lined up, each with a number on the front. Mike turned to her and said “Good luck and see you back here yeah?”
Samantha replied “hopefully. If I don’t end up stuck in a ditch somewhere!”
Mike started walking to the right, towards the bus numbered 10 and said, “oh and Sam.” Samantha stopped still and turned around. It was the first time he had called her Sam and she was surprised that didn’t actually mind. She normally only allowed her close friends and family to call her that. However, with all they have been through, Samantha thought it felt natural. “I’m glad you stayed.” She felt her face flush a hint of pink. She looked at her shoes and mumbled “thanks” and walked towards the bus numbered 6.
As Samantha boarded the bus, she could see that Ross, Gracia and David were already on the bus. She sat in the seat next to David. Samantha considered the exchange that had just happened with Mike. She wasn’t sure if he was just being friendly or if he was insinuating that his affections for her ran deeper. She started to feel her face flush at the thought. Mike wasn’t her usual type but he had an air of self-confidence that was attractive.
Samantha’s train of thought was broken as the rest of her group came on the bus. Elizabeth was last on and sat parallel to her. “Thanks for earlier Samantha. You saved us from failing that challenge.”
Samantha turned to her and said “no problem.”
“I’m Elizabeth by the way.” She stuck out her hand and Samantha turned to shake her hand. As Samantha offered her hand out, she saw Elizabeth's’ face twisted in disgust. Samantha recalled her appearance and faced the front of the bus in haste.
“What happened to your face?” Elizabeth asked.
Just as Samantha was about to reply with a lie she had just thought of, she watched as a ‘Green Jacket’ walked on. She could only see the outline of his jaw under the cap because she was sat down. She thought he looked vaguely familiar. He spoke and Samantha was surprised that the voice wasn’t as menacing as she expected. It was surprisingly soft. “Hello, group six. The time is now fifteen hundred hours and we are ready to depart.” Samantha heard the rumble of the engine kicking in and felt the slight rumble run through her body as the engine started. They slowly started to move and Samantha watched as they followed the bus numbered 5 out of the main entrance. As they were driving down the gravel path, the man in the green jacket came around and handed them all a thick pair of black goggles. Samantha had hoped for a thin blindfold, so she could see through the flimsy material but these were thick plastic goggles that fastened around the back of her head. Samantha thought that whoever had arranged this day had not spared any expense.
She suddenly realised that she had an opportunity to get an advantage. She was handed her goggles and watched as the Green Jacket walked to the front of the minibus. This was her chance while his back was turned. She dived into her bag and got out the swimming goggles she had used earlier. She put them on and put the black goggles in her bag. She could see through them. Everything was in a dark haze as if black smoke was surrounding them.
Samantha felt the bus start to pick up speed and heard the familiar sound of tyre on gravel and knew they were leaving the school. Samantha felt for her bag and dug out her pen and paper. She flicked towards a page and started to write. Samantha noted in her book each turn they made and for approximately how long. She hoped this would give them some guidance as to where they ended up. There were numerous twists and turns and more concerningly there was a stretch they travelled on for quite some time at a high speed. Samantha calculated that they had travelled west from their original destination. She had a couple of nervous moments, where she noticed the Green Jacket turn and seem to look straight at her. She thought she would be spotted, that he would notice the difference. He never did, or Samantha pondered, never mentioned it.
Eventually, the bus came to stop and she heard the Green Jacket speak. “We have arrived. You can now remove your goggles.” Samantha quickly took off her goggles and put them in her bag before any of her group noticed that she had cheated.
She looked around, through the murky windows of the minibus. They were surrounded by fields on either side. They had pulled into a side lay by on the road, which looked like a large single carriageway. It was impossible to ascertain their location based on their surroundings. “The time is fifteen hundred hours and thirty minutes. You have one hour to return to base. Now disembark.” They each disembarked the bus and stood awkwardly at the side of the road. They stood around looking at each other in confusion as if awaiting further instructions. They didn’t receive any and watched as the minibus sped away in the opposite direction that it came.
Samantha looked around at everyone in her group she watched as Ross decided to take the lead. “We need to start moving, we can discuss it on the way. We came from this way.”
They looked around at each other, hoping someone would come up with a better idea. Only silence ensued and they started walking back the way they had come. Samantha ran to the front of the group and stood with Ross. “I made a note of each turn we made.” She handed him her notepad of doodlings. She watched as Ross scrutinised every detail contained within it.
“Good. That’s a start. Has anyone got any cash on them?”
There was an awkward silence as if no-one wanted to give up their cash. Mohammed cautiously said, “I’ve got a tenner.”
Gracia then said, “same here.”
Bethany looked at them both. “How did you manage that?”
Mohammed winked at her “I always keep a tenner in my sock just in case.”
Gracia nodded and said “Same but somewhere else for me.” Gracia and Bethany laughed.
Ross then turned to them and glared at them, as if he was startled by the sudden upturn in spirits. “Right. We need to keep moving as quickly as we can and as soon as we are on a public road get a taxi to as far as we can get. If we cut across the fields we can get there quicker.”
Samantha quickened her pace to catch up with him and she climbed over the fence. “Can we do that? It seems like cheating?”
Ross snapped. “If you were listening, they said “by any means” no such thing as cheating in this game.” Samantha slowed down her pace to hold back for the others. She was never more grateful to be wearing her tatty trainers, others weren’t so fortunate. Samantha looked down and noticed that Elizabeth and David, in particular, had concentrated more on the look of black shiny shoes that didn’t look particularly comfortable for a walk across the fields.
In places, the field they walked across was more like a swamp and Samantha could feel her shoes sinking and getting sucked into the mud. Each time she lifted her foot up, more mud seemed to be stuck to her trainer, weighing it down. She heard a high pitched scream behind. She turned quickly and saw Elizabeth on her hands in knees covered in mud. She seemed stuck. Her black shiny shoes which only just covered the tops of her feet and got stuck. Samantha ran back with Tina to help her. They had just got hold of her arms to lift her out when Ross shouted back to them. “We keep moving.”
Tina, with her curly brown hair and red-rimmed glasses, shouted back “We can’t leave her here. We have to help her.”
Ross shouted. “We need to keep moving. If we don’t we are wasting time and we will all fail.”
Samantha hoisted Elizabeth but she didn’t move. “We’ll catch you up.” Ross never replied, he just turned and carried on. Bethany, Mohammed, Miles and Rowan followed him. The rest held back and helped. They each tugged Elizabeth using her arms to try and get her out of the ditch. In a way, the whole scenario reminded Samantha of a nature programme she had watched when an elephant got stuck in the ditch. They worked together to help, one person grabbed each arm and another person grabbed each leg and pulled. First Elizabeth’s left foot was released and then as they tugged her right leg her shoe came off and they heard a yell “Ahhhh!” Samantha watched as Elizabeth’s right ankle came out of the mud at an irregular angle. Elizabeth sat on the field holding her right ankle. Samantha knelt down to her and felt her ankle. Elizabeth let out a yelp. Samantha released her ankle.“Can you move your toes?”
The answer was short and stubborn. “No.”
Samantha stood up shivering. Her cold, damp clothes clung to her skin. She waited for Elizabeth and Ross to stand up and they walked back into the hall, leaving wet footprints behind them. Samantha turned around but could not see the remainder of their group.
Samantha entered the school through the same doors she had entered at the start of the day. She could feel herself shivering and knew that if she didn’t dry off she would at the very least get a cold that she wouldn’t be able to shift. Samantha looked at the main reception desk and followed a sign for the nearest toilets. She noticed the floor was covered in wet footprints and felt some comfort in knowing that they were all in the same boat.
Samantha entered the door with a woman on and went inside to dry herself under the hand dryers. The toilets were full of other people who were in the same predicament. Samantha decided that she would try and find somewhere else to get dry. She turned to leave when she heard a voice.
“Samantha? I thought I recognised you.” She turned around and saw Carly. Inside Samantha thought that Carly Bright was the least person she wanted to see right now. “You got soaked too I see.”
Samantha turned and said, “yeah someone had to.”
She turned around to leave when she heard, “Samantha? Where are you going?”
Samantha replied, “it's too crowded in here. I’m going to try and find somewhere else.”
Samantha turned and walked away, leaving the bathroom. She could hear the trudge of the wet footsteps behind her and knew that she was being followed by Carly and her three new friends. Samantha decided that she would carry on walking, pretending that she didn’t know they were following her. She felt like she was at school again, ignoring the bullies as she tried to go to lessons.
She walked up the grand staircase which was behind the reception desk. It had a red carpet and a gold bannister. Halfway up the staircase was a large mirror. Samantha looked at herself, she looked like a drowned rat. In the reflection, she could see Carly and her friends. Carly was fixated on her, her face not showing any emotion except intent. The three friends were giggling next to her.
Samantha reached the top of the staircase and started opening random doors in the hope of seeing the familiar female sign on one of them. She guessed that she had around ten minutes before the next talk started, judging by how long they had taken in the last challenge. Eventually, she saw the familiar sign for a toilet and went inside and jogged towards the hand dryer. The warm blasts of air on her cold skin made her skin tingle. She started to regain the feeling in her feet. She had barely been under the hand dryer one minute when Carly entered.
“It’s our turn now Samantha.”
Samantha shivered. “Just a minute and I’ll pass it over.” She spoke through chattering teeth, Samantha huddled under the dryer, trying to dry the wet t-shirt that clung to her skin. The next thing she felt was two sets of arms pulling her back and onto the bathroom floor. Samantha landed on her backside with a loud thud that sent a jolt through her spine. The base of her spine felt numb with pain as did her wrists which she had put out to sustain the impact.
Carly looked over her with an amused look on her face. Samantha instantly felt like an awkward teenager once again. “Sorry Samantha, but let's face it, you're not going to get the part. Why would they want an unemployed single person like you? You may as well give the people who actually have a chance the dryer. Besides the wet dog look suits you.”
Samantha desperately tried to think of an amusing or insulting reply but the pain in her back made her mind fill with fog and so she sat, on a floor covered in piss with her mouth open like a goldfish. Samantha heard them cackle as they stepped over her towards the dryer. Samantha stood up, trying to regain her little dignity and tried to claw her way through them towards the dryer but the person at the back pushed her away. She sighed and realised it was no use. She turned to walk towards the door and thought about just returning to the hall when she felt a shove in her back and her face bashed into the door. She felt a blinding flash of pain and felt the warm blood run down her face coming from her nose. She looked at the floor through her involuntary tears in her eyes and saw the blood dripping from her nose onto the floor. It took her a minute to regain her thoughts and when she did, she grabbed the handle and walked out.
Samantha sat on the top step of the staircase, stemming the flow of blood from her nose with her sleeve. She looked in the mirror opposite and saw herself looking wet, bedraggled and bloody. She looked like she had been in a fight and lost magnificently. Samantha stared at herself in the mirror and wondered what she was doing here. Samantha thought perhaps Carly was right, she might be a cow and a bully but perhaps there was some truth in what she said. As Samantha rung her hair and watched as her hair dripped onto the expensive plush red carpet. She felt as low as she did after being fired. Samantha felt the urge to have a drink rise and decided that at that moment, this experience wasn’t for her. Samantha surmised that she had probably failed the test anyway, she knew she had got several of the questions wrong and thought that her group had likely failed to unlock the other members of their team in time. Therefore on the balance of probabilities, she had failed two out of three tests. That realisation made her mind up and she proceeded to walk down the stairs and towards the main exit. Each step felt weighed down and heavy as if the burden of failure had weighed down her physical and mental state,
Samantha stood at the main entrance and saw the last group enter, looking equally as wet and bedraggled. However, Samantha felt there was a key difference, they looked happy. As if they were enjoying the experience, Samantha thought that this was telling, that it was a sign that this wasn’t for her.
Samantha approached the desk and waited for someone to appear behind the desk so that she could collect her phone and leave. She heard Mike’s voice and turned around to see him laughing and joking with the group. She turned around in haste, hoping that he hadn’t spotted her.
“You look wet,” he said and laughed. She turned to face him but quickly turned back to avoid him looking at the bloody mess of her face.
Samantha replied, “don’t.” Mike put his hand under her chin, cupping it gently. He gently manoeuvred her head towards him. She could have resisted, but her head complied and she looked into his eyes. He looked at her and she saw his eyebrows frown.
“Where are you going, Samantha?” He surveyed her and stared at the red marks under her nose. Samantha could feel that her nose was getting larger and her face puffy. “More importantly, what happened to your face?”
She sighed and avoided the question, not wanting to sound childish.“I don’t belong here, Mike. You do. This is your kind of world not mine. I’m going home.” She turned her face around releasing his gentle grip.
She saw out of the corner of her eye, Mike lean of the desk and he whispered close to her ear. “Have you seen this group, Samantha? In my group, there is a cleaner, a librarian, a physicist and a student. How do you not fit in? Don’t you see? None of us does and that is the point. There is only one challenge left anyway. May as well stay and get it over with. Can’t be any worse surely?” He smiled at her. Samantha looked at the reception desk, then at Mike and said “OK. One more challenge, then I’m out of here.”
“Great,” Mike replied. “To throw in a sweetener, I’ll give you a lift back to London if you do.” He tapped the desk and walked back into the hall. She stared at the desk, hoping someone would appear but no-one came. She decided that she may as well hear about the next challenge. Samantha knew that deep down, despite the odds being stacked against her, a big part of her wanted or hoped to hear a reason to stay.
Samantha made her way back to the hall, she thought she saw someone out of the corner of her eye watching her. She looked towards the staircase but saw no-one. Had Samantha looked towards the entrance she would have seen that someone was indeed watching her with great interest. Stood in the corner of the room, with their arms folded and a slight frown on their face.
18.
Samantha made her way across the hallway and into the grand hall. Samantha took an empty seat at the back of the hall. Scott was already waiting on the podium and Samantha noticed that the man she knew as Brady was stood next to him. She looked at him up and down and felt herself assessing his physique. She realised she was staring at him. His focus was on the back of the hall, deep in thought.
When the hall was quiet, barely a murmur to be heard, Scott started to speak. “Right then,” He paused, waited for the few murmurs to quieten. “Now that the final few have decided to join us, I will fill you in on your third and final challenge. In the car park, there are ten minibuses that will transport each group to a different location within thirty minutes of this location. You will be required to find your own way back here, by whatever means, within one hour. There are no rules as to how you get back, as long as you do within the time. Oh, and you will each be blindfolded on the journey there to make it a bit more challenging. Gather up your things and make your way to the relevant bus, each has the number of your group on the front. Good luck.”
As Scott left, there was a rumble of conversation as people discussed the challenge ahead. Samantha gathered her bag and joined the slow shuffle out of the hall towards the main entrance. On the way out, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. She saw Mike and said, “well that doesn’t sound very feasible.”
Mike replied, “not if you walk.”
Samantha looked at him puzzled. “How can you get back otherwise? No money, no phone.”
“Well, that is the challenge after all isn’t it” Mike replied. They walked out of the main entrance and towards the car park where, as promised, ten minibuses were lined up, each with a number on the front. Mike turned to her and said “Good luck and see you back here yeah?”
Samantha replied “hopefully. If I don’t end up stuck in a ditch somewhere!”
Mike started walking to the right, towards the bus numbered 10 and said, “oh and Sam.” Samantha stopped still and turned around. It was the first time he had called her Sam and she was surprised that didn’t actually mind. She normally only allowed her close friends and family to call her that. However, with all they have been through, Samantha thought it felt natural. “I’m glad you stayed.” She felt her face flush a hint of pink. She looked at her shoes and mumbled “thanks” and walked towards the bus numbered 6.
As Samantha boarded the bus, she could see that Ross, Gracia and David were already on the bus. She sat in the seat next to David. Samantha considered the exchange that had just happened with Mike. She wasn’t sure if he was just being friendly or if he was insinuating that his affections for her ran deeper. She started to feel her face flush at the thought. Mike wasn’t her usual type but he had an air of self-confidence that was attractive.
Samantha’s train of thought was broken as the rest of her group came on the bus. Elizabeth was last on and sat parallel to her. “Thanks for earlier Samantha. You saved us from failing that challenge.”
Samantha turned to her and said “no problem.”
“I’m Elizabeth by the way.” She stuck out her hand and Samantha turned to shake her hand. As Samantha offered her hand out, she saw Elizabeth's’ face twisted in disgust. Samantha recalled her appearance and faced the front of the bus in haste.
“What happened to your face?” Elizabeth asked.
Just as Samantha was about to reply with a lie she had just thought of, she watched as a ‘Green Jacket’ walked on. She could only see the outline of his jaw under the cap because she was sat down. She thought he looked vaguely familiar. He spoke and Samantha was surprised that the voice wasn’t as menacing as she expected. It was surprisingly soft. “Hello, group six. The time is now fifteen hundred hours and we are ready to depart.” Samantha heard the rumble of the engine kicking in and felt the slight rumble run through her body as the engine started. They slowly started to move and Samantha watched as they followed the bus numbered 5 out of the main entrance. As they were driving down the gravel path, the man in the green jacket came around and handed them all a thick pair of black goggles. Samantha had hoped for a thin blindfold, so she could see through the flimsy material but these were thick plastic goggles that fastened around the back of her head. Samantha thought that whoever had arranged this day had not spared any expense.
She suddenly realised that she had an opportunity to get an advantage. She was handed her goggles and watched as the Green Jacket walked to the front of the minibus. This was her chance while his back was turned. She dived into her bag and got out the swimming goggles she had used earlier. She put them on and put the black goggles in her bag. She could see through them. Everything was in a dark haze as if black smoke was surrounding them.
Samantha felt the bus start to pick up speed and heard the familiar sound of tyre on gravel and knew they were leaving the school. Samantha felt for her bag and dug out her pen and paper. She flicked towards a page and started to write. Samantha noted in her book each turn they made and for approximately how long. She hoped this would give them some guidance as to where they ended up. There were numerous twists and turns and more concerningly there was a stretch they travelled on for quite some time at a high speed. Samantha calculated that they had travelled west from their original destination. She had a couple of nervous moments, where she noticed the Green Jacket turn and seem to look straight at her. She thought she would be spotted, that he would notice the difference. He never did, or Samantha pondered, never mentioned it.
Eventually, the bus came to stop and she heard the Green Jacket speak. “We have arrived. You can now remove your goggles.” Samantha quickly took off her goggles and put them in her bag before any of her group noticed that she had cheated.
She looked around, through the murky windows of the minibus. They were surrounded by fields on either side. They had pulled into a side lay by on the road, which looked like a large single carriageway. It was impossible to ascertain their location based on their surroundings. “The time is fifteen hundred hours and thirty minutes. You have one hour to return to base. Now disembark.” They each disembarked the bus and stood awkwardly at the side of the road. They stood around looking at each other in confusion as if awaiting further instructions. They didn’t receive any and watched as the minibus sped away in the opposite direction that it came.
Samantha looked around at everyone in her group she watched as Ross decided to take the lead. “We need to start moving, we can discuss it on the way. We came from this way.”
They looked around at each other, hoping someone would come up with a better idea. Only silence ensued and they started walking back the way they had come. Samantha ran to the front of the group and stood with Ross. “I made a note of each turn we made.” She handed him her notepad of doodlings. She watched as Ross scrutinised every detail contained within it.
“Good. That’s a start. Has anyone got any cash on them?”
There was an awkward silence as if no-one wanted to give up their cash. Mohammed cautiously said, “I’ve got a tenner.”
Gracia then said, “same here.”
Bethany looked at them both. “How did you manage that?”
Mohammed winked at her “I always keep a tenner in my sock just in case.”
Gracia nodded and said “Same but somewhere else for me.” Gracia and Bethany laughed.
Ross then turned to them and glared at them, as if he was startled by the sudden upturn in spirits. “Right. We need to keep moving as quickly as we can and as soon as we are on a public road get a taxi to as far as we can get. If we cut across the fields we can get there quicker.”
Samantha quickened her pace to catch up with him and she climbed over the fence. “Can we do that? It seems like cheating?”
Ross snapped. “If you were listening, they said “by any means” no such thing as cheating in this game.” Samantha slowed down her pace to hold back for the others. She was never more grateful to be wearing her tatty trainers, others weren’t so fortunate. Samantha looked down and noticed that Elizabeth and David, in particular, had concentrated more on the look of black shiny shoes that didn’t look particularly comfortable for a walk across the fields.
In places, the field they walked across was more like a swamp and Samantha could feel her shoes sinking and getting sucked into the mud. Each time she lifted her foot up, more mud seemed to be stuck to her trainer, weighing it down. She heard a high pitched scream behind. She turned quickly and saw Elizabeth on her hands in knees covered in mud. She seemed stuck. Her black shiny shoes which only just covered the tops of her feet and got stuck. Samantha ran back with Tina to help her. They had just got hold of her arms to lift her out when Ross shouted back to them. “We keep moving.”
Tina, with her curly brown hair and red-rimmed glasses, shouted back “We can’t leave her here. We have to help her.”
Ross shouted. “We need to keep moving. If we don’t we are wasting time and we will all fail.”
Samantha hoisted Elizabeth but she didn’t move. “We’ll catch you up.” Ross never replied, he just turned and carried on. Bethany, Mohammed, Miles and Rowan followed him. The rest held back and helped. They each tugged Elizabeth using her arms to try and get her out of the ditch. In a way, the whole scenario reminded Samantha of a nature programme she had watched when an elephant got stuck in the ditch. They worked together to help, one person grabbed each arm and another person grabbed each leg and pulled. First Elizabeth’s left foot was released and then as they tugged her right leg her shoe came off and they heard a yell “Ahhhh!” Samantha watched as Elizabeth’s right ankle came out of the mud at an irregular angle. Elizabeth sat on the field holding her right ankle. Samantha knelt down to her and felt her ankle. Elizabeth let out a yelp. Samantha released her ankle.“Can you move your toes?”
