And Then There Was One

What they didn't know (And the main advantage that Number 1 felt that he had over them) was that The Slide punished trailers. The Slide was coming up soon. And if The Slide didn't get them, The Wall would. The Wall speeds up after The Slide, and The Course becomes an all out mad dash to the finish from then on. Starting there, it’s every man for himself. May the best man win.

And that man will be Number 1.

The sound of The Wall steadily grew as they approached The Chasm. Soon after, it would become excruciating, almost unbearable. The faster that they worked to overcome the current obstacle, the farther The Wall would be from them. And no one wanted to be close to the wall.

The Chasm, as Number 1 had remembered, was a deep swath chiseled into The Trail. The bottom of The Chasm was lined with jagged spikes, acid, or some other deadly substance, and the only way across was a bridge that operated on a simple system of balance. Put too much weight on either end, and the bridge flips, dumping you right onto certain death below. Put too much weight on the other, and vice versa. You get the picture.

This obstacle would take a lot of teamwork...and even more trust.

Number 2 was the first onto the bridge, with Number 1 close behind. On the jaunt to The Chasm the current plan was made. Number 1 and 2 would be the first onto the bridge, with Number 3 and 4 lurking (again) behind in order to even out the balance. Once 1 and 2 were across, 3 and 4 would make a mad dash towards the end. 1 and 2 would provide assistance if necessary (or applicable).

Reading about The Chasm was nothing like experiencing it. Number 1 found this out almost immediately upon stepping onto The Bridge. You could not see the (death) at the bottom, but you knew that it was there. The bottom of The Chasm was purposefully fogged out in order to increase suspense in The Players. The Bridge was lubricated, no doubt to induce a heartbreaking slip at exactly the wrong time. And the ever-growing sound of the approaching Wall steadily increased with every footstep.

Number 1 ran a few yards behind Number 2. The weight was spread more evenly this way, and made the chance of one stumbling the other even slimmer. There was no sabotage in The Game; any instances of non-teamwork were immediately rewarded with a quick trip to The Wall. And nobody wanted that. Anything but The Wall.

The end of The Chasm was closer than one may have thought...perhaps three-quarters the length of a football field. However, for The Contestants currently navigating it, it seemed like the length of ten, perhaps longer. The bridge seemed to shudder with every step (Do we weigh more than they do?), and every step brought forth a sense of dread. And still, the Wall seemed to be getting closer.

...with every step...

Number 1 crossed onto solid ground, mere seconds after Number 2 (The gap closed considerably during the run). His first instinct was to run forward, away from the gruesome sound of the ever approaching Wall. However, teamwork was vital to survival, and Number 1 turned around to greet the other two contestants. Ready to help, if necessary.

The sight was disheartening. While Number 3 was keeping a steady pace towards safety, Number 4 was having quite a bit of trouble with his balance. He had already stumbled once, and was in dreadful danger of slipping right off at this very moment.