I have heard of the amazing stories of how regular people become one of the most legendary people of all time, but I never expected that one of those people would be me. I’m pretty much a normal guy, sorta. Being only seventeen, it’s hard to believe that I’ve been taking care of myself for ten years now. I don’t know anything of my mom and dad. In fact, I don’t even know who they are. For as long as I can remember, I have lived on the streets. At times, I struggled to just survive. Frequent storms rampaged, innocent lives were snuffed out, and sewers and garbage cans with unbearable smells were experienced daily. Each day was merely a challenge to make it through the next day. I endured much to make it this far, but that’s a story for another time.
Right now, I’m in my “house.” Even though I have lived here for ten years, I still refer to it as a house. Calling this place home would not feel right. There is a huge distinction between a house and a home. A house is just the physical location of a place that satisfies the basic needs of a human being such as food, water, and shelter. A home is the place in the heart where all the memories are created. So, this place is my house. There is nothing fancy about it. A few cardboard boxes, some water bottles, a couple of stolen sandwiches, and several stacks of newspaper might be below standard, but, hey, at least it’s comfortable. Living in the streets is super boring now. The same old scenario happens over and over again. I wish there was some sort of adventure just waiting to pop out.
Since I am running out of food, it is time to steal more at Walmart. As I enter the building, I begin to plan the foods I will soon take. I take my first steps into the fruit section when I hear, “BAM! BAM! BAM!” What is that? An explosion? Falling shelves? More burglars? It turns out that I’m not crazy because other people are on the ground freaking out. I want to find out what happened, so I creep slowly to the source. When I catch sight of the origin of the noises, I cannot believe my eyes. A group of twelve people, all dressed in evil black and intense red with some sort of sunglasses, are the ones who caused the noises. Man, just their appearance makes my skin crawl. Frozen in utter terror, I watch as the black and red are in control of the situation now. No one even dares to move because of their terrifying aura. In order to not fall victim and remain unseen, I stay completely still because my life may be on the line. A brave man makes a desperate attempt to flee through the exit, but little does he know that this will become his final move. One of the black and red notices the man’s futile effort and decides to prevent his pathetic escape. Out of nowhere, the black and red man takes a ten foot long sword and hurls it at the unfortunate man. The weapons astonishingly split in two, both parts heading straight for vital spots of his anatomy. With a traumatizing scream, the man is thrust forward as one part of the sword penetrates his skull, perfectly slicing it in one move, and the other part of the sword enters his heart, piercing it with perfect, deadly accuracy. No one dared to move. No one even dared to breathe. It seemed like these twelve people were looking for something, because they were searching all over the place. After they seemed to be finished, the man who killed the innocent man made an announcement.
“The time has come, mortal humans. My name, for all you imbeciles, is Fritz Applewhaite. Remember the name clearly, or else you’ll end up like that dead man over there, got it?”
I tried to keep in mind that ridiculous name, but I couldn’t. All I could make out was that part in his last name. Darn it, what was it again…Banana? Orange? Pineapple? No, it was Apple! Apple…um…something! I really wanted an apple too. Sigh, oh well.
As he continued, “We are known as S.O.D.A., the Secret Organization of Deadly Assault. We will be taking some of you measly insects as out test experiments. Trying to escape will only result in a slow, painful death to which I see fit. Now…which idiots here will we take…”
As that Mr. Freak Show, also known as Mr. Fritz Apple, was picking up several people, I prayed to myself that I would just stay here. Please don’t pick me, please don’t pick me, please don’t pick me. Of course, with all my luck, Mr. Apple decided to take me along. A group of twenty people, including myself, were selected.
As Fritz finished his preparations, he concluded with, “Now, those of you who were luckily chosen by me, come outside right away.”
Before I left Walmart, I asked him, “Um…Mr. Fritz? Before we leave and all, could I grab some apples? Your name reminded me of it, and I’m sorta hungry.”
He just rolled his eyes. “Fine, go get your stupid apples, and make it quick! You’re lucky that I’m in a good mood, or I would’ve taken your head gladly. Now, hurry up”!
I thought to myself, “Geez, you call that not in a “bad mood”? I’d love to see when you are in one. Sheesh.” As I rapidly collected several apples in order to avoid my head from being chopped off, I dashed outside the exit. Now, the next few moments would change my life forever. The other people didn’t exactly die, but it did look like they were knocked out by those black and red guys. And I was the only one left. Uh-oh. Before I even had the chance to do anything, Fritz teleported right in front of me by his magic powers. He knocked the wind right out of me, and I was out like a night light. There was nothing I could do. Well, there was nothing I could do. And before I actually passed out, I heard those S.O.D.A. guys mumble about something. One word managed to slip into my ear. “Kidnapped.”

Black became the only color that registered into my eyes. I couldn’t open them as if they were trapped shut. I had this happen to me several times before. When it was time to wake up, my eyes wouldn’t open. I wanted them to open, but I just couldn’t. It was as if my body became useless. All hope was lost. I simply died once again. However, someone proved me wrong because water shot up through my nose. Apparently, someone splashed water to wake me up. So was I dreaming? As I finished coughing and began to calm down, there existed a new change of scenery. I was trapped in some sort of prison with three other people. The other people were in different prison cells around me. Five cells with four people each. Great. I finally saw the man who doused me to that water.

“Um…h-he-hello, e-ev-everyone. I-I’m C-Cre-Crescent La-Lawch-Lawchosky. I w-was ordered” as he continued stuttering, “to wake everyone up. I am sorry if you are mad. Please, do not be. I am sorry.”

What was up with this guy? He acted practically the opposite of Fritz. Fritz is so mean and demanding, a little rude too. This guy, Crescent Moon or something, has zero self-confidence. He’s unsure of everything and likes to say “sorry” a lot. Man, what is up with S.O.D.A. and their weird names. The reason why I think he’s from S.O.D.A. is because of his black and red clothing long with the sunglasses. And he does look familiar from that time at Walmart. One of the other people from another cell began to complain.

“So when are we going to get out of here?! I would love to go back home!

Crescent replied with “Um, I am sorry. I do not know the answer to your question. My task that I was given was to monitor everyone in here. Please forgive me. There is nothing I can do. I am sorry.”

I was already tired of this guy. Just shut up already. Please. I suddenly realized something. My apples! Where did they go? I had them with me all this time…unless those guys took it.

I asked politely, “Mr. Crescent, sir? You by any chance still have my apples?”

It took him a few moments to recognize the situation. “Um…oh! I am sorry. When everyone was not really moving at all back at that place of Walmart”, meaning when everyone was unconscious, “Fritz handed those apples to me. Some of my kind decided to eat some, and I did the same. I also call them my brothers because they take care of me. There are only four apples left in this bag. Would you still like the rest? I am sorry.”

I was pretty much done with his obnoxious behavior, so I just simply nodded for Crescent to hand me back my apples. These were my apples! No one should have even touched them! At this point, I was too depressed to even care anymore. Why did Fritz have to choose me? I never wanted this to happen. Well, I did say I wanted an adventure, but this wasn’t what I had in mind. I just wanted to steal some food and return on with my miserable life. I don’t even know where I am anymore.

I noticed the people who were with me in the prison looking at me. I just assumed they, too, wanted my freaking apples because the words “give me an apple” was written all over their face.

“What? You guys want my apples too?” As they nodded and I didn’t really care anymore, I gave each person an apple. “Well, all right, here you go. Bet you that you’re glad I’m around, huh?”

I meant to say that as a joke, but apparently they did not find that to be funny at all, not single laugh. They just simply munched and munched and munched on my apples that I generously gave them. When they were finished, however, each of them nodded as to give thanks. Now, I became content. I was not, however, content due to the fact that I only had one apple left. Oh, well. Better than nothing, I suppose. Just then, I heard an enormous crash. Were we being under attack? What was going on? Crescent assured us that everything was fine and that no one had to panic.

“Stay calm, my butt!” one of the people yelled. “Let me out of here, so I can figure out what in the world is going in!” But Crescent repeatedly told him there was nothing to worry about. As this meaningless conversation lasted for a million hours, those crashes started to become more frequent and much louder. Yep, everything was going fine.

“Train”, said one of my teammates. Well, I guess they’re my teammates now because we were in the same prison. Don’t judge me.

“Huh?” I replied in a confused voice.

She repeated the same word. “Train.”

“What about a train?” I questioned.

“We…on…train.” He repeated.

“Uh, how do you know that? You have some powers or something?”

“Apple…power…me…I know…we on…train…apple give…power.”

Okay (lengthen)…apparently my apple gave my teammate some sort of special power to know where we were. I wonder if my other apples gave the other two some sort of power like his. But before I could even ask, Mr. Crescent and that other man’s conversation gradually transformed into a full-fledged battle. They were basically screaming at each other. I never realized Mr. Moon could be so hostile. Crescent soon became tired of the nonsense and decided to close his eyes. He put his hands on his hands and hummed.

The man ranted, “Oh what are you doing now, ignor- wh-what are you doing?! My body feels like it’s on fire! Oh my go- stop! Please stop! My bo-“

Before he could finish, one by one, his body parts exploded into a million pieces. As the bits and pieces flew everywhere to smithereens, I could hear the noise of the body parts landing on the wall, gushing out the gore and blood. One millions hours for one million body parts. Just when the worst was over, everything in that jail lit on fire. The other three, burning to their deaths, made a desperate attempt to find an escape. There wasn’t any. Seconds, minutes, hours of bloody-filled screams, and there was nothing we could do. Even though everyone watched as the poor three lives burned to their demises, I thought to myself how amazingly beautiful the flames flickered. How could something so dangerous be so breathtaking? The last bit of flames finally extinguished, and all that remained was the sizzling dirty some and the sight of burnt black skeletons. Then, Crescent snapped back to his old self.

“Oops…did I do that? Um, I did not mean to. Really, I did not. It was…an accident. I am sorry. Please, do not be mad at me…”

Then, he started to cry. Great, another one of those freak shows. But no one had the guts to say anything, because I doubted anyone wanted to turn into the next barbeque meal. So now, we needed a plan of action. I even forgot about the crashes that now apparently developed to the size of earthquakes. I just kept thinking and thinking, forming a plan in my mind.
So, I asked one of my other teammates, “Well, what’s your power, if you have any?”
He took several moments to comprehend my words and slapped his hands together. Nothing happened, literally. I looked around, and no one as well as nothing was moving. Looks like this guy could control time itself.
“Nice” I told him.
He smiled and nodded, and I turned to a little boy. “And you?” I asked. Before she could respond, a voice was heard overhead.
“The train is going to explode in ten seconds due to a mountain blocking the path. Ten…nine…eight…”
As the stupid machine counted down, everyone started to freak out except for my team, who was relatively calm. Why weren’t they freaking out?! My teammate who knew where we were with her powers pointed down and said “hole”.
“Four…three…two…” as the machine continued.
Without thinking, I grabbed the other three and jumped out into our only hope. No chance of turning back now. The good was that we managed to escape the explosion by the slightest hair. The bad news was that, now, we were falling over a hundred feet in the sky! Of course, the mountain! It was only afterwards that we weren’t obviously on ground level. Stupid idiot robot machine for not telling us anything until the last minute. And the next, as well as the last, thing I knew was that the four of us were going to plummet onto the ground, at a very high speed, in only a matter of treasured, precious minutes.

The feeling of free-falling at eighty miles per hour became an intense, incredible feeling. It was like being on the highest point on a roller coaster, where eyes look down that high. Now, magnitude that feeling one-hundred times. That’s how I’m feeling right now, only I’m falling to my inevitable death. With more expected surprises along the way, my teammate who could control time slapped his hands together. Everything became in slow motion…except for the four of us. What I meant was that we could still move at a normal speed, it’s just we weren’t falling quite so fast. Looks like everyone here managed to survive from death for the second time in a row now. As we got closer to what I hope is sold ground, the atmosphere became colder. Snow. Wait, what? Did I say snow? I really hope I don’t freeze to death in…wherever we were. At least, we finally descended on the sweet, sweet ground. Man, I never thought I would miss the ground so much. And all of us survived! What a relief that was. As usual, I checked my surroundings. This place looked like we were in some type of city. The only question was…which one? Then I noticed the people. Hordes and hordes of human beings conquered practically every sidewalk. Every sidewalk consisted of then people, so that was a ton of people. Big, flashy signs illuminated across the whole town, and that’s where I got my answer. Bolded colors of yellow, red, and purple that read “NEW YORK CITY: HOME TO THE LIFE OF THE EXCITEMENT” nearly gave my eyes a good seizure, because that sign rapidly flashed words to the point where my body started to faint. Glad to know where out location was before I passed out…again. I just hope I would be alive when I woke up, that is, if I ever will. So, I woke up. Turns out I was sleeping on a couch. My three teammates were watching over me. Location Guy started off with “hotel”. Better than being frozen to death out in that terrible weather. It took me a while to figure out which part of the hotel we were in. After my drowsiness faded away, I made the guess that we were in the lobby. I got up back on my feet and headed straight to the exit as the others followed. It was so strange what happened earlier because I don’t pass out from flashy signs. I never do. Anyways, I had no idea where we were going. Maybe picking up some supplies or something? I don’t know. While we headed for some place, any place, no one was talking. Well, in my group, that is. The other hundreds of people in New York chattered among themselves. So I made the attempt to begin one with my fellow teammates, because I didn’t want to keep hearing snow crushing on the ground. Oh yeah…forgot there was snow.

“So…” I began, “What are your names? Y’all got one, right?”

The three looked at each other nervously. All of them nodded in agreement as if they just had a telepathic conversation. Location Guy started first.

“Name’s Philips, Pamela Philips. A lot of people call me Pam, even though I told them it was Pamela.” She scoffed. “Idiotic humans. However, there’s one nickname I’m quite fond of and enjoy – Pamantha. So you can either call me Pamela or Pamantha. Call me Pam, and I’ll beat you to a pulp, ‘kay kid?”

I could honestly say that my head just nodded. I thought to myself, “Gee, what a nice guy…well, girl.” Her short height, blond hair, and blue eyes made her look so innocent, but I already knew she was as tough as a warrior, a fighter, a crusader, a hero. Huh, would you look at that. Looks like we got ourselves a strong-willed female character. Nice.
Time Guy then took the stage. “Hmm, let’s see, what should I say…well, for starters, I’m called Slantel Biserick. Don’t you just love my name? It’s so cool! Anyways, I’m pretty much a laid-back guy. I don’t really like to do anything. Well, you see, I do, I just don’t like to do work. Eh, not really my style. What else…oh yeah, I like to eat. Food’s good for the stomach. You, uh, by any chance got any?”
Well, don’t we have a cool guy here? I can already tell that he’s pretty much unmotivated. Well, you can bait him with food, but that pretty much is it. Tall, brown hair, and green eyes. Not a bad combination. He’s pretty lazy, but he’s pretty cool.
Last but not last, there was the fourth member, a mere kid. I know nothing about him. I didn’t even get to see his power. I waited for a response, but silence filled the chilly winds.
“Well, are you going to introduce yourself?” I asked.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, she’s a mute”, Pam explained. Oops, Pamela. “Her other senses still work, just not her voice.
“Oh”, I mumbled. Wait, “she”? Did she just say “she”? This guy is actually a girl?! Wow, what a tomboy. With her kid-size short height, red hair, and mysteriously yellow eyes, she’s a bit timid. Even though with snow falling, this kid was shivering, as if she was scared.
“Do any of you know her name?” I asked.
“Melissa Shrizletboard”, the both of replied simultaneously.
“Um, how do you know that?”
“Well, we’re family.” Pamela announced. “I, of course, am the oldest. My younger brother, Slantel, is the next, and Melissa’s the youngest one of all.”
“That’s really cool.” I thought to myself. At least they’re all related to each other. All three siblings managed to stay together back in the prison cell. Talk about lucky.
“Oh!” I suddenly remembered. “Melissa ate the apple, right? I know she can’t talk, but do any of you know?”
Slantel hummed, “Hmm…I’ll ask.” Before I could even ask how, he replied with “ultimate seeing”.
“Uh, Slantel, how do you know that…another one of your powers?” I asked.
“Well, yeah,” he replied. “We each got our own powers, remember? Sis got exact location, I got time control, and other sis got ultimate seeing. Mel told me that see can see through buildings, walls, objects, you name it. She also said she can see really, really far. Like, really far. Like, really. Oh yeah, and as an added bonus, the three of us can communicate with our minds. Yup, telepathy. It’s sorta, uh, our family…trait? I guess you can call it that. And our other powers we got…I really don’t know. Must’ve been your apples? But seriously, don’t you think our telepathy skills are super awesome? You know want it, I know you do!”
As my jaw opened in awe, Slantel kept bragging and laughing away, as Pamela rolled her eyes and sighed with arms crossed, and a little Melissa smiling at the whole thing. As we were walking around the town, I completely forgot what we were doing. Since the weather was really starting to get colder, we needed a place to go.
“Come on guys.” I said. “Let’s grab something to eat. After that, we’ll get some supplies at a store, and we need to find a place to sleep for the night.
“Oo, oo, oo!” Slantel whined, “Let me choose, please, please, please!”
Before I could even say anything, he led the way. Sheesh, talk about impatient.
“Is your brother always like this?” I asked.
“Yep, always”, Pamela replied like she was asked this question over a million times.
When Slantel found a place, we were at McDonalds. The fast food place was relatively packed. When it was our turn to order, Slantel was first, obviously.
“Three Big Macs, four large fries, two large Cokes, and six apple pies, please! Oh, and a McFlurry on the house!” Man, could he eat. I wonder how he managed to stay skinny.
Pamela was next. “Oh, just a salad with water, that’s all.
I guess it was my turn. “Um, twelve chicken nuggets, medium fries, and a medium Dr. Pepper?”
Since Melissa couldn’t speak, Pamela ordered for her place. “The kid wants a Happy Meal with one of those toy cars and a small chocolate milk. And we’re done.”
After our cashier finished our order, the price came out to be $36.76. Uh-oh. The idea never occurred to me that I never had any money! How did I get my apples then? Oh, that’s right. I stole them. Never mind. Anyways, how were we going to pay for this?”
“I already paid you.” Pamela said to the cashier.
“Um, no you didn’t, you haven’t pa-.” The cashier was in some sort of trance, and Pam snapped her fingers. “Oh…yes you did. Sorry about that. Thank you for choosing McDonalds, and your order will be here shortly.”
As I pondered how she did that, Pamela just simply smiled.
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Not only am I able to know where we are precisely, I can also manipulate others at my will. Cruel, yes, I know but it does suit my tastes.”
We found a few available seats and began eating. Everyone was eating normally…except for Slantel. He ate like a non-stopping machine. The food was practically vacuuming inside his mouth. Pamela slapped him on his head.
“Wow, what do you think you’re doing. You do realize we’re in a public place, right?”
Slantel didn’t reply, but he did eat slower. Man, this girl has some superiority.
“And what about you?” Pam inquired.
“Me?” I asked. “Um, I eating normally…I think? Do you want me to eat slower?”
“No, you idiot!”, she indicated. “Tell us about you! We gave our introductions. Don’t you think you should do the same?”
“Oh! Sorry,” I apologized. “I’m William Huynh. Don’t call me Will, or I’ll kick your butt. Um, you know my appearance already. Average height, black hair, and brown eyes. I don’t have a family power like y’all do. Dang, I still haven’t eaten my apple yet. Oh well. I don’t think I need it right now, but I’m keeping it just in case. And…I guess that’s it.” No one was really paying any attention because they were finishing up their meal. Slantel was somehow on his last item, the dessert, and somehow, the McFlurry ended up everywhere on him. His shirt, his pants, even his hair.
“Eeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww”, Slantel expressed. Pamela got some napkins and did her best to clean him up. I just looked at his messy appearance. Man, I can’t stand anything sticky anywhere on my skin. Soda, candy, sweets, nothing of the sort. Since we were pretty much down eating, I asked for a refill before heading out.
“All right, satisfied stomachs and a bird’s nest in a hair, check.” I said.
Everyone giggled except for Slantel. He only grunted.
“Next is…”, as I searched the nearest store, “Walmart! But let’s hurry on this one. I don’t want to experience the same thing last time.”
As we adventured through the store, I asked “So…what exactly are we buying?”
“Let’s buy some essential things. Melissa says she wants to sleep in a hotel tonight, so stuff like shampoo, toothbrushes, and cereal.
“And I call the shower first!” Slantel added. “I need to wash my hair now. Let’s make this quick.”
As everyone laughed at his remark, I thought of a neat idea.
“Well, since we’re in a hurry, why don’t we split up then? I requested.
“I call picking out the toothbrushes!” Slantel replied as he dashed to the dental aisles.
“Mel and I will get some cleaning supplies. You know, soap, shampoo, all that jazz. Um, why don’t you buy some cereal and some extra food? We’ll meet back here, okay?”
As everyone parted their separate ways, I decided to choose cereal first. I learned in some life management class back in school that you get cold foods last. I collected what everyone needed as well as what I wanted. When everyone returned, we started to check out. I was going to ask how Slantel managed to find the meet spot, but I just remembered they could communicate with each other in their minds. As our items were placed in the grocery bag, everyone decided to grab a little bit more than what we actually needed. Slantel got the requested toothbrushes, some toys, and a pack of chewing gum. The ladies picked out the shampoo and soap, bubbles for showering, lipstick, and a bunch of other women-like items. I got Lucky Charms, milk, a loaf of bread, cheese, ham, and four different flavors of ice cream. As Pamela did her magic and collected our items, there was still a question to be answered.
“Well, Mel wanted a hotel, but…which one?” Pamela asked.
“Why not the one we were in when I fainted? Seems like a nice place.” I requested.
Everyone agreed, and we began walking back to the hotel we were in earlier in the day. We requested only one room since we didn’t want to go back and forth for cereal or soap. Plus, I was going to sleep right here on the floor any minute. As the receptionist gave us our key, we headed inside the elevator and searched for Room 4001. We found our room and opened the door, Slantel rushed to the bathroom. Guess he wasn’t kidding when he said he was going to use it first. We put the items on a table, and I crashed on the couch. Pamela turned on the television to watch some weather forecast, and Melissa just started outside. At least everyone, I hoped, was relaxing now. Boy, were we in for a surprise.
As Slantel just finished coming out of the bathroom, the air suddenly felt a lot hotter. A black and red colored gas spewed from the vent. Was it poison? I don’t think so. No one was coughing. Everyone appeared to be fine. But, as expected, I spoke too soon. When this gas came in contact with us, it looked like everyone passed out. And, in every situation like this, I just so happen to be the last person for anything. As I saw Pamela, Slantel, and Melissa knocked out on the ground, it was my turn as well. It’s kind of ironic when I think about it. I was resting my eyes, only to be awakened by a gas that knocked me right back to sleep. Huh.
And the next thing I knew was that I woke up. I woke up tied to a chair. I woke up from a sound. I wasn’t in my hotel room. This place didn’t come close looking like a hotel at all. I can tell you right now, the sound I heard was not pleasant. My stomach wanted to throw up for me. The smell was horrendous as well. Dead carcasses of human bodies littered the room. Every area of the floor flooded enormous amounts of blood, probably from those bodies. I could hear their blood dripping on the floor as their heads were pieced by sharp hooks. And the sound I heard was a woman screaming for her dear life as her body was being chopped up by what sounded like a chainsaw. After her death-filled shrieks ended, as well as her life, I could hear footsteps coming closer and closer to my direction. My heart was racing, my mind was spinning, my sweat was trickling down on my face. The chainsaw started again, so I assumed there was a person using it.
The footsteps arrived closer and the chainsaw approached louder. The footsteps arrived closer and the chainsaw approached louder.

I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all. With every second passing along the way, the chainsaw man took one step at a time slowly in my direction. My arms and legs were tied with some type of rope to the chair, and I finally got to see his appearance. With the black and red clothing, it was safe to assume I met my third S.O.D.A. member. His nature is, indeed, quite disturbing. The millions of scars all over on his body just go to show the countless lives this guy slaughtered. His clothes, even though colored red, soaked blood to the last inch. Even the blood stains were dripping on the ground. His hair was tied into a ball-like structure. And you know those people that use chopsticks or something to hold their hair together? Well, this guy used a knife. And his eyes? I couldn’t even describe the rest. I just couldn’t. While pressure decided to get to me, I almost screamed for help until a guy beat me to it. Being tied to this chair, I had limited movement abilities, meaning there was no way I could turn back to see what was happening.
“Now, now, worry shall you not. There is no need for any screaming.”

Oh man, his voice. Why did it sound so nice, so relaxing, so soothing? He’s a freaking serial killer, and he can do that?! I kid you not, my sanity meter left me here by myself to deal with this psycho lunatic.
“Before I kill you, I should probably introduce myself”, he continued. “My name is Max Thumper. I am a professional doctor, so I know what I am doing. If you have any questions before your death, please feel free to ask.”
Nothing but the smell of dead bodies filled the air with that horrible smell. After a few moments, Max concluded with “Well, if there are no questions to be answered, then I shall give you a moment until it is time.” With the valuable time remaining, I needed a plan to escape leave this place and fast. Trust me, I didn’t want to be the next person in line for that chainsaw. I don’t think anyone would! Well…maybe except for Max.
“All right”, he grinned at last, “your time is up.”
And with that, the next few moments would never be the same again. Somehow, I managed to locate a mirror that allowed me to examine everything in the back, but I didn’t want see anything. Max started up the chainsaw and began with the man’s left leg. Pieces of guts flew everywhere, and blood splattered all over the place, including on the back of my shirt. The blood fell like rain falling from the sky. This feeling of blood coming into contact to the skin just gave me sheer twitches. His screaming to no end didn’t help either. Mr. Thumper only sighed, as if he did this all the time, which is probably true.
“I do not understand why they always scream when I am enjoying my work. You see these marks? I inflicted these scars by myself because it feels nice. What do you humans call it…pain? Oh, that’s right. Pain. Pain is an enjoyable experience. Pain rather gives unhealthy cravings for more and more. Oh, and I like humming. Humming is fun. Humming and pain at the same time are quite rewarding. So, as you can tell-“
Max Thumper never got to finish. The one-legged person, probably out of sheer rage, managed to snatch the chainsaw out of Max’s hands. With another intense scream, the chainsaw pierced Mr. Thumper’s head completely. At first, nothing happened, just more agonizing noises from the man. Soon afterwards, a red mark started to form around the neck, and blood started oozing out as it shot out through several places. Then his head started to open slowly. And finally, the head became severed to Max’s body, and a popping noise was heard. Max’s body fell to the floor. Leaving a trail of blood, the head rolled over toward my direction. It just so happen that the head stopped right in front of me. Even though his eyes remained open, I could’ve sworn they were looking straight at me. And if that wasn’t creepy enough Max casually formed a playful smile on his face. Oh, this was only the beginning. The worst wasn’t even over. Max’s body stood up by itself. The body, squirting out even more and more blood, headed straight for its head. The arms reattached the head back to its own body. Blood started to secede, and Max Thumper was as good as new. Great, a S.O.D.A. member who can’t die.
“Ouch, that hurt”, Max replied. “Looks like someone wants to play! I’ll tell you what. Since you decided to kill me, you gain the pleasure of experiencing the same thing! I believe in “an eye for an eye”. Oh, this will be so much fun, will it not? And since I am quite the nice doctor, if I do say so myself, I am going to give you something that will knock you out. Since pain is experienced negatively for you, this should be a nice thing. Okay, let’s finish this.”

In one of Max’s pockets held a sealed test tube with some type of chemical. As he opened the top of the tube, a gas was released. Thankfully, this chemical didn’t flow in my direction. I’m guessing that the other guy smelled this strange substance because as he inhaled it deeply, he passed out. Once again, the chainsaw started up and began its torture. Thumper sawed the other leg about three-fourths the way off while humming. He combined two of his favorite hobbies together. There was a reason why the leg didn’t come completely off. Max placed his chainsaw on the ground and pulled the limb in the slowest way possible to get as much blood squirting out. As the leg slowly tore apart, I could hear his bones cracking into so many pieces as well his muscles tearing, shredding like paper. Plenty of guts slid down, squishing on the bloody floor. I already felt a sense of dizziness because of the excessive amount of blood just piling out of the guy’s body. The arms were next. Max attached the victim’s arms to hold some type of handle. Max pushed a button and, immediately, the arms were severed apart from the body. The arms headed straight for the ceiling. At the top contained lawnmowers facing down so that when I looked up, I could see the bottom of the lawnmowers. As both arms reached the ceiling, it got sliced into a million pieces. While the body parts flew everywhere, so did the blood, and the rain of blood started to rain all over the place.
“Oh, what a nice surprise. Red rain”, Max acknowledged.
By this time, the victim was completely drenched in his own blood. Max picked up his chainsaw once again and sliced the head in half, disemboweling down all the way to where the legs once were. The head started to open, and I could see a brain cut into two parts. The brain also splattered blood in all directions. The body then started to tear, and both parts fell out of the chair. Max attached each body part to a ring. Each ring was attached to a rope. Each rope was attached to the ceiling. Max pushed the button, and the ropes came flying up. Remembered what happened to his arms? Now, imagine that a hundred times bloodier and gory. With all this blood, I might as well end up taking a bath, a blood bath. As the lawnmowers stopped, Max hummed to himself. Taking out a clipboard from his coat, he mumbled “Patient number two-hundred and ninety-nine, check. Checkup complete!” Max began walking towards a different room until he noticed me shivering. Oh gosh, I hope I don’t die.
As Mr. Thumper turned over to my direction, he simply stated “My, my, looks like we have a visitor. Where did you come from? Ah, never mind that. I will untie you, and you come with me, all right?”
As Max undid the ropes, I followed his instructions. If I attempted to escape, he’ll probably have that chainsaw ready to chop me into tiny pieces, and I didn’t want that. I entered the new room, and the other room I was just in was nothing compared to this one. Hundreds of people were screaming, crying out for their lives. Weapons like swords, crossbows, flamethrowers, and plenty others could be seen just about everywhere. Aside from all the gruesome events, I found Pamela, Slantel, and Melissa all unharmed! None of them saw me however because they were probably unconscious. Guess I just woke up earlier. I know this was weird, especially at this time, but the bottom of my body started to hurt. Then I realized that I was sitting on my apple this whole time, and I was surprised that I still had it this entire time. Anyways, there was some sort of line and I was the second one in the front, and behind me included my team. Max snapped his fingers, and some wheel appeared while everyone in the room watched in dead silence.
“Ladies and gentlemen”, Max announced, “this here is my special Spinner Wheel. As you can see, the Wheel is divided into ten sections, and every section has a picture. When the Spinner Wheel turns and eventually stops, the picture that has been selected will show you how your death happens. For example, if the Wheel stops on this flame, you will be simply microwaved to death. With this picture of a fish, you will be covered with raw meat and become eaten by hungry piranhas. And if the Wheel stops on this rubber band, you will be stretched by numerous ones until you die. So that is how the Spinner Wheel works! And, since you are the first person in line, you get to spin the Wheel first!
We all watched in pure terror as the guy began spinning that torture device. Shortly afterwards, his choice landed on words “HA HA HA!”
“Oh, you chose an interesting one!” Max began to explain. “With this one, some devices shall tickle you…until you die! Very well, if you would be so kind as to step down from here and come right this way. Oh, and if anyone does tries to escape…that person will be immediately executed.”
Max took this unfortunate man into the old room. Everyone began to quiet down to hear everything in the other room. Sure enough, the man started to laugh. And for a few moments, laughter lingered on, and then…dead silence. The lawnmowers started up again, and I already knew what was going to happen next. I just simply closed my eyes.
As Max came back to our room, he told us “I treated three-hundred people! What a fantastic treat this is! Now, for the next person, considering whether or not you live on this spin, you might just get out of here alive. Go ahead and spin. If you die, well that is self-explanatory. If you survive, I will give you details for your escape.”
So, there’s a chance for survival, huh? A huge weight suddenly lifted off of my shoulders, knowing now that I could possibly live! I examined all the labels again – a flame, fish, laughter, lightning, rocks, a mouth, a pit, scissors, spikes, and a sad face. None of these choices looked appealing at all. With one huge breath, I spun to what was going to either end or save my life. The wheel started to slow down. The wheel started to slow down even more. And then the wheel finally stopped. I witnessed my fateful choice. Among the ten options chosen, the wheel stopped at…at the sad face. I saw Max’s own face, and his smile turned into what was on the Spinner Wheel. Did I make it then? He let out a rather depressing sigh.
“The frowning face is an indication for me. It is telling me to feel what you humans would call “sadness”. It looks like I will have to let you live now.” Carrying out another sigh, Max continued, “Such a shame. I was looking forward in giving you a checkup. Well, since you managed to survive, here is your reward. I am only doing this because I love the number three so much. See, I only let people go if three-hundred people have been examined and checked out. Now, choose three people here to escape with you.
“I already knew the three I was going to choose. With buckets of blood lying around, I spilled the blood all over their clothes, causing them to wake up. Max handed each of us a bracelet to wear. After we attached this bracelet to our hand, it snapped onto our skin.
“Now, this will determine your escaping skills,” Max continued. “Cover a distance of three miles away from this warehouse within three minutes, and the bracelets will crumble. If not…well, I hope you like turning into stone. The time will begin as soon as a foot is out of the exit. As for transportation, there is a vehicle outside. But hurry: that car is designated to explode after three minutes are up. Last but not least, head for the airport. Find Gateway Three and tell them “Three lives within me”. With those bracelets on now, I can instantly end your lives at any time if plans do not go according to plan. Oh, one last thing – good luck!”
And with that, Max continued with the Spinner Wheel once more. I dragged the four of us out of here as fast as I could. I never want to go here ever again. Just as we exited out the, heads were already flying out of the warehouse. I stepped out first, and our bracelets lit up. All right, time to get started.
“Nice work Slantel.” Pamela complimented.
“Hey, I try.” he replied back.
“Um, you guys want to explain what’s going on here?” I asked in a confused voice.
“Well, basically”, Slantel pointed out, “I just saved our butts. Remember that I control time? I made the Wheel stop on that sad face. And, phew, were you lucky. That face was actually the one that saved us. So yeah, no big deal.”
I was grateful and all, but we needed to get out of here. Now.
“Look Slantel, I’m extremely thankful that you saved all of our lives, but we to head to the airport fast. A minute already passed by, and I don’t want to be turned into stone!”
Slantel counterattacked with “Dude, calm down. What did I just tell you? I can control time. Have you already forgotten? I can slow down the timer for as long as we need to. Don’t worry.”
All I managed to say was “Slantel, you’re a genius.”
As he smiled, we started walking towards the car. There was one problem though. I didn’t know how to drive.
“So…” I asked, “Anyone know how to drive?”
“I do!” Slantel replied. “Pam and Mel can’t. Don’t know why, I guess they’re just scared.”
With that, Pamela gave him a good punch to the arm. Man, talk about sibling love. After a good hour to the airport, thanks to Slantel’s amazing power, we managed to arrive just in time. As all of us entered into one of the gateways, our bracelets crumbled and the car exploded, meaning we survived yet again! The security guards began to investigate the source of the noises, so we needed to find Gateway Three fast. Pamela managed to make people imagine all of our clothes weren’t covered up in blood, but I was finally pretty much grossed out. I made the request that it would be in our best interest to change into different clothes. As everyone nodded in agreement, we headed towards the clothing store. After changing into a nice fresh pair of clothes, we attempted to find our next destination.
“Mel, you’re a lifesaver!” Pam boasted. “Melissa just told me that Gateway Three is about fifty meters north of here. Isn’t this power of hers awesome?”
I just simply smiled. “Yes”, I thought in my mind, “yes it is.”
We began walking to our objective as I saw familiar faces headed in the same direction. I kept thinking and thinking where or how I remembered them before, but nothing managed to pop up in my head. The four of us finally reached the gateway, and we just so happen to be next in line for the Gateway.
“May I see your tickets?” the ticket agent requested.
I totally forgot to buy tickets! I desperately looked over to Pamela, and she nodded.
“We already showed you our tickets”, Pam replied.
We waited for a few moments, and the guy insisted, “No, you did not hand me any tickets. The only way to enter this airplane is through a ticket. You do have one, right?”
I had a feeling we were running out of time. What were we going to do? Oh yeah! I suddenly remembered Max’s words.
“You want tickets?” I asked. “We’ll, here you go. “Three lives within me.””
Pamela, Slantel, and Melissa just looked at me if I lost my mind, but I only smiled in return. Guess they were still a little bit blurry from the blood I spilled on them. I’m pretty sure they heard what Max told me. Anyways, this guy also had a confused look on this face.
Then, he announced, “Right. Your seats are 40A, 40B, 40C, and 40D.”
We entered the airplane and managed to find our seats. It was a miracle that we all sat together. I finally knew how I knew all these people. As I eavesdropped on someone’s conversation, I managed to hear “Crescent…bloody deaths…fire…explosion.” I couldn’t help but just join in.
“Excuse me”, I interrupted, “would you have happen to be on that train with Crescent Lawchosky when it decided to explode?”
She gave me a weird look. “Um, yeah. How do you know that? Were you on that train?”
This was just too perfect. “Yes, as a matter of fact! I didn’t know there were any other survivors!”
“Everyone survived”, she replied back. “I was talking to the other teams, and they all had fruits for their survival. My team had peaches, their team had kiwis, and that team had star fruits. What about yours? After I told her we had apples, she responded with “Oh cool, I’m guessing some guy threatened you to get to Gateway Three and onto this plane? Well, turns out we experienced the same situation. I only wonder where we’re going. Oh, it’s time to buckle up! Name’s Sarah, by the way. Nice talking to you, TA!”
“TA?” I questioned.
“Yeah”, Sarah replied, “it’s short for Team Apple.”
Team Apple, huh? Well, that does have a nice ring to it. As I fastened my seatbelt, I told my group what our name was. Pamela sighed as she shook her head in disappointment, Slantel turned his head sideways in a confused manner, and Melissa just giggled. All right, Team Apple is ready! Just as we got adjusted to our seats, the pilot spoke on the intercom.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Currently, it is 5:08 with a chilly fifty degrees. We have the perfect weather right now with no clouds, and the expected arrival time is nine hours and twenty-two minutes. Snacks and refreshments will be out shortly, and I hope everyone has a pleasant flight. Thank for choosing American Airlines for your trip to Russia.”

Okay, I don’t really know much about geography, but isn’t Russia, like, super cold? Let’s back track for a second here. How did we get to the airport? Max Thumper told us to. So, why would S.O.D.A. want us to travel to a place so…foreign? They must be up to something. I just only wonder what their plans could be. As I attempted to come up with a rational explanation, the intercom started up.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is your pilot speaking. If you look outside the window, you can see the Atlantic Ocean mixing in colors with the beautiful sunrise. I hope you enjoy viewing the scenery as much as you like swimming in it!” With maniacal laughs concluding the pilot’s speech, everyone began to panic.

Those oxygen masks fell down, indicating something serious was going on. I took plenty of airplane trips to know this was bad, real bad. The video screen turned on, and we saw some person with a hat. Since he was hysterically laughing to no end, this person was probably the psycho pilot. The camera zoomed into the guy’s hand, and he pressed a red button.

With that button pushed, everyone on that plane except for the people in the front had their seats removed. Everyone was falling out of a moving airplane. As most people screamed as if they only had a few minutes to live, my team only sighed. I’ve experienced so many of these situations that they just felt natural. Sometimes, I even had a little fun in the process.

To avoid a painful impact into the ocean, Slantel clapped his hands together to slow down time. Unfortunately, I couldn’t speak for the other teams, as they headed through the water face first. Ouch. Everything was in total chaos. People yelled at the top of their lungs, wondering what in the world just happened. Some managed to stay calm with a cool mind intact, while others didn’t know how to swim. Among the hysteria, I decided to count everyone. There were a total of sixteen people, meaning all four teams survived. As the airplane headed in a different direction, the cargo dropped in the back. Among the things dropped consisted sixteen suits designed for underwater along with oxygen tanks, eight flashlights, and four notes. I noticed something odd. The suits had a strange smell, like scented fruits. Then it hit me.

“Everyone!” I yelled. “These suits are for every member on your team”

“Oh yeah?! And how would you be able to know that!” one of the other teams replied.

“Just smell them. Since there are sixteen suits, divide them into four. Each group of suits has a unique scent. Smell that one there? It smells like an apple, so this one is ours.”

Everyone caught on and started claiming the fruit suits. Then everyone questioned the remains of the flashlights and notes. I explained what these items were for. Well, at least I hoped I was explaining what these items were actually for.

“All right, look. Since there are eight flashlights, each team should receive two. There are four notes, so each team only gets one.”

Somebody already acted quickly. “Hey, I can’t read this note!”

“That’s weird, I can’t read this note either, but I’m able to read yours.” It was Sarah who replied.

I wondered…did different notes contain different information for each team? Why? What was going to happen? We didn’t have to trade our note because ours was legible. As everyone began reading their papers, the airplane exploded. Everyone watched as smoke covered the sky black and the plane came crashing down through the ocean, causing an enormous splash. I didn’t pay much attention to what just happened, because I didn’t really care. I just kept continuing reading my note.

“Well, well. Looks like your escape skills helped overcome the challenge, and now, stage one is complete. I commend your team for that. Congratulations. Welcome to stage two. Let’s see how your survival skills are. At the back of this note is a button. Select one party member on your team as a representative. After four individuals have been chosen, all buttons must be pressed at the same time. This will start the time limit for twenty-four hours. Once everyone is underwater, a thick sheet of ice will cover the surface, meaning that there is no way out. Now for the task. Your objective within these dangerous waters is to find the underground base. Don’t worry, it’s not that hard to locate. But it is difficult to enter. The only way in is through a key but not just any key. Since you can obviously read this note, others are unable to. It’s the same with the keys. Team Star Fruit’s key is yellow, Team Kiwi’s key is green, Team Peach’s key is pink, and Team Apple’s key is red. These keys allow access to an entrance for the base…but not just any entrance. Each key will only unlock the entrance with the same color. For example, if there is a blue entrance, a blue key is required to unlock its entrance. To ensure measures that the correct entrance is opened by the correct key by the correct team, there is a code at the bottom of the note. Enter this code when the entrance is unlocked to officially enter the base. As for the flashlights, they will assist every team for the search of keys, as all keys are hidden carefully throughout the ocean. Oh, I almost forgot. You’re probably wondering when the oxygen tanks run out of air. There is a reason why the time limit is twenty-four hours. That’s when the supply of oxygen runs out. One day for searching, one day for air. Oh, did I mention the eels, sharks, lobsters, whales, piranhas, alligators, and water dragons here? These creatures can be pretty violent when provoked. Oh, one last thing before we leave…have fun!” At the bottom of the note read G69T54L71Q38.

I looked at everyone to make sure they were done reading, and each team already started putting on their suits. We decided to do the same as Team Apple chose me as its representative. After four people came together, we nodded in unison as four buttons were pressed down at the same time. The four teams headed down the unknown depths of the sea, and the ice covered the entire surface. We only had twenty-four hours to do this. I was freaking out already. Even though only a few minutes passed by, I felt we were short on time. I hate time limits. Not a moment too soon, I began hyperventilating.

“Dude, calm down.” Slantel requested.

“Interesting, we can talk underwater.” Pamela noticed. This was interesting indeed, how we can communicate under the sea.

“Slantel!” I demanded. “Use your power to slow time down, so we can have over five thousand days over the time limit!” I know this was a little bit extreme, but I didn’t care. I’m not going down here in this place without a fight, literally. I wasn’t going to just die and sink to the bottom of the ocean. No way. Not yet.

Slanted looked freaked out because…well, maybe not. I couldn’t see his face because of the goggles and mask covering it. He slapped his hands together, and we waited. I had no idea if Slantel’s power did the trick, so I asked Pamela to use hers.

“No can do. How odd…”

And then I turned to Melissa. She shook her head in decline. Was there a possibility that we were in some type of force field that disabled powers? Of course, the layer of ice! That would explain our situation. Slantel’s powers worked perfectly fine before we dived under the ocean. If we swim back to the top…we’ll just end up at a dead end. Never mind.

I couldn’t believe our situation. I’m not just gonna sit around, well, swim around the entire Atlantic Ocean looking for just a single key that might not even be the right one! As I continued complaining about this predicament, Pamela, Slantel, and Melissa already started searching without me.

“Later, William.” Pamela pointed out as they drifted farther and farther away. Jerks. Might as well do something about this. As I sighed in bitter defeat, I decided to catch up.

Even with everything turning out wrong as we traveled downwards, the sea was a breathtaking sight. Fish with shiny scales reflected majestic colors of radiant red, blissful blue, and playful purple as a school of rainbow fish moved freely in zigzags. Looking up to the sun, I could see its rays rippling through the waves, creating some amazing images. Sea creatures buried their bodies beneath the sand, forming a colossal cloud of dust. Even though our path was temporarily blocked by the blurry silt, the sight of sand particles slowly falling back to its place felt even a little artistic. Even the flowers captured my eyes. Passing through their territory, the flowers would shrivel up as if they were playing hide-and-seek. Wait for a few seconds, and the flowers would blossom into stunning life forms as the petals coasted effortlessly.

Not too far away was a “suspicious” sunken ship. I only say suspicious because in the movies, something creepy always lingers within the distance.

“Oo, this place looks pretty cool. Let’s check out this ship.” Slantel suggested.

“Are you crazy?” I protested. “Haven’t you seen any movie where scuba divers decide to explore some abandoned ship, and they happen to find, oh, I don’t know, eels…stingrays…or even sharks? And do you know where we’re going to…right now?” I practically emphasized every word.

It was his turn. “Um, someone’s a little bit paranoid? Movies aren’t exactly real. Well, they are, but they aren’t. You see, they sometimes make up information just to scare people. And I’ll doubt we’ll find any sharks or alligators or piranhas or whatever you said around here. You’re just freaking out way too much. This ship looks fun to explore. Plus, we might some treasure. Come on!”

I tried to talk him out of it, but he just wouldn’t listen. That Slantel and his brain of his, I just sometime wonder how the mechanism works. With the unwillingness to venture in the immersed death of despair, a certain someone determined to drag me all the way inside as Pamela and Melissa did absolutely nothing. I hate myself.

“You have to see it to believe it” should definitely quote this ship. This place was like a maze, surrounded by countless walls and doors. As we explored each door, Slantel obviously lead the way, followed by Pamela and Melissa, then me dead last in the back. As the four of us continued to search for a red key, I detected a strange noise. At first, I didn’t pay much attention because the noises were practically inaudible. Investigating through more and more doors, the noises could be heard even louder now. I had a bad feeling about this.

We finally search the entire ship with the exception of only one remaining. I started to freak out again, and I just had to say something because the sounds were coming to us…quickly.

“Guys, I think we should leave.”

“I second that.” Pamela agreed. “I hear some strange noises, and they’re headed over here.”


“Oh, come on, you big sissies!” Slantel complained. “We only have one more door to open. Just one. So don’t back out of me now. Plus, the noises aren’t even that-” An enormous shark, over twenty feet in length, rampaged through the ship, crashing and crushing everything in its path with some sharp, really sharp teeth. “Loud”, Slantel finished.

I knew this would happen. Did I not say that this would happen? I repeat the same thing over and over again, yet no one listens. Why. Why? I sometimes feel like I’m talking to a wall. I share my input, while nothing shares any output. And I don’t even talk that much either! I could go on for hours and hours about this stupid thing, but right now, I got my own problems to deal with. Trying not to die from shark bites and ranting at the same time is pretty difficult to do.

Coming up with a plan would really help right about now. Swimming away for our lives, I saw some broken pieces of wood lying around. As the shark opened its humongous mouth, in the attempt to tear my left arm to shreds, I quickly inserted a wooden plank in its mouth. I knew this strategy would soon fail, but at least my actions briefly disabled the shark from making its next moves.

“Get more wood!” I shouted. “It stops the shark from eating for a little bit, but we need all the time we can get!”

Pieces by pieces, crunches after crunches, we were running out of wood pretty fast. I desperately looked around for anything that would stop this beast. Ever since this wild goose chase, I noticed something shiny hidden in the sand. I asked if the others could cover for me, and they nodded, doing their best. Just as I expected, when I dusted off the sand, a huge metal pole with a sharp tip-like arrow appeared. This would definitely kill shark! However, this pole looked like three people needed to control it. Perfect. Three of us could hold on to this thing. But how were we going to stop the shark? It’s not like it’s going to stop if we asked. Then, I thought of an idea, a really risky idea. Three of us use this pole for the shark, while the other one becomes its bait. It’s worth a shot.

“Hey Slantel”, I called out, “you wanna play with the shark for a little bit?

“Um, what?” he replied.

“Since you got us in this mess, you might as well get us out. You’ll be the bait as Melissa, Pamela, and I will use that metal pole in the sand to shop the shark dead in its tracks.”

For a few moments, he hesitated. The only thing exciting happening was when we tried to escape from the jaws of our killer. Well, that wasn’t exciting, it was frightening, but at least the shark did something! Slantel didn’t even say a word. After what seemed like an eternity, Slantel agreed to do his part. We also had to hurry because I had a feeling we were running out of time.

As Slantel swam off in different directions, the rest of us got to work. I took the front of the pole, Melissa took the middle, and Pamela took the back to ensure a sort of balance.

“All right”, I began to explain, “When I give the signal, we charge this pole into the shark, okay?” As both of them nodded, we waited for an opening. Somehow, Slantel work up to the top of the ship. Perfect.

We waited. Slantel made another lap, and he was at one end, while the shark was at the other. We immediately started up our position. The pole was leaning, like a cannon ready to fire. The shark zoomed faster and faster, accelerating quickly. Wait for it. The shark came within vicinity of its bait. Okay, now it was our turn. As the shark came for its meal, I counted one…two…three. Just as the shark sunk its teeth into Slantel, I yelled “NOW!”

With three people generating an incredible amount of force, the metal pole pierced the bottom of the shark’s mouth. We didn’t stop there. Continuing to apply even more force, the pole slid all the way until the shark’s head cracked open until the pole reached the top of the ship. We did it. I couldn’t believe this planned worked. There was no time to celebrate just yet. We still needed to find the key. As the shark struggled to escape, blood started to mix with the water…as the same thing happened to Slantel.

“Slantel…” Pamela gasped.

“It’s not that bad, just a wound, a big shoulder wound. Besides, don’t worry about me. We still haven’t found the key!”

“You idiot!” Pamela snapped. “Now that you have an open wound, blood is starting to come out. With the scent of blood here, more sharks are bound to come, probably in packs too! You were stupid enough to allow yourself to become bait. You’re even more stupid for injuring yourself! Why do you have to be such a big idiot?!” I could’ve sworn if the shark didn’t make so much noise that we could’ve heard Pamela crying. I decided to step in.

“All right, look. Fighting’s not going to solve anything. We only have one more room to search, so let’s go.

Slantel took the liberty of opening the door, despite his condition. He started breathing heavier and made painful noises. This wasn’t good. We needed to find medical treatment fast. Open wounds in open water, not a good idea. As the four of us entered the room, we didn’t have to look any farther. On top of an ancient table included some silverware, some kind of potion, another note, and a really big, red fat key. We decided to read the note first.

“Well done, your team managed to make it this far. By the time this note is finished, the time limit will reduce to thirty minutes. However, you just completed stage two. Congratulations. Welcome to the third and final stage, where teamwork skills are put to the test. Now, this is when you’ll need flashlights. There’s a reason why I only gave two. Go ahead, take a look around. It is near completion to utter darkness, yes? Two of the team members will make great use of the flashlights, while the other two members will carry the key to the base. I deliberately made this key for two people, as it will be too heavy for only one person to carry. As for the flashlights, I’m sure you need all the light you can possibly get. Oh, one last thing before we part again. There’s a potion to temporarily stop the pain and bleeding. Drink it.”

After I finished the note, Slantel drank the potion to the last drop. Instantly, his wounds started to heal, and he started to move quicker. But this was only for a short period of time, so we needed to act quickly.

“All right, who’s going to carry what?” I questioned.

“This key’s pretty heavy. I’m pretty strong, so I’ll hold a part of the key. Mel should take control of one flashlight.” Pamela concluded. That left only the males.

“Slantel, I think you should carry the flashlight, and I’ll help Pamela. Even though your wounds are better, they might open again.” I suggested.

“Nah, it’s fine.” Slantel insisted.

“But really, you should-”

“I’m fine, honest. I’ll help my sis. Tell you what, if my wounds start up again, we’ll trade places, okay?”

I wanted to protest, but there was no time for that. I simply nodded, and everyone quickly departed the ship.

We came for a short distance and thankfully found the base. We we’re right next to the red door too. As Slantel and Pamela inserted the key into the lock, I heard something oddly familiar. I waved my flashlight to the source, and I spotted several specks. Could it be the other teams? As these dots approached closer, I could identify multiple tails, multiple fins, and multiple sets of teeth, really sharp teeth.

“Guys, hurry.” I demanded. “Some friends are back for some company.” The potion’s effects ceased, and Slantel started bleeding again. With a tempting scent now, dozens of sharks caught a sniff and started speeding towards our location at an alarming rate. Time for a new plan.

“All right, Slantel”, I commanded, “time to switch places.” He didn’t fight back. He started to moan even more. Hang on Slantel, we’re almost there.

Pamela and I got to work. We turned the key clockwise, and the door opened. Just in the nick of time, everyone moved in, and the door closed. Then, a loud noise pounded through. The sharks made an effort to break open, but all they could do was leave some nasty imprints on the door. As we approached the next door, a keypad full of numbers and letters appeared. I looked at the back of the note and typed our code. “TEAM APPLE: ACCESS GRANTED” flashed on the screen, and we headed through. As the door closed, the water started to drain. When the entire room emptied out all the water, we took off our suits. I’m assuming we made it within the time limit because our oxygen tanks still had a little bit left of oxygen remaining. The room functioned its way up, like an elevator. Its doors opened, and all of us stepped out. As the elevator closed behind us, it started to descend back down and magically disappeared. No turning back now.

I, as well as my other teammates, just stood there with eyes staring at something. Palm trees invaded the entire area. Sand, white sand, covered the entire floor. Water surrounded the entire place. We were standing on an island, stranded in the middle of nowhere.