cruel summer | ray hall [panic]

chapter 10

chapter 10 - TRAPS

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The feeling of adrenaline ran high as the Panic competitors were gathered in a circle, each of them equally anxious for the next challenge to begin. Grace glanced around the group as she listened to Diggins recite the cryptic instructions:

"Time flies, so fly like the crow, to reap future treasures from wars long ago, take one of these tokens along when you leave, and send proof in pictures by midnight to me- Ray, can you please stop that?" Diggins cut himself off to yell at Ray who had been flashing a flashlight in Diggins' face for seemingly no reason.

Ray defensively put his hands up as to apologize, but the smirk on his face seemed far from sorry. Grace shifted her eyes toward him, and let herself smile the smallest bit, slightly amused at Ray's antics. She hadn't seen him since the last challenge when the police had shown up, and she was surprisingly relieved that he had managed to not get caught after she had separated from him.

When Troy had asked for a translation of the riddle, Summer quickly explained that they needed to steal something. Diggins was left slightly defeated as he had meant for the players to have to solve the riddle on their own, but Grace was happy. One less thing to worry about.

"Uh, so we have to go in-inside the house?" Drew slightly stuttered.

"Illegal entry...," Heather quietly explained.

"It happens every year," Grace added, now grateful for Natalie's lessons.

"Hmm, students become the masters?" quizzed Natalie, obviously proud of her teaching abilities, and the girls exchanged playful smiles.

As Diggins continued to explain the challenge, Grace found her eyes wandering towards Ray, though he was whispering to Adam about something Grace couldn't hear. She wondered what they were discussing. Their plans for the challenge probably. Grace allowed her mind to wander slightly, and she wondered how it might feel if Ray was whispering to her. His lips, inches from her ear... But her attention was brought fully back to Diggins when he revealed some unfortunate news for her. "... And 'cause we didn't complete the last challenge, the judges decided it was unfair to award or deduct any points based-"

"Wait, how is that fair?" Grace argued, cutting Diggins off. She was now fully and attentive and immensely angered by the decision of the judges. "Some of us actually had to cross." There had only been a handful of players who ended up crossing, and Grace was one of them.

"Yeah, not all of us," stated Natalie, who seemed pleased by the decision, but the girl's content demeanor only made Grace more upset. She would have thought that Natalie would understand Grace's anger instead of pushing it aside.

Ray angrily stepped in too, saying, "Yeah, I had to cross, Diggins." His eyes flashed toward Grace then, feeling slightly bad for her as well. With their eyes meeting for a second, Grace couldn't help but remember the moment they had shared after Grace's crossing, with their bodies touching, only layers of clothes and a railing between them.