The Shrink Program

Chapter 90

"Score: Ninety-six runs!"

"Hey, I'm the umpire here!"

"Geez, relax."

"No! You people go back to work!"

A huge crowd of supervisors had gathered around the cricket field, cheering and cursing as each hit was made.

The Dragonfly team stood to the side, cheering ecstatically for their final member as they came closer to finally winning their first game since my arrival.

"So. Hungry." I whispered as I hunched over panting.

The edges of my vision were starting to get a little hazy.... the only thing that kept me standing was the fact that I would have to wait until lunch to eat if I fainted.

My teammates weren't much better off.

Around the same time that I had snapped and gotten serious, the fielding Grasshoppers had finally found their inner cricket.

The game had stretched out an entire hour, with every member going flat out to catch the bear's insane hits.

Hunger had taken its toll on me, and my throws were getting slower as the game wore on... but the bear remained just as strong. Even though he had been playing in a heavy costume

In fact... I don't know whether it was the suit or what.... but the bear looked as cheerful and fresh as when he first began.

That, among many things, made him the ultimate foe.

Not only was the bear good with the bat, but he was also clever, changing tactics every time the fielders shifted.

As hard as it was for me to admit, this guy was on the verge of depriving me of my breakfast entirely.

"Damn. Looks like I'm going to lose my money this time around." One of the Supervisors murmured from the crowd.

"You should just surrender now Garmen! Your grasshoppers are no match for my Dragonfly King!" Havoc cheered, looking happier than anyone else in the room.

"Nonsense. You haven't won yet." Garmen snapped, but the stress in his tone only made Havoc snicker.

I needed to end this. Now.

Or no breakfast for me.

I stared at the bear where he stood, silent and waiting for me to ball.

What could I do?

From the darkest, coldest place of my mind came an old memory. An ancient secret.

The crowd fell silent as I began to chuckle, as one naturally does when they finally lose the plot.

Please reconsider, it might literally kill him. My mind pleaded.

Do it. My stomach commanded.

I stood back up from my hunched position, laughing wildly at this point.

"Oops, looks like we broke her." Havoc whispered to Garmen. "Do you think we're going to get in trouble for this?"

"Not we, Havoc. If anyone asks, it was entirely your fault."

"Hey! I..."

They both shut up instantly when the keeper behind the stumps suddenly leapt to the side with a startled cry.

The ball was next seen rolling to a stop near the edge of the field.

"Damn. I missed." I said, voice dead of emotion.

Everyone slowly turned their gaze to me, particularly my empty hand.

"I didn't even see her move," Garmen whispered.

"Damn it." Havoc agreed, tears in his eyes. "I was so close."

Stiff as a zombie, I straightened my posture, holding my hand up for someone to throw the ball back to me.

"I promised my father that I would never use this technique on another living human being again," I told the bear, a manic smile on my face. "Then again.... he's not here to see me, now is he?"

The ball was thrown back, and I shifted into position. "This is what I like to call the Break a leg Technique."

I crossed the pitch in an instant, letting the ball fly with all my strength.

Even though the bear saw it coming, he couldn't quite move fast enough to make a clean hit of it and ended up hitting the ball on an awkward angle.

The ball shot directly up.

I didn't hesitate.

Instead of stopping at the end of my throw, I sprinted forward. The ball came hurtling back down to earth, having travelled up and down in almost a straight line.

Unfortunately, this left the frozen bear directly in the way.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

I didn't slow down, running at the bear at full speed.

If there is an obstacle in the way.

By the time the bear noticed me, it was too late.

Use it.

I jumped at the bear, burying my knees into its chest and using the added hight to boost myself up into the air. I reached up, catching the ball one-handedly as the force of my body slammed us both down into the pitch.

Straddling the fallen bear, I stared at the ball in my hand for a second, then for added measure, I reached over to touch it to the stumps.

The crowd went wild.

"Maddison! You can't specky people in cricket!" Garmen cried in horror over the sound of people cheering.

"Listen Garmen." Havoc clapped a solemn hand on the taller Supervisor's shoulder. "When people do something that awesome, you just shut up and accept defeat."

The blue-haired man seemed to be taking his own advice, as he didn't try to point out the fact that what I had done was beyond just breaking the rules. "This is your win buddy."

Garmen sighed, his strict nature wanting not to accept this sort of victory. "Fine. We ran out of time ages ago anyway."

I wanted to cry.

Wait for me Sweet breakfast, Soon we will be together.

A muffled noise from below drew my attention to the fact that I was still straddling the dude in the bear costume.

I blushed and was about to stutter out an apology when I realised that the bear was shaking beneath me, and the sound of muffled laughter was coming out of the suit.

"Ha... I should have known.... you'd do something like that."

I gaped at the bear, speechless. I had suspected it before, but now I knew.

I had been driven mad by hunger.

Because that voice couldn't possibly be coming from a bear costume in the middle of the shrink program facility. It just couldn't.

The pawed hands reached up, even as the bear continued to chuckle, and gently removed the head of the suit.

"Wow, it was hot in there! Good thing you beat me when you did Maddison, or I might have perished!"

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I had to bite my lip to keep it from trembling. I clutched at the bear costume, suddenly unable to breathe.

"What are you doing here, idiot?" I half sobbed.

Nigel grinned up at me, golden eyes innocent.

"You didn't think I'd leave in here all alone, did you, Maddison?"