Apple

Chapter 19

Anguis

.  .  .

Today was the eighth of April; I was so tired to the point that I never thought that this day would ever come. If you're wondering why, it is because this day marks the last day in Apple's competition, yes ladies and gentlemen; today is the last day of my stay here in hell.

But I was worried, so worried that I couldn't sleep at night -- which is unusual since I slept like a baby ever since I arrived here -- worried because I have no idea of what I am going to do when I get out of here, worried because there is a possibility that they unveil my disguise if Mr. and Mrs. Raymond decide to appear again (the real ones if you know what I mean).

But what worried me the most is the fact that this day held my father's part in this competition. I put two and two together with all what happened lately regarding my father's crew issue, which led to me thinking that every one of my father's friends had a role in this thing. Deliberately speaking though, it was the only logical explanation I could come up with, because why would all of my father's friends' specialization pop up in his competition? Whether it be from a Psychiatrist, a lung physician, an Optical doctor, a cardiologist, a GI or even a pharmacist; if they weren't up to no good.

The latter though, was the reason behind my dilemma, because if my father was the mastermind behind all of this lunatic-ness (If this was even a word), than sure as hell he left the worst part all for himself. And with what I witnessed so far and knowing that the worst is yet to come, did nothing to calm me down. He could have volcanoes burping up acidic chemicals for all that I know. But if the rest of my teammates survived it, then sure as hell I can too.

But surviving Apple was the least of my problems at hand, I surely got a lot on my plate, but the fact that I could get thrown to jail along with my sweet Maple if my father heard of any of this wasn't helping either.

So here I was, sitting on the end of my bed, waiting for the clock to hit seven AM so I could go and see the destiny that awaits me. I was neither mentally nor physically ready for this, but I'm going to do what I have to, anyways. But of course, my skeptical part of a brain didn't let it slip like that. No, there was the overthinking, the 'It's not like I'm going to win anyways' part too, the 'I'm way too far ahead and Maple is no help too'. All that was there, but by the time the Clock finally hit seven, the only organ I could feel working was my heart, beating extra fast that I felt that I'm going to explode; I even almost fell in a failed attempt to stand up.

There goes nothing.....

When I finally got into the elevator, everybody was already inside; I looked over at where Maple was and nodded over to her, then met her halfway with a bear-hug. "I'm so damn tired..." I whispered in her ear.

She took a step back and met my gaze, then with the lowest voice she could muster -- which wasn't that low considering it is Maple we're talking about -- she said:

"Don't worry Adam, I got it all taped." I smiled over at her, the plan might not be going so good so far, but at least we have footage of what happened inside, not only will everyone turn their heads the other way from Freddie, but it will also give us a good cash that I won't need to rely on my father on money again, It's a win-win case for me over and over again.

I'm not usually this rude, but this is half what my father put me through, that's the least I could do, vendetta and all.

"Good luck, honey." I said as the elevator door opened for us to get out. She patted my back as we both went separate ways.

The moment I stepped out into the arena, a feeling of uncertainty filled me at once. Something wasn't right, my gut was telling me so, and one thing I learned throughout my years is to listen to it. I mean, if it can help me pass all my tests then it sure can feel the wrong in situations like these. The place was all black, not a single light was in there, if it wasn't for the elevator's light it would have been pitch black. But it would go off sooner or later.