"Hahahaha, this is too easy", Leroy laughed with the key in hand.

"The jobs not finished," Ryan replied, looking in the mirror and seeing a car behind them. "Can I have the key?" he asked, holding out his hand. Leroy didn't argue and gave him the key. Ryan put the key in his hoodie pocket.

"The first two locations were easy to ruin other people, but from what I've heard from this next location, there's not much that can be done. I'm guessing they didn't think two teams could arrive here at the same time", Ryan thought. He looked in the front mirror to look at the passengers in the back seat. "Adam hasn't done anything. He answered two riddles, and that's it; it looks like he's useless in team challenges. I might have to force him to do something against the team behind us".

Currently, Ryan's team is leading the race, with another team not too far behind them. Ryan's team reached location C. They all quickly got out of the car.

"Quick, climb the net!" Ryan ordered. As soon as they made their way to the gate, a car pulled up. He didn't look at who was in the car; he instantly made a break for it. Feeling the pressure, his team were briskly climbing the net. Others faster than others. Ryan wasn't looking back. He didn't want to, but he could feel that other people were climbing the net as it was shaking a lot. Adam and Leroy were already at the top before Ryan made it; now, they only needed Bri so they could open the door. They heard someone near the top of the net. Climbing. Ryan turned around and saw,

"What a surprise". Benjamin climbed onto the platform with a smile on his face.

Ryan's and Leroy's faces dropped. Frank also appeared behind Benjamin.

"What's going on? Aren't you gonna open the door?" Benjamin cheekily asked, pointing at the door, knowing he stopped them. Shortly after, more and more people climbed onto the platform. Eight people were now staring at each other, not knowing what to do. Two teams of four.

"Who's going to open the door?" Benjamin asked, breaking the silence.

"We got here first, so we should go first", Leroy condescendingly snapped back.

"Your whole team wasn't here when we came up", Benjamin shrugged.

Ryan sighed, "We won't get anywhere if we argue. The next team might come up if we aren't quick enough", he intervened before the argument continued.

"What are we going to do then?" Frank asked.

That was a good question because what were they going to do? Silence came next. All of them awkwardly looked at each other.

"Rock paper scissors. One round", Adam broke the silence. The first words he'd said since answering the riddles.

"What?" Leroy questioned, looking at him like he was crazy. "What kind of idea is that?".

"Let's do it", Ryan didn't hesitate holding out his hand, not wanting to waste time.

"Dude, you can't be serious", Leroy protested against this, but,

"We've got no choice", Ryan replied, visibly stressed.

Benjamin and Frank looked at each other; Frank nodded to indicate that Benjamin should do it.

"Okay, let's go", Benjamin said, stepping up. "Rock paper scissors shoot?" He asked.

"Yeah, one round", Ryan confirmed. "Adam, count us in", he said quickly.

Adam stepped forward, "Rock Paper Scissors Shoot".

Benjamin held rock. Ryan held out paper. Benjamin lost.

"Hah. Not as good as Malakai, are you?" Ryan mocked.

Benjamin wasn't salty. He smiled quietly and stepped back, allowing them to enter the circle. Good sportsmanship. "Go ahead", Benjamin gestured to the circle.

"Bri, hurry!" Leroy said, stepping into the circle and waving his hand at Bri. The whole team stood in the circle, which opened the door. Ryan and his team walked into the room, the room with five boxes. A game of rock-paper-scissors got them first place. Ryan smiled. It was that simple. He walked to the box with the number one on it and got the red key from his pocket. He held it up to unlock the box. The box was there. The box was in front of him. He blinked. The box was there. The box was in the corner of his left eye. Wait what?

"Huh". Ryan was falling. Falling? His right shoulder hit the floor. His glasses barely stayed on his face. Ryan turned his body and looked up. He saw Benjamin next to the box. Benjamin? Why was he here? Why is he unlocking the number one box? Wait, he's unlocking the number one box! Benjamin shoulder barged him. It all happened so quickly that it took Ryan a few moments to process what was happening. Ryan stood up and went for Benjamin, but he couldn't reach him. Something was stopping him. Frank Carter. The guy built like a bodyguard was blocking him. A six-foot-four wall was blocking him. Wait, it's a team challenge. Ryan isn't alone. Where was Leroy? Ryan turned his head and saw Leroy next to him.

"Huh". Frank was stopping Ryan and Leroy from reaching Benjamin. How? Frank was massive. He was using one arm to stop Ryan and one arm to stop Leroy. How is this even possible? Ryan was doing everything to move Frank, but he wouldn't budge. Same with Leroy, he tried grabbing Frank's arms and even kicked him, but it didn't do anything. Why? Bri wasn't involved, and she didn't want to be involved. She stood on the side and watched everything wide-eyed. How did this happen? When did that guy sneak into the room and barge Ryan to the floor? Bri felt helpless watching but felt it was best not to get involved. Meanwhile, Benjamin got the code and the map from the box without any problems.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"That was easy".

He turned around, only to find Adam. Adam was standing in front of Benjamin, blocking his path out.

Benjamin POV

He was weaker than I expected. I didn't mean to make him fall that far. Eh, who cares if he's hurt. I'm lucky I got Frank on my team. The guy is a beast; he's holding both of them back. Nice, I got the code and the map. Let's get out of here...

Shit! I forgot about him. What was his name? I don't think I've ever heard it. Was this guy on Ryan's team, too? Their team is pretty stacked. Is this guy going to fight me for the code? He doesn't look strong. He's got a weird vibe to him. He doesn't look scared, either. What look is he giving? He looks bored. I think I kinda understand what Malakai was feeling in the minigames. This guy is weird. Fuck. I can't show him I'm intimidated by him. I'm not, but I am a little. Is he waiting for me to make the first move? Is he wasting time for another team to come? There's no way Ryan and Leroy will get past Frank. Is he waiting for them to beat Frank? What should I do? Is this guy seriously in 1-E? I'm wasting too much time. I have to do something. Let me walk up to him. If he does anything, I should be able to handle it. I'm not weak. I'm not stronger than David, but I'm stronger than Lucas. Second strongest in my friend group. That should mean something, yeah, maybe not. Two of my friends are below 5'8. Fuck it. What is he going to do? Let me go closer to him. He's not moving. He's just standing there. Let me stand in front of him and see what he does. Heh. He's not doing anything. Is he scared? No way. He still looks bored. He probably already knows there's no point in fighting for the code, maybe because Frank is here. I'm not complaining. First place for me. Looks like he isn't going to stop me.

"Frank, let's go".

Our team will be shocked when they see we got the key. Frank is the main reason we got the code. Only David could probably pull off what he did.

"Hey, what's your name?"

He's asking for my name? He's not even looking at me.

"Benjamin".

I wish I could see what face he was making. Whatever, we got the key. Ryan and Leroy look traumatised. Haha. If Frank punched them, they probably would've died. Let's see this code. 74578. What a beautiful number.

Adam's POV

That guy is opening the box in front of me. To my right, Ryan and Leroy are getting stopped by this massive guy, and Bri is just watching. What a mess. How are they getting stopped by only him? Just punch his face or something. Oh, the guy finally opened the box. Why is he looking at me like that? He's probably surprised to see me. Do I know him? Where have I seen him? Is he in my class? No, I would've noticed him if he was. One of Malakai's friends? That guy has too many friends. He might be one of Malakai's friends. Anyways, what is he going to do? He looks strong, but will he fight me? Honestly, I don't feel like fighting or stopping him with force. If we did fight, I would win; it would take a while, and I would be hurt in a few places. Not to mention his friend over there. If this guy and I started fighting, I'm sure that the gorilla would jump in. Then, when he jumps in, Ryan and Leroy will jump in, and everything will get messy. What a pain. He's just standing there. Why is he just looking at me? Is he scared? I'm not going to do anything. I won't tell him that; I will wait until he realises. I have to say I'm more intimidated by him than I was with Malakai. Malakai is a wild card; you don't know what to get with him. But this guy, you know, he can do something. Malakai is smart; he surrounds himself with strong people. Fills in for what he lacks. Oh, he's moving. Is he going to push me? He doesn't look angry. Why has he stopped in front of me? Why is he smiling at me? Is he mocking me? Wait, he's walking away.

"Frank, let's go".

Frank, that's his name. Frank, the gorilla who's always with Alexander, noted. How is he going to get away from those two? Never mind, he pushed them away. How strong is this guy? Ryan and Leroy look so pathetic right now. So, that's Frank, but what is his name? Let me ask him.

"Hey, what's your name?".

"Benjamin".

So that's his name. Good to know. Looks like I came second. Third place in the minigames and second place in this challenge. Steady improvements. I could've gotten first place in both if I had competent teammates. Looks like Leroy is getting up. Ryan still looks defeated. Maybe that's a sign to go to the gym, buddy. Good looks aren't everything. Do I have to cheer him up?

Sigh. I have to do everything around here. I need to get the key first; I can't trust it with these two.

"Ryan, give me the key".

"Here".

Why did Leroy have the key? Did Ryan drop it? It doesn't matter. Maybe if Ryan had opened the box faster, none of this would've happened. Let's see what the code is. 74571. Let me give Bri the map. Ryan can't read it like this, and Leroy can't read at all. Okay, that's harsh. He's not that stupid. It looks like we're done here. There is nothing else to do.

"Hurry up. We need to go".

Ryan looked up and saw everyone near the door. He lost. He looked at the floor and punched it. Rage took over for a second. He had to let it out. Something had to get hit. Ryan composed himself quickly. He stood up, looked at the ceiling and said,

"Fuck”.