Armed with their newly acquired secret routes, the team raced ahead, cutting through open fields, dry riverbeds, and rocky paths that only locals would dare attempt.
"This is it!" Chege grinned. "We’re ahead of most teams now!"
Amina glanced back. "Yeah, but for how long?"
Kim, still covered in dried mud from his bull-riding disaster, grunted. "Long enough to breathe, I hope."
Just as they reached a steep valley, Major Otis slowed down, eyes narrowing. "Something’s off."
Kim sighed. "Not this again. Every time you say that—"
BOOM.
A massive dust cloud erupted ahead as a motorcycle gang burst from the trees, roaring down the slope like a pack of hyenas on steroids.
Each rider wore a handmade mask, crudely painted to resemble animals—hyenas, lions, even a flamingo for some reason.
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Chege’s eyes widened. "Who the hell are these guys?"
Amina cursed. "I heard rumors about them. The Jokers. They’re not here for the prize."
Kim blinked. "Wait. Then why—"
The lead rider pulled a slingshot from his belt and let loose a rock the size of a mango.
It whizzed past Kim’s ear, taking a chunk of his hair with it.
"THEY'RE ATTACKING?!" Kim shrieked.
"RUN!" Amina yelled.
---
The team sprinted down the valley, weaving between thorny bushes as the Jokers closed in fast.
One rider leaped off his bike mid-air, aiming to land directly on Kim.
Kim instinctively ducked, and the guy missed completely, plummeting into a muddy ditch.
A second Joker swung a wooden club at Major Otis.
The old soldier caught the club mid-air, yanked the guy off his bike, and flung him into a bush.
"NO FREE RIDES!" Otis roared.
"Guys, they're too many!" Amina shouted.
Chege gasped. "Look! A shortcut!"
Everyone turned.
The "shortcut" was a rickety wooden bridge spanning a deep ravine.
Kim blinked. "That’s not a shortcut! That’s a suicide mission!"
A motorbike zoomed past, barely missing Chege.
Amina gritted her teeth. "We have no choice!"
She charged forward, sprinting across the unstable bridge.
The others followed, the wooden planks groaning under their weight.
Halfway across, the Jokers reached the bridge.
The lead rider revved his engine and accelerated—straight at them.
Kim gulped. "He’s not slowing down!"
Chege’s brain fired at full speed. He needed a stupidly clever idea.
He grabbed a loose plank from the bridge and swung it like a cricket bat.
The Joker’s front wheel hit the plank at full speed.
The bike flipped.
The rider cartwheeled through the air, screaming, before landing on a tree branch—upside down.
Kim gawked. "Chege. That was genius."
Chege grinned. "I know! I surprise myself sometimes."
The others barely had time to react before the rest of the bridge collapsed beneath them.
They plunged into the ravine below.
Kim screamed. Amina screamed. Chege was still laughing.
Otis just muttered, "Not again."