Malakai was running for his life.
What a surprise.
This whole challenge he'd been running. It was impressive he was still going. His body was definitely screaming on the inside, but he wasn't thinking about that. The only thing on his mind was his safe zone. He had to get back to it. He was hoping Delilah was back to defend it. They would have no points at the end of the challenge if she wasn't there. Delilah's presence was what was going to decide their final position.
"I fucked up too many times this challenge", Malakai thought. "How have I done so badly? Shit! Please, Delilah, be in our safe zone".
The only thing Malakai could do was hope. If he could make it back in time to stop Destiny, that would be the best outcome. The paintball gun was useless now. He couldn't use it to shoot or bluff Destiny because whoever was on the mic for 1-A would tell her that the paintball gun was empty. There were endless thoughts in Malakai's mind. The majority of them not positive. He had no one else to blame but himself. He played an entertaining but horrible game. This was the first time a challenge didn't go his way, and it was the biggest challenge so far. A class challenge. Twenty-nine people relied on him, and he didn't live up to his first position title. It wasn't over by all means because there was a chance that they would get the most points because the plastic balls they got might have high numbers. But even still, Malakai didn't have that winning feeling.
Malakai reached the ninth floor and sprinted to his safe zone's door. He didn't see anyone while he ran through the halls or the stairs, which worried him. Remember, he didn't know the time, so the round might've already ended, and he wouldn't know. Malakai was blowing at this point. His adrenaline was coming to an end. After nonstop running, it had to eventually.
He made it to his safe zone's door. The door was opened so Malakai could grab ahold of the doorframe to slow himself down and swing inside. Malakai stopped halfway through the door and took a second to take in what he was looking at. His mind slowly processed what his eyes were seeing. The sight he saw was one of the possibilities he thought of.
"Delilah…".
Ten minutes before.
"He's not here", Delilah said, breathing heavily, entering the safe zone.
She closed the door behind her, walked to the locker and put the single plastic ball she held inside. She turned around and looked around the room to make sense of what was happening in her head. She took a deep breath and exhaled to calm herself.
"It's fine", she quietly told herself. "David, what's Malakai doing?".
Silence.
David didn't want to respond.
"David?".
"Delilah, I don't think I should talk", David reluctantly replied. "Malakai doesn't have his earpiece".
"I know, but telling me where he is shouldn't be that bad", Delilah replied, desperate to know.
"It's too risky", David said, keeping his answers brief.
Delilah frustratedly clenched her fists. She was annoyed but understood why he was being cautious.
"I've got an idea", Delilah quickly said. "Kayla's got Malakai's earpiece, so she can only hear your voice. Just answer my questions with a yes or no".
David smiled at the idea. It was genius.
"Okay".
"Is Malakai on our floor?"
"No".
"Is he looking for a plastic ball?"
"Yes and no".
"Yes and no? What does that mean?" Delilah rhetorically asked. She gave it a little thought and, "Wait, no... Is he in a safe zone?"
"Yes".
"Tch, whhyyyy? Urghhh. Who's safe zone?"
"A".
"Why is he thereee?" Delilah complained, putting a hand to her head. "I know I told him 1-A's safe zone was on the sixth floor, but why did he actually go there?".
Delilah couldn't keep still. She was pacing in circles. David couldn't calm her down or give her details about Malakai because they knew someone else would hear. The situation was too stressful for Delilah right now.
Creeaak!
"So it's true. He's not here".
And it only got even more stressful.
Delilah looked at who walked through the door as if they owned the place.
"This can't get any worse", she thought with a tired look.
"Heyy girrlll!" Destiny cheerfully said, walking further into the room.
Delilah looked at her straight-faced, not replying to her.
"This is the first time we've talked", Destiny said, stopping halfway into the room.
"Can you leave?" Delilah told her, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Woah, you don't need to look so angry", Destiny replied, lifting her hands up. "I just wanted to come back here".
"Why are you here? Get out", Delilah said with an attitude, pointing to the door.
"Hey, your teammate is in my safe zone. It's only fair I'm here", Destiny replied, lifting her shoulders, looking innocent.
"Fair? The last time you were here, you were terrified on your knees", Delilah said. "Just because Malakai isn't here, you think you can come back? Are you that scared of Malakai?".
"Hah, don't make me laugh. Scared of him? He's a midget. I was scared of the paintball gun. Without it, he's nothing more than a short guy with a childish personality and a massive ego", Destiny replied.
"That same guy humiliated you twic-".
"Hush", Destiny cut her off and lifted a finger. "I know you're trying to stall, but I'm not gonna let your man come back. Sooo, let me get straight to the point. Give me some of your plastic balls, or I'm going to take them myself. Okayyy!" Destiny replied, smiling.
Delilah stood straight with her back to her locker. She gave her answer without talking. She wasn't going to give her plastic balls up.
"C'mon, girl. You don't wanna do this", Destiny said, seeing Delilah not budging. "You don't have a paintball gun".
"I don't need one", Delilah quickly replied, keeping eye contact and firm expression.
"Pfftt. How cute", Destiny commented. "You look mean, but I can tell you're soft".
"We're not allowed to fight. It's against the rules", Delilah reminded her.
"Fight? Girl, I can push you with one hand, and you'll be on the floor", Destiny confidently giggled, waving her right hand.
Delilah wasn't feeling too confident. She's never been in a fight. If Destiny came towards her, she wouldn't know what to do. She can't punch because that isn't allowed, so what is she supposed to do? Push her? Grab her? How was she going to stop her? Destiny is 5'8, and Delilah is 5'6, so Destiny already had an advantage. She also looked stronger than her, so that was another advantage. Delilah saw no advantages for herself. The only thing she could think of was to stall and wait for Malakai.
"You better be quick about it because Malakai is coming back", Delilah said, putting a finger to her earpiece and pretending she was being told that.
"Lies".
Destiny turned around, and Delilah looked behind Destiny at the door. Kayla was standing there looking pissed.
"No one is talking in your earpiece", Kayla said, taking out an earpiece in her left ear. She was wearing Malakai's right earpiece in her left ear.
"No way! You got their earpiece?" Destiny said, surprised to see her have another earpiece. "How did you get that off Malakai?".
"I took it off him", Kayla replied, screwfacing Destiny.
"Why are you here?" Destiny asked, feeling giddy seeing another person.
"The same reason you're probably here", Kayla replied, not feeling as giddy.
"Fantastic. Now we can both get her and take everything in that locker", Destiny said, pointing at Delilah.
"I'm not helping you", Kayla bluntly replied with a side-eye.
"Pfft, hahaha", Delilah laughed, covering her mouth. "No one likes you. That's so sad".
Destiny looked at Delilah and felt like an idiot. She looked back at Kayla,
"Are you stupid? If we help each other, it will be easier".
"I don't want to help you", Kayla replied, not giving Destiny a friendly look.
Destiny looked at Delilah, confused, and then back at Kayla.
"I haven't done anything to you. I don't even know you", Destiny said, bewildered.
"I don't care. I'm not helping someone from 1-A", Kayla replied, walking forward.
"I thought girls were supposed to support each other", Destiny slyly commented.
"Wait, Kayla. I didn't do anything to you", Delilah said, opening her arms and stepping back to her locker.
"I know, but Malakai did", Kayla replied, staring and walking closer to Delilah. "I'm sorry, but you're his teammate. He's made a joke of me this whole challenge. I have to get him back somehow".
Kayla had nothing against Delilah. If anything, she kinda liked her, but she felt like she had to do this.
Destiny smiled as she saw Kayla closing in on Delilah,
"Don't leave me out!".
Delilah saw two girls that were taller and bigger than her coming towards her. She knew she couldn't punch, so she was clueless about what to do. Before, with only Destiny, it looked tough, but now Kayla was here, and it made things much worse. Two people were trying to rob her, and she was defenceless. All her hard work could be taken away from her. Five rounds could lead to nothing.
Kayla was coming closer to Delilah, and as much as Delilah didn't know what was going to happen next, Kayla was the same. Kayla didn't know how to move Delilah. Delilah was in front of the locker, but how could she get there? Should she push her? Well, that looked like the only option.
Kayla awkwardly put her right hand on Delilah's right shoulder and applied a little force to move her. Delilah didn't budge. Kayla didn't commit to the push. Delilah swatted her hand away and leaned back harder against her locker. They had to move her if they wanted to get into the locker. Kayla tried to put her hands on Delilah again, but Delilah was pushing her hands away. She made sure she didn't get grabbed. She was blocking every attack.
"Don't forget about meee!" Destiny cheerily said, approaching Delilah's left.
Delilah switched views and looked at Destiny, who had both her arms coming towards her. Delilah didn't want to get touched by Destiny, so she ignored Kayla and blocked Destiny's hands instead. She was leaning against the locker with Kayla to her right and Destiny to her left. It was taking a lot of effort just to keep Destiny at bay. She tried to focus on Destiny, but it was short-lived as Kayla put both of her hands on Delilah and forcefully pushed her out of the way. Delilah's back wasn't stuck to the locker any more. While Delilah got displaced, Destiny found an opportunity to hold Delilah's right arm and pull her away from the locker. Now the locker was exposed.
Kayla savagely opened the locker, and plastic balls flowed out and bounced to the floor. Kayla instantly went to the floor and picked up as many as she could. Destiny tried to do the same and got to the floor to pick them up, but Delilah was nearby. Delilah didn't want that to happen. So instinctively, she swung her arm out towards Destiny's face while she was bending down. She didn't swing it like a punch. She swung it so it looked like an accident. Destiny saw it at the last second and managed to swiftly pick herself up and dodge it. Delilah didn't care that she missed the hit. She wanted to get Destiny away from her and the plastic balls so she could go to Kayla. Kayla was only a few steps away, and she was still kneeling near the floor, trying to fill her arms with plastic balls. Delilah quickly made it over to her and pushed her to make her go off balance. Kayla fell backwards and ended up on her behind. The balls her arms had fell with her and rolled away. Kayla was on her ass with no balls. She was too greedy. She tried picking up six plastic balls, and by the time she just about balanced them, Delilah pushed her over. The balls she had went in different directions as she used her arms to cushion her fall.
In the corner of Kayla's eye, she saw two plastic balls side by side. Delilah noticed that Kayla noticed the two plastic balls. Kayla hurridely leaned to her right and reached over to try to grab the plastic balls. Delilah naturally moved to intervene and,
Snap!
"OOWWW!"
Delilah lifted her foot and saw two acrylic nails on the floor. Broken acrylic nails. She broke two of Kayla's acrylic nails. She accidentally stood on Kayla's right hand.
"Oh, sorry!" Delilah immediately sincerely apologised, looking down and seeing Kayla holding her right hand.
Delilah didn't mean to step on her hand. Delilah also saw the two plastic balls, so in a panic, she rushed over and tried to swoop them up. In the process, she accidentally trodded on Kayla's hand. Even though it was accidental, it still hurt Kayla a lot because Delilah put her whole weight on that step.
"I'm so sorry", Delilah apologised again, feeling terrible seeing Kayla gripping her right hand with her left and keeping it close to her body to ease the pain.
Squeak!
Delilah's head turned like a hawk. Destiny was still here. Delilah had no time to apologise. She looked at Destiny, and she had four plastic balls in her arms. Delilah pounced towards Destiny, instantly disregarding Kayla. Destiny tried to run, but she wasn't going to make it out. Delilah easily caught up to Destiny and tried to drag her back, but her hands slipped from her shoulder. Delilah quickly changed plan and ran beyond Destiny. Now, she was standing in front of her with her back to the door. If Destiny wanted to get out, she had to get past her, and there was no way she could get past her with her hands full.
"What now?" Delilah asked, tilting her head, trying to mock her.
Destiny stood still, glancing around Delilah's body to try and find an opening. Everything looked closed off. Destiny couldn't escape with no free arms.
Without thinking Destiny stormed forward. She tried to bulldoze her way through. It would've worked if Delilah was a stationary wall. Delilah got both of her hands and pushed Destiny back with all the strength she had. Destiny stumbled back, dropping a ball in the process.
"Tch".
Destiny knew this wasn't going to work. Her quick mind thought of an idea. She threw all the plastic balls she was holding beyond Delilah and near the door. She emptied her hands.
"You want to get touchy? Let's touch each other then", Destiny said, grinning and walking towards Delilah.
Delilah was flat-footed. Her instincts told her to run, but her body made her stay.
Delilah watched as Destiny came closer and paid close attention to her hands. Her plan was the same as last time. Make sure she didn't get grabbed. She stared at Destiny's hands and expected them to reach for her shoulders or body, but next thing you know, Destiny's hand was on Delilah's face. Destiny was grabbing the lower part of Delilah's face, covering her mouth with four fingers on her right cheek and her thumb pressing against her left cheekbone. Delilah, in cat-like speed, pulled her face away and lashed her right arm out to move Destiny's arm. Their arms collided. Destiny's right hand flung in the air for about a second until she grabbed Delilah's face again, but this time it was much higher. Her hand covered her eyes and nose while her left hand held Delilah's shoulder so she stayed in place.
Destiny had control of this situation.
Delilah lashed out again and whacked Destiny's arm away. Destiny wasn't tightly holding Delilah's face. She was only putting her hands on her face to distract her. Destiny was trying to swivel and get on the other side of Delilah so she could make it to the door. She only had to keep distracting Delilah to do so.
But this time was different. When I said, Delilah lashed out.
She LASHED out.
She flung her hands towards Destiny and even flung her right leg forward, trying to kick Destiny's shins.
"HEY!" Destiny shouted as the kick landed on her shin.
It wasn't a powerful kick, but it came with a little sting. Destiny forgot about her plan for a moment, and emotion took over. She reached for Delilah's face to grab and hold this time. She didn't appreciate that kick. However, Delilah could see it coming. She moved her head back so that she couldn't get grabbed.
It wasn't far enough, though. Destiny had quite the reach.
Destiny got her fingertips to Delilah's right cheek. Destiny's grip wasn't strong, so the only thing she could do was try to grab it. Her middle finger dug into Delilah's skin. Delilah could feel the sharp pierce on her skin. She moved her head back and lost contact with Destiny's hand.
Screech!
"NO PUNCHING OR KICKING IS ALLOWED!"
An announcement came from the speaker in the safe zone. Mr White could see what was going on, but there was no way for him to control it. The only thing he could do was send an announcement to them. No punch had been thrown yet, but Mr White could tell a punch was coming if something wasn't said. Or had one already happened?
At the same time the announcement was going on, Delilah again 'accidentally' flung her arm out, but this time, instead of aiming for Destiny's arm like the previous times, she aimed for her face.
WHACK!
"ARGH!"
The back of Delilah's hand forcefully connected square on Destiny's nose. It wasn't a punch, but it might as well have been one. The connection was too good.
Destiny let go of Delilah and put both of her hands on her nose to cover it. She closed her eyes and had to endure the sharp pain momentarily. Destiny slightly opened her watery eyes and saw Delilah waiting in front of her.
"This isn't worth it", Destiny muttered, still covering her nose.
She looked to her right and saw Kayla getting to her feet, carrying a few plastic balls.
Kayla saw Delilah and Destiny standing in front of each other, so she thought she had a chance. She made a break for the door.
Destiny ignored Delilah, moved to her right and went to cut off Kayla. A few steps later, Destiny was already in front of Kayla.
"What are you doing? Move out of my way!" Kayla said in a rush.
"No!" Destiny unclearly replied, her left hand still over her nose.
She only had one hand over her nose as the other hand was ready to strike. She snatched one of Kayla's plastic balls, and before Kayla could react, she used her left hand and grabbed another plastic ball. It was much easier for Destiny to strike against Kayla than against Delilah. Delilah was weirdly good at blocking and parrying strikes.
"HEY!" Kayla shouted as she tried to grab Destiny.
Unfortunately for her, Destiny was already running. Kayla tried chasing after her, but Destiny was quicker than she was. Delilah was on the move, too, she was chasing Destiny, but...
"This isn't worth it", Delilah mumbled as she saw Destiny slightly ahead of her.
She could've grabbed Destiny and pulled her back, but this was getting too much for Delilah. If she did that, it would be more unnecessary brawling she didn't want. She wanted everyone to get out of the room, so she let Destiny go. Destiny made it out of the room with two plastic balls.
Kayla kept running and had one plastic ball in her hand.
She HAD one plastic ball in her hand.
Out of nowhere, she had no plastic balls. As Kayla kept running, she had to pass Delilah. Delilah saw Kayla had one plastic ball in her left hand. It didn't take much effort to snatch it from her unnoticed, as she was too focused on Destiny.
All of that effort, and Kayla had nothing to show for it. Now she had her back to the door and was facing Delilah. She looked around for any loose plastic balls lying around, but all the plastic balls were behind or next to Delilah. Even the balls Destiny threw near the door had ended up away from the door and near Delilah. There was no way for Kayla to get a plastic ball unless she tussled with Delilah.
"Fucking shit!!" Kayla frustratedly said, throwing a mini fit with her hands. She took the earpiece she stole from Malakai out of her ear and smashed it on the floor before running out of the room, angry and embarrassed.
Leaving Delilah alone in the room with her heart racing.
It was over.
Delilah managed to defend the safe zone and only lost two plastic balls. She did it, somehow. Everything right now was a blur to her. She could hear muffled noises in her ear. David was speaking to her, but Delilah was lost in the moment. She stood still in a trance for what felt like an hour until,
"Delilah…"
Despite the muffled talking in her ear, she heard her name being called from behind clearly. She turned around and saw Malakai standing in the doorway.
Both of their eyes widened after seeing each other's faces.
"You got scratched!" Malakai said, concerned, walking closer and pointing to Delilah's face.
Destiny left Delilah with a long horizontal scratch across her left cheek. The mark was light red, but no blood was coming out from it. Destiny didn't get that far into her skin.
"Look at you!" Delilah said, shocked seeing Malakai's bloodied face. "What happened?!" she worriedly asked, getting close to inspect Malakai's face.
1-C was getting a look at Malakai's face for the first time, too. Everyone had the same reaction as Delilah. Even Ms Green had the same expression as her students.
"what the fuck.." Lucas said, stunned.
The whole class was stunned. It wasn't normal how his face looked. You wouldn't have guessed he got scratched by looking at his face. Maybe if I said he got scratched by a bear or a lion but by a human, no way.
"Mally's been through it this challenge", Benjamin commented.
William and Ray just looked at each other with the same aghast expression. They didn't even care about the challenge. The state they saw their friend in was more concerning.
For the past few minutes, Maria had been having the worst time watching both angles. Malakai going head to head with Alexander was stressful, and Delilah fending for herself was nerve-racking. And to cap it all off, half of Malakai's face was painted with blood. Maria wasn't squeamish. She could handle seeing blood, but seeing Malakai all bloody made her uneasy. She was getting lightheaded by how much was going on, and she wasn't even in it. She was just spectating. The gap between her and them was showing more and more. Her goal of standing next to Malakai looked like it was getting harder and harder. It was a little reality check for her. All her life, she's gotten compliments and praise. No one had told her to improve or show her areas that she lacked. Maybe little things for photo shoots and acting, but nothing major. So unconsciously, she thought she was fine and that she could do anything she tried. But watching Delilah made her question herself because she doubted she could do the stuff she was seeing Delilah do. She couldn't hold off two girls like that. Now, it was clear why Malakai chose Delilah.
"I'm fine", Malakai replied. "I haven't even seen my face, but I've been told it looks bad. It's not that bad though, like it don't hurt. When I wash the blood off, it will look alright". Malakai looked around at the mess,
"Anyways, what happened here?"
Meanwhile, Destiny made it back to her safe zone and opened the door. She walked into the room and saw Alexander sitting at the desk. She threw the two plastic balls she had across the room and slumped in her seat.
Alexander pulled a face when he saw her face,
"What happened to you?".
"Shut up! I don't want to talk about it", Destiny snapped, with a thick trail of dark red blood streaming down from both her nostrils, crossing her lips and ending at the bottom of her chin with evidence of the blood being smeared by the few stained red patches around her mouth and nose.
That response was answered with silence. Alexander didn't say anything. Frank didn't say anything. The class didn't say anything. The two sat with silence accompanying them.
Screeech!
"The final round has ended. Which means the fifth challenge has finished".