THE CHOSEN · BATTLE WITH A CERBEROSIAN PRINCE
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The Chosen: Battle with a Cerberosian Prince Fight or Flight
Fang, throwing any object she could find nearest to her.
Fang pointed out to Pippa that Ethan was the mastermind,
resulting in Pippa focusing solely on Ethan.
“Sorry, Pippa. I thought this would be funny,” Ethan
said laughing as he ran away from her.
“Do you think it’s funny now?” Pippa asked.
“I mean, you see how you look right now, right?” Ethan
chuckled.
He was faster than Pippa, so she never really got close
enough to hurt him with the objects she threw at him.
“Aargh, you suck, Ethan,” Pippa said.
“Sorry, Pippa. I promise I won’t do anything to make
you angry, today.”
“Whatever. We both know that’s not true.” She decided
to go back to her tent and get ready.
“Thanks for being a sport, mate,” Ethan said, as he went
over to Fang for a fist bump.
“You got it, mate,” Fang said. He went in to reciprocate
the fist bump and winked at Ethan as he went back to his
tent to get the rest of his stuff.
“Woah, mate, I’m starting to like you. You got a little
funny in you, don’t you?”
Once everyone was ready, the team continued to move,
making their way down to Base Camp. It was still dark
out, as they had to leave before sunrise to beat the 12-hour
window. Led by Fang and Darius from the front, the team
were on their way. Their Watches had a flashlight function,
which could be set to very bright. This illuminated their
path, as Darius continued to give direction and best route
options along the way. The remainder of the journey to Base
Camp was uneventful, to the delight of the team. They had
a few moments where they stopped for rest breaks along the
way, but they maintained a steady and relatively fast pace.
This allowed them to keep moving for most of the day. And
before they even knew it, they had arrived at Base Camp.
They could see movement and activity from a distance.
“We made it,” Pippa exclaimed. “We finally made it.”
Ana had been the main reason the team had to stop
for rest breaks along the way. But Pippa was always just as
relieved whenever they took the rest breaks. Her body was
only just surviving the team’s fast-moving pace.
They were all relieved and excited to finally be back,
back on regular ground, back to regular altitude. Even
though they knew Base Camp was still a little higher than
their usual breathing levels, it was their starting point,
which meant they made it back to the starting line. They
had conquered the mountain—and made it back down to
tell the tale.
Upon arrival at Base Camp they were welcomed back by
Dorjee and his team, as promised in the note left at Camp
4. The team all went out to them and helped them with
their gear and equipment. And it was a relief for them all.
Even TJ and Fang accepted the help from their porters, letting them take their bags and equipment.
There was a freshly prepared meal in the main tent, with
decorations all over, and congratulatory messages for the
team. They all sat down and dug into their food. For the
first time they could stop. Not just slow down but come
to a complete halt. They could just be. They thought of
nothing else but the moment they were in. All they had
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