“No,” I insist. “No, we have to be able to fight it.” The ogre is turning back toward us. It takes a lumbering step, still a little disoriented from its last encounter with the concrete walls. This creature isn’t all that different from the obstacles in the earlier course. Its skin isn’t smooth by any means. It’s scarred, pockmarked, almost scaly—and with a massive greatsword still sticking out of its side at just about the right height for a convenient handhold.
“Black,” Piers says severely, and I look at him. I know he knows what I’m thinking, and I have to act before he tries to stop me.
I take off at a run. “Keep it distracted.”
One of his hands swipe out to stop me, but I’m already out of his grasp.
I sprint past the ogre as it lumbers toward the boys, ducking under one of its swinging arms. To their credit, the boys spring immediately into action. A javelin whizzes through the air, turning the ogre’s attention away from the girl passing within grabbing range. I see Bennett run past it on the other side, waving his huge arms around. The ogre goes for the substantially larger target, and I take my chance.
I grab the rope and fashion it quickly into a noose as I run a couple steps back towards the distracted monster. Hope the knot is tight enough, I think grimly as I bounce on the balls of my feet, swinging the rope like a lasso. The boys are doing a great job of keeping it preoccupied; it doesn’t even notice the noose looping around his neck when my toss lands true.
Owen starts hitting the wall with his mace, sending up a cloud of dust and making a sound like thunder—drawing the ogre away from me as I make a run for his turned back.
With a good running start, I’m able to leap onto the sword sticking out of the ogre’s arm, knocking it free as I grab onto its rough skin. It bellows and reaches for me, but Owen whirls and bashes its elbow with his spiked mace instead of the wall. It doesn’t pierce the skin, but it makes the creature shudder with pain.
Bennett snatches up his sword and stabs it in the leg. The ogre stumbles, and for one perilous second my feet fly unchecked through the ai
r before I find a hold on its forearm. The sinewy flesh and muscles twitch in my grasp.
“Go, Avery!” Owen whoops.
I grit my teeth, wind the rope around my arm, and pull myself up to the ogre’s shoulder, hanging on for dear life as it flails wildly. Its other hand manages to grab my leg, but Piers throws a well-aimed javelin before he can rip it from the rest of my body and the ogre lets go to swat it away instead. I scramble quickly up the thick arm and find purchase on its back where it can’t easily reach me.
“Get it close to the ring!” I shout. My arms are locked over its shoulder, my feet scrambling for a hold on its rough back. I grit my teeth as it stumbles around, trying my damndest to keep from falling off and being crushed. Its shoulders are broad and it’s naked as can be, so I don’t have any cloth to grab hold to, just its leathery skin.
The boys corral it closer and closer to the ring jutting from the ceiling until I can see it. Then, a moment and several swinging footsteps later, it’s within reach.
I heave myself up to balance precariously on the ogre’s shoulders, tugging on the rope to tighten it around the monster’s neck. I reach up to grab the ring only for the ogre to shake its head violently, dislodging my foot. I lurch sideways, scrambling to catch myself on a giant ear just in time.
“Avery!” Bennett’s voice sounds strained as he shouts. The ogre lets out a bellow as his sword finds a target on its back. It whips around and I manage to stand again, reaching for the metal ring.
Sweat is pouring down my forehead, stinging my eyes. It’s like threading a needle on a roller coaster. The monster is constantly moving, swaying back and forth as I desperately try to grab hold of the metal ring. Finally, my hand closes on the inside of it and my feet leave the ogre completely, my body dangling entirely from the ceiling above.
Underneath me, Owen’s mouth drops open. “Holy shit.”
My arms burn as I uncoil the rope and shove it through the ring. The end flutters to the ground and Owen grabs it while I look for a way down. I must be fifteen feet up in the air. Dropping straight down would wind me for sure, and if I don’t twist my ankle first the ogre will twist the rest of me to a pulp. There’s only one safe way down, and it’s the same way I got here.
I start swinging back and forth, building up momentum. My body screams for me to stop. I’ve been awake too long without rest. I’ve been pushing my body to the limit time and time again. Any moment now, it’s bound to give out.
I just need to do this one, last, thing.
“Black, what are you doing?” Piers shouts.
His shout draws the attention of the other boys, and Bennett sees what I’m trying to do at once.
“Get it closer to her!” Bennett yells, slashing at the ogre. “She needs to get down!”
My grip is weakening. I can do this. I force myself to do one last swing, and I let go, launching my body through the air.
I slam into the ogre’s back, scrambling my feet on its skin. My arms lock around its neck. I’m lucky I don’t knock my breath away.
“I’ve got the rope!” Owen yells. Piers and Bennett rush toward him, and I cling to the ogre as it turns to follow them.
Above me, the rope goes taut as all three of the boys throw their weight into it. I slide down the ogre’s back until I’m just above its wrinkly ass. And I thought it stunk from a distance.
Any ordinary rope would have snapped already, but this rope was made for restraining a monster this size. As much as the ogre strains against it, it keeps inching backwards towards the loop in the ceiling. One particularly hard tug by Bennett and the ogre loses his footing, lurching backwards. I lose my grip and fall back … but at the last second, I twist into a roll, keeping myself from landing flat on my own back … or worse, flat under the ogre’s massive feet.
“Black, over here!” Piers yells.