Candi barely listened to the background announcer who was chattering about her background and about Earth. She was barely even listening to Lorem Ipsum.
"…are you ready?"
She nodded.
Once Olivia got disqualified, it was no longer a competition to wrestle the remaining spot from another contestant. All she needed to do was walk down a glass walkway and make it to the bottom where she could take her place on the seventh platform.
Candi could just hug the side and crawl down there on her belly like the fish girl Helene Cordera did, but that would damage the beautiful dress that Jared had made for her.
She could walk down the Sky Walk like Anaïse but since she did not have the ability to melt glass with the soles of her feet, she would not be quite as sure-footed.
Candi exhaled. She would just have to pretend she was doing a heist and do it her cat burglar way.
Taking a deep breath, Candi stepped onto the Sky Walk.
Immediately, she could see why the fish girl Helene was so scared.
From afar, the glass Sky Walk looked solid, but in reality, it vibrated and swayed from every wind gusts.
The sounds were nerve-wracking. It twanged and cracked, sounding as if it was ready to come crashing down at any moment.
Walking the Sky Walk would be almost like walking on a tight rope, except the tight rope was a flat wide thirty-inch walkway.
Piece of cake, right?
Candi steeled her nerves and squared her shoulders. Her eyes zeroed in on the footprints that the silicon girl Anaïse left behind.
It would provide enough traction to keep her feet from slipping and sliding on the glass.
The only problem was the fact that Anaïse was a foot taller than Candi was. In order to step into the same footprint Anaïse left behind, she would have to do a leap to reach each step.
Throwing her hands out for balance, Candi began leaping—ballet style, down the walkway.
This was not for show but for balance; however, the crowd didn't know that.
From the audience perspective, they were looking at a graceful bride wearing a white wedding gown made of gossamer silk and cotton candy fluff skirts.
Her honey blonde hair was styled in a sweeping updo that looked classic and elegant, yet young and fresh. On her feet were ballet slippers that were tied with pale pink satin ribbons onto her shapely legs.
As she leaped from one footprint to another, it looked as if she was dancing ballet down the Sky Walk.
Her dance training had given her the one thing she needed most in this Sky Walk competition: balance and agility. She did it unconsciously, in the most practical manner possible.
From her vantage point, she could see the Sky Walk extending downward and then curve to the right into an 'S'. It was the first curve that was where the wind gust hit.
If she could bypass that curve, she would be able to avoid getting hit by that wind completely.
She had to time it just right.
There were four steps that Anaïse took which brought her into the area where the wind surged.
All Candi had to do was jump right before the first step, and land on the fifth step which curved downward and back on itself.
Here it came.
Four
Three
Two
JUMP!!!
She reached with her legs and body, performing a grand jeté onto the walkway below, completely bypassing the jutting S curve.
The crowd gasped.
BAAM!!!
She hit the fifth step.
The momentum was carrying her body forward. Unable to stop herself, she vaulted into a front flip and ran the rest of the way down. She twisted her body and pirouetted onto the stage, landing with her arms outstretched in a final bow.
The crowd went wild!
Suddenly, there was loud cheering and feet stomping. They were calling out to her.
"TINY DANCER!" (Stomp. Stomp).
"TINY DANCER!" (Stomp. Stomp).
"TINY DANCER!" (Stomp. Stomp).
Candi looked out into the audience and laughed as she saw the green haired twins riling up the crowd. They were truly her biggest fans.
They looked up, saw her and began waving wildly and jumping into each other's arms in celebratory dance.
"Oh my goodness!" The sound of Lorum Ipsum filled the airwaves. "Earth's very own Tiny Dancer just danced her way down the Sky Walk as if it was her very own choreographed dance routine!"
He hovered downward as she took her position on the sixth dais.
"Congratulations to the six of you." He began moving amongst the contestants.
"You have all won your way to the next competition. It will be held tomorrow morning in front of the Palisades. Don't be late!"
He hovered over to each of the contestants and handed a single red rose. By the time he reached Candi, as he handed the rose to her, he whispered a single word.
"Careful."
Before she could ask him what he meant, he had hovered back to the front area and was starting to interact with the audience.
Behind her, the pageant workers ushered everyone off the platform and into the back area where their groups and entourage were waiting.
As before, Slate stood waiting for her. He looked calm and cool with his long black hair tied back, wearing a white button-down broadcloth shirt and casual black slacks.
He saw her entering through the open entryway and was about to make his way to her when a group of people intercepted her, only yards away from him.
One moment, they were within arms reach of each other and the next moment, she had been swept away by the horde that descended upon her.
"Slate!" She screamed, trying to reach towards him.
Four human men descended on her and caught her around the waist.
Without thinking, she whipped her elbows out and whacked two of them in the faces.
It barely slowed them down. They were going to take her away, whether she liked it or not.
Candi DID NOT LIKE!
She wasn't trained in martial arts for nothing.
Her body twisted of their own accord and she broke free from their grasp. She spun to the ground and slammed her fists into the crotches of the two men in front of her.
"Aaaahhhh!!!" The two who got crotch-slammed screamed like little pigs.
Taking advantage of the chaotic situation, she kicked out with her powerful dancer's legs, catching the other two in between the legs.
All four strong men dropped to the ground, clutching their testicles and howling with pain.
The remaining dozen surrounding her were swept aside by a ferocious man with scythe-like claws that descended upon their heads.
"Candace!" He roared.
"Behind you!" She screamed as more men descended upon them.
Slate did not have the chance to change into his bat man outfit, but it didn't mean he was not strong. He threw off three men who had jumped on top of his shoulders and ran to where Candi was.
She jumped up and grabbed onto his arms as she kicked her body upward, swinging her legs out.
THWAPPP!!!, THWAPPP!!!, THWAPPP!!!
She aimed her powerful dancer's legs and kicked the men behind him in the head.
They spun away, spitting blood and teeth.
"Let's go!" Slate yelled and grabbed onto her waist.
As they ran, his wings sprang from his shoulder blades.
FWOOOMPHHH!!!
Within three large strides, they were airborne, up into the deep blue sky of Erenveil.