Narrated by John
My eyes were closing, and exhaustion weighted me down. My legs were burning. The energy and endurance tests had robbed me of all my energy, and I couldn't bring myself to move even a single inch.
My breathing became heavy. I tried to get up, but my body didn't comply. Instead, I collapsed down to the ground, and could only look at the road in front of me.
The other runners probably felt the same, but they had the energy left. I had probably used up too much energy to dissolve the jelly, and now I was reaping the consequences.
"No," I wheezed out,"no, no, no!"
I tried getting up again, but failed. I tried again several times, but in vain.
Was this how it was going to end? Eight weeks of intense training, just to pass out right before the finish line? I thought to myself.
No, I can't let this happen. There's no way I'm letting these efforts go to vain.
I stretched my arm to the front, and began dragging myself towards the line. I struggled even at this, but was the best I could do.
I heard footsteps behind me. The others were catching up, and all my hopes of qualifying had begun to sink.
I dragged myself for a metre, and then, I was too exhausted to continue. I found myself tearing up, failing so pathetically, despite all the training and effort I'd put in for eight weeks.
A stream of tears ran down my face, and formed a blotch of wetness of the dry road. I closed my eyes, and the stream quickened.
Suddenly, a pair of arms lifted me up, and began dragging me. I opened my eyes, to see a face with long blonde hair, and determination filled blue eyes.
"Heavy," Anne grunted, as she dragged me to the finish line,"You're very heavy."
I wanted to tell her to leave me as I was, and qualify herself, but I was too exhausted to say anything.
I tried to walk, but my legs were numb. I felt guilty for being a burden on Anne.
We were only a few metres away, when the other runners, got dangerously close to catching up, and overtaking us. Anne looked back, and shook her head,"We won't be able to make it."
She turned to me,"I'm sorry, but I won't be able to carry you any further."
She gently put me down. To be honest, I was happy for her. She'd get to qualify, and not slow herself down.
However instead of going forward, she turned to the runners. She said,"You're gonna have to drag yourself to the line."
I looked at her. Why was she sacrificing her chance to qualify for me?
She turned to me, and said,"Don't think about this. Just go already!"
She walked towards the fighters, and spread her arms apart. A huge green rectangle appeared in front of her. A barrier. She had stopped them, but I didn't think she could hold it for much time.
She'd sacrificed her qualification for me. That thought was enough to give me some energy. I began moving again, and dragged myself to the finish line.
Before crossing, I turned to her again. She turned to me, smiled, and nodded, before she let go of the barrier, and watched me cross the line, a smile on her face. I had qualified, entering at the twenty ninth place.
Alex supported me up, and said,"Wow! She can't bear to see you losing, can she? Now then, stick around for sometime, till we get you to Benji, huh?"
I nodded weakly. Jimmy's helicopter landed in the middle of the stadium, and he said,"What a race! What! A! Race! An absolutely exhilarating event, and what an ending! Never would I have expected someone to let go of their chance to become a star! But anything can happen here! And we have the qualifying thirty two! Five tests, and these people overcame them, to successfully qualify for the tournament! Unfortunately, this is where things come to an end for today. But, tomorrow is a big day! It is the first round of the tournament! Sixteen matches, and the participants for Round Two will be decided! Make sure to tune in tomorrow, 10 a.m.! And now, I shall be taking your leave!"
He bowed down, and went into the stadium. We all dispersed back to the stadium entrance, where Mr. Benji ran to me, holding a bottle in his hand.
"Seems like you really overworked yourself." Mr. Benji said,"But you did well."
He opened the cap of his bottle, and poured out a tiny amount of a deep blue liquid in the cap.
"Here. Take a sip." He said, handing me the cap.
The liquid poured into my mouth. It tasted sweet, like chocolate, but also had mild bitterness. I gulped it down.
Suddenly, all the energy in my body was restored. All the fatigue disappeared, and I felt like I could run three more races like this one.
"Wha-?!" I exclaimed,"How?"
Mr. Benji looked at the bottle,"It's a special liquid. We call it Energiser, as this liquid converts into energy, when it goes inside the human body. Even a small amount of it is enough to fully power up a strong Bender."
"Alright." I nodded.
"So, you qualified." Alex looked at me with a smile.
I shook my head,"At what cost? Anne, she sacrificed her chance, to give me one. But, I don't deserve it! I nearly gave up there-"
"But you didn't give up." Mr. Benji said,"You kept moving, and qualified. You didn't let her sacrifice go in vain."
"I know, but, what gives me the right to take her chance away?"
"You didn't take it away," Anne emerged,"I gave it to you."
"But why?"
"Because you totally deserve it."
"Why don't you?"
"Because I'm not ready yet."
"What do you mean?"
"I noticed it. I wasn't able to keep up with many people in the race. I only got an advantage in the maze, that's it. I knew, that I was not ready yet. But when I saw you effortlessly going through almost every obstacle, I knew, that you were ready, so I gave my chance to you. That's what friends do."
She leaned closer to me, and whispered in my ear,"Also, I felt bad for you. You do NOT look good while crying."
I laughed, and nodded,"Thank you. I'll try my best not to let this go in vain."
She smiled,"I know."
Mr. Benji smiled,"Anne, you've done well. You gave John a lifeline, a new hope, and a new motivation. I'm proud of you."
We went back to the hotel, where we rested for a few hours, and then I got back to training. Alex joined me, and we trained for quite a few hours, and then, went back to hotel, and had a good sleep.
The sun had risen, and it was the First Round of the tournament.