Chapter 24: Camp Olympus (The Gods and Goddesses)

"Gray, Amber! Hali na kayo, ia-anunsyo na ang mga activity", tawag ni Marcus sa amin. Pumunta naman kami sa bahagi kung saan pumwesto ang section A. Pumwesto sa gitna si Ma'am Saderna at ito naman ang nagsalita. I hope it would be something that I would truly enjoy. Mahilig naman sa mga ganoon si Ma'am Saderna, naalala ko tuloy ang PE namin dati.

"The activity requires your physical strength and intellect. The game is called the Olympian Dieties Hunting. You'll be dealing with a lot of riddles and codes along the way at kailangan ninyong kolektahin ang 12 stickers na may pangalan ng 12 Olympian gods and goddeses. The green stickers are for the Section A, blue for B, red for C, and yellow for D. You have different card colors and hints kaya hindi kayo magkakaroon ng sticker na nasa parehong lugar. You will be given a hint to find the next sticker at makukuha niyo lang ang susunod na hint if you find the other sticker. Each sticker contains the hints. Strength is needed dahil may mga barriers along the way at gaya ng naunang laro, this is by section", anunsyo ni Maam. "And there's more. Dapat ninyong bantayan ang mga banner ninyo and don't let anyone from the other section touch the banner. Understood? It's like a cycle; the end would be this same place."

Sabay-sabay na nag-yes Ma'am ang mga estudyante. They were really agitated to start the activity. Tuwang-tuwa naman ang section namin. By section per grade kasi ang laro. Ibig sabihin ay ang iba't-ibang section ng Grade 11 at Grade 12 ang maglalaban.

"Section A will win this dahil nasa amin si Gray!", one of my classmate shouted at umingay na din ang lahat. Yeah, our best asset will be Gray when it comes to strength and intellect.

"Since the section B won the first activity, they're granted with a special power, that's what we've agreed kanina diba?"

We did the first game kanina and unfortunately, our secion lost kaya ang section B lamang ang may special power. This time ay ang section B naman ang mag-ingay. Tuwang-tuwa ang mga ito.

"Now that special power is to choose one person per section that you think a threat to you and they will be eliminated. The chosen person cannot help their section for this activity", dagdag pa ni Ma'am Saderna. What? That is their special power!? Kung ganoon ay alam ko na kung sino sa amin ang tatanggalin nila.

"We will eliminate Gray from section A!", sigaw ng mga taga Section B.

Nalungkot naman ang mga kaklase ko. "Oh no, we will lose in this activity again dahil wala na si Gray", wika ni Lorie, one of my classmate.

I heard Gray's laughter. "What are you saying? Dapat nga matuwa kayo, they didn't eliminate our best Asset", wika niya at tumingin sa akin. Napalingon din ang mga kaklase ko.

Me? The best asset? Nagjojoke ba ito dahil kung oo, well, it's not funny.

"You mean Amber?", tanong pa ng isa at tumango si Gray. Lumapit siya sa akin at pumwesto sa likod ko. He held my shoulders at kapagkuway inilapit ako sa iba ko pang mga kaklase.

"When it comes to intelligence and strength, no one beats Amber", wika nito. He's making lies, isn't he? Alam kong sinasabi lang niya iyon upang hindi mawalan ng pag-asa ang mga kaklase ko.

"You really think so?", someone asked at ngumiti si Gray dito.

"Yeah, 100% sure."

Pinigilan ko ang sariling sikuhin siya. Ano ba ang pinagsasabi nitong si Gray!?! If ever I failed, malamang magagalit sa akin ang mga kaklase ko!

"So let's start!", narinig kong wika ni Ma'am Saderna. Maari kayong maghiwahiwalay sa paghahanap upang mas mabilis niyong makita ang stickers, wag kayong lumampas sa mga boundary na minarkahan namin ng red ribbon. And also, those eliminated please separate from your section."

Nagpaalam na si Gray sa amin. "Do your best and listen to Amber. This activity is a piece of cake to her", wika nito bago unalis.

"What shall we do now Amber", tanong ng mga kaklase ko. Their faces were serious. Malamang nais nilang ipanalo ang activity na ito.

"We'll have to go separately to maximize the time. We're 30 in our section and we will less Gray, that makes us 29. I want the ten students to guard the banner and the rest, find the stickers. Some should also locate the barriers dahil marahil naroon ang mga cards. Got it?", wika ko sa kanila. Halata sa mukha nila na sineseryoso nila ang activity. Sabay silang tumango at hiningi na namin ang first two hints.

The first hint was Underworld samantalang Golden Apple naman ang isa.

I give them the first hint. "That hint pertains to the god of underworld Hades at base sa hint na yan, the only place where you could find the sticker would be in the underworld. Hades is not part of the 12 Olympians so most probably; it refers to Demeter, the mother of Persephone na queen ng underworld. Ibig sabihin, nasa ilalim ng lupa ang susunod na hint", agad nilang kinuha ang clue at tumakbo.

Nagulat na lang kami nang biglang may umangat malaking net mula sa lupa. Maybe one of the students stepped on something! Shit, nahuli sila sa net trap! And there were 8 of them! Tumaas ang net trap at nakalambitin sila sa isang kahoy.

Marion was in the net trap too. "Find the stickers and don't let our section lose", sigaw nito. What the hell! We immediately lose 8 members?

Bumaling ako sa mga natitira. "Please be extra careful. Kailangan nating manalo", wika ko sa kanila.

They smiled at me at nagsimula nang maghanap ng bahagi ng lupa kung saan marahil nakatago ang sticker. But we need to be very careful, maraming trap sa paligid.

I stared at the clue that I've got. The Golden Apple. In the mythology, when a golden apple is mentioned, the first goddess who came to my mind was the goddess of love, Aphrodite. In the greek myth Judgment of Paris, the gods are all invited to the marriage, except Eris, goddess of discord. This made the goddess becomes furious and in revenge, Eris makes a golden Apple of Discord inscribed with the words "to the fairest one" which she threw among the goddesses. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all claim it. All of them wanted that apple so Zeus rely the judgment to the mortal Paris. The goddesses offer him bribes. Supreme power was offered by Hera, the goddess of wisdom, Athena offered wisdom, fame, and glory in battle, while the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite offers him Helen of Troy ,the most beautiful mortal woman in the world, as a wife. Paris choses Aphrodite because he was inflamed by the desire for Helen. But Helen was already married to the king of Sparta. That choice brings about the Trojan War. Ngunit saan ko nga ba makikita ang hint. Golden Apple. Apples are in the trees. Hindi kaya ....

Napatingin ako sa mga puno. Wala roon. I move forward and look above ngunit wala rin. Naghanap pa ako ng kahoy hanggang sa makita ko ang hinahanap ko! No doubt, it was really there! Mataas ang kahoy ngunit may lubid sa gilid niyon. I pulled the rope dahil akala ko ay magagamit iyon sa pag-akyat ng kahoy ngunit nagulat na lang ako nang may trap na naman doon! That almost got me!

Sinimulan kong akyatin ang puno at kinuha ang gold basket na naroon at gaya ng inaasahan, may sticker nga roon. It was Aphrodite's sticker samantalang hint naman ang nasa likod.

Nang sulyapan ko ang hint sa likod ay napatda ako. I was expecting na katulad lang iyon ng nauna but it wasn't. It was a math formula instead!

a² - b² - (a+b)×2 a is an even number, b is an odd number while (a+b)×2 is an even number, where the sum of (a+b) is the same number it was when "a" has a longer tail and b is rotated 180° clockwise. Definitely, this isn't a math formula.

After a while ay nakuha ko na ang ibig sabihin ng code. Nagpunta ako sa bahagi ng campsite na may apoy, the garbage site. It's the only place na hindi namamatay ang apoy and also the fence around it was made of metal. I found the sticker at tiningnan ko ang hint na nasa likuran nito.

At the back of the card was the next hint. It was a picture code. Ang isang picture ay light bulb and the other was a tooth. This one's easy! Agad akong nagpunta sa mga tent at hinanap ang sticker doon at gaya ng inaasahan ay naroon nga iyon. I found another sticker. Nang tingnan ko ang likod niyon ay may panibagong hint na naman.

March 21-April 19.

Napangiti ako sa hint na iyon. Agad akong nagpunta sa mya pastol ng mga hayop. I looked around at nakita ko nga ang hinahanap ko, the sticker of that god and the next hint. It was just a single letter C. And I already know what it is about. It's another piece of cake! I went immediately to that place. The east side of the campsite was the shore. Malayo-layo din iyon mula sa gubat. Tinakbo ko iyon ngunit bigla na lang nahulog ang isang paa ko sa butas! Another trap! The next thing I know ay may lubid na ang paa ko at nakalambitin ako ng patiwarik!

Hindi iyon masyadong mataas at may isa pang lubid sa harapan ko. If I could take a hold on that rope ay makakaalis ako doon. I tried reaching the rope ngunit hindi ko maabot iyon. Sumasakit na ang ulo ko sa pagkatiwarik kaya nag-isip ako ng paraan. I swayed my body ay sinubukang abutin uli iyon. Just a little more. I swayed more hanggang sa makuha ko iyon. Nang maabot ko ang lubid ay humawak ako roon upang makaupo sa isang sanga. I pulled myself up at nang maayos akong nakaupo ay tinanggal ko ang knot sa paa ko. It formed a bruise but I just ignored it. Bumaba ako sa kahoy at pinuntahan ang destinasyon ko which was the sea side at nakita ko nga ang hinahanap doon.

When I checked the hint the back, there was another hint picture hint. This time ay tatlo na ang larawan and unlike the first one, hindi ko makita ang common relationship ng tatlo. The first picture was a sculpture and a painting. There was an arrow that points the second picture. There were groups of basketball players. Again there was an arrow at ang sunod na picture ay mga nakakalat na gamit. The second picture was encircled. Ano kaya ang ibig sabihin niyon? Is it a rebus puzzle? I stared at the hint for a while and let out a smile. I guess I know whay was it all about!

I immediately went to the campsite at pumunta sa punongkahoy kung saan may nakapako na ring. Campers used to play basketball there kaya marahil ay naroon ang code. It wasn't placed somewhere far dahil nasa malapit lang iyon.

Biglang tumunog ang cellphone ko at si Gray ang tumatawag. "Hey, where are you? Ikaw lang ang wala dito, don't tell me you went by yourself?", tanong nito.

"Looks like it's like that", sagot ko sa kanya habang pinupulot ang basket.

"Bumalik ka na dito. They've already got 5 stickers kaya halika na", he said.

"Yeah, after the last one", sagot ko at pinatay ang tawag. Kinuha ko ang sticker at tiningnang mabuti ang hint. The hint was very easy ngunit hindi ko alam ang lugar kung saan makikita iyon. The hint was simply a circle and another circle with a ring around it. Alam ko ang ibig sabihin ng hint but I'm not certain where was it.

Then I remembered the instructions kanina. Ah! That's it! I made my way to the base ngunit nang isang hakbang ko ay natapilok na naman ang paa ko, but there wasn't any trap there. My foot twisted at napaupo ako sa lupa. Oh no. Mamamaga na naman ito. Dahan-dahan akong tumayo but I heard some sounds.

Hisssssssssssssssssssss.....

Bigla akong nanigas nang may makita ako. Shit! Ahas! Takot ako sa ahas! Nakalimutan ko ang masakit kong paa at nagsisigaw na tumakbo ng mabilis pabalik sa base. Agad naman akong sinalubong ng mga kaklase ko.

"Hey! Why are you shouting?", Gray asked nang makalapit ako sa kanila. My breathes were heavy at malakas ang pintig ng dibdib ko.

"May ahas!", I said hysterically. Goodness, nanginginig talaga ako dahil sa ahas.

"That's pretty normal. We're on the mountains anyway!", wika ni Ma'am Saderna at lumapit sa amin. "Did you collect all seven stickers? Your classmates got 5 stickers at marahil ikaw ang naghanap sa pito."

Kinuha ko ang mga stickers sa bulsa ko at inabot iyon sa kanya. "You know where's the seventh card", wika ko at ngumiti si Ma'am.

"Amazing section A, as expected", wika nito. "Sa ngayon ay kayo pa ang section na nakakompleto sa stickers and I guess you won this activity." Napatalon sa tuwa ang mga kaklase ko. They really wanted to win.

"Thanks Amber!", wika nila sa akin. Are they really thanking me?

"Pasensya ka na kung minamaliit ka namin, you're really amazing! You found seven cards all by yourself samantalang ang dami namin at lima lang ang nakuha namin", wika pa ng isa.

"It's fine. And some clues were just easy kaya madali kong nakuha ang mga stickers."

They really thanked me at pormal pa na nakipagkaibigan ang iba. Well it's a good start. Nang nag-uusap sila tungkol sa mga adventure nila sa pagkuha ng sticker ay nakinig ako sa kanila. I felt the pain on my foot kaya tinanggal ko ang sapatos ko. My ankle was swollen at nagsimulang magkulay violet. May pasa rin dahil sa lubid na nasa paa ko kanina habang napabitin ako ng patiwarik.

"Tsk, you've got a swollen foot again", wika ni Gray. Hinawakan niya ang paa ko at tiningnan iyon nga maayos.

Binawi ko naman ang paa ko. "I tripped kaya lang ay nakakita ako ng ahas kaya nagtatatakbo na ako and forgot about my swollen foot. Kaya siguro mas lalong nabinat 'yang paa ko."

"We need to heal that or else you will not enjoy the camp", he said at tumango ako sa kanya. Yes, I'm now looking forward into this camp kaya kailangang gumaling na agad ito.

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-ShinichiLaaaabs.