"We turn around and see..."

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Gear's POV:

So, we all turn around and there's this bandit standing right behind the arcade.

And, before you ask me how I feel, I'm great; I'm totally not scared for my life considering I could get SHOT.
Once again, I'm being sarcastic; that's just me for ya, get used to it.

We just dash off; I'm headed off with my team and Zach, the twins and Lia running off to the pump station.

Finally, we dive under a blue light out of Laceline Rockette's.
Which is convenient as fuck; we want to search there.

"So, find the harp that can fit under your wing. But be careful not to break it when you touch it by the sling? What the hell does that mean?" Oli ponders, his hand on his chin.

"Maybe a box where you store a harp?" I share.

"A harp box! We could try to find one. It's in the diner because you can do musical acts." Val advises, pointing to the diner door.

"That's smart thinking. Now let's get inside before the bandit finds us." Victor says as we all run inside to uncover the harp box, wherever the hell that may be.

When we get inside, we all race to the pole room, since that's the first logical place we could think of.

Of all places, we thought of a place which was probably built for strippers.
Now, that's logic. Said no-one ever.

So, I just decide to look around, like any normal person would.

"Guys, there's a box behind the couch! Oli, the one nearest to you." Val calls out.

And me, being one of the more reasonable people if you exclude Lia- who looks a bit like a slut- and Zach, who's kinda become a psychopath, I help Oli out.

Oli: 'So, Valentina finds this box behind the couch nearest to me, so I try to pull it out. The problem is... the box is stuck.'

"Why is this box not moving!?" I yell in frustration, attempting to pull the box out, despite it being stuck.

"You guys know... you could just move the couch?" Lizzie wonders, pointing at the couch.

Or we could've done that. Yeah, that would've been the better option.

But it's Oli's fault, not mine! 

Lana and Val look like they're trying not to burst out laughing as they help us move the couch and get the box.

"Phew! Thanks for the help, babe." I sigh, kissing Lana on the forehead.

What? I felt like it. I don't care if we're in a life-or-death situation, I'm gonna kiss my girlfriend! 

Lizzie: 'How. Is. This. Couple. So. CUTE?!'

"So, not trying to be rude, guys, but the box has a lock on it. It's a number lock again." Oli notes, turning it around to show us.

We leave the pole room- finally- and go to the main dining area, put the box on a table, and look around for anything that has numbers on it. 

And I mean, anything.

And, as a last ditch, I steal a barstool and look at the shelves behind the bar.

Valentina: 'As we searched around the main diner for anything that could lead us to this code and the first bell, Gear spots something.'

"Guys, I found a bottle with some numbers on it. I will not smash this one off of a table, don't worry," I say, causing us to chuckle after what happened an hour ago. 

I jump off the bar-stool I was standing on and show the bottle to the rest of the team.

"It says 1543. Try that on the harp box."

Val puts the code in and the box pops open. 

Inside is a harp, and the first bell is attached to it.

"Got the bell!" Lizzie shouts.

We race outside to put it on the hat, but as we did, we see Lia standing underneath the blue light outside of the diner.

"Lia, is everything alright?" Oli ponders, slightly concerned.

"Did somebody get taken out of the hunt?"

"No, it's just we got the advantage and the bandit's chasing us now, so...." she informs, looking quite scared.

Suddenly, we see the bandit, chasing us and shooting blanks.

"FUCK!" Val screams, sprinting away.

Everybody else follows.

We decided again to split up; Lia and her team distract the bandit whilst we finish solving the clues. 

They must've gave the advantage to Heidi, but I'm not too sure.

We sprint over quickly and put the first bell on the jester's hat. 

A second drawer opens up with another clue. 

Oli snatches it and reads it:

'If you see me late at night, catch your bell before I take flight.'

"The owl statue!" Val says, immediately recognising it.

Wait... the what now?

If this bitch knows what she's talking about, I'm gonna be really fucking impressed.

Lizzie: 'I don't know what these guys are talking about with this owl statue. The only thing I know is that owls can fly and are nocturnal. So, that must be the connection.'

"This town has an owl statue?" Lizzie queried.

"Yes, you just weren't there to see it. It's near where we did the acrobat's challenge." She confirms.

OK, now I'm impressed.

Gear: 'I am now incredibly grateful I chose Val to be in my alliance; she's really smart, really friendly, and she's probably going to get us through tonight.'

We race over to where the acrobat's tent was- well, I say was, it's still there, surprisingly- trying to find this statue.

"Is that it over there?" Lizzie squeaks, pointing at something that looks to be a wooden owl with a bell around its neck.

"That is it!" Oli states, rushing over and grabbing the bell.

"That one was easy, but..." I begin, stopping as I see the bandit chasing Vanessa.

"Yeah, where's the blue light?" I quiver.

See? I can be scared too! 

Oli runs to put the bell on the hat and then runs off with the rest of our group to find the nearest blue light.

We all join the group under two different, but close together, blue lights.

"How are you guys doing with the bells?" Vanessa and Veronica say.

Well, I say that they said it, it was more like... casually shouting.

"Yeah. We just need one more." Val discloses.

Then, the bandit vanishes and we all split up again.

We race over to the jester's hat and grab the last clue to the bells. Lana grabs it and reads it.

It reads:

'Only one door split into four panes; to find the last bell, look between the lanes.'

"So, a door split into fours? I'm sure we've seen one of them before, but I can't remember where." I indicate.

"Wait! The back door of the arcade; it's got bars on it." Lizzie considers.

"Good thinking, let's check around there." Val quips. 

We all run around to the back of the arcade.
Lizzie was right.

There's bars on the back door. And on one of those bars, the bell's tied to it.

"Found it!" Lana observes, jumping up on one foot to untie the bell. 

She's still a tad short, but A) I love her for it and B) Who am I to judge?

We race back to the jester's hat and put the last bell on. 

The final drawer opens, and it contains a box, a key, and a note.

Oli: 'So, we put the last bell on the hat and the last drawer pops open. And then, suddenly, before we can figure out what we need to be doing, I hear Lia screaming.'

"GUYS!" Lia screams, still sprinting. "Get under a blue light; the bandit is coming!"

We do what she says and race to the blue light nearest to the arcade, Heidi following the other team with a large box.

Val uses the key on the box and it opens.

And we have the rings that we need.

"Wait, guys!" Lizzie calls out, waving to the other group and jumping up slightly. "We got the rings! Get into the arcade!"

We all follow Lizzie into the arcade and try to figure out what the advantage is. 

Whilst we try to do so, Oli puts the four rings we found on the hat.

"So, what's with the giant box?" I question, my scepticism strong.

"Oh, we don't know what's in it. All we know is we need a gold and a silver key to open it. That's all we know for now." Vanessa explains.

Val took the note that we found and reads it out to the group.

It reads:

'The Blood Ring can only be recovered by learning the name of the nameless bandit. Two must be selected by vote to enter his lair and take the ring from him. But choose wisely; the cost of this ring is a life.'

"So, the Blood Ring is the big ring in the centre, right?" Lia asks, all of us nodding.

"One thing I will say, though, is that I helped a lot with the puzzles and I went into the last challenge. So, I think I've proven myself. Same with most of the people here." Val shares.

"I gotta agree with Val; Gear, Lana, Oli, and Lizzie have been helpful tonight, as well. I think the fairest option would be for us all to put our names in and just let the cards decide." Vanessa sighs, resting her cheek on her hand.

Soon, we decide against it.

Time to plead our cases, I guess...