The Chronicles of Smith & Jones

Chapter Thirty-Eight - SportPunk

"Go! Go! Go!" shouted the crowd, screaming with excitement.

Jones opened his eyes to discover he was standing in front of a pool of water with a large round log floating in the middle. Beyond that, he could see three huge piles of red dust, twenty metres apart. A huge dome covered the area they were all standing in.

Someone poked him sharply in the back.

"Go on!" said Kris's familiar tones. "It's your turn. Everyone's waiting."

"Wha-"

"We're in Sportspunk—Ninja Warrior. Martian Ninja Warrior, judging by that red sand," explained Kris, sounding just as excited as the screaming crowd. "Hurry up! I want to have my shot!"

"Get a move on, old chap!" added Smith, standing in line behind Kris. He was excited too, even though he had no idea what Ninja Warrior was.

Then, seeing Jones still looked completely bewildered, Kris explained briefly. "You have to run across that log, then—if you make it to the other side without falling in—you have to leap from one pile of sand to the next. There's bound to be another challenge after that one but I can't see it from here. Probably a huge wall to climb up."

Jones stared nervously at the floating log. "I really don't think-" but before he could finish, Kris gave him an almighty push and he fell forward onto the log, his arms windmilling wildly and his feet scrabbling for purchase.

"Go! Go! Go!" shouted the crowd, screaming with excitement.

Jones managed one step before falling sideways into the cold water.

"Boo!" shouted the crowd, as a helpful attendant pulled out a sodden, shivering, Jones.

"My turn!" cried an over-excited Smith, pushing past Kris and leaping onto the log.

More by sheer luck than anything else, he managed to get to the other side in three stumbling strides. The crowd cheered. Smith gripped both hands together and brandished them above his head.

"Go! Go! Go!" shouted the crowd.

"What do I do next?" screamed Smith.

"Climb the first sandhill, then leap to the next one," called Kris, frantic with impatience. Who knew how long this sub-genre would last? "Remember, Mars has much lower gravity than Earth!"

Smith scrambled awkwardly up the red sandy slope, slipping back a foot for every two he gained. Eventually he made it to the top. Then he leapt. Unused to the lower gravity, he over-estimated the force required and went sailing right over the top of the next sandhill to crash face first into the side of the third.

"Finally!" muttered Kris. "My turn. I've always wanted to have a shot at this." But as she was running expertly onto the log... a blinding white light...