The Wolf and The Dragon (Book 1)

Kim vs Cole

All changed since Cole's messages. I was out of shape to climb, and I decided I will not give him a taste of winning.

I start going to the mountain every morning and climb up time after time until I beat mine on record time.

With all the training I bust my stamina to a good level, making easy to relax and especially sleep. I took a rest yesterday so I wouldn't be sore this morning, and really work out, I am feeling great, full of energy and ready to beat my own record again, and of course, tell Cole who is the loser... how evil of me!!

Cole doesn't stand a chance. At least that was what I thought until I met him this morning and he tells me he does free climbing, I didn't expect that, and that changes everything, free climbers don't waste time with the equipment, I do free climbing too, but I never did on this mountain.

Well, lucky for me Cole offers me a head start, and a chance to position him in a point I know would be more difficult to start from. With that, I am confident I can beat him. Still, he looks far too confident, he either doesn't know I hold the current record for this mountain, which I doubt, or he does have something on his sleeves I am not aware of. I can't help to wonder.

I finished with my gear:

-"Come on Loser! Let start." - I said to him, looking for the worst possible starting point for him.

-"Let's synchronize our watches!"- he comes close to me to make sure our watches are in sync.

-"Cool, it is now 7:45, at 7:50 I start, and at 8:20 you start from here" - I add the 30 minutes to my first point in the climb. My watch will calculate my speed against his, once he starts and gives me a prediction of how long each of us will take to get to the top, so I can speed if I need to.

-"easy starting for me, I thought you would try to get me a harder one"

I stared at him unsure if he is joking or just been very cocky of himself. I walk back to my starting point removing my hoodie jumper, attached my harness to my rope, put my quickdraws in place and rub my hands in chalk, then position myself to start.

I look to my watch and then to Cole as he was also looking at his watch. As the last 5 second comes up, he started to shout:

-" 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Go"! - I started my vertical climbing.

[Cole]

After Kim choose my starting point, she walked back to her's starting point removing her jumper, she was wearing a black with white stripes crop tank top underneath, and I see she keeps herself in good shape, her back muscles are well-toned, she is actually really hot, I stopped myself looking at her, as I found a bit awkward, she is at the end that annoying girl I have grown up together with.

I keep my eyes on my watch until is only 5 seconds for her starting.

-"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Go!" - I said.

And she started, I am timing her first 30 minutes, so I will know what speed I can go.

I watch her from where I was, she moves fast using the equipment only in certain areas, minimising the delays, she knows what she is doing, she is good, I have to say.

We start climbing together, my mom took us for the first time to the indoors rock centre, we were 8 and 7. We use to fight a lot at that stage, and the physical challenges would somehow make our rivalry worse, she had, always had to beat me, and would cheat on my face and deny it without blinking, and that would start a fight, and my mom would have to take us apart.

But at the rock she couldn't cheat, and to start with we used just have fun, I got the skills before her and if it was competition I would win, after a few months she started to speed, and then we would be neck and neck competition, very soon after she was doing better than me, and that is when we start fighting again, she was not a quiet winner, she would tease, and annoying me to the point I wouldn't want to go climbing with her anymore.

The last drop was on Pete 8th's birthday, they had a party on the rock centre, she challenged me, I can't remember what was the trophy, she always had this trophy arrangement before the start. We start together and went neck and neck all the way until she sneakily kicked my foot, and I lost my balance and felt 1 meter or so down, I bang my arm, and it really hurt, but it was more about my pride than anything else. I start to shout at her, and she just laughs calling me a loser, I carried on, and almost caught up with her again, but she managed to win.

I would have let it go only if was not the fact of that she didn't stop teasing and joking, I told her she has cheater, and we start fist fighting each other in front of both sets of parents hers and mine, and everybody else in the party. My mom was trying to calm both of us down, Kim starts to crying, her mother decides to shout at me and offend my mom, and for the first, and probably only time ever, my father came in my defence, and shout at Kim's mother, and suddenly everyone was shouting at everyone, a part of my mom, who just took me away from the party.

And that was the last time I saw them. They never come back to my house again, and to be honest, back then I was relieved! But now, looking back I see how much my mom (and even I) had missed them.

Also, I never went back to the Rock centre, Kim and I were the top of the class, and after I stop she carried on, and end up taking part of national competition, she becomes the Ninjago number one in the age group.

I look at my watch, and I see she has managed to go quite far, I am not sure how much she is pushing herself, she looks natural as if she is not doing any effort. I have only one more minute to start.

-"Kim, 60 seconds, and I will go." - I shout up to her.

-"OK" - She shouts back.