27. Race, part 1

Sasha immediately rushed forward. She was obliged not just to enter the top three, but to take the first place! This will prove to Adam and herself that she is capable of being a leader. She ran forward... only to immediately fall to the ground.

" What the fuck ? She quickly stood up and looked at her partner

"I'm not going to run like a peasant. Hmm! I won 't stoop to their level ! " - he crossed his arms over his chest and puffed up with importance

" What are you talking about ! You need this victory ! " – she grabbed him by the breasts and lifted him up

"Yes, but you're the leader here. So come on, do all the work yourself " – he threw it away and dusted himself off

A vein popped out on Sasha's forehead. She puffed viciously and her hands slowly clenched while her eyes blinked red. She was restraining herself so as not to strangle this huge and ugly toad !

"Ahhh ! Why did I just take you as a partner?! "

" Maybe because all the teams have already been formed? As expected, stupid questions from a stupid peasant woman. "

Sasha covered her face with her hands and started screaming to herself. She held back her anger, glancing in Adam's direction. He crossed his arms and she was sure he was smiling at her behind the mask.

"Phew... okay. All right, motherfucker! " - She turned to her partner

"Listen to me, Mayor Toadstool. You want to be elected mayor again, don't you? " – he raised his eyebrows with interest

" Then think about how the residents will react if you run along with them and at the same time, take first place? " – she approached and whispered in his ear

"She will praise you. They will shout : " The mayor is our Toadstool mayor ! " or " The best mayor in the world ! " " – she noticed how his eyes sparkled

" Well , why didn 't you say so right away ! He clapped his hands quickly

" It was necessary to start with this ! I'm walking my voice....Ahem, I mean my constituents! "

Toadstool ran with superhuman speed, dragging Sasha with him. She fell and he dragged her along the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Adam nodding his head. And this means that she is on the right path.

"Go ahead, Toadstool! We are already lagging behind others ! Speed up ! "

"Yes, ma'am! "

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How did it happen that Sasha and Toadstool united in general. It's really simple. It happened....out of desperation.

Sasha walked around the village and asked everyone if they wanted to join her team. But as it turned out, all the teams were formed a week before the race. She was desperately looking for a partner, but she never found one. There were 10 minutes left before the start of the race, but she didn't find anyone.

Out of desperation, she returned to the statue of the mayor and sat there, looking for a partner with her eyes. But everyone was already tied up, so she sat alone and looked at it all with a sad look.

"And how will I find a partner if everything has been discussed for a long time?! Does he really think I can do this? " – Sasha closed her eyes and fell over on the stone statue

Her thoughts flew in a gloomy direction until a huge shadow appeared in front of her, blocking out the sun.

" I heard... are you looking for a partner?"

She opened her eyes a crack and saw a huge toad in front of her. He was wearing an expensive cardigan, on each hand he had several gold rings with precious stones, his face was tense and with a coquettish smile he appeared before her.

" And what ? Different rumors fly. " - She straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest

"You see, I'm also looking for a partner. This time my regular partner could not, as he participates in the jury. And since we two have such a problem, I propose a deal. " - he held out his hand forward

"We will unite and win this race. If I can win, then everyone will definitely vote for me. "

"Hmmm...." - she looked at his hand suspiciously... then slowly shook it

" Good ! But I have conditions," - she squeezed his hand, not letting him back down

"I'm listening to you carefully. "

"First, I will be the leader. I have to be a leader. Second, you have to follow my orders while we're in the race. And finally, we must win. " - she squeezed his hand harder

"Sasha Weybright, nice to meet you, partner. "

" Mayor Toadstool, partner. " he pulled his hand away and blew on it

And that's how the team was formed, two unsuccessful manipulators.

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The first location. Dark forest. It would be a forest and it was dark. He imagined a forest of huge trees whose crowns covered the sky. Their foliage created an artificial umbrella that prevented the sun from penetrating into the inner part of the forest. Because of the trees inside the forest, a special eco-system has developed that allows predators to dominate.

Sasha and Toadstool stopped at the edge of the forest and peered into the darkness. Toadstool swallowed nervously while Sasha was forcing him to keep up with her.

" AAAAAAAAAAA ! " – they stopped abruptly and looked around

Even without entering the forest, they heard a lot of screams coming from inside.

" You say that you have this every year ? Sasha asked as she slowly drew her sword from its scabbard.

" No ! For some reason, the route was changed this year. " - Toadstool nervously pulled back his jacket

He did not tell Sasha that, in fact, a huge donation was received from anonymous to his personal account, with a request to change the route. And he already regretted that he accepted this money then, because how, being dead, will he be able to bathe in them?

"Okay, listen to my plan. I'll go behind while you light the way ahead for me. " – Sasha tore off a couple of branches, then tore off pieces of cloth from her robe and wrapped them around the sticks

"I'll cover you from behind. The main thing is to go slowly and do not write off. " – she took out of her pocket ... a lighter !

She lit two makeshift torches and put it back in her pocket.

"What is this..."

"None of your business. " – she forcibly gave him a torch

"And now go ahead, I want to overtake others faster. "

Toadstool swallowed, then slowly entered the forest.

Having moved literally a couple of meters away, the darkness immediately surrounded them and greeted them like an old friend. They walked in silence. One could only hear the crackling of the torches and their breathing.

They moved slowly, calculating their every step.

Sasha peered into every bush, fearing the attack of giant beetles. Toadstool was holding a torch and looking around all the time. Fearing for his giant toad ass. Everything went well for a while, until…

" Sasha, I understand you're scared, but can you take your hand away from me?" - Sasha turned around and raised an eyebrow

"I don't know what you're talking about. Both my hands are busy. " – Toadstool stopped abruptly and asked her in a frightened voice

" Then what about my shoulder ? "

Sasha quickly shone the light on his shoulder. There she found a huge spider ready to stick its stingers into his shoulder.

[ WHOOSH ! ]

Swinging her sword, she decapitated the creature, but it was not the end.

[ CLACK ! CLACK ! ]

From the darkness, there was a lot of the sound of jaws clacking. Sasha noticed that someone was moving in the shade of the trees. She also noticed out of the corner of her eye how a huge shadow appeared above them. And soon, they were surrounded by a huge number of spiders that looked at them with their blood-red eyes.

"Listen to me, Toadstool. On the count of three, you..."

" AAAAAAH ! LET'S RUN! " – Toadstool abruptly threw the torch from his hand and ran

" IDIOT ! " – Sasha fell from surprise and he dragged her along the ground

" SHRAAAAA ! " – but the spiders just kept up

They chased after them. Gradually they caught up with them, but Sasha somehow could ward them off with a sword. Toadstool ran faster and faster, trying to save his life. Sasha trailed after him, chopping off the paws of too-fast spiders.

" LIGHT ! I SEE THE LIGHT ! "

"SO RUN AT HIM, IDIOT! WE WON 'T LAST THAT LONG ! "

The toadstool made a final dash and they jumped out of the forest. Sasha immediately stood up and turned to the forest, ready to attack. But to her surprise, the spiders stopped at the very edge of the forest and just looked at them. There was a final hiss and they slowly disappeared into the shadows of the trees, looking for another victim.

"What the fuck, man?! What 's wrong with you ! " – Sasha put away the sword and took it by the breasts

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! "

"I'm sorry?! You almost killed us there ! " – she pointed to the forest

"I HAVE ARACHNOPHOBIA, OKAY?! " – he screamed, forcing Sasha to release him from her grip

"I have been afraid of spiders since childhood, from the moment when I was almost devoured by one. At the sight of them, I go crazy. " - he scratched his head

Sasha sighed and rubbed her temples.

" I hope you don't have any more phobias that I should know about? "

"No, not anymore."

" Great ! Let's continue and pretend that it didn't happen. "

Sasha stomped furiously to her next destination. Dead Swamps.

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Dead swamps representing....a swamp in which a lot of animal corpses floated. The swamp itself is safe, the main thing is not to fall into a quagmire. But it's much more difficult to do this here, because corpses block most safe paths.

When they arrived at the place, they immediately noticed that there were much fewer participants. More than half did not get out of the forest.

This place tested their observation, caution and patience. After all, to overcome the swamp, you need to take a very long time and carefully plot your route.

"....too long. While we're poking sticks here, everyone will already get to the finish line. " – Sasha looked around in search of a quick way

I noticed how many teams are going ahead, carefully making their way through the wilds. Something formed in her head and she turned to the Toadstool.

" How high can you jump ? "

"Very much. Higher than all these fools. " he puffed out his chest with pride

"Great, then listen....." – the Toadstool's eyes lit up

"How did I not think of this before?! You really are my perfect partner ! "

He bent down so that Sasha could climb on his back. She shook herself a little and, accelerating, jumped ... right at one of the teams!

" Hey ! What are you... brll! " – they did not have time to answer, because they were deep under the quagmire

" Hahaha ! Swallow the dust, losers! " – Sasha showed the fac and smiled all over

Grebe jumped from one team to another, gradually bringing them closer to the end of the swamp. A cheeky smile played on his face as he literally trampled his rivals into the mud.

" Haha ! Great! We are ahead of everyone ! "

Soon they jumped out of the swamp. Sasha exclaimed with joy and raised her head, which the Toadstool looked at with a raised eyebrow.

" Give me five ! Come on! "

He hesitantly raised his hand, which was immediately hit by Sasha.

" In my hometown, this sign is called "high five". It means complete domination over the enemy ! " – you could see how Sasha was trembling with impatience

"High five... an interesting gesture. " – Toadstool squeezed his hand a couple of times

" This is not the time to examine your hands ! Victory is almost in our pocket ! " – she pulled him and they ran

"Come on! There 's not much left ! We will win ! "

Sasha joyfully ran forward to the Gorge. Meanwhile, all the teams they had trampled into the mud were glaring at them angrily. They all looked at each other, then nodded.

Sasha didn't know yet that an alliance had been formed against her from all the remaining participants. The only thing that was playing in her head was the fanfare of her victory, which would soon die down.