Ben, Frank and Sarah arrived at the entrance of the Baldwin valley ahead of Ed all thanks to Ben’s apprehension. Although everything was meticulously arranged by Shadow, he would not be at ease until the event started. His theory was ‘if it could be bought once, it definitely can be bought again’; He didn’t want to take a chance. He was sure Maine was overseas, but one can never be too sure. This was a perfect opportunity as other prying eyes were all overseas as well.Ben, Frank and Sarah scanned the area diligently for 10 mins; still not seeing any signs of Dana.“Are you sure she’s going to come?”Frank wasn’t convinced. ‘Dana didn’t seem like someone who rode. In country A, these sorts of events tend to be attended by three groups of people, first would be the elites or upper class of the society; second, the schemers who wanted to find a rich partner and the third, were young generation adventure junkies. Dana didn’t seem to fit into any of these groups.’Ben's taut voice broke h

“There” Dana pointed excitedly as she spotted the red box ahead. Ben dismounted his horse and got Dana down, holding her by the waist. “I can get down by myself” She frowned turning her head away. Dana felt her heart rate increasing, her breathing quickened by his sudden amorous action. “Hur…Hur” Ben just laughed; he didn’t expose her. He was overjoyed by her reaction to his touch, which was different to her usual rejection and indifference. The mail read- You have reached the first destination, press your buzzer before proceeding to get your score logged. “Relax and refresh yourself. A new beginning requires a new outlook. The path you take will lead you to bliss if you’ve figured me out; if not, keep trying till you find bliss.” “Press” Dana ran towards the kit excitedly. He looked at her dotingly, he liked this side of hers- unrestrained and refreshing! “We should keep the buzzer on us from now on” She passed his buzzer onto him enthusiastically. “You want to win?” He was

A few feet ahead was a clearing with a brightly colored letterbox, a picnic basket and rug. Ed hurriedly messaged his friends that he was busy and would update after the competition. ‘What else could he do?’Lara rushed forward excitedly and opened the letterbox; their buzzers unlocked. She hurriedly pressed hers and looked at him “Hurry up”.He picked his buzzer with an imperturbable attitude. Lara snatched his buzzer pressed it hurriedly and shoved it back in his hands. He looked at her inquisitively, but her focus was on the letter-“Now that you’ve pressed your buzzer, your timer has been activated. Enjoy our carefully crafted lunch and relax.When your time is up the lock from your inner box will automatically open to give you guidance for the next task along with your souvenir.”“There’s another box inside?” Lara knelt down and looked into the letter box curiously. She put her hand inside and tried to nudge the box open with no luck.“Do you think you can pry open the box?”“We

The sack contained a variety of items. An envelope, a packet of mushrooms, sachets of spices, a loaf of bread, a bottle of olive oil, a bottle of water and some bite sized snacks.Dana quickly took both their buzzers and pressed with a frown.“What’s wrong? Isn’t this good?” Ben looked confused. ‘Didn’t they just find a whole lot of stuff? Why was she frowning?’ He didn’t have to think long.“We missed a lot of time due to that stupid horse. Some one must have already got the bonus points for pressing the buzzer at this juncture first.” Dana pouted.What Dana and Ben didn’t know was at this stage, the only other teams that had reached this juncture was Ed and Frank. However, both of these teams missed pressing the buzzer in excitement. Hence their buzzers were pressed at the same time. This was the only round when there was bonus points for the team pressing the buzzer first!Dana’s frown deepened. Ben raised his hand to smooth the frown and comforted gently “Doesn’t matter. We’ll cat

Ed and Lara came back after fishing and followed the guidance from the note and pressed their buzzer.They caught 15 fishes as well.“8 for you, 7 for me?” Lara divided “I will give you one extra since you are taller than me.”Ed chuckled ‘Her reasoning was … different.’She separated them and gave Ed’s to him “Here”.She picked hers and started to walk.“Where are you going?” Ed was confused.“Freeload.”“Huh?”“I am going to find Dana. I think people are camping along this bank. I saw someone there.” She pointed to her right. “If she is not there, I will walk back the other way. Anyway, you should eat up and rest.”She took two steps and realized Ed had picked up his fish and was following.“Where are you going? I am going to my friend’s place to freeload.” Lara smiled “She makes killer fish fries.”“I am coming too.”“Don’t be shameless.”“I am going to my friends place.” Ed retorted shamelessly although he was sure Ben would kick him out in a heartbeat. He was counting on Dana’s g