Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen

Chapter 91

Lucas didn’t really want them to take the risk, but they seemed determined on going.

Finally, Lucas sighed, “I can take you there, but we’re not getting close.”

Eileen responded, “No problem.”

Then she tossed them the green ribbon.

Eddie and Lucas saw the writing on the ribbon: ‘The First Crossroad…

The dots indicated that the sentence wasn’t finished; it was just a half-spoken phrase. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“The hell does ‘The First Crossroad’ mean?” Eddie asked.

Eileen just shrugged, “Beats me.”

Lucas pondered a bit and handed back the ribbon, “Croc Cove Creek isn’t far from here. If we hit the road now, we should get there in about two hours.”

Eileen stood up, “Then let’s hit the road.”

The six of them set off back.

By dusk, they reached the place known as Croc Cove Creek.

Eileen stared at the half-visible crocodile eyes peeking out from the riverbed.

Looking around, she asked Lucas and Eddie, “Do you guys see the blue ribbon?”

Eddie replied, “The crocs move around. We’ve seen a blue ribbon here before, but who knows where it’s swum off to now?”

“So how are we supposed to find it, it’s too hard.”

“Over there,” Egbert suddenly said.

Eileen instantly turned to him, “Where?”

Egbert, with a slight frown and an expressionless face, said, “The ribbon fell off, it’s in the river.”

Eileen turned and sure enough, there was a big croc, laying on a blue ribbon in the muddy riverbed.

The ribbon didn’t just fall off, it was pinned by a croc.

Back at camp, the show director shook his head at Major Warner, “Sly fox, I don’t believe you didn’t foresee this. What made you think to tie the ribbon to a croc’s head? Now it’s fallen off, with all these crocs in the river, I bet you never planned to give them the clue on the ribbon, huh?”

Major Warner just shook his head with a smile, “If it’s Egbert, he can get it.”

The director was surprised, then rubbed his chin, “Really?”

Major Warner said, “It’s a piece of cake for him.”

The director frowned, “Is he going to do it?”

Major Warner shook his head, “No.””

The director was surprised, “Then…”

Major Warner continued, “But without Egbert, Burton could do it too. As long as Egbert tells him how; with Burton’s strength and reflexes, although it’s a bit tricky, he should be able to do it.”

The director questioned, “Isn’t Burton a bit too young?”

Major Warner/said, “It’s risky, but with Egbert there, he should…”

His voice trailed off.

The director was puzzled until he followed Major Warner’s gaze to the screen.

Then he was just as stunned.

On the screen, Eileen was using a rope from their supply pack, one end tied to a tree, the other in her hand. She tiptoed, leapt into the river.

Her body floated above the water like a swallow. Below, three or four crocs were already lunging, trying to bite her.

Eileen suddenly kicked two of the crocs in the head with her boots, and the force was so strong that it sent the crocs flying!

One of them was the croc lying on the ribbon.

With the weight off it, the blue ribbon floated up a bit.

Eileen seized the opportunity, using one croc’s head as a pivot, flicked up the ribbon with her other boot, and flung it to the shore.

The blue ribbon landed on the ground and Eileen was quick to retract her feet, avoiding the snapping jaws of the crocs below.

Using the swing from the rope, she landed safely on the shore.

The whole process was smooth as silk.

And it all took less than a minute!

Every step, every pivot, even her anticipation of the crocs’ movements, everything was pinpoint accurate.

It was clear she had planned this in advance.

But how much time had passed since she spotted the ribbon to the moment she acted?

Less than five minutes.

Yet she had this whole plan ready to go, and executed it flawlessly on her first try!

The director turned to Major Warner in disbelief, whose face was also full of shock.

Swallowing hard, the director asked, “You said earlier that if Egbert tried, he would have done it easily. How would he have done it?”

Major Warner was quiet, his eyes fixed on the screen, on the smug face of the girl.

After a moment, he said slowly, “Just like that.”

Yes, if Egbert had tried, he would have done it the same way.

But while Egbert would have been confident about pulling it off, how could Eileen do it too?!

The director was still in shock, rubbing his face, he suddenly remembered what Major Warner had said last time after the red ribbon was retrieved.

The director swallowed hard, “You said before that Eileen’s smart, but a bit clumsy. Because she used the time-consuming slingshot method, she used rocks to knock down the red ribbon from a distance. Although the method worked, it wasn’t the most efficient. You also said that if she knew how to throw knives, she could have just thrown a folding knife and accurately cut off the ribbon, instead of slowly chipping it away with stones.”

Major Warner blinked, “I did say that.”

The director speculated, “Do you think it’s possible that she just didn’t want to risk losing the knife, so she used rocks?”

Major Warner looked at the director, stunned.

The comments popped up.

[Did you guys see that?]

[Yes.]

[I saw it.]

[Oh my god.]

[AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!]

[Eileen, marry me!!!!!]

[Well, I’ll be damned, is Eileen an acrobat or what]

[…I’m so shocked, I can’t even breathe!]

After Eileen landed safely, everything around her was quiet.

She looked to the side and saw four pairs of wide eyes.

Eileen glanced at Lucas, Eddie, Elaine, and Burton, her brow furrowing slightly.

She turned her head and saw Egbert picking up a blue ribbon from the ground.

She then walked towards Egbert.

Upon seeing her approach, Egbert asked, “You okay?”

Elleen responded with a puzzled, “What do you mean?”

Realizing what he was asking, she said, “Oh, you mean the stunt just now? I’m all good.”

Egbert sighed, handing the ribbon to her.

Eileen took the ribbon, finding a new clue on it, a complete one.

לערבב

It seemed that the completeness of the clues differed according to the difficulty of obtaining them.

Eileen read out the clue, “Snake’s Den.”

Egbert suggested, “The map might be hidden in some snake’s den.”

Eileen started to ponder.

At this moment, the other four hurried over.

Burton and Elaine forcibly sat Eileen down on a large rock, one massaging her shoulders, the other pounding her legs)

Their service was very thorough.

They even asked, “Is the pressure okay?”

Eileen, a bit puzzled, said casually, “It’s fine.”

Across from them, Lucas and Eddie were showing Eileen utmost admiration.

Eddie told Eileen, “That move you pulled just now, it was freaking awesome!”.

Eileen turned to Eddie and immediately said, “Right? And even more impressive is this clue on the blue ribbon. Just for five grand, isn’t that a total steal? Interested?”

Eddie felt that while his money didn’t grow on trees, it seemed to be getting blown away by the wind.