...crouch and push with everything she had.

Alice put her hands on her knees and coiled like a spring. She let loose with all the strength she could muster, but there was open air behind her. Victoria had turned! She flew through the air and landed hard on her back.

Bzzt!

The horn acknowledged the end of the game. She’d lost.

“This one isn’t too bad for you,” Laura said. “You’ll be wearing a blindfold until the end of the game.”

One of the stagehands handed a blindfold to Alice.

“Before you put it on,” Laura continued, “This is the last time you can fail before you put on a show for the crowd!”

The audience reacted strongly to that. They could taste the blood in the water. Without a win thus far, she had a long uphill battle to not lose the last of her dignity. Alice steeled herself for what was to come and slipped the blindfold over her eyes.

“Are you ready for the eighth round?”

“I sure am!” Alice responded, grabbing for the wheel and latching onto it.

She gave it a firm pull. The wheel went round and round noisily for several seconds before coming to a stop.

“For seventy-five thousand, you will have one minute to answer this riddle. I promise. I do. I offend. I point. I fight. What am I?”

“Hmm,” Alice thought out loud.

Several ideas bounced around in her head, but none of them made sense. The pressure of the ticking clock wasn’t helping either. With a couple of seconds left, she had to make a choice.