Episode 8: The One Where Everyone Finds Out Part 2

This is a collaboration with J.F. Jenkins. To read the first part, please visit: http://introv3rsion.blogspot.com/

“Its a game.” Toby rolled his eyes and watched as Lily started to freak out. “What the hell is her problem?”

“I have no idea. She was really timid and whiny at first, but now she's turning into a complete psycho.”

“Maybe I should kidnap you and you can come join me?” He teased.

“Sounds good to me! I'll go wherever you want to take me.”

"Maybe we can escape Escape!” He liked this idea, running away from it all with her. What better place than paradise? He was about to continue when Lily came back with some guys.

“The guys aren't happy,” Lily said smugly. 

Moira looked past her. Adrian looked pissed, Jesse annoyed. As to Will…he looked disappointed. Well, she had tried to tell him to leave her alone. What did he think, that she was going to leave Toby for him? Not going to happen. “I really don't care.”

“You've betrayed us, Moira,” Adrian said. 

She laughed. “What is this? This is a game. Get over yourselves.”

“You don't deserve to be on the team anymore. You're consorting with the enemy.”

“The enemy?” she asked incredulously. 

“Choose,” Jesse ordered. “Us or him.”

“I choose him. I'll always choose him,” she said. 

It took a moment to let everything sink in. “Aren't you guys being a little over dramatic? The enemy? Wow.” He was about to say something else when he noticed Coty approaching. Wait; no it was Cory because the necklace was glowing. “Is there a problem?” he asked, folding his arms in front of him as if trying to be intimidating.

Now it looked like one of Toby's teammates was getting involved. If they kicked him off the team too, they really could run away together. Better to just get introductions out of the way. She stuck a hand out toward him. “Hi, I'm Moira. Toby's girlfriend.”

Cory raised an eyebrow. “So this is your cutie huh? Nice to meet you.” He offered his hand for a shake. “But what are you doing here though?”

When she took his hand to shake, she felt a jolt. It wasn't a good jolt, like when Toby touched her. She could feel two separate thought patterns roiling around in his mind. This must be the one with two people in the same body. She pulled her hand back quickly. “I'm on the show. Our team's being sent to Hawaii too. At least, the team I used to be on. Apparently, I've been voted off the island before we even reached it.” She gestured at her teammates who were still crowding the aisle behind him.

Cory raised an eyebrow. “Well hey, I bet we could fit you in with us if they want to be little shits about it.”

Toby smirked. This is why he liked Cory though. Then he saw Ryan coming over and he frowned. She was the difficult one.

“Why is everyone pow-wowing over here? Is there a problem?” Cory then filled her in and she stared at the other team with a raised eyebrow. “If I had known this was our competition I wouldn't have been so worried.” She then stared at Moira. “But I don't know if I’d consider you useful. You look more like a distraction seeing as how he already is losing sight of our goals to be with you.” She glared at Toby.

What a bitch. Toby really hadn't been kidding about here. She could be a bitch too. I'll show her how useful I can be, Moira thought. She reached into Ryan's mind--and sent a little shock through it. 

Ryan gasped. “What was that?”

Cory shook his head. “I don't know, but maybe you should be nicer to people.”

Moira couldn't help but laugh. “I think I could get to like you!” She looked at Ryan. “You, not so much. I think you'd fit in on my team, though. They're used to manipulative bitchiness. Maybe we should trade places.”

Ryan snorted. “I'm not manipulative. Id watch it before you say anything about people you barely know.”

“Speak for yourself. You've already decided that I'm a useless distraction.”

“Yeah, you're already distracting my team member,” Ryan pointed out.  Cory put his hands on her shoulders. 

“Chill. Look, I think everyone needs to calm down.”

“I agree,” Moira said. “Especially you idiots.” She looked pointedly at her team. 

“We should let her stay on the team,” Will said quietly. 

“You've got to be kidding me!” Lily exclaimed. 

“Look, we need her. Besides, it's not her fault. She was dating the guy before this show even started.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Toby said and rolled his eyes.  “Besides, if you think I'm going to let anything bad happen to her because of some game . . .”

Ryan glared at him. “So you'd sabotage us for her?”

“Ry? Chill.” Cory stressed the point.  “All of us have something to lose here.” He looked around at the group. “Personally, I think it's refreshing to see some positive emotions for a change instead of all the negativity. It's good to remember what I'm fighting for.” He stared at Ryan for a moment and then shook his head.

“So, what? We work together?” Moira asked. 

Cory shook his head. “Not unless we're supposed to. I just don't think we need to be flipping our shit over two kids who love each other.”

She smiled. “I agree.” She looked at the rest of her team. “Can you guys handle that?”

They nodded hesitantly. She glanced at Ryan. “Can you deal with this too?”

Ryan threw up her hands and walked away. Toby rolled his eyes a little.

Moira's team started to head back to their seats. Adrian paused at looked at the kid with the glowing necklace. “You know, there's something weird about you. It's like you're in the wrong body or something.” He shook his head and walked away. 

Moira laughed. “I'm not sure which one you are, sorry. But thank you. I won't forget how you stuck up for us.” She looked at Toby. “But what about the other two? You know, the brother,” she waved at the guy still standing by them, “and the telepathic girl. Are they going to be okay with this?”

Cory rolled his eyes at Adrian. He then shrugged at Moira. “We're talking now. He's not sure, but there's nothing to be done about it.”

“Do you call the shots or something?” she asked curiously.

Cory winked at her. “Something like that.” 

Toby nodded a thank you and put his head on Moira's shoulder.  “We'll figure this out.”

Moira snuggled up against Toby again. After all the drama, she felt exhausted. She closed her eyes. “Wake me when we reach Hawaii,” she murmured.

He nodded, but closed his eyes too.  “I promise.”

Episode 7: Leaving on a Jet Plane

“So where do you think they’re sending us this time?” Will asked Moira. She still wasn’t talking to him much after the events at the house. He couldn’t blame her. He had sort-of confessed his feelings for her and she didn’t return them. He didn’t care that she had a boyfriend. For all he knew, she was making the guy up. He hadn’t seen her emailing anyone lately. Maybe she had been lying . . . maybe there was a chance for him after all and she just didn’t want to admit it.

Moira shrugged, but didn’t answer him. She was annoyed that she had gotten stuck sitting next to him. She turned and stared out the window. The plane hadn’t taken off yet, but she figured the view of the airport and other planes would be better than having to talk to Will.

Her phone dinged and she dug it out of her pocket. “You’re supposed to have your phone off,” Lily said coldly from across the aisle.

Moira ignored her. The notification had been for an email from Toby. He was alive. He hadn’t been killed in the swamp like she had feared. Maybe he was getting sent to the same place as her for once . . .

“Where do you think they’re sending us?” Will asked again, his voice pitched louder so the rest of the team could hear from across the aisle.

“Who knows?” Adrian asked. That seemed to be his usual answer, and it was getting on Will’s nerves.

“Well, they obviously know! I just wish they’d tell us more,” he said.

“Chill, man,” Jesse said. “I’m sure we’ll find out soon.”

They had been given instructions to drive to LAX airport. The instructions contained a gate number and a note that their tickets were being held at the ticket counter. Nothing more.

Will leaned over toward Moira, who was clacking away on her phone. She tilted it so he couldn’t see. “Who are you emailing?” he asked.

She paused for a second and looked straight at him. “My boyfriend,” she replied shortly before returning to her typing.

So the guy was real. “How’d you meet him?” Will asked.

“None of your damn business.”

Will’s next question was cut off as the captain’s voice came over the intercom. “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. If you’ll note the emergency exits located . . .”

The team ignored the safety precautions. They’d heard them all before. Their attention was finally caught when the captain finally said: “We’ll be landing in about five hours. Enjoy your trip to Honolulu, Hawaii.”

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Episode 6: House of Horrors

            The team stood in front of the abandoned, dilapidated house. The front door was off one hinge and was standing ajar. The windows were all broken and there were holes in the porch. The roof was missing shingles and spider webs hung from the eaves. The paint was peeling and the grass around the house was dead.

            “Ugh! No way am I going in there,” Lily declared.

            “We have to, Lil. That’s our orders,” Adrian told her.

            When they had left their hotel room the morning after Disneyland, an envelope had been taped to the windshield of their car with only instructions to follow the GPS. They weren’t sure where they were or what they were supposed to do there.

            “It looks so creepy,” Moira said.

            Will sidled close to her, hoping she wouldn’t notice. He knew that she had a boyfriend, but he wasn’t here right now. Will would protect her. He crept an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry. Nothing bad can happen if we stick together.”

            Moira stared down at his arm, unsure of how to react. He was probably just trying to be nice, but still . . . She shrugged out from under it and moved away. “Don’t.”

            “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean . . .”

            “No need to be sorry. Just don’t do that.”

            “I wasn’t trying to hit on you,” Will told her. Who am I kidding? I was trying to, he thought to himself.

            She lifted an eyebrow. “You weren’t?”

            “No. I was just trying to be . . . comforting.”

            She wasn’t sure whether she believed him or not. She knew how guys could be. “Okay then.”

            “Can you two stop with the flirting? Let’s get this over with,” Jesse cut in.

            “We weren’t flirting!” Moira insisted.

            “I know flirting when I see it,” Jesse said.

            “I have a boyfriend,” she said indignantly.

            “Really? Then why haven’t we seen him? Or heard you talking to him?”

            “Because genius, we haven’t seen anyone. And all our calls are blocked. Remember?”

            Jesse didn’t know what to say to that. He just headed into the house, Lily and Adrian trailing him.

            “What are we supposed to be doing in here?” Adrian whispered to everyone as they stepped into the front hall.

            As soon as they were all inside, the door slammed shut behind them. They all jumped. “It was probably just the wind,” Jesse said nervously.

            “I hate to break it to you man, but there wasn’t any wind outside,” Will told him.

            They made their way down the hall, tripping over the debris that littered the floor. There was a creaking and then shrieking pierced the stillness of the air.

            “What was that?” Adrian asked.

            They looked all around. Lily and Moira were missing.

            “Where’d the girls go?” Jesse asked, his voice beginning to quaver.

            Will bent down. “There’s a sort of trap door here in the floor.” He tried to dig his fingernails into the small crack. “I can’t lift it.”

            Jesse and Adrian crouched down as well and tried pulling at the door. It wouldn’t budge. “We’re going to have to figure out another way to find them,” Adrian said.

            The three guys continued down the hall, searching the walls for doors.

            Moira and Lily had landed in a heap on the floor below. “Ow, I think I broke my wrist,” Lily complained.

            Moira rolled her eyes. “Let me see.” She turned and bent Lily’s wrist. “It doesn’t feel broken. I think it’s just sprained, or maybe bruised.” She wished Lily wouldn’t be so overly dramatic. “Let’s try to get out of here. It’s freaking me out.”

            They looked around the room that they were in. It was mostly dark. Moira stood up and tried to dust herself off. “Come on Lily. Let’s look for a door.” She turned to help Lily up. “Lily?”

            “Yeah?”

            “Lily? Where’d you go?”

            “I’m right here.” Lily jumped up and waved her hands in front of Moira’s face.

            “Lily?” Moira started to search the room as best as she could in the dim light. “Lily, this isn’t funny! We have to get out of here.”

            “I’m right here, you idiot.”

            Moira was starting to panic. She had to find Lily and get out of there. She was starting to feel claustrophobic in the tiny basement—or whatever it was. How had Lily disappeared so quickly? “Lily!” She turned around and ran face first into a cloth with something solid behind it. She backed up and when she realized what she was facing, she began to scream.

            Upstairs, the guys heard Moira’s shriek coming through the floorboards. They ran toward where they thought the screams were coming from. Adrian tumbled through another trap door. Before Jesse could follow, a giant black paw slammed him to the floor. A second paw was wedged in between the floor and the door, holding the door open. “What the heck, Will?”

            The black panther slowly morphed back into a human form. “Sorry man. Automatic reaction. Wanted to make sure the trap didn’t shut. I can lower you down if you want to help, and then hold the door open.”

            Jesse peered through the opening. “It looks pretty dark down there.” He smirked. “Good thing I have fire power. Go ahead and lower me down.”

            Will stretched out on his stomach on the floor. Jesse sat on the lip of the opening and grasped Will’s hand. Will lowered him down. “You okay?” he called down.

            “Yeah, thanks,” Jesse called. He held up his palm and concentrated until a spark lit in his hand. He immediately saw Moira backing away from a tall, shadowy figure. She was still screaming. “Hey! Leave her alone.” He threw the spark of fire toward the shape of what looked like a person. The fire caught the robe and it began to spread quickly.

            Moira hit a wall and fell to the floor. Adrian appeared from behind Jesse and yanked her out of the way of the fiery shape. The thing disappeared. They froze and looked around for it, but they couldn’t find anything.

            “Moira, where’s Lil?” Adrian finally asked.

            “I can’t find her,” she admitted. “After we fell, I checked her wrist and then she just disappeared.”

            “What?” He began to wander around the small room, looking for his sister. All three of them called for her.

            “I’m going to try something,” Moira finally said. “Lily!” she called. “If you can hear me, focus your thoughts on me. I’m going to try to tune into you.”

            She looked at Adrian and Jesse. “I need both of you to be totally silent.” Lily, can you hear me?

            Yes! I’m right here, Lily’s thoughts came to her, but they seemed weak.

            Moira followed the thoughts until she found a place where they seemed to be the strongest. “Am I close?” she asked.

            Yes.

            “Try to grab my hand.”

            She felt something solid connect with her hand and she grabbed for it. As soon as she touched it, Lily came into view.

            “Lily!” Adrian shouted, running for his sister. He grabbed her into a hug. “What happened?”

            “I don’t know. I’ve been here the whole time. It’s like no one could see me.”

            “Let’s get out of here,” Jesse suggested.

            They headed back for where Will still held the door open. He pulled them up one by one. Moira was last. When she cleared the floor, he stood as well and held onto her for a moment.

            She stared at him. “Will I told you I have a boyfriend.”

            “I know.” He hesitated for a moment, and then said, “If that ever changes, I’ll be here.”

            She pulled away from him. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to change.” She walked away and followed the others out of the house.

            Will trailed behind her, wondering what he could do to change her mind.

TO BE CONTINUED . . . 

Episode 5: Fireworks

“What’s this?” Will asked, grabbing an envelope off the windshield of the car.

“Must be our so-called reward,” Adrian guessed.

“What’s in it?” Lily asked, standing on her toes to try to see past her brother.

Will pulled five slips of paper out of the envelope. His eyes went wide and he smiled. “Looks like we’re going to Disneyland!”

“Seriously?” Jesse, Adrian and Lily chorused.

“You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve seen you smile,” Moira pointed out.

“Well, I’ve never been to a theme park. And yes, seriously,” Will said.

“You sound like my boyfriend!” Moira said. “Don’t you live in San Jose?”

“Yeah, so?” Will was a little disappointed to find out that Moira had a boyfriend. She was so much nicer to him than the others on the team and he was really starting to like her. Oh well.

“Don’t you have like Great America or whatever it’s called now there?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think it’s still called that, but I’ve never been.”

“Dude, let’s go!” Jesse demanded.

They finished throwing their bags in the trunk and climbed into the car. Moira immediately pulled out her phone and started typing away.

“How are you texting?” Jesse leaned over to ask. “I thought texts and calls were blocked.”

“I’m not texting,” she replied shortly.

“Emailing?”

She nodded, but didn’t answer.

“I didn’t know emails were allowed.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not even sure they’re going through anymore.”

“Why’s that?” Adrian asked as he pulled the car onto the freeway.

Seriously, does everyone have to be involved in this conversation? Moira wondered to herself. She still wasn’t ready to tell them about Toby, but she was getting worried that she had barely heard from him. Maybe the show had blocked emails now. “Because I haven’t gotten an answer,” she finally admitted.

“Can we please be done with Moira’s whining about how her little boyfriend won’t answer her?” Lily sighed from the passenger seat.

“Who said it was my boyfriend?” Moira asked.

“You wouldn’t care if it was your mom not answering you back. None of us are here because we have good relationships with our parents.”

“Actually, I do have a good relationship with my mom.”

“Whatever. You’re just trying to get away from the fact that your boyfriend’s probably not answering you because he found someone else,” Lily said.

Moira’s heart sank. That couldn’t be true. Toby wouldn’t do that to her.

Lily flipped down her sun visor and caught the look on Moira’s face in her mirror. She may not like Moira, but she didn’t want to hurt her. She should change the subject. “So, what are we doing when we get to Disney? I want to go to the Sleeping Beauty Castle.”

“No, let’s go on the Pirates ride first!” Jesse said.

“Nah, man, let’s go on Space Mountain,” Adrian chimed in.

This began a debate that lasted all the way to Anaheim. Once they got through the gate, Moira announced, “I’m going to Star Tours. Anyone want to join me?”

Lily rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath.

“What was that?” Moira asked.

“I said, ‘Geek’.” She laughed.

“Whatever. I’m going. I’ll see you guys later.” She started to walk away.

“Wait, I’ll go with you!” Will called, jogging after her.

“Hey, meet us later at Frontierland. I think there’s supposed to be fireworks,” Adrian said. He turned to Lily as Moira and Will wandered off. “Come on, Lil. Let’s get you some mouse ears.” He put his arm around his sister’s shoulders and jerked his head at Jesse to follow them. “We need to enjoy this place while we can.”

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Challenge Four: The Valley of Death

            “Oh God, how are we going to get through this?” Moira asked as she stared across the desert.

            “It’s so hot!” Lily exclaimed.

            Moira gave her a withering look. “It’s only going to get hotter,” she reminded her.

            “It’s only twelve miles,” Will shrugged. “That’ll take, what, four hours?”

            “Are you crazy?” Moira asked him. “It’s supposed to be up to almost hundred and ten degrees today! It’s going to take way longer than that. We have to go slow, and stop to rest a lot. We need to drink a lot of water too.” She held up a container of water. “I hope this is going to be enough. I don’t think there are any reservoirs out there.”

            Adrian and Jesse were still smearing sunscreen on themselves. “You realize that’s going to take a while to start working?” Will asked.

            Adrian gave him a wide grin. “We want to tan, but not burn.”

            Moira rolled her eyes at them. “The sun’s not even out yet you guys. It won’t be for a few hours.”

            “Yeah, but if it comes out before we’re done, we’re ready!” Jesse chimed in.

            “You two are idiots,” she said. “Do you even realize that we’re risking heat exhaustion, heat stroke, dehydration, and probably numerous sun-related illnesses?”

            Adrian grinned. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

            “I look ridiculous in this hat!” Lily wailed.

            “It’s not a fashion show,” Moira reminded her. “No one’s going to see us. Besides, we’re all wearing the same thing.” She pointed at her own floppy wide-brimmed hat.

            “Let’s get this over with before the sun comes up,” Jesse grumbled. “I want to get the hell out of here and go lay by a pool somewhere.”

            Will threw the sunscreen into his pack and they began their descent into the valley. It was slow going. They slipped and slid in the sand.

            Partway down, Lily’s ankle turned under her and she started sliding. Adrian and Jesse immediately ran after her. When they caught up to her, she had stopped sliding and lay on her side. She was crying.

            “Lil, you gotta stop crying,” Adrian told her.

            “Why?” she sobbed.

            “Because you’re losing fluids and we don’t have enough water to replace them. We don’t want you to get sick.”

             She sniffled a few more times. By the time Moira and Will had caught up to them, she had stopped. Adrian and Jesse pulled her to her feet and Adrian helped her dust the sand off. She turned to her brother. “I want to go home.”

            “I know, Lil, but we can’t. We gotta finish this. If we don’t finish this—if we don’t win—we could all go to jail. You don’t want that, do you?” Adrian asked.

            She shook her head. “No. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to go home.”

            “I know, Lil. But I need you to be strong. Can you do that for me? For Jess?”

            She nodded.

            “How about being strong for us too?” Moira called. “I’m sick of your whining.”

            “Oh will you just stop being such a bitch?” Lily shouted.

            Moira stared at her in surprise. “Excuse me?”

            “I’m sick of you being so mean to me!”

            “I wouldn’t be so mean to you if you would quit your damn whining and do something useful for a change!” Moira flung back.

            “Maybe if you would leave me the hell alone then I could!”

            Moira smiled. “Well, it’s about time you got a backbone.”

            “Uhhh . . . I hate to interrupt this lovely conversation, but I think I saw something moving over there.” Will pointed to the right of them.

            Everyone was instantly on alert. “What did you see?” Jesse asked.

            “I’m not sure, but it looked human.”

            Lily gasped. “Do you think it was one of those Hunters?”

            This time, they all saw the shape moving in the distance. It definitely looked human, and it was moving toward them.

            “Run!” Adrian ordered.

            He grabbed his sister’s hand and started dragging her behind him. The others took off after them. The wind picked up as they were running. Sand flew all around, blinding them.

            “I think I see a dune we can try to hide behind,” Will tried to shout over the wind, hoping that the Hunter wouldn’t hear him.

            They struggled toward the place that Will pointed toward, which looked to be a mile or more than their present position. Moira tripped and fell. Her ankle rolled beneath her. She fought to regain her feet. When she tried to put weight on her ankle, she cried out and collapsed to the ground again.

            She was quickly being left behind. No one had noticed her fall. She tried to yell for her teammates, but her mouth quickly filled up with sand. She grimaced and spat it out. Obviously, that wouldn’t work. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Help, she thought.

            She opened her eyes. No one had turned around. Help! This time, she tried to throw the thought out toward her teammates.

            She almost cried in relief when she saw Will pause. He turned around, frowning. He finally noticed Moira lying on the ground and floundered through the sand toward her. “What happened?” he asked when he reached her.

            “I twisted my ankle,” she shouted above the screaming wind.

            “Can you stand?”

            She shook her head.

            Will didn’t hesitate. He reached down and picked her up. “Hold on!” he ordered, then started to run after the others.

            They finally reached the dune and ducked down behind it. “I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Moira told them after Will placed her on the ground.

            “Why?” Adrian asked.

            “Because the wind might pile the sand up back here. We could get covered.”

            “Oh crap. I didn’t think of that.” Adrian thought for a minute. “Let me try to see if the Hunter is still out there.” He slowly stood up, and peeked around the dune. He edged around the corner and soon the rest of the team couldn’t see him anymore.

            They waited what felt like an eternity. They tried to take advantage of the time to rest, but they began to worry if Adrian had been captured.

            The wind had begun to die down, when Adrian finally popped back around the corner. “Hey!” he said.

            They all jumped. “I think the Hunter guy’s gone. I don’t see anyone,” he told them.

            They made their way out from behind the dune. Everyone looked around, but they didn’t see anything either. Just more sand.

            They began to walk again, the guys taking turns carrying Moira, who still couldn’t walk. When they finally reached the edge of the desert, they nearly collapsed in exhaustion.

            “Hey, there’s our car!” Lily pointed.

            “I wonder how it got over here?” Jesse asked.

            “It was brought over for you, of course,” Chance Cagney said from behind them.

            “Dude! How do you always show up out of no where?” Adrian asked.

            Chance grinned. “I have my ways, Mr. Rayne.” He turned his attention to the rest of the team. “Well, I think you have all earned a reward. Enjoy the day—and night—off. You will find information about your reward tomorrow.” He turned and walked away.

            The team all stood around, staring at each other. “Now what?” Jesse finally asked.

            “Let’s find someplace to sleep,” Moira suggested.

            They all agreed and headed for the car.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Challenge Three: Going Going, Back Back, to Cali Cali

            “Where the hell were you?” Adrian demanded when Moira appeared from behind a booth.

            “I—I got something to eat and I was playing some games,” she said.

            “By yourself?”

            “Yeah,” she lied. She couldn’t tell them about Toby. Not yet.

            “So, you won that panda yourself?” Adrian asked, nodding at the stuffed animal Moira held in her arms.

            “Uh . . . yeah. I’m really good at games.”

            Lily came up to Moira and got as close to her as the giant panda would allow. “We were looking for you forever and you were off playing games?”

            “Not so timid now, is she?” Moira muttered to herself under her breath. Raising her voice, she said, “Yeah. After being trapped in that tiny room, I had to go do something fun. Got a problem with that?”

            Lily quickly backed off. “No, I guess not.”

            “So what now?” Jesse asked.

            “Well, we’re supposed to have the night off. Why don’t we go get some food—those of us that haven’t already,” Adrian suggested, looking pointedly at Moira. “Then we can have some fun and find someplace to crash for the night. I guess we’ll get our instructions in the morning.”

            “Hey, it’s not my fault you guys didn’t eat!” Moira said.

            “Actually, yeah it is,” Lily told her. “We were looking for you instead of eating.”

            “Well, sor-ry. Let’s go find you guys some food.” She hoped that they wouldn’t run into Toby and his team. Not that she didn’t want to see him again, but it would be hard to not go up to him and they couldn’t risk their respective teams finding out about them yet.

            Moira trailed behind the rest of the group as they wandered through the fair, trying to decide what to eat. She wanted nothing more than to go find a hotel room, maybe email Toby like she had promised, and curl up in bed. She was still trying to process her time with Toby. She was overwhelmingly happy that she had finally been able to see him in person, able to actually touch him—but at the same time, she hated the fact that they were competing against each other.

            She was so absorbed in her thoughts, that she didn’t notice when Will dropped back to walk next to her. “Are you okay?” he asked her quietly.

            She jumped and almost dropped the panda that she was still clutching. “Yeah!” she laughed, cringing a little at how high her voice was pitched.

            “I know that after being trapped in that tiny room like you were, I probably wouldn’t be okay,” he told her.

            She stopped walking and stared him down. “Look, I told you I’m fine. I don’t need someone to coddle me.”

            “Fine,” Will mumbled. “I was just trying to make sure you were okay.”

            Moira hesitated. Maybe she should be a little nicer to him. He had freed her from one of her worst nightmares, after all. “Sorry. It’s just been a long day, and I’m a little tired.”

            “S’okay,” Will said. He started to walk away.

            “Will?”

            He stopped and looked back at Moira again. “Yeah?”

            “Thanks for saving me in there.”

            He shrugged. “No problem.”

            After everyone had eaten, they stood around, trying to decide what to do next. “Should we go on some rides?” Lily suggested.

            “Lil, I’m too tired for rides,” Jesse said. “Let’s go find a motel room or something for the night.”

            They all headed for the parking lot. When they reached the car, everyone turned to stare at Moira. “You’re not really going to bring that thing in the car with us, are you?” Lily asked.

            Moira clutched her panda protectively. “Hell yes I am!”

            Lily rolled her eyes while Will helped Moira try to fit the stuffed animal in the trunk with their bags. “I don’t know why she bothered to get that thing,” she muttered to her brother and Jesse.

            “Hey!” Moira said as she slammed the trunk. “What I get or don’t get is none of your damn business.”

            Lily shrank back behind Adrian. “Sorry.”

            “She sure gives up easily, doesn’t she?” Moira whispered to Will. He nodded in agreement.

            After driving around for a little while, they found a small motel on the main road through the town. Adrian and Lily went inside to check them in while the others waited in the car.

            “The biggest they had was a room with two beds,” Adrian told them when he and Lily came out of the office.

            “I’ll sleep on the floor,” Will volunteered.

            “You sure, man? Jess or I can sleep on the floor,” Adrian said.

            “Yeah, it’s cool. I don’t mind.”

            “Okay,” Adrian agreed, shrugging his shoulders.

            They all dragged their bags out of the trunk. Moira tried to grab her panda, but everyone else got so annoyed that she had to leave it there.

            “Well, it’s not much, but it’s only for one night,” Jesse said when they got to their room.

            “Are you kidding me? This whole place looks like it’s straight out of some bad slasher film!” Moira said as she came up behind him.

            They stood just inside the room and took in the threadbare bedding, the worn 70’s style brown shag carpet, and the thin curtains. “This is worse than the room we woke up in,” Will said.

            “Whatever, let’s just go to sleep. We can get out of here first thing in the morning,” Adrian said.

            “And go where? We have no idea what we’re supposed to do next,” Moira reminded them.

            “Uhhh . . . maybe there will be a message on the TV again, or in the CD player,” Jesse said.

            “Do I have to share with her?” Lily asked her brother.

            “No, you can sleep with me,” Adrian told her.

            “Hold on a minute!” Moira said. “As much as I would rather not share with Lily, there’s no way I’m sharing a bed with Jesse.”

            “Afraid you can’t keep your hands off me?” Jesse asked, slinging an arm across Moira’s shoulders.           

            She stepped away and shrugged Jesse’s arm off of her. “Ew, no! I have a boyfriend. And since I have yet to even sleep in the same bed as him, there’s no way I’m sleeping in the same bed as some guy I barely know. Lily, you’re going to have to share with me.”

            “It’s okay, Lil,” Adrian reassured her. “Jess and I will sleep by the door. You and Moira can take the other bed. Nothing’s going to hurt you. That is, nothing’s gonna come inside and hurt you. I can’t say the same about her.” He nodded at Moira.

            “What is this, gang up on Moira night? I’m not going to hurt her or anyone else,” Moira said.

            “You don’t kick in your sleep, do you?” Lily asked.

            “Not that I know of.”

            They took turns in the small bathroom so they could change into pajamas and brush their teeth. They finally settled down to sleep, but their sleep was plagued by nightmares of what had happened to them in the funhouse earlier that day.

            They woke early in the morning and got ready quickly. “Should we just wait around and see if anyone comes to give us instructions?” Jesse asked as they were repacking their bags.

            “I vote for food,” Will said.

            “Good idea, man,” Adrian told him. “Let’s go check out and go find some breakfast.”

            Jesse volunteered to drive. “Can I sit up front again?” Lily asked.

            “Yeah, we don’t want you puking on us,” Adrian said.

            “You mean I’m stuck in the back, in between two guys again?” Moira wanted to know. She had had horrible dreams the night before, of Toby being trapped in a box drowning while she was barricaded in a small room desperately trying to get to him. She hadn’t slept well and was inwardly cursing the fact that either of them had gone on the show. She hoped to God that they would both survive it.

            “Yes, you’re stuck with me and Will,” Adrian told her.

            “Great.” She rolled her eyes as they all climbed in the car.

            As soon as Jesse turned the key in the ignition, the CD player came on with Chance Cagney’s voice. “Good morning, my little criminals! We’re bringing you a choice this morning. Two options await you. You may either head to Florida and brave the swamps, or go to California and try your luck in Death Valley. Both locations have been programmed into your GPS. You simply have to choose one. You will find supplies in the trunk. Remember, the Hunters will be following you no matter where you go. Good luck.”

            “So, where to?” Moira asked.

            “California!” Adrian, Lily and Jesse said in unison.

            She sighed and wondered which destination Toby’s team had picked. “Seriously? The desert?”

            “Swamps sound disgusting,” Lily offered. “Besides, then we won’t be that far from home!”

            “Lil, Death Valley is like six hours from home,” Adrian reminded her.

            “Whatever. It’s closer than we are now.”

            “So, food first?” Jesse asked.

            “Yep,” Adrian agreed. “Then we’ll head out.”

            “Wait, did anyone see any supplies in the trunk when we stuck our bags in there?” Will asked.

            A chorus of “no’s” met his question.

            “We’ll figure it out when we get there,” Adrian said. “If Chance said there’s supplies, then there should be supplies. If not, then we can buy whatever we need, right? I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”

TO BE CONTINUED . . . 

At Last (Part One)

Toby couldn't handle being with his "team" any longer. After their near death experience in the fun house, he needed some space to recollect himself, to feel normal. The game was over for the night, and nothing sounded more appealing to him than letting loose, eating something greasy and deep fried, and blowing some cash on an aggressive game, or two, or three. He also wanted to find a WiFi hot-spot for his laptop to see if he could get online to talk to Moira. At that point, he'd just about sell his soul to hear her voice and see her face.

Funny, because as he walked through the carnival, he noticed someone who looked an awful lot like her. Toby rubbed at his eyes, slapped his face a few times, and then pinched himself. Not possible. She couldn't be there. Could she? What was she doing there even? No, his eyes had to be playing tricks on him. Still, as much as he wanted to just keep walking, he followed the girl with the dark hair who looked practically identical to the girl he loved whom he'd never met. The one he'd been dating online for the past six months. And he felt his heart beat faster the closer and closer he got to her.

Soon he was right behind her, his hand outstretched as if to touch her, but he held back. Until someone shoved him into her and he knocked her to the ground. "Shit, sorry." He mumbled, completely embarrassed. And then his eyes met hers.

“What the hell? Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” Moira yelled from the ground. She stared up at the guy who had knocked her down. “Oh my God, Toby?” Moira couldn’t believe her eyes. There’s no way he could really be here. It was impossible! She hadn’t even gotten a chance to tell him that she was going to be on this show. Had he tracked her down somehow? “Is that really you?”

He had a great reply for her, but he was completely shocked that it actually was her. "Moira? Are you shitting me? It really is you?" He had to pinch himself again. "Sorry some asshole pushed me into you, but I saw you from that way." He pointed in the general direction of the fun house. "I had to see...and I'm glad I did baby. Wow you look..." He couldn't take his eyes from her.

“It’s really me. I can’t believe this!” She finally tore her eyes from his and glanced around, realizing she was still on the ground. She flushed, embarrassed that her first meeting with Toby in person involved her being sprawled out on the ground like a moron. “I guess I should get up.”

"Oh here." He offered his hand and pulled her up. Ace boyfriend move right there. Just leave her on the ground idiot. He sighed and nervously put a hand through his dark shaggy hair. "What are you doing in Colorado?" he asked at last as he tried to regain his insides. He was amazed at how he didn't feel as awkward as he initially imagined the moment being.

“Thanks.” She couldn’t stop staring at him. It was nothing like seeing him on Skype. To actually see him in person...she felt like she was in a dream. “Well, I’m sort of on this show. Like this reality show thing. I know, it sounds kind of dumb.”

That was when he crapped a proverbial brick. "Did you say a reality show?" His jaw dropped further. "No freaking way. That's why I'm here too!"

This was beginning to become bizarre. “Are you serious? Wait, is the one you’re on called Escape?”

He nodded slowly. Then it dawned on him that his traumatic experience in the fun house...she might have gone through that too. "Are you okay? You didn't get hurt did you?" He could ask about why she was even there later. He paused. "You're not on my team. Ahhhh shit." He scowled. "Dammit all."

“Oh crap. Do you think they’ll let us switch?” She wondered how much she should tell him about what had happened in there. Wait, what was she thinking? This was her boyfriend she was talking to. She could tell him anything. She didn’t have to act like things didn’t bother her. “I’m not hurt, at least not physically. But they locked me in this tiny room. I was terrified.”

He put an arm around her, instantly wanting to comfort her after the words 'I was terrified' were uttered. "I doubt we can switch. This sucks." He sighed, happy to actually be able to hold her. This was weird. He almost stopped but realized he was her boyfriend. This should be cool.

Her heart felt like it was going to stop when Toby’s arm went around her. It felt so good to be held by him, especially after what had happened in the fun house. She snuggled closer to him. “It does suck. All my teammates are assholes. I’d much rather be on a team with you.”

"Mine are too,” he groaned. "This one guy is completely worthless. You should swap places with him." She didn't pull away from him, so he took this as a good signal and put his hand a little lower on her hip, admiring the curve, and moving her in closer. "Let's...let's do something fun. Forget about all of that crap for a little while?"

She tentatively threaded her arm around Toby’s waist, hoping that he wouldn’t notice and freak out. “Sounds good to me. What do you want to do?”

"I think its one of my boyfriend duties to win you a huge ass stuffed animal. Food sounds good. I'm starving." And he needed to comfort eat like a total girl, but it was the only familiar thing he had at the moment.

She grinned at him. “A huge ass stuffed animal sounds amazing. I don’t know how I’m going to get it in that ghetto thing they claim is a car, but I’ll figure it out. And food definitely sounds good. I’m starving too.” She hadn’t eaten all day, afraid that she was going to throw up from the fear of being stuck in that “fun” house.

"Anything in particular you want?" He asked. "There's teddy bears, unicorns, gorillas, pandas, I could probably win any of these games with my super jock powers. And for food we have um..." he paused trying to find something she might eat. "Cheese curds maybe?"

“I’m not much of a teddy bear person, but I make an exception for pandas. But I’d be happy with anything you want to win me. And cheese curds? Ew! Sorry, but that just sounds nasty.” She laughed. “What about a funnel cake instead?”

"Panda it is! Which is easier for me because it’s the basketball game and we all know I'm totally amazing there." He was kidding, but it helped him cope with not focusing on any of the negative implications floating around., like how she was competition now, and the cameras. Were those on now? And if he won what did she miss out on? "Okay so no cheese curds. I was just trying to appease your vegetarian side since these isn't a lot that isn't meat on a stick." He paused. "You won't kill me if I get a corndog will you?" He gave her a sweet and innocent smile. "I'll get you a funnel cake and I see potato skins up that way. Wow, mini donuts!"

“Yes, we all know how amazing you are—at sports, I mean.” She blushed. Man, what was with her today? She figured it must be a combination of not eating, the stress of being trapped in the fun house, and the excitement of finally meeting Toby in person. Speaking of which, it had just occurred to her that they were now competing against each other. What would happen to them if her team won, and his lost? Or the other way around? She couldn’t be thinking about that right now. “No, I won’t kill you if you get a corndog. But you do realize that they’re not even real meat, right? They’re just cast-off parts of animals that they’ve caged and tortured.”

"I bet I'm amazing at more than just sports too." He said confidently. Not like he'd know or anything seeing as how he'd never had a girlfriend near him, but he did have a lot of self-esteem. Plus he was smart; he had a lot to offer. "And I know they're not real meat, but I'm staaaaaaarving. Though, I could skip it tonight and just go for the potatoes." Wonderful, filling, carbs with cheese. It would probably be better for him in the long run too. "Oh look! That one has fried veggies on a stick!" He dragged her over that way so they could investigate. "Looks like eggplant, carrots, mushrooms...I'm getting it." He went into his pockets to dig out the cash they'd pulled from the ATM earlier so he could pay. "What about you? Enticed?"

“You’re pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you? I guess I’ll try the fried veggies, and maybe a couple of the potatoes. Ugh, why’d I agree to go on this show? If I’m going to be eating nothing but junk food...maybe I should have stayed home. Oh, and you don’t have to pay for all of it. I have money too.”

"I'm just happy to be eating right now, and with those hunters..." He shuddered a little. "I'm not worried about gaining weight, that's for sure. It's one night of indulging. It won't hurt you. You're super hot babe." He looked down at her and met her eyes briefly, took a moment to check her out again because wow she was so much hotter in person than he ever could have imagined, and then looked back up at the menu. "Anyway, what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn't pay for my girl? You can get the next one."

“Thanks. And you’re right, we should be eating now while we have a chance. Those hunters scare the hell out of me. Who knows when they're going to pop up?" She glanced around before continuing. “Besides, I didn’t eat all day, so I guess one meal of fried food won’t hurt...” She broke off when she noticed him staring at her. “Toby, why do you keep staring at me? It’s not like you didn’t know what I look like.”

He shifted as she caught him staring and he quickly averted his eyes to somewhere, anywhere else. "I've always thought you were super gorgeous, beautiful, hot, sexy, awesome looking. Even more so now that you're four dimensional, well, maybe five now because I can touch you, and taste you, I mean..." He blushed. 

He shouldn't even be thinking beyond the hand holding cuddling stage, but for so long he'd been wondering what it would be like to touch her and kiss her. Especially kiss her. He'd always wondered what that would be like in general. "It's different, but um. I'll stop now. Food." 

He got back on track. "We'll find something non-fried to balance it out or whatever."  He bit his lower lip, "You don't think the hunters will come again tonight do you? I mean, Chance said we got the night off, but...I don't know how much I trust him."

Oh crap. She’d upset him. She grabbed his arm. “Toby, I didn’t mean it like that! I wasn’t trying to be mean. Damn it, I’m totally screwing this up, aren’t I? I mean, I like you staring at me...ahhh this isn’t coming out right! It’s totally different than talking to you online and I kind of don’t know what to say...I don’t know if I should touch you or if it would freak you out, you know?”

He took his eyes off the menu board to look back down at her again. "Babe, you're my girl. Whatever you want it's yours. Do with me as you please. I meant it when I said I'm yours. You honestly think I'm going to freak out on you?" He laughed, "Trust me. I'm cool. I just wasn't sure if you were. I mean, this isn't how I was planning on meeting you. I wanted it to be a little more romantic. But...carnivals are pretty romantic. And I think there's a tunnel of love ride too." Was that too forward of him? He didn't know, but they had been dating for six months. He would have made out with her via computer screen if he didn't think it was weird as hell.

“That’s good to hear. Sooo...carnivals are romantic? I’ve never really thought of them that way . . . more as a source of terror, as proved today. But maybe you can show me a different side of them?”

"I can try," he said. "Back home this kind of thing is huge. They come and set up, it's a three day event." He finally was able to get the food and pay. With a gentle hand, he led her off to the side. He immediately started to devour the fried veggies. "Ugh, this is like heaven right now."

She reached for one of the fried veggies and tentatively bit into it. “These aren’t as bad as I thought they would be. The closest we have back home is a theme park. Although, they do have a carnival every once in a while in San Jose, which isn’t far from where I live. It’s mostly food and games...nothing compared to this.”

"Theme parks are nothing to the real deal." He grinned, determined to make this a great time for them both and to make the most of it. If he didn't think about the game, about the hunters, about anything else having to do with what brought them there, then he couldn't let it spoil the fun. "Okay, so we need the panda." He pointed to the basketball hoop game. "Ya know, I've never been to a theme park."

“Are you serious? That sucks. I mean they’re not all that great, but everyone should go at least once in their lives. The one in Santa Cruz has rides, games, shopping, food, mini-golf...but when I go, I spend most of my time in the arcade.”

"I was supposed to go to King's Island once with my family, but I ended up getting food poisoning. While everyone else left, I stayed home with my grandma and puked my guts out,” he said as he finished wolfing down his food. "Fun times, let me tell you. We were supposed to go again this summer, but I kind of screwed that one up big time. It sounds like fun. You should take me sometime." He nudged her playfully. "Show me what I'm missing out on out in the country."

“That doesn’t sound like fun. I don’t know much about the rest of the country, but I can show you around Santa Cruz. That is...if you want to come see me when this is all over.”

"Uh, hell yes I do!" He wanted to be anywhere she was, and anywhere that was far away from home. He hated home. "Unless you think I'm annoying and you don't want to bring me back with you. I bet I could fit in your suitcase or something if I tried hard enough. You could sneak me in."

She grinned. She liked the idea of him being at her house. “Of course I don’t think you’re annoying! And I wouldn’t have to sneak you in. My mom wouldn’t mind if you came to visit. In fact, I can guarantee she’d say you could stay as long as you like. She’d probably think you’d be a good influence on me!”

"Really?" He smiled at that. He liked that her mom liked him and them together. His parents always sort of rolled his eyes and hoped he'd grow out of the Internet stage, but they never understood. They thought she was sweet and pretty, but they didn't like that she wasn't physical. But now she was.

He stopped at the basketball game and gave the attendant some tickets. "Alright. One panda coming right up." And with ease and the near perfect form that earned him his position as starting forward, he dropped the ball into the net five times in a row. He pointed to the panda, which was fairly large, but not so big she couldn't carry it easily in her arms. He made sure that she was holding it before he kissed her cheek just in case she'd try to slap him or something. "Now you can cuddle with it and think of me. Since...I mean...it could be a lil bit before we..." he swallowed. This wasn't fair. At all.

Her hand flew up to touch where he had just kissed her and she almost dropped her new panda. She smiled at him, but she felt like she wanted to cry. “It’s not fair!” she finally said, feeling a little like a five-year-old throwing a tantrum. “None of this is fair. I hate that we had to meet like this, on this stupid show...I mean, I’m glad that we finally met, but I definitely wouldn’t have planned it like this. And now we’re going to be separated!”

"We can try to keep meeting? I can help you!" he insisted. "We can leave each other clues and hints online. I duno. Anything!"

“That’s a great idea! I mean, we’re basically going to be in the same places at the same time anyway, right? We can sneak away after the challenges like we did tonight!”

"Yes!" He liked this idea. The more time he could spend with her the better. "So now you have your panda. How about a ride?" He wasn’t kidding about the tunnel of love, but he didn’t know if he should suggest it or something else. He did want this date to feel normal though.

“Sounds good to me. What did you have in mind? Please, no roller coasters or anything like that. I don’t really like heights.”

"Then that rules out the Ferris wheel." He snapped his fingers. "We have a carousel, looks like a haunted house ride but id rather stay away from all things houses right now. The tunnel of luuuuurve." He made a dorky face at that one. "Scrambler, the octopus, and the spinning strawberry thing."

She hesitated for a moment. Would it be too forward of her to suggest the tunnel of love ride? She kind of liked the idea of being alone with him in the dark...“Whatever’s the quietest ride, I guess. I kind of need to relax a little after the fiasco of the fun house.”

"So let's go on the tunnel, quiet and dark." He paused unsure if this is her indirect way of saying she wanted that kind of time with him. "And no pressure, promise." He was just happy to touch her instead of a computer screen.

She was glad that he had suggested it instead of her. “Sounds good to me. But what are we going to do with the panda?”

"Panda can make sure we don't get too frisky. Plus I think there's a back seat anyway." He waggled his eyebrows playfully. Maybe he was getting a little too excited. His fingers interlaced with hers again and he led her towards the ride, his tickets ready.

*This is a collaborative story between Brea Essex and J.F. Jenkins (Team Introv3rsion). To read Part Two, please visit http://introv3rsion.blogspot.com/