(Field)
The sun beat down on the trio of Jacquie, Caleb, and Mel. The three had been walking through the grassy hills still coming up with nothing.
"Ugh, my feet are getting tired," Jacquie groaned. "All of me is getting tired, we've got no food and the sun won't stay up forever."
"Oh please, do you do ANYTHING other than complain?" Mel snapped.
"We've got to find something eventually," Caleb said. "Nothing goes on forever. I'm sure we can eat some…uh…"
He glanced around their surroundings.
"Grass?" he suggested.
"Sounds healthy," Mel remarked sarcastically.
"Let's just keep moving," Jacquie sighed.
After some more time passed, Caleb noticed something.
"Look up ahead, I think we may have found something," he exclaimed as he pointed to a silhouette.
"About time," Jacquie exclaimed.
They picked up the base and moved towards their target. As they neared it they saw it was a tent.
"Do you think it's one of the others?" Caleb asked.
"Only one way to find out," Jacquie said.
The approached the campsite. A woman emerged from the tent. She was an older woman with gray hair done in a braid. She wore a sleeveless brown tunic and gold yellow pants.
"I…don't think she's another player," Jacquie remarked.
"She must be a part of the virtual world," Caleb replied.
"You know I can hear you, right?" the woman said.
"Oh…sorry, uh…ma'am?" Caleb said.
"My name is Gillian," she said. "I was traveling with a group to the city, but we were overcome by the goblins. There were too many of them…I was the only one of my companions to escape."
"Well they clearly were a bunch of lightweights," Mel scoffed.
"All of her friends just died, maybe try a little tact," Caleb said.
"Newsflash, she's a computer generated projection, she doesn't have feelings!" Mel snapped. "And we handled those little monsters just fine, so I don't see what she's sobbing about."
"Well, that is good to hear then," Gillian interrupted, "if you can handle those beasts then perhaps you'd be able to accompany to the city. I've been too afraid to travel again on my own, but I've run out of supplies and I must make it there soon."
"This sounds perfect," Caleb remarked. "We can maybe find some food and shelter at this town and she knows the way."
"And not to mention this very well could be one of the goals we're meant to fulfill," Jacquie said.
"OR it sounds like a waste of time!" Mel snapped. "Nothing exciting ever happens at cities. This just sounds like an unnecessary distraction."
"Well it's better than just aimlessly wandering around," Caleb said.
"I disagree!" Mel spat. "You want to know where all the adventure is happening? It's out there with those monsters! We're not here to play babysitter, we're here to take a hint and get rid of them, now who's with me!?"
"Uh…I vote town," Jacquie said.
"Fine, I'll go on my own, I don't need you slowing me down," Mel grumbled as she marched back the way they had come.
"So…I take it she will not be joining us?" Gillian asked.
"Guess not," Caleb replied.
"Good," Gillian said.
(Forest)
Keith was walking along the ground by now. He was cautiously keeping his distance from any dangling vines, which proved to be difficult as they were nearly everywhere.
"Ugh, this is cruel," he sighed as he stopped to rest on a rock. "I could be soaring through the trees right now if I didn't have to mistrust every vine out here."
He glared at a nearby vine dangling by his face.
"Keep your distance," he ordered.
He should have been more worried about the vine behind him though. It slinked down to his back and rested on his shoulder, before rapidly coiling itself around his neck.
"Aach kcack!" Keith groaned as he was strangled.
Suddenly the vine was sliced through by a boomerang. A girl with long red hair and a yellow sunhat jumped down from the trees and caught the weapon as it returned. She wore a white shirt and blue pants.
"Howdy!" she greeted. "Or should I say…G'day mate. See cause I'm Australian and that's what we say!"
"Hi," Keith said while rubbing his neck.
"Yeah, gotta watch out for them little demons, right," the girl remarked. " 'Course out here is actually safer than back home at Australia! Cause see I'm Australian, right, and over there we got all kinds of crazy critters—"
"Yeah, I get it," Keith said.
"You're kinda scrawny, aren't ya?" the girl remarked. "Wouldn't want something to snap you up, would ya!?"
"I…guess not?" Keith said.
"Then it's settled, let's be partners!" she said. "Name's Montana!"
"Keith," Keith replied.
"Hiya, Keith!" Montana said. "Wanna see something cool? Sure you do! Come with me!"
Montana grabbed Keith by the arm and pulled him up as she climbed a tree. The two rose high above the ground and through the leaves.
"Where are we…going?" Keith asked as he was dragged through the branches and leaves.
"Oh you'll see!" Montana assured.
Reaching a pocket in the leaves, the two came to a group of tiny brown monkeys playfully clamoring around the branches. They seemed completely unperturbed by their new visitors.
"Wow," Keith gasped.
"I know right, pretty swifty!" Montana exclaimed.
One of the monkeys hopped over to Keith and handed him a small orange fruit.
"Uh…thanks?" he said. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Eat it, silly!" Montana said. "Yep, I came across these guys not long ago, sweets things you'll ever meet, right. I think we lucked out right here!"
Elsewhere in the woods a boy was walking on his own. He had dark brown hair and a black sleeveless shirt with a red pentagram on it. He shoved his way through the leaves, but eventually spotted some movement.
"Huh?" he remarked.
He walked over to the source and saw a body writing in a thicket of brambles. They seemed to be totally tangled up in the thorny vines and their struggling amounted to nothing but getting them even more stuck.
"Here, let me help you out," the boy offered.
He received a firm kick to the shin as he neared the struggling body.
"Okay, stop moving," he said, "here just hold still and let me give you a hand here."
The boy torn away the brambles and offered out his hand. It was taken and he helped the other boy out. The victim had silver hair and a white and blue checkered jacket. He wore blue jeans that seemed worn and had several holes in them.
"I didn't need your help," he sneered.
"Really cause…it sure looked like it," the boy replied.
"Whatever, I knew what I was doing," the other sulked.
"Well anyways, I'm Duke," the first boy said. "Maybe we ought to stick together…in case you fall down again."
"Get lost," the other boy said as he stormed off.
"We are lost, we're in the middle of the woods," Duke said playfully as he walked along a log and followed the boy.
"Stop following me or you're really going to regret it," the other boy said.
"I'm not following you," Duke teased, "we just happen to be going the same way."
The boy suddenly grabbed a stick and swung it at Duke. Duke had quick reflexes though. He caught the stick and managed to twist it around, hitting the other boy under the chin and knocking him to the ground.
"Going to have to do better than that," Duke laughed.
He got down and offered his hand again, the boy just slapped it away.
"Okay look in all seriousness here," Duke said, "one thing I learned from my season is that you're always going to need someone. No matter what it never hurts to have someone on your side."
"That's great, why don't you find someone who cares?" the boy scoffed as he got up.
"Can I at least get a name?" Duke asked.
"It's Rudy," the boy answered.
"Well then, nice to meet you, Rudy," Duke replied. "Now…where are we headed?"
(Mountain)
A boy was making his way up a snowy slope. He had brown hair and a dark blue suit with a crimson tie. He lost his footing and fell to the ground stumbling through the snow. He slammed is hands down though and managed to push himself back up.
"Oof!" he groaned as snow bitterly blew into his face.
"You're doing great," a voice said from above.
He looked up to see a short girl with orange hair and a green headband sitting serenely on an upper ledge. She wore a blue sweater with red patterns that was somewhat too big for her and a silver necklace.
"Take it easy, remember to breathe, and you'll be fine," she said.
"Do you think you could help me?" the boy asked.
"Now that's a curious question," the girl remarked as she pondered it. "You know, I suppose I think I could help you."
She remained stationary as the boy slipped again and hit the ground hard.
"Well!?" he snapped as he clung to a sharp rock.
"Well," the girl echoed.
"Any day now," the boy barked.
"Okay, how about Monday?" the girl suggested.
"Just help me!" the boy ordered.
"Oh, I'm afraid we may be at a misunderstanding," the girl said, "Why I said that I could help you, meaning that it was within my capabilities. That does not mean that I will."
"And why not," the boy said with a hint of desperateness as he began to slide further down.
"Because you have the strength within yourself," the girl replied, "You do not need help, you only desire it. But only when you have conquered your goal on your own will you unleash this potential."
"I don't need a fortune cookie," the boy said while clawing his way back up, "just a hand would be nice."
"Yes it would, wouldn't it?" the girl said. "Oh well."
The boy just groaned and grunted as he pulled himself up the slope. Eventually his hands were able to cling to the rock ledge and he was able to pull himself up. He climbed to the surface and joined the small girl.
"Hooray, you did it, doesn't that feel great!?" she exclaimed while clapping, except her applause was muffled by her sleeves.
"No thanks to you," the boy scoffed.
"That's right, it was ALL you!" the girl said. "You can do anything! Would you like some tea?"
"Anything to warm me up," the boy said.
"Me too, let's go find some," the girl said as she started to climb.
"Ugh," the boy groaned.
"I'm Mona, by the way," the girl said as she climbed. "And you must be…."
After an awkward silence the boy finally answered, "Hunter."
"Well hurry up then, Hunter, that tea won't brew itself," Mona replied as she continued to climb.
Higher up on the mountain stood a small village of sombre, broken down homes covered in snow. A boy with messy brown hair, a sky blue shirt, and blue jeans was walking through this town.
"Huh…where…where is everyone?" he said to himself nervously.
He walked around the town in a panic.
"Oh no…oh no!" he cried as he clutched his face. "I must be in…a ghosttown!"
He dropped to his knees desperately.
"Oh nonononono, ghosts FRIGHTEN me! Why'd it have to be ghosts!?" he sobbed.
"What is all the commotion about?" a girl remarked as she stuck her head out a window.
"AAAAH GHOST!" the boy cried as he leapt out. "Oh it's just Kitty…AAAAH THE GHOSTS GOT KITTY!"
"Charlie? That's you?" the girl said as she stepped out of the house.
The girl had blonde pigtails, square glasses, and a brown shirt with a purple and green stripe.
"Stay back, ghost!" Charlie exclaimed. "I'm gonna…I know how to…I'm uhhh…PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!"
"I'm not ghost, silly," Kitty laughed.
"Oh good…or is that exactly what a ghost would say!?" Charlie accused.
"No, what a ghost would say is, 'booooo!'" Kitty replied.
"AAAAH GHOST!" Charlie cried as he hid under a bucket.
"You done?" Kitty asked as she lifted up the bucket.
"Yeah, pretty much," Charlie said as he got up and dusted himself off.
Kitty guided him into building which seemed to be some sort of restaurant with barren tables lining the floor. Behind the counter stood a hunched-over an older man wearing an apron and bandana.
"There're people here, but this cold has really gotten them down to nothing," Kitty said. "There's barely any life left in them."
"Wow, that sounds bad," Charlie said.
"You bet it is," Kitty said, "Selfie time!"
She used her phone to click a photo of the two of them.
"My followers will just love this!" Kitty exclaimed. "Being brought back on this show has done wonders for my hits. I mean, this is the second time I've gotten to experience this never used before technology. But who's keeping track!? I am, I'm keeping track, see here."
She pulled out her tablet and revealed a graph.
"As you can see, I have gotten to be a part of virtual reality technology like this twice which is double the amount of almost everyone from here, and seeing as the rest of the world is at zero, that means I have infinitely more experience than them," Kitty recounted. "This is why I am #Trending right now."
"Um…Kitty…where is that getting power from?" Charlie asked. "I don't see any plugs or anything."
"A valid question!" Kitty exclaimed. "I figured Chris would try to cut me off, but I'm always thinking one step ahead! As you can see from this new addition, it's wirelessly connected to a device attached to my heart, taking the kinetic energy from each beat to power itself. Hm, judging from this monitor my heartbeat is getting low…you know what that means!"
"Uh, you could die?" Charlie asked.
"No!" Kitty exclaimed. "Well, probably, but more importantly, I could lose power. We need another coffee over here, pronto!"
(Beach)
Portia and Calvin walked along the sand together.
"Ooh, I have an idea," Portia remarked. "What if we tried to do some fishing? I actually got quite good at it back on my old season."
"Sounds good," Calvin said, "Make sure to get me a full meal, I'm probably going to need my strength."
"Ooor," Portia said as she pulled him along, "You could help out and we could make it a group effort!"
"Not my style," Calvin said as he shoved her away.
"Well you'd better make it your style quick," Portia said as she grabbed him again. "Or you're not going to get far out here."
"Alright let me tell you how I roll," Calvin said angrily. "People do what I say or else I'll make them regret it."
"Oh okay, I'm detecting a lot of hostility here," Portia said, "but if you don't mind me asking, how exactly do you intend to live up to your threats? I couldn't help but notice that you don't have any cronies with you, there's no voting in this game, and well…no offense but you don't exactly strike me as the most physically intimidating."
Calvin's face turned red as he fumed, "Well, I'll…I'm…I uh…um…shut up!"
"Hey, you two!" someone called from above. "Hurry up, you're going to want to see this!"
The two looked up to see Judie hanging off the side of the side of a rocky arch ahead of them. The two walked over to the natural monument.
"Come on, faster!" Judie snapped.
Calvin began to climb up the side of the rock. Portia was about to follow, when she noticed some movement coming from the other side of the arch.
"Oh um…I'll be there in a minute," Portia said as she went to investigate.
Calvin meanwhile managed to pull himself up along the cliffside. Below him the waves crashed together wildly. The wind picked up and whipped along his face. Eventually he found an opening in the rock that led to darkness.
"What's the big deal?" he remarked as he peered his head in.
"Aha!" Judie exclaimed as she appeared behind him and kicked him down the shaft.
"Waaah!" Calvin groaned as he hit the bottom and found himself stuck upside-down in a cramped positon. "Hey, there's nothing down here!"
"Oh but there is! A way for me to keep you out of my life forever!" Judie said. "Get comfy! Messing with the Nighthawk! This is what happens! Don't do it!"
Back on the beach, Portia had found the source of the movement. It was a boy with long black hair and He wore a gold suit, pants, gloves and black buckled boots.
"Oh hello," he greeted. "Lovely beach, don't you think? Much more pleasant than I was expecting Chris to drop us off at."
"I agree," Portia said. "I was just thinking of how lovely it would be too have a vacation here."
"I guess that's sort of what this is," the boy replied. "Even if it comes with the whole competition of survival aspect."
"I'm sorry, I should introduce myself," the girl said. "I'm Portia."
"Garfield-Stuart," the boy replied. "Please just call me Garfield though."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Portia said as Garfield took her by the hand.
"Look out below!" someone exclaimed before they were suddenly both crushed by a falling body.
This girl had long brown hair, a red hair band, red shirt, and blue shorts.
"Sorry to rain on your parade!" she said with an obnoxious laugh as she got up and dusted herself off. "I'm Beatrice!"
"Well uh…nice to meet you too, Beatrice," Garfield said. "May I ask what you were doing up above us?"
"It's a funny story," Beatrice said. "See I was climbing a palm tree trying to get a coconut…and then I fell on you guys."
Beatrice proceeded to unleash a loud, grating laugh, clearly enjoying her own story.
"Heh…uh yeah…I…I don't get it," Portia said.
"Well, I guess you really had to be there," Beatrice said while throwing her hands around the two of them, "so what's this I heard about a vacation? You can count me in!"
(Catacombs)
Rich was back to nervously wandering through the underground lair. He realized that he had lost Ilona in the skirmish with the zombies.
"O-oh…dear," he remarked as he shivered and looked his shoulder. "Alone again."
He turned around, but seemed to pull himself back from returning the way he had come.
"I'm sure she's fine," he assured himself, "but just in case she's not, I'd better steer clear of that entire area!"
With resolve he picked up his pace continuing away from where he had come. However, he didn't go far before he was suddenly sprung up in a net.
"Aaah! Help!" he cried desperately as he squirmed. "Someone, anyone!"
He was soon cut down and fell to the ground with a thud. He looked up to see a small boy with black hair and a brown headband with a feather sticking out of it. He wore a green vest and tan shorts.
"Well, you're not a ghoul," the boy remarked.
"Uh…no, I'm not, I'm Rich," Rich replied.
"That trap was supposed to catch me something supernatural," the boy pouted. "How hard can it be to find me some ghoul or ghost? We're in an underground temple of sorts, that's just got to be prime territory!"
"Trust me, you don't want to run into any creatures," Rich said. "I just barely escaped from a whole army of zombies and they were nasty!"
"You saw them!?" the boy exclaimed eagerly as he got in Rich's face. "That's incredible! You have to take me too them!"
"Uhh…I'm not sure that's a good idea," Rich replied nervously.
"You're right, we might frighten them off," the boy said, "Better yet, we'll bring them too us! You can be the bait!"
"The…what?" Rich asked.
"You'll be perfect," Austin said as he pulled a cord and suddenly Rich was suspended in the net again. "Just do what you were doing and wait for your inevitable death."
(Field)
Mel was marching through the field on her own by now.
"I don't need them getting in the way," she grumbled to herself. "I can handle anything that comes my way."
She spotted some movement and upon close inspection realized that a single goblin was walking along a nearby hill.
"Aha, I got you now!" she exclaimed.
She charged towards the creature and knocked it to the ground.
"You're not so tough!" she scoffed.
However she was suddenly ambushed and clubbed on the back of the head. She fell to the ground out cold. When she recovered she found herself in darkness.
"What the…? Where am I!?" she exclaimed as she got up.
She found herself enclosed with very little room, just a small square to contain her in the dark. There was a small grate that let in some light, but she could see very little out of it.
"How dare you put me in here!?" she snapped. "You let me out this instance, you hear me!"
"Just be grateful you're still alive," someone said from the corner of the room.
Mel focused her eyes to see a boy with spikey orange hair, a green shirt, and dark blue pants.
"You got captured too?" she asked.
"No, actually, they think I'm a bundle of hay," he said, "and I intend to keep it that way so shhh!"
"Why would you want to be a prisoner!?" Mel exclaimed. "That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard and unless you can give me a brilliant answer I will have no choice but to assume that you are some sort of crazy person!"
"What better place to hide for some espionage!?" the boy said. "I've been gathering info and they have no idea I'm here!"
"How can you gather info from these monsters?" Mel asked, "From the inside of some sort of crate no less?"
"I'll have you know that I have put together a system, measuring the pitch, length, and sound of every noise they make to translate it into rough English," the boy explained, "Also turns out that they speak rough English which helps too and made my work completely redundant. But I did catch some interesting snippets!"
"I find that 90% of the time 'interesting' is used synonymously with 'boring and pointless,'" Mel replied.
"The creatures seem to answer to a leader, someone they fear," the boy said. "And they seem to be protecting something, some sort of treasure…"
"Did they say anything about what they want with us?" Mel asked.
"First of all, as far as they know, they only have you," the boy said, "and no, I don't know, but it probably won't be good."
"Then I'm getting outta here!" Mel said as she charged at the grate. "Let me out, let me out, let me out!"
All her efforts amounted to nothing though and only left her exhausted.
"Or we could just use this tunnel I've been burrowing," the boy said as he revealed a hole in the ground beneath him.
"You know, you really should have opened the conversation with that," Mel said, "Would have saved a lot of time wasted on my life."
"I'm Eliot, by the way," the boy introduced.
"Don't care," Mel said, "Let's go!"
Outside and a small distance away, one of goblins lay unconscious, while a human figure pulled off the cloak he was wearing and threw it over themselves. They approached a small campsite infested with the goblins. Shoddy tents clumped together as the creatures patrolled the area. The figure crept along the grass and neared the settlement. Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed them from behind. The cloaked girl twirled around to deliver a punch, but she was flipped to the ground and pinned by her captor. Soon she was look up at a boy with long black hair, piercing yellow eyes wearing all black. The girl underneath her stolen cloak had wavy brown hair, a blue shirt with golden rings on it, and a khaki skirt.
"What's the big idea?" she snapped.
"Your stealth tactics require work," the boy replied. "Had I let you proceed, it likely would have not ended well for you."
"Are you sure you just don't want me getting over there?" she asked. "It's clear that something important is happening over there."
"Hardly," the boy replied. "If I were playing with that competitive attitude, I would simply allow you to walk to your demise. Instead, I seek partnership, perhaps we may be able to help each other."
"I see," the girl said as she got up. "So what sort of deal are you looking at?"
"Well, for starters I could help you get into that camp," the boy offered. "And I'm certain a girl like you has skills that I may have need of in the future. We can accomplish more together."
"Alright then, well in that case, I'm Raven," the girl introduced.
"Azazel," the boy did likewise.
(Forest)
Duke and Rudy were still walking through the thick forest together.
"So, what sorts of thing do you like?" Duke asked.
"Pain, suffering, misery," Rudy listed. "What kind of question is that?"
"Just making conversation," Duke replied with a shrug. "Why not get to know each other? It's what friends do."
"We are most certainly not friends," Rudy said.
"With not with that attitude we won't be," Duke countered.
"I tried being fakey nice when the game called for it last time," Rudy said, "but I don't even need to use people here, so don't waste your time."
"Oh sure, I'll just go spend my time much more productively exploring this endless forest," Duke replied sarcastically. "Come on, might as well make this a little more fun."
Rudy seemed ready to respond when the two saw something moving towards them.
"Any chance we're getting good news?" Duke remarked.
A large creature stomped through the bushes. The creature had similar reptilian skin to the goblins, but was much larger. It was at least a head taller than both boys and had a body that bulged with muscle. It two stubs poking out of a brown mop of hair. The creature wore no clothes but a pair of muddy brown shorts.
"Humans?" it said with ominous curiosity.
"Uh…hi?" Duke said as he forced an awkward smile.
The creature cocked its head to the side and began to spread a threatening leer; its entire body itching to bounce at any moment. The two boys were well aware that they were in danger.
"This is Ogre territory," the creature said, "Humans shouldn't be here."
"Oh…oh is that so? Well, uh…our mistake then," Duke said nervously as he began to back up. "We'll just be on our way…"
Rudy took off running and Duke quickly followed suit. The Ogre lunged after him though with terrifying speed. Duke sound was crushed under the massive weight of the creature. Its bulky hands forced him down into the muddy ground.
"You stay," the beast ordered before fixing his gaze on the fleeing Rudy.
The creature leapt from tree to tree, catching up on Rudy easily. Rudy tried to break away, but the Ogre leapt after him and managed to snag him by the ankle. He tossed him over his shoulder, then returned to Duke and did the same.
"You two are coming with me," the creature said, "My brother is going to be so proud, I've caught my own humans!"
"Lucky us," Duke remarked woozily.
The two were carried into a bog where a shack was constructed in the middle. The Ogre carried them inside and through them onto the floor. The two shot a few quick glances around and saw that there were other creatures of the same kind around them now. To the right was a smaller one with pointed ears; despite its youthful appearance, it still looked like it could pose quite a threat to the boys. On the other side brooded a tall lanky one. It wasn't as muscular as the one that had brought them in, but stood tall above him. It had shaggy hair and two menacing tusks protruding from its mouth. Most of the boys' attention was on the gargantuan creature sitting on a throne before them. It was the largest by far, and glowered at them me ferociously.
"Dragon, look!" the ogre who had brought them in exclaimed proudly. "Humans! I caught them myself!"
The Ogre called Dragon snorted with disgust.
"What are we going to do with them!?" the first asked eagerly. "Let me have them this time, please! I'll skin them and cook them myself!"
Duke and Rudy shot nervous glances at each other hearing this. The lanky Ogre spat and approached them.
"You're too weak for that, Toad," he mocked. "You wouldn't let them suffer nearly enough."
"I would too!" Toad pouted.
"Guys, guys, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Duke said nervously.
"Shut up!" the taller one snarled before delivering a kick to Duke.
"Uh, let me handle this…" Rudy said. "What my…um…companion means is, you shouldn't skin, cook, or kill us because…we um…hate humans just as much as you guys! And if you let us, we can lure some more here for you!"
Dragon snorted again, before standing up.
"Very well," he boomed before pointing a spear at Duke. "You will bring us more humans, and you—" he pointed to Rudy now "—will stay with us until he returns. Newt, take him down below, Croc get ready for some hunting."
The smaller one gripped Rudy and began to drag him away.
"Okay, buddy, you got this!" Rudy said while giving thumbs up to Duke. "I'm counting on you."
"Uh…" Duke said uncertainly as his eyes slid over to the tall Ogre looming over him.
Rudy was brought down into an underground tunnel and thrown into a cell.
"Heh, couldn't have planned that out better myself," he chuckled to himself. "Mr. Nice Guy having to play the villain to help poor defenseless me. He'll crumble in no time, ha!"
"Evil monologue? Really?" the young Ogre remarked. "How lame."
"Oh shut up!" Rudy snapped.
(Mountain)
Hunter and Mona continued to trudge through the snow together.
"I think I see something," Hunter said as he squinted through the endless storm. "A village maybe."
The two kept moving until they were at the small collection of buildings.
"Finally," Hunter sighed in relief.
He quickly entered the nearest building which happened to be one inhabited by Kitty and Charlie.
"Oh look, more people. Smile people!" Kitty exclaimed as she snapped a photo of the two of them.
Hunter eagerly sat down at a seat.
"We require tea!" Mona exclaimed.
The elderly man from behind the counter grumpily trotted over and slammed a mug in front of her.
"I am detecting some mild to severe impoliteness," Mona remarked. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Oh, don't mind Old Man Patterson," Kitty remarked. "He's cold to all strangers, but he's got a heart of gold beneath it all."
"My name is Shain," he grunted, "and my daughter was kidnapped by Yetis."
"What!? Why didn't you mention this before!?" Kitty exclaimed. "This sounds like a story!"
"I mentioned it five times to you," Shain spat.
"Okay well don't blame me for having my headphones in the whole time, in my experience old people don't have anything to share but 'inspiring life stories' and lol I have enough of those as it is," Kitty replied. "So tell me about this daughter of yours!"
"Her name is Chereen," Shain said, "those savage beasts took her in the storm. She was out wandering, got lost and they stole her from me and took her to their cavern on the mountain top."
"Guys, you know what this means!?" Kitty exclaimed.
"Oh man, don't do the whole sudden questions thing, it hurts my brain to think that fast!" Charlie moaned.
"A little girl needs our help?" Mona suggested.
"That's right, it's time for an adventure! #TheAdventureBegins #HeroineHeart #SaveChereen," Kitty exclaimed. "Looks like we're going to make a team!"
"Hooray!" Charlie cheered. "Teamwork for the win!"
"Ugh, why don't you just kill me now?" Hunter groaned.
"Okay," Mona said tracing her finger along his back.
Hunter spasmed and fell to the ground. Charlie and Kitty glanced at Mona fearfully.
"Oh don't worry, I only stopped his heart for a few minutes, he'll awake with new value for his life," Mona explained.
(Beach)
Calvin squirmed in his prison, but he only ended up jabbing himself with several sharp rocks.
"Dumb brat," he grumbled to himself, "if I ever see her again—"
"Okay, you've done your time," Judie declared as she pulled him up.
"Wha?" Calvin exclaimed as he was pulled back into the sunlight and saw Judie standing before him.
"Turns out that was actually just a test…I have decided seconds ago," Judie said, "Rule #1 of the Nighthawk is always do what Nighthawk says! You did, that other girl did not, and as you will notice I have already forgotten her name because she is nothing to me now! Just kidding, Nighthawk never forgets and never forgives, setting new target to Portia Sussman!"
"Uhh…so can I go now?" Calvin asked.
"You most certainly can NOT!" Judie exclaimed. "That test wasn't for nothing, I never test without reason, do I look like a public school to you!? If I do then you need glasses, get that checked out."
"Really? Is this going anywhere?" Calvin replied dully.
"It's not just going anywhere, it's going somewhere and that somewhere is that you are going to be my next protégé, molded into my image, trained in my secrets," Judie recounted.
"Pass," Calvin said.
"There is no 'pass!'" Judie said as she shoved Calvin back into the crevice. "Your options are Nighthawk or total annihilation! Choose wisely!"
Calvin raised his hand and Judie took it up again.
"Now first let's talk about your name, your name is your everything, your meaning, your legacy, something that will inspire everything that you are!" Judie said. "Let's go with Duskowl!"
"Let's not," Calvin replied.
"We'll work on the name," Judie replied. "Your training begins now!"
The two stood awkwardly for a few seconds.
"So are you going to do something?" Calvin asked.
Suddenly Judie shoved him back into the hole.
"Rule #1: Never expect the expected!" Judie exclaimed.
"I thought rule #1 was always do as the Nighthawk says," Calvin groaned.
"Aha! That was another test! You're learning already!" Judie exclaimed.
Meanwhile on the beach Garfield, Portia, and Beatrice were walking along the beach.
"…And then I told her that if she wanted her carton of eggs back she should have tried low fat!" Beatrice recounted before laughing aggressively again.
"Heh...uh…good for you?" Garfield remarked.
"That story…didn't really make sense," Portia said before adding under her breath, "like all of them so far."
"Okay, okay, you just don't get it, see Stacy is always getting really good grades in her math class," Beatrice explained.
"Who is Stacy?" Portia asked. "You said the girl's name was Tracy."
"What? No no no, keep up, Tracy is the one who's really good at Arts and Crafts, which I've got a funny story about her too, you'll really laugh at this one!" Beatrice said.
"Uh, ladies," Garfield said, "I think we may have a problem."
He pointed to the sand where something seemed to be oozing out from under their feet. Once it had spread out along the sand the substance began to take shape, forming into a group of squid-like creatures. The creatures began to cry shrilly and thrashed their tentacles around wildly. Portia screamed as one wrapped around her.
"Let go, let go!" she cried as she slapped at it.
Garfield tried to run to help her, but was suddenly grabbed by another and dragged away. As Portia flailed with her attacker she managed to grab a sharp rock and slam it against the squid.
"I'll save the day!" Beatrice exclaimed as she picked up a coconut and threw it at Portia's head.
"Please stop trying," Portia said.
"Got it," Beatrice sighed as she stood still and allowed herself to be entangled by the slimy tendrils.
Not too far away an athletic boy with brown hair was walking towards them. He had a dark turquoise shirt and crimson shorts. As he neared he soon spotted the commotion.
"People!" the boy gasped. "People in trouble! Time to be a hero!"
The boy sprinted over to the crowd and began assaulting the squids with all his might.
"Take this, take that, you dumb squids!" he shouted as he punched, kicked, and headbutted the creatures.
His attacks seemed to be taking effect as the creatures began to turn back into goo and melt.
"That's right, and Don't! Come! Back!" he exclaimed while delivering a final blow to one.
Unfortunately this one was holding Beatrice and the forced ended up launching her into a palm tree.
"Oops, sorry!" the boy exclaimed as he helped her up. "Sometimes I'm too strong for my own good. I just try so hard and I don't recognize my own strength and end up making things worse. Story of my life back on Uber Drama Action!"
"Wow…I relate so much," Beatrice replied. "Being too good at things is a curse."
"Hi, I'm Todd!" Todd greeted.
"Hi, I'm Beatrice!" Beatrice exclaimed. "These are…um…people!"
"Hi, people!" Todd greeted while waving happily.
"Well, looks like this might not be the dream resort after all," Garfield remarked. "We probably should stick together and be careful."
(Catacombs)
Rich was cowering as he dangled in the net.
"That's it, they feed on fear!" Austin exclaimed from behind a pillar. "Just think about how they're going to tear you apart when they get their hands on you!"
Rich turned pale and continued to claw at the net frantically.
"Yes, I can hear them coming!" Austin exclaimed eagerly. "Come to me, my undead army!"
True enough, the horde of corpses began to meander out of the shadows and towards Rich.
"No, no, go away!" Rich sobbed as he tried to climb the net and get himself as high off the ground as possible.
The zombies clamored around him and began to grabbed at the net. Rich kicked at their hands frantically. Suddenly a cage dropped down on one of them.
"Yes!" Austin cheered.
He then pulled a cord. Rich was rapidly lifted into the air and then pulled over to join Austin in his hiding spot. The group of zombies, confused, began to wander off elsewhere, leaving the one who was caged.
"I'm…alive!" Rich sighed in relief.
"Of course you are," Austin said as he gripped him by the shoulders. "You didn't really think I'd let them get you, did you? Live bait is so much more precious when it's…well, live!"
"So…what are you going to do with this guy?" Rich asked as he pointed to the zombie.
"For now, let's just take a sample to study," Austin said as he broke off one of the creature's fingers.
"That's it? You put me in danger for a finger!?" Rich exclaimed.
"I did!" Austin replied. "I can't wait to see what secrets are hidden within this one specimen!"
Meanwhile, Missy and Ilona had emerged from their hiding spot and were exploring the temple again.
"I've got a whole list of things we're going to do together, best friend!" Missy exclaimed. "First off, we'll need to get to our friendship fort!"
"Oh…where's that?" Ilona asked.
Missy halted and gasped, appalled.
"You don't even know where our own friendship fort is!?" she sobbed. "What kind of friend are you!?"
"Uh…there, there, I didn't mean it like that," Ilona said while Missy huddled up and cried.
"Well, that's because it doesn't exist, we still need to find one!" Missy exclaimed. "What good are friends without a fort for which we can exclude people from?!"
The two heard something approaching rapidly. Missy quickly shielded herself behind Ilona. IIona assumed a defensive stance. A small boy quickly sprinted past the two of them, before twisting around and running back to meet them.
"Hihihi!" he exclaimed while waving his hands wildly.
He wore a backwards red baseball cap over his red-brown hair. He had a green vest over an orange shirt and blue shorts.
"I'm Teddy!" he exclaimed while playing with Missy's antennae. "Who are you? What does this do? Is it magic? Are you magic? Can you do magic? Hocus pocus abracadra what number am I think of is this your card okay I'm bored where are we!?"
"Um…hi?" Ilona said.
"Hihihi!" Teddy exclaimed while shaking her hand. "I'm Teddy!"
"Uh, yes, you said that," Ilona said. "I'm Ilona and this is Missy."
"Hi Ilona, hi Missy, where are we!?" Teddy exclaimed while running around the hall, checking every nook and cranny. "Are we underground? Are we in a tomb? Where does this lead? How do we get out? Are we stuck in here forever and ever and ever and ever and then ever some more!? What's for dinner!?"
Missy grabbed him and stopped him from moving.
"It's polite to look at people when you're talking to them," she huffed.
"Hiiii!" Teddy said while staring directly into her eyes.
"Guys, shh…what's that?" Ilona said as she heard a rumbling.
Suddenly the walls began to shatter open. More zombies emerged hungrily stretching out their hands after the three humans.
"Not this again," Ilona groaned.
She quickly got into battle stance and began to fend off the zombies.
"Cool cool cool!" Teddy exclaimed as he began weaving between the zombies, taking out their legs, or kicking them from behind.
Missy tossed glitter at the oncomers, but it did little to subdue them. Many of them came for her and she had to pull back. However, she tripped over an uneven stone and fell to the ground. A zombie came right for her. Suddenly someone else leapt in front of her. This girl had wavy blonde hair, a light blue shirt, and blue pants.
"I'm coming in like a full on rain storm," she said while delivering a kick to the zombie, "and you're a house of cards."
She tore off the leg and clutched it like a weapon, swinging it at any of the approaching zombies.
"I'm the kind of reckless that should send you running," she continued while knocking back any that got close to her. "But I kinda know that you won't get far."
The group was able to clear out enough room for the four of them to escape.
"Woo," the new girl exclaimed. "I'm totally working this into my next music video."
"And just who do you think you are!?" Missy exclaimed. "Barging into our bonding experience like that!?"
"How rude of me," the girl said, "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Haylor Dash."
(To Be Continued Probably…)