(Field)
Jacquie, Caleb, and Gillian all walked along the field together, the old woman now toting a large pack.
"How much farther?" Jacquie asked.
"Not much," Gillian said, "If you look into the horizon you can even see the two in the distance. We may be able to make it there by nightfall."
"Let's hope so," Caleb said. "I can't imagine this place is very pleasant after dark."
"I just need something to eat and a place to rest my legs," Jacquie sighed.
The three kept moving. As they came over another hill, though, they were suddenly attacked by a small group of goblins.
"Ugh, these guys again?" Jacquie groaned.
The creatures savagely charged at the trio. Jacquie drew her blade and began to slash at the attackers. Gillian tried to back away but stumbled and fell to the ground. Caleb quickly rushed to help her up.
"I can't keep all these guys back," Jacquie said uncertainly as the swarm kept coming at her.
"Here, take this," Gillian said as she pulled out a staff from her pack and handed it to Caleb. "It belonged to one of my companions. Maybe you could still get some use out of it."
Caleb gripped it and began to spin it around, knocking back the oncoming goblins.
"Oh you're deciding to be useful?" Jacquie said as she backed up to join Caleb, while constantly keeping the creatures at bay with her sword.
The horde seemed to be thinning out, but more were charging in from the distance.
"Oh come on, give me a break," Jacquie groaned.
This new wave included goblins that were riding animals and others that were wielding bows. Gillian had gotten up by now.
"I think we need to move," she said, "We can't just stay here."
The three made their way in a slightly altered direction, trying to evade the oncoming attack while still heading towards their destination. The goblins were gaining on them fast though. Jacquie swung her blade at the nearest ones. Caleb used his staff to knock two of them off of their steeds. A barrage of arrows was fired from the goblins bringing up the rear.
"Look out!" Jacquie exclaimed as she pulled Gillian out of the line of fire.
Caleb charged towards the group aggressively, using his staff to knock back the goblins from all directions. He was attacked from all sides, but he kept charging forward, swinging his weapon around. Eventually he was able to thin out the numbers, the final few goblins decided to retreat. Caleb was left exhausted though.
"Well…at least they're gone for now," he sighed. "We'd better hurry if we want—"
He turned and saw Jacquie had taken an arrow into her shoulder though. Gillian was tending over her with concern.
"Jacquie?" Caleb gasped.
She let out a weak groan.
"She's going to need some help and fast," Gillian said.
(Forest)
While Montana frolicked with the monkeys playfully, Keith was keeping to himself on the side. He curiously slid along the branches, exploring the treetop world. Peering down, he could only see leaves and crisscrossing branches, no sign of the ground. He kept moving along the tree, glancing around the distance seeing if he could spot anything. His ears perked up as he heard a small noise. He carefully sidled over to investigate. The sound was going from a smaller pocket under a shelter of leaves. He saw a larger monkey lying in a groove against the tree. It seemed to be in pain and was slowly letting out a low coo.
"What's that!?" Montana suddenly exclaimed from behind Keith.
"I think she's sick," Keith remarked.
"That's terrible!" Montana gasped. "The poor monkey can't play with her friends!"
"It's an opportunity," Keith said, "maybe if we find a cure we'll be completing one of the goals of this land."
"You're right, we need to save this monkey, we need to be heroes, right!" Montana exclaimed.
"Yeah, sure, whatever gets you motivated," Keith said. "Now come on, we've probably got to head back into the forest and find something for this."
(Mountain)
BonBon was hunched over scraping a pair of rocks together.
"Come on, give me fire!" she exclaimed. "Let there be FIRE!"
She tossed the stones down in frustration as she found her efforts fruitless. She turned around to see Neil returning from the darkness.
"So, what'd you find for dinner!?" she asked.
"Nothing," Neil scoffed. "There's nothing alive in this place."
He held out his hands to show some moss, stringy roots, and small fungus.
"This is the best I could find," he said.
"Well, at least I managed to make us a roaring fire!" BonBon exclaimed.
She turned around to see that there was in fact a roaring fire going.
"Holy crap, fire!" she gasped.
"Uh yeah, I heard you the first time," Neil said.
"Yes, that's right, I did this," BonBon exclaimed as she present the fire. "I am the best."
Up on the surface, Hunter, Mona, Kitty, and Charlie were standing in the middle of the village.
"Alright, if we're going to go on this rescue mission we're going to need supplies," Kitty said. "Good man, Shain, we're going to need weapons, mountain gear, food, and if you've got any spare mountain goats that'd be greatly appreciated."
"Our town doesn't have much," Shain said. "We were ravaged by the endless storms. I can get gather you some scraps of food, and if you can find anything that you think would be useful, take it."
"Alright team, let's look around for any starter class weapons," Kitty said, "probably in underground passages or forgotten family heirlooms."
"I don't get it," Charlie said.
"Just try to find something we can use to fight," Kitty said.
The group spread out around the town. After some time scrounging and searching they reconvened in the center.
"Okay, how'd we do, everyone!?" Kitty asked. "I managed to barter this sword off the blacksmith. It's dull and worn, but it will do for now."
"I found this," Hunter said as he held up a pickaxe.
"We're going mining?" Charlie asked.
"No, you fool, but it can be used just fine as a weapon," Hunter said.
"Oh," Charlie said sadly, "but we could go mining now at least…if we wanted."
"What did you find, Charlie?" Kitty asked.
Charlie held up a stick.
"I can uh…hit things with it?" Charlie said.
"You certainly can," Kitty said.
"I found this!" Mona exclaimed as she held up a kettle.
"That's…a kettle?" Hunter asked.
"Indeed," Mona replied.
"We were supposed to find useful things," Hunter pointed out.
"Tea is very important," Mona replied.
"Right," Hunter said before pulling Kitty aside. "Okay, those two are clearly doomed, let's keep them close and use them when we need some fodder, we can guarantee ourselves through this part."
(Beach)
Calvin was balancing on a pinnacle at the top of a ridge of rocks.
"Why am I doing this again?" Calvin asked.
"Silence!" Judie snapped. "No questions, questions are for those who don't know, and Nighthawk knows all. Stop displaying your complete and utter ignorance with your stupid questions!"
"Okay, but—" Calvin tried to say.
"Everything I do has a purpose, why do something without purpose, that's a waste of time and Nighthawk wastes no time, you know how much time it takes to be hit with a bullet? Less than a second, and that could be one nanosecond you wasted asking pointless questions!" Judie went on.
"That doesn't even make—" Calvin tried again.
"I will however enlighten your ignorance," Judie continued. "You are training, transforming your body from a useless mass to a weapon! You must be in perfect balance, in perfect tune with your surroundings, be ready to move like a flowing river at the slightest notice. Now clear your mind and let your sense take over."
Calvin closed his eyes. Suddenly Judie began pelting him with stones, causing him to stumble off his perch and have to cling on for his life.
"What was that for!?" Calvin snapped.
"In the heat of the battle you don't get peace and quiet to find your center, you've got to be ready for distraction left, right and center!" Judie barked. "Now get up and let's keep going!"
"You're crazy," Calvin replied.
"Like a fox!" Judie retorted.
Meanwhile, down below, Beatrice, Garfield, Todd, and Portia were continuing to walk along the beach. Garfield was nervously keeping his eyes on the sand.
"Do you think we'll see those things again?" he asked. "We'd better be careful and ready."
"Don't worry, I'll give them a clobbering!" Todd exclaimed before hearing his stomach rumble. "Though I really could use a bite to eat."
"We can try some fishing," Portia suggested. "Like I was saying before, I did some back on my season, we can figure it out."
"Ooh, sounds like fun!" Beatrice exclaimed. "I never had to get my own food back on Refresh. This will be an adventure for me!"
The group of four began to gather up some sticks they could fine around the beach and shaped them into spears. They then began to wait through the water, searching for any fish they could capture. Garfield prepared to skewer one, only to have it scared away by Beatrice flopping awkwardly towards them.
"I got it, I got it!" she exclaimed while slamming her spear down into the water at random causing ripples to fill the area. "Oh, I guess I don't got it. This is fun!"
Todd spotted a school of fish and carefully prepared to grab one, however, he ended up colliding with Beatrice.
"Whoops I'd better watch where I'm going!" she laughed as the both of them fill into the ocean.
"Um, Beatrice, dear," Portia said, "maybe you'd be more effective, over there."
"Sure thing!" Beatrice exclaimed as she pranced deeper into the water.
As the group turned around to continue hunting, Beatrice suddenly disappeared, sucked under the water and dragged downward.
"Uh…where did she go?" Garfield asked as he looked over to see Beatrice completely missing.
(Catacombs)
Austin was deeply entranced in the finger that he had collected from the zombie previously. Rich walked with him, though was still nervously fidgeting and twitching.
"Fascinating, very fascinating," Austin said to himself while he twirling his specimen around.
"Are you actually getting anything from that?" Rich asked. "It's just a finger."
"Oh, but it's so much more!" Austin exclaimed. "To the trained eye, that is, and I've spent my whole life training!"
"Oh…I see." Rich replied uncertainly.
"See these rings here?" Austin said as he held the finger in a disgusted Rich's face.
"Not re—" Rich began.
"This means that these aren't sentient zombies," Austin continued, "they were brought back to life and controlled by a greater force. Now I know what you're thinking!"
"I'm pretty sure you may be off," Rich replied.
"What kind of entity are we talking about here," Austin continued without missing a beat. "The way the rings spiral and glow, I'm fairly confident that this is none other than a real life demon. How cool is that!? My own demon to meet!"
"Yeah, uh…terrific," Rich said as he started to back up.
"Of course, if they're forced to using husks of corpses to do their bidding, they must be trapped within these walls," Austin said. "We're likely going to need a blood sacrifice to free them."
"Oh…well…I think I'm just gonna…head out," Rich said as he backed up and turned into a run in the opposite direction.
"You're not going anywhere," Austin said as he reached into his vest.
He pulled out a bola and tossed it after Rich. The weapon wrapped around the boy's legs causing him to trip and fall to the ground. Austin pounced on top of him.
"I wouldn't let my sacrifice get away that easy," Austin taunted his prisoner.
(Field)
The band of goblins milled about their camp. They didn't notice a pair rolling between them. The duo moved through the shadows sliding from place to place only ever visible during the brief periods when the goblins weren't looking. Eventually the two stopped and crouched behind a small stack of barrels where none of the goblins were patrolling.
"Well…I could have done that," Raven said, having been pulled along by Azazel.
"Could you really?" Azazel inquired.
"…Maybe, I don't know, it's not important!" Raven said in a hushed down. "The point is we're here now."
"And now what?" Azazel asked.
"Hm…look, that tent there," Raven said while pointing. "It's right in the center, if there's something we need, it's got to be in there."
"There's guards there," Azazel said. "We're going to have deal with them carefully."
The two stealthily made their way down to the large tent. Raven innocently tapped on the shoulder of one of the guards. The goblin turn to her and let out a shocked grunt before Azazel used his legs to grab the goblin by the neck and drag him to the shadows. The other guard tilted its head and carefully followed. He saw nothing when he turned the corner, but Azazel dropped down from behind him and delivered a blow to this back, causing him to collapse unconscious.
"Well, that wasn't too hard," Raven remarked as she emerged from behind a crate.
"Let us see what prize awaits us," Azazel said.
The two entered the tent. They found a table set up in the center with a map sprawled out over it.
"Hm…" Raven said as she picked up the map. "Well they're definitely searching for something. The question is: What?"
"Perhaps it would be best to escape from enemy territory and then think more about it," Azazel said.
"Agreed," Raven replied.
"Let us try to be as clandestine as possible," Azazel said. "We might be able to avoid an altercation altogether."
Not too far way, Mel and Eliot were emerging from a tunnel in the middle of the camp. Eliot quickly realized where they were and pulled Mel behind a tent.
"Okay, okay, we need a plan!" Eliot said.
"I've got a plan for you," Mel said as she grabbed a plank of wood and charged for a goblin. "Hey dummy, remember me!?"
"Ugh, nonnono! This is not a good plan! Dare I say, this is a BAD plan!" Eliot cried.
Mel managed to take down the goblin but several more had caught the commotion and began to rally around them.
"Oh no, oh dear," Eliot stammered as several goblins began to surround him as well. "I uh…I must warn you I am…ahem…skilled in uh…the art of comedic clumsiness to my advantage!"
Eliot ducked his hit just in time to dodge a club when swung on to hit a goblin behind him and knock it out.
"See, told you," Eliot said.
The guards now in a frenzy soon ran past Raven and Azazel as well. Azazel managed to slink away into the darkness, but a goblin grabbed Raven by her leg and dragged her out before she could escape.
"Looks like the time for stealth is over," Azazel said as he emerged again, delivering a flying kick to Raven's captor.
"It was too good to last," Raven said as she pried a spear out of the goblin's hands and used it against him.
As the two progressed the soon came across Mel and Eliot in the center of their struggle.
"Well, now we know what caused the guards to suddenly panic," Raven said.
Mel was swinging in all directions now. Some goblins seemed nervous to approach her, but others were ganging up on her and she was soon to be outnumbered. Raven came in with her spear and began knocking the goblins back.
"Umm, I didn't ask for any help!" Mel snapped.
"Yeah, well I didn't ask for you to ruin my escape so I guess we're both unhappy now," Raven remarked.
"This way!" Azazel called. "We can all get out of here!"
The group tried to force their way through the path where the numbers were thinning out. As Eliot ran to follow them, a large hand grabbed him from behind. He turned around to see a massive goblin, at least twice the size of all the rest. It wore thick armor, including a spiked helmet, and wielded a large mace.
"Aaaeeee!" Eliot cried as he flailed wildly.
He ended up accidentally kicking the creature in the nose. The goblin winced and let him go. As Eliot dropped to the ground, he saw before him a horn sticking out of the creature's belt. He grabbed the item and then fled to join the others as they made their escape. Mel and Raven let the charge, knocking aside any goblins that came near them. Eventually they were back out in the field and seemingly had lost the goblins.
"Well…that was fun," Raven remarked.
"Bah, we should have stayed and finished the job," Mel scoffed. "I could have handled them."
"Oh really? Is that what you were doing back there? Handling them?" Raven asked.
"Yes, and I was doing just fine until you showed up," Mel retorted. "We accomplished nothing!"
"Well…I did manage to grab this," Eliot said as he revealed the horn. "Something told me it was important."
"What is it?" Azazel said as he tried to take it.
"Don't touch it!" Eliot exclaimed as he held it up above his head. "It could be cursed, infected, or filled with goblin larvae! Only someone with a very careful technique should use this. So if you don't mind…"
Eliot cautiously and tentatively blew into the horn and let out a low note. At first nothing seems to happen.
"Upon conclusion, I have deduced that this is just an ordinary horn," Eliot said.
However then wind began to pick up. Faster and faster it began to swirl around Eliot. The ground began to twist as well right beneath his feet.
"Whoa..whoa…this is not good," Eliot said frantically.
The ground beneath him began to turn into a swirling vortex pulling him deeper and deeper into the earth.
"Help…help!" Eliot cried before he was completely submerged.
Then the wind stopped and he was gone.
"Congratulations, Eliot!" Chris's voice announced. "You have completed the task of finding the Horn of the Wild. You have earned your spot in the next round."
"What? WHAT!?" Mel snapped. "All we had to do was blow a stupid horn? I could have done that!"
"But you were too busy absolutely decimating that army," Raven remarked. "What a shame."
(Swamp)
Duke walked through the swamp with Crock, the tall lanky ogre, following closely behind.
"Don't even think of trying anything," the ogre hissed. "There's nothing I'd love more than to just snap you in my jaws, human."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Duke replied with false friendliness.
The two trudged through the mud and wandered aimlessly through the swamp.
"You said you could find others," Crock growled impatiently. "Well? Where are they!?"
"I'll find them, I'll find them," Duke assured. "Look, I think I see something moving over there."
Just ahead, Roquette and Annie were walking in the opposite direction.
"Oh man, I just realized how hungry I am," Annie remarked. "We've got to find some food."
"This looks edible," Roquette said as she pulled a round purple fruit out of a tree.
"You sure?" Annie asked. "What if it's poisonous?"
"Well, we can't example test every piece of fruit we find," Roquette said, "We're just going to have to risk it if we don't want to starve out here."
Roquette took a bite.
"Hm, sweet, doesn't seem like anything deadly to me," Roquette said.
She tossed another one back at Annie. Through the bushes, Duke and Crock watched the two of them walk.
"See? I told you I'd find some," Duke said, "So now I'll just—"
"You will lure them over there," Crock said while pointing at a small clearing. "I've got something special in store for them."
"Er…right," Duke said.
Crock then shoved Duke out towards the girls. Roquette quickly raised her bow and pointed it at Duke.
"Whoa, whoa," Duke said while holding up his hands. "No need to do anything hasty."
"Alright, who are you and what do you want?" Roquette asked.
"Also hi!" Annie said with a smile and a wave. "This is Roquette and I'm Annie!"
"Uh, I'm Duke," Duke replied. "Nice to meet you. Anyways, I uh…think I found one of those goals we need to complete. But I can't do it alone. I'm glad I found you, do you think you'd be willing to work with me here?"
"Hm," Roquette said, "well—"
"Yes!" Annie exclaimed.
"Well I guess that's that then," Roquette said. "What's this big thing you found?"
"Here, follow me, I'll show you," Duke said.
Duke began to guide them towards the clearing where Crock had directed.
"Go ahead," Duke said, "You'll see what I mean."
The two girls walked into the middle of the clearing.
"I don't see anything," Roquette replied.
The ground then began to shake, then open up beneath them. Roquette was quick to react.
"Move!" she ordered as she began to run towards the edge.
Annie ran back the way they had come. The entire section revealed to be a giant carnivorous flower, ready to drag the girls down. Roquette made it to safety. Annie was gripped by a flailing vine tendril that emerged from the center. Before she was dragged down though she latched on to Duke. Then the two were pulled into the abyss and sucked down into the earth. The ground then reformed and it was as if nothing had changed, except there were two less people around.
(Mountain)
Hunter, Kitty, Mona, and Charlie trudged through the snow. The wind had picked up and snow was blowing harshly over them. Hunter held up his hand and grunted.
"I can't see anything like this," he said through clenched teeth.
"Okay, let's take baby steps everyone," Kitty said. "Don't want us stumbling over any cliffs. But if we do at least it will be Hunter who falls."
"Lucky me," Hunter replied.
As the group continued on, Mona drifted behind and eventually disappeared into the snow.
"Uh guys…I think we may have lost someone," Charlie remarked.
"Not really a loss in my mind," Hunter replied dryly.
Charlie walked back a few steps to find Mona making snow angels in the ground.
"Uh…Mona?" he asked.
"This is really quite liberating," Mona said. "I feel completely refreshed. You should try it sometime."
"Oh okay," Charlie said. "How about next Tuesday?"
"Sounds like a date to me!" Mona replied.
"Move it or lose it, you two!" Hunter ordered.
"Lose what?" Charlie asked.
"I believe he's using an idiomatic expression to request that we catch up," Mona explained.
"Hey, who you calling an idiot!?" Charlie replied.
"No one, who are you inferring is an idiot?" Mona replied.
"Uh…me?" Charlie said in confusion.
"I'm very sorry to hear that then," Mona sighed as she patted his hand.
The two moved through the snow again, catching up with Kitty and Hunter. The two up front had arrived at another rock wall.
"Looks like we're going up!" Kitty exclaimed.
"Great, more climbing," Hunter groaned. "How do we know this girl is still alive even? What if this is just all for nothing?"
"Oh not at all," Kitty replied. "Using my handheld, I've combined and cross-referenced all that I can find on Yeti, followed by drawing back sources to find the arrange facts but accuracy. One clear fact is that Yetis love to hoard things, and this includes people."
"Wow, that phone is like magic," Charlie remarked.
"Pretty sure it's borderline cheating," Hunter said.
"I try," Kitty said. "Now let's go!"
The group of four began scaling the icy wall. It was a slow process with them pausing or slipping various times. Charlie lost his balanced and Kitty grabbed him only to be pulled down by his weight. She grabbed Hunter's leg and Hunter had to cling to the wall and bear both of their weight. But eventually they reached another ledge and were able to catch their breath.
"Alright, guys, that was a good start," Kitty said, "We just have a whole mountain to go."
She pointed up at the still looming peak.
"Ugggh," Charlie groaned as he flopped into the snow.
"It's not that—" Hunter began before a massive paw burst out of the rock and clutched his body.
The paw and arm was covered in white fur. The rock continued to crumble away to reveal a gargantuan apelike creature absolutely covered in shaggy fur. It bellowed angrily as it held up Hunter.
"Uh….guys?" Hunter squeaked nervously.
"Put him down!" Charlie exclaimed as he swung his stick against the creature's foot.
The stick snapped without causing any damage.
"Oh," Charlie said before the creature kicked him away.
"This thing is way too big for our weapons to do any good," Kitty said frantically as she rolled out of the way from getting stomped on.
Hunter just blubbered helplessly as the creature swung him around yet never released its grip.
"I do believe you could use some tea to calm your nerves," Mona said as she used her kettle to pour team onto the creature's toe.
The beast let out a roar in pain and loosened its grip on Hunter. The boy rolled down the arm and found himself looking up at the creature's face.
"Hunter, go for the eyes!" Kitty called. "If I know my gaming tactics, this thing has to have SOME weakspot!"
"You had better be right about this," Hunter said as he swung his pickaxe at the beast's eye.
He delivered a direct hit. The creature led out a pained roar and stumbled backwards…right over the edge. It lost its footing and began to plummet. Hunter desperately jumped off with nowhere to go. Both Kitty and Mona managed to grab one of his arms though and pull him up to safety.
"That…was…" Hunter moaned.
"Incredible!?" Kitty finished.
"Terrifying," Hunter corrected.
"Um, guys?" Mona said sadly.
The two turned and saw her tending to Charlie. As they got closer they realized that he had been impaled by a sharp rock straight through his stomach.
"Oh my god!" Kitty cried as she ran to his side. "Charlie!"
"Uh…ow?" Charlie said weakly.
"We…we have to get him back to town!" Kitty exclaimed frantically.
"It's too late," Hunter said grimly. "Look at him…he's not going to recover from that!"
"We have to try!" Kitty cried.
"No," Charlie said, "It's…okay. Rescue that girl…I'll be…fine."
Charlie gave a weak smile.
"Good luck," he said.
Then he closed his eyes and in a puff of smoke disappeared.
"Charlie has met his death," Chris announced. "He will automatically be removed in the game. Congratulation on being our first victim, and 30th placer."
(Beach)
Beatrice was sucked down deeper and deeper into the ocean until it was only darkness around her. However, then she noticed something else…a light. Beatrice thought it might become clearer as it neared, yet that's all it was. A light blue shapeless light moving around her. It seemed to flow with the water, filling space and fading again as it moved.
"Hello, Beatrice," she heard an icy voice say from within her head. "My name is Nereisa, and you are going to help me with something. You are just what I need."
Beatrice opened her mouth but only coughed bubbles out in the water. The light got closer and closer growing brighter and brighter, totally engulfing her.
Up at the surface, the others continued to search for her.
"I couldn't see her!" Todd cried as he surfaced. "She's just gone!"
"How does that even happen?" Portia asked.
Suddenly Beatrice shot back up through the water and landed on the sand. The three others ran to her side.
"Bea, are you okay?" Garfield asked. "What happened?"
Beatrice coughed up a puddle of water before laughing.
"Of course I'm just fine," she said. "Just being same old clumsy me!"
"Oh…well that's a relief to hear," Garfield said.
"And we did manage to catch some fish," Portia said. "We can get a fire started and actually have something to eat."
"Sounds super duper!" Beatrice exclaimed.
As the other went off to work on cooking the fire, Beatrice's eyes briefly glowed light blue. Todd gathered wood while Garfield worked on setting up a fire and Portia prepared the fishes.
"Hey guys," Todd said as he pointed out to the ocean. "What's that?"
There was a small silhouette moving along the water.
"Is that…a ship?" Portia asked.
"Well, things might be getting interesting then," Garfield said. "Wonder what it could bring."
The ship approached them at a fast pace. However, Garfield make a striking note.
"Guys…is that a skull and cross bones?" he said. "I think we may be dealing with—"
"Pirates!" Todd finished.
"Aye, Pirates!" announced a man on the edge of the ship as it neared the coast.
The large man was both tall and broad. He wore a big black hat and purple button jacket. He had a hook for a hand and peg for a leg.
"I be Captain Crazybeard the most feared scourge of the seas!" the captain announced. "And ye landlubbers are in trouble now!"
"Um, excuse me, uh, Captain Crazybeard," Portia said, "Sorry dumb question but…you don't seem to have a beard?"
"That's because it was too crazy for some people to handle!" the captain announced. "Now prepare to be blown to smithereens! Ahaahaha!"
The ship dropped an array of cannons and began to fire at the coast. The group scattered and dodged the oncoming cannonballs. However they hit the rock behind them and caused a shower of boulders. Todd quickly grabbed Garfield and pulled him out of the way just in time from being crushed. Portia rolled along the sand, a rock coming within seconds of landing on her. Pirates were now leaping off the ship and waiting through the water towards the coast.
"Bring me those thar lovely lassies!" Captain Crazybeard announced.
The pirates swarmed around Portia and Beatrice.
"Get your hands off of me!" Portia cried as she slapped at them but she was dragged into the water helplessly.
Todd and Garfield tried to run to help her, but had to avoid another landslide of rocks, costing them precious time. As the other pirates surrounded Beatrice her eyes glowed blue again and she grabbed one by the throat.
"I wouldn't if I were you," she said in the icy voice.
"Uh, just the one's good, Captain!" the pirate said before the rest ran back to the ship.
Portia was brought up to the deck and tied up, before the ship took off.
"Hahahaha!" Captain Crazybeard laughed. "Victory is mine…as always! I'm so crazy I love it!"
(Catacombs)
Ilona, Missy, Haylor, and Teddy sat along a set of crumbled stones in a hall.
"Isn't this just the best guys!?" Missy exclaimed. "Four of us best friends out on an adventure together! We're going to be inseparable by the end of this!"
"Yahoo!" Teddy cheered.
"Hey, I just had the best idea ever!" Missy exclaimed. "Why don't we all go around and talk about ourselves so we become even better friends than we already were!"
"Sure," Haylor offered. "I'm a Country-Pop singer with several national hits to my name, but I felt like trying something a bit different. I was on Uber Drama Mountain of Madness and placed third, but—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're already successful AND you already had a high placement on your original game?" Missy said. "Doesn't that seem a bit selfish to you?"
Haylor shrugged and said, "I was asked if I wanted to come back for another season and of course I said hell yeah."
"Yeah okay sure but you seemed pretty eager to tell us all about your success stories," Missy said. "Are you sure you're not just trying to belittle us? You think you're better than us don't you? It's people like you that cause esteem issues in kids today! We are not inadequate no matter what you think about us!"
"Well, you're the one who asked—" Haylor tried to defend.
"You know what? I didn't even make the merge in my original season!" Missy snapped. "Do you think I WANT to hear about your 'amazing domination of the game?' If you had any dose of sensitivity in your soul you'd maybe see the problem there, but of course you don't, you think being rich and famous makes you above any form of decency!"
"Okay, let's not overreact about anything," Ilona said.
"No, Ilona, be quiet!" Missy snapped. "I am not overreacting, this notion that we're not allowed to stand up for ourselves is just perpetuating the constant suffering that goes unchecked day after day! Well it stops here with me!"
"Uh, ladies…" Teddy said, "There's a…thing…"
He pointed frantically at a horde of zombies congregating behind them.
"Time to run," Ilona suggested.
The group quickly sprinted away from the oncoming attackers. However, Missy tripped over a loose brick and fell to the ground. The group of zombies clustered around her. She was just pulling herself up when they lunged at her. Haylor ran back to her, kicking back the one that was coming for her. There were too many for her to take though. One grabbed her legs, others came up from either side of her. Haylor pried her leg free and delivered an elbow to the one on her right. She wasn't quick enough to break away from the one on her left though and received a nasty bite to her shoulder. She shrieked in pain. Teddy quickly somersaulted through the air and landed on the creature's back.
"Let go, letgoletgoletgo!" Teddy exclaimed as he twisted the creature's head right off its neck.
Ilona came in and delivered several quick moves to the nearest zombies. She grabbed Haylor and helped carry her away. Missy and Teddy followed behind and the group was able to lose the army by taking another turn and holding quietly.
"That doesn't look good at all!" Teddy said at the gash in Haylor's shoulder. "Nope, not one bit, not a teeny tiny wincy bit! It's bad even! Yep, that's really, bad, real, really, actually bad!"
"It's…fine," Haylor winced in clear pain.
"It's definitely not fine," Ilona said. "We need to do something about this. Cover it up at the very least before you lose more blood."
Ilona began to tear off her clothes to make a bandage.
"You know what, she said she's fine, let's not waste time on this when she's clearly fine, let's just move on!" Missy said.
Ilona didn't reply though and continued to work on Haylor.
"Are you even listening to me!?" Missy snapped. "That is so rude! I am your friend, I am talking to you and you're ignoring me! You can't do that!"
"Missy, I need to focus here, Haylor needs help," Ilona said.
"What about me!? I need help! What makes her so important!?" Missy cried. "Why are you choosing her over me!? Ilona, I thought you were my friend!"
Missy ran off crying into the darkness.
"Ugh, she's gonna get herself killed," Ilona groaned.
Ilona rested Haylor against the wall.
"Look after her," she told Teddy. "I'll go stop Missy from doing something stupid."
Ilona followed the direction that Missy had gone in. The fairy girl had disappeared quickly into the darkness. As Ilona tried to find her she came to what seemed like a bridge across a large chasm. She saw a figure in the shadows and tentatively approached it.
"Missy?" she called.
"Oh, hi!" Missy said as she turned around with a bright smile.
"Are you alright?" Ilona asked.
"Better than ever!" Missy exclaimed as she skipped towards her. "I've cleared my head and realized my mistake."
"Oh, good to know," Ilona replied.
"Yep, I should have known better than to have thought you would ever be friend," Missy said in the same cheery tone. "So goodbye!"
With that Missy shoved Ilona over the edge. Ilona just let out a sharp gasp as she plummeted down into the inky darkness.
(To Be Continued…)