Dear Readers: Here I am again. Shout-out to VIPGuest for reviewing, I'm glad you like it. And also, longest chapter so far, yay!

Weird Update On The Author's Personal Life: I have just two episodes left before I'm completely caught up on Total Drama. I'm kind of sad.

Chapter Four: Out Of Reach (Kitty)

When I was told I was going to be lowered seven miles deep into the earth's crust, I never thought it would be so boring. There was really nothing to do besides stare into the blackness below or talk to Emma via headset, two equally boring activities.

Settling on the former, I notice a note posted on the wall. "Emma? Could you pull me up a little. I think Don left a note. It could be important.

The only response is a chorus of screams which she soon joins in on, followed by a loud crash. "Um, is everything okay up there?" It was more of a rhetorical question, more to determine what had happened than that something did.

"The Haters and Surfers crashed their ice yachts. It's kinda messy," she responded.

"Are they okay?"

"They're fine, but more importantly, Ryan and Geoff are coming down."

She pulls me up a few feet and I can see the note up closer. It has the Ridonculous Race logo and reads, '2 miles- good job on not dying yet!' A sparkly yellow smiley face sticker sticks it to the wall. "Good news, Em. Just five more miles to go!"

"Twelve, if we count pulling you back up," she grumbles. "I'm lowering you again, okay?" Before I can respond, she does. I watch the strange little note and out-of-place sticker until they are little more than a speck in the distance. By this point, the pinpoint of light that is the surface is long since gone. My headlamp is my only source of light.

"Ice Dancers are here, but Joseé's freaking out and stuff. Could be a while."

So that leaves … MacArthur and Sanders?"

"Yes. I wonder what's taking so long. They're a good team."

"Dysfunctional, but good."

When I finally have my feet on solid ground again, I tell Emma to stop cranking. Outcroppings of rock cast strange shadows against the walls of the hole, which move as I turn my head. "It's nice and warm down here."

"Well, it isn't up here, so get moving." Typical Emma.

I quickly find what I am looking for- a bright red tennis ball. "Got one! First place here we come!"

"Awesome! You ready to come back up?"

"Let's go!"

I clutch the ball in both hands, willing myself not to drop it. We are back up to the four-mile mark ('How have you not died yet?' complete with magenta smiley face) when I see Joseé descending towards me.

"Wow! How did you pass Ryan and Geoff?"

"Jacques dropped me a mile or two," she responds bitterly. "Anyways, congratulations on finding a ball. Is it easy, or are they hidden somewhere?" As she speaks, Josee swings back and forth on her harness, coming closer to me with each swing. I figure that it's probably a nervous tic- I know she gets claustrophobic. Or maybe she just had to pee. That would be unfortunate. "It's actually pretty easy with these lights." I point to my headlamp.

"Good to know." She smirks. Just as she reaches eye level, she lunges at me. Before I know it, she had taken my ball, broken my headlamp, and was going back up. I do manage to give her a good kick in the shin, though. But that isn't the worst of it. I still have to tell Emma.

"Are you okay," she asks. "Jacques is acting weird- did something happen down there?"

"I'm sorry, sis. Joseé took my ball and punched my light out."

"She what? I swear, if she hurt you-"

"Well, my flashlight."

"Oh. Ha ha, that's so funny, I forgot to laugh. We might be in last place now! If I get my hands on those slimy, cheating, -"

"Um, could you start lowering me?"

"Right."

I begin to move again, back into the depths of the borehole. Though I'm not sure if Emma could be consoled at this point. "We probably won't get first, but we can stay in this!" Silence. "Right?"

"Yeah, we better. Sorry, just thinking about something."

"Noah?", I guess.

"No, actually." Emma sounds a bit offended. Not everything I think about is Noah! Anymore, at least. Anyways, the Travel Tip says specifically to go to the bottom of the borehole. Joseé didn't, so she could be penalized. Plus the Cadets only just got here. We could still be in first place!"

I am soon back at the bottom, but it feels completely different not being able to see my hand in front of my face. It is like the darkness is creeping into my very being. I'm not scared of the dark. No, definitely not. But I am, however, scared of being stuck deep in the earth with zero light and a single flimsy cable as my only connection to the world. Big difference.

"Found a ball yet?" The voice startles me, until I realize it is just my headset.

"No. I can't see anything here. It's too dark."

"Can you try feeling around? At least until your eyes adjust? We don't have much time."

"I'll try." I get down onto my hands and knees and cautiously feel around. It is eerily quiet. "Emma, are you still there?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Could you just… keep talking to me? I think it will help. I just want to know you're still up there."

"What do I say?"

"Anything."

"Um, I am talking right now. This is noise. We are in Siberia right now, and I'm freezing, and the Ice Dancers are horrible people, and Noah is hot. How am I doing?"

"Great! Just keep going."

"Okay, anyone who's listening to this probably thinks it's really weird. Noise. Talking. Yay."

I continue to crawl around the space, feeling for a ball. Rock, rock, dirt, wall, something cold and wet, and … was it? Nope, just another rock.

Suddenly, the cavern is illuminated, temporarily blinding me. Once my vision clears, I see Ryan poking around behind some rocks.

I walk over to him, knowing it might be my only chance.

"Hi, Ryan. I know we're not on the same team, but could you help me? Joseé kind of killed my headlamp."

He starts to respond, but cringes as Stephanie yells at him on his headset. "Sorry, Kitty. I'd like to, but Stephanie here won't let me. Maybe if I find two in the same spot?"

"Thanks anyways." I try to search by the dim light his headlamp provides. Finally I spot a red sphere and lunge for it, but he reaches it first.

Ryan gets up and begins to ascend once more. "Please don't go," I call out to him. "It's just so dark and spooky in here." Yeah, I'm desperate. He looks back at me pityingly, but not much else.

"I'm guessing no luck with Ryan?" Emma asks.

"Nothing," I affirm.

"Hopefully you can convince Geoff. I think he's almost to the bottom."

"We won't have to. If I remember correctly, we're in an alliance. One that you started."

She snorts. "Good luck with that."

While the light was welcome, it had seriously messed with my night vision. Now I am literally left back in the dark.

"Hey dudette." Geoff lands next to me. "What happened to your headlamp?"

"Joseé broke it and took my ball."

"Heh. She punched your light out." I refrain from pointing out that I had thought of that exact pun earlier.

"Could you help me? I can't find anything when it's this dark."

"Of course I'll help you! We're in an alliance! Just let me get mine first."

I can't resist. "Hear that, Emma? Geoff's going to help us because we're in an alliance."

"Ugh, I get it. I was wrong and you were right. Now hurry up already! It's freezing up here!"

"Geoff takes off his helmet. "I got a ball already. Here, switch helmets with me."

"Thank you so much!" I take his headlamp and hand over my broken one.

"Hi Brody," I say.

"Wait, Kitty? Is that you?"

"Yup! Geoff gave me his helmet, 'cause Joseé broke mine."

"Heh. She punched your light out."

"I've heard that one already."

"Oh."

"Could you trade headsets with Emma? Geoff has my helmet."

"Sure. Just a sec."

I take the time to continue searching for a ball. Geoff quickly disappears from view. In watching him leave, something red wedged in a crack in the wall catches my eye.

Standing on tiptoe, it is just out of reach. I jump to grab it and managed to dislodge and knock the ball to the ground. "This is Emma again. You there, Kit?"

"Yeah. You could say I'm seeing this challenge in a whole new light." She ignores my totally awesome pun, though I know she is laughing in her mind. Or maybe just in my mind. "I just got a ball. Could you pull me up?" I begin my second journey to the surface, hoping it is my final.

"Ryan and Stephanie are done already, and I'm pretty sure if the Ice Dancers got a penalty it's up by now."

Somewhere near the halfway point (with another morbid note), I seem to be slowing down. "Come on, Emma! You can do it! Less than four miles to go!"

"I'm going as fast as I- MacArthur! What are you doing?"

"What's going on?" Whatever answer Emma tries to give is drowned out by the screaming. I am not sure if it comes from around me or from the headset. Something plummets past me, flailing. "Sanders? Stop, MacArthur! You're gonna kill her!" She probably wasn't able to hear me, but I had to try. I reach out with my free hand to try and grab the cable, but it slips through my hands and I recoil instinctively.

"I think Sanders broke her arm," Emma reports.

My hand feels like it is on fire (and I do know what that feels like, don't ask), but there is only one thing going through my mind.

"I could've saved her," I confess.

I wanted Emma to say something like "That's nonsense" or "There's no way it's your fault," but her only response is, "Tell me what happened."

"Sanders fell right past me. I tried to grab her harness, but I couldn't stop her."

"You tried your best. Sanders'll understand."

"Maybe if I had dropped my ball and used both hands, I could've stopped her. Or if I had noticed it a little quicker…"

There is a slight pause, like Emma is trying to think of a good argument. She then says just about the most big sister-y thing possible. "There's no use thinking about it now, there's nothing we can do to change it. We just have to move forwards." After a moment, she added, "That sounded really cheesy, didn't it."

"It kind of did."

"We can check on the Cadets later. Right now, we need to focus on getting to the finish. Just one thing at a time."

"I guess."

I almost don't notice when I reach the surface. Emma helps me out of the harness and we are about to leave when MacArthur confronts us.

"You!" She yells. "Why didn't you help Sanders? It's your fault."

Don't show any signs she's affected you. Pretend you don't care. Don't you dare cry in front of MacArthur.

Emma steps forward, putting herself between me and her. "You're the one who dropped her in the first place," she pointed out coolly. "You're no better than the Ice Dancers, are you? You'll do anything to win- even hurt your own partner."

I could tell Emma had hit a nerve, but she spits back at me, "Oh, so it looks like you need your big sister to protect you now. You can't save your own butt, let alone my partner's!"

Emma shoots me an apologetic glance and backs up, but I am quick to respond. It was bad enough blaming me for her mistake, but bringing my sister into it when she was only trying to defend me? That was lower than the bottom of the borehole! "That's because we're a team! We help each other, and we wouldn't do anything to put the other in danger. C'mon Emma, let's go. We have a race to win- er, place."

I hated to stop now; I was on a roll, but Sanders was probably almost to the top already, and they could probably outrun us in a foot race if it came to that. As we speed up to a jog, I tune out whatever MacArthur is yelling at me. Just one thing at a time.

The Chill Zone is at a sauna, which is nice but not enough to improve my mood. As we have already figured out, we are the fourth team to arrive. Ironically enough, this is a higher place than in the previous leg.

The door opens, and Don grumbles something about letting hot air in. Emma glares at him. MacArthur walks to the carpet, an unconscious Sanders slung over her shoulder. Even the Ice Dancers make no attempt to taunt her.

"MacArthur and Sanders, I have some good news," Don announces cheerfully. Not the best move on his part.

"I don't need good news! Sanders needs help! You!" MacArthur points in my direction.

"M-me?"

"Yes, you! Can your phone do anything besides take selfies?"

"I'll call an ambulance." Sucking up to MacArthur wasn't my first choice, but I keep reminding myself to do it for Sanders. She doesn't deserve any of this, and I could make it right.

"Kitty, what happened to your hand?" At my sister's words, I look down. Maybe the cold had numbed it, or I had been ignoring it due to earlier … mishaps, but the palm of my left hand was worryingly red. I had gotten a rugburn before, while learning that it wasn't a good idea to slide on your butt across a hardwood floor. At top speed, without wearing pants. But really, could you blame a five-year-old?

"It's just a ropeburn. Nothing serious. I can just stick it in the snow or something."

"If you're hurt, we should find you help. We can hitch a ride on the ambulance, it won't be any trouble," Emma says gently. Then she ruins it by adding, "Otherwise we'll be at a disadvantage during the next leg."

"Always nice to know my big sis is looking out for me."

Emma shrugs. "I try."

Once we arrive at the hospital, MacArthur pushes past me and kicks open the door. "Officer down! Move it!"

I volunteer to wait since my injury isn't nearly as serious, and sit down with Emma in the waiting room. It takes a while, but two ice packs and some bandages later, my hand is feeling fine. After asking around, I find my way to Sanders's room. The door is closed.

Before I can change my mind, I knock on the door. "Who is it?" MacArthur's voice calls out.

"It's just Kitty. May I see Sanders?"

"Door's unlocked." I take it that I am allowed in. Sanders is laying in a bed, her arm in a cast. She appears to be sleeping rather than unconscious, and her face is peaceful.

MacArthur finally breaks the silence. "It, um, it wasn't your fault."

"I accept your apology."

"Don't push it, kid."

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