==Chapter 12==

"Alright crew." Jo called over the heads of the castmates who followed her. "First order of business is arming ourselves." They were a couple hours of walking into the cityscape, and some of the buildings were starting to look like they might have useful items. "Let's split up in three groups of two and look for weapons. Sam and Dakota, you two are together. Same with Anne Maria and Lightning. Scott, you're with me."

Scott narrowed his eyes. "And why am I stuck with you?"

"Because I still don't trust you nearly as far as I can throw you. Now, we'll meet back here on the path in an hour-"

"And Sha-how we gonna tell time in this place? It's not like we were wearing watches when we came here." Lightning protested.

"I've got a Lucy Couture original watch!" Anne Maria reached into her pouf. "I was keeping it in here so it wouldn't get damaged." She pulled out a heart-shaped watch with a pink wristband. When she looked at it, she let out a cry of dismay. "It broke!"

"Looks like it's just stopped." Sam said as he peered over Anne Maria's shoulder. "It might not be broken at all. This place may just have time that works differently from our world, so our equipment for telling time might all be useless here."

"Good, it better not be broken." Anne Maria said as she stuck the watch back in her pouf. "I paid two hundred dollars for it."

Jo smiled and nodded at Sam approvingly. She was worried at first if the gamer would be able to pull his own weight, but his mental capabilities were proving to be worth something. Plus, any defecit in his physical talents could be compensated for by Dakota. Jo held no illusions to the fact that if she cut Sam loose, she'd lose the freakishly strong mutant too.

"Then new plan. Search until I blow my whistle. When you hear the whistle, come back to our starting point." Jo looked at her group. "I think everyone here can handle that. Let's move it!"

"Sam?" Dakota asked as the two rummaged through something that was probably a ruined store. "Are we leaving Zoey and others behind?"

Sam held up a piece of concrete and, deciding it was the wrong weight and feel for a weapon, cast it aside.

"Dakota, I need you to promise to not tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you." Sam started. Dakota nodded, grinned, and made a motion to seal her lips.

"Alright. Well, we're staying with this group for now, but I'm not just going to leave the others to die. I don't know if we can still save Mike, but the other six aren't goners yet. I think Jo has a better chance of figuring out this place than Brick and his group, but when the time comes, we're going to go back and help. Well.." he frowned, "I'm going back to help. I'm not going to force you. Not that I could, anywa-" He was cut off by Dakota hugging him tightly.

"Of course Dakota go with Sam! Sam so sweet!" She smiled as she let him down. "When do we go?"

"Not until we find out more about this world. And I could probably use a weapon." He resumed digging through the rubble. "You're strong enough without one, but I'm definitely not."

"Dakota be Sam's weapon!" Dakota said, flexing.

"Aw," Sam couldn't help but smile. "That's sweet of you, but if we ever get separated, I might have to defend myself alone. But hopefully that won't happen. Now, lets keep looking."

Zoey hugged her knees to her chest as she looked around at the other campers in her group. Jo would have killed Mike right there if Brick hadn't stopped her, and now half the campers were wandering around who-knows-where with the will to end Mike's life. She wanted more than anything to run off into the dreamscape and search for him, but she had enough common sense to stay put, for now at least.

"Can't you just yank it out?" A frustrated Brick asked Cameron, who was examining the arrow protruding from his shoulder.

"From the medical texts I've read, I'm not sure if that would be the best idea." Cameron mused. "Pulling the arrow out could cause more bleeding, and it's not like we have matching-type blood transfusions here." Cameron gently touched the shaft of the arrow, causing Brick to wince. "On the other hand, leaving it in could mean a greater chance of infection if this land has bacteria. I really don't know."

"I know!" Everyone stopped and stared in shock at Staci, who had just uttered a sentence that didn't start with "Yeah," and continued on to be about her relatives.

"Er, I mean.." She looked at the ground awkwardly, "I was there when Scott came back from being healed, and he mentioned he was taken to a rocky beach. Maybe if we bring Brick to the beach, we'll run into whatever thing healed Scott, and it might heal Brick."

"That's a great idea Staci!" Cameron said, impressed. "You should speak up more often. About your own life, I mean. Not just all your relatives."

"But Scott said that the thing that healed him turned on him in anger." Dawn protested.

"It may not be completely safe," Zoey said, standing up, "But I think it's our best option." She brushed away the stubborn black sand that clung to her clothes. "Besides," She added, smiling at Brick, "Brick's a lot easier to get along with than Scott. I'm sure the healing creature will like him." Brick smiled weakly back at her.

"You have a good point." Dawn said as she too stood up. "But will Brick be able to make it to the beach?"

"My legs are fine, it's just my shoulder." Brick said as he tried to stand up. However, something seemed to be holding him back, making his every movement an agony. Whatever it was stemmed from the wound in his shoulder. "Gah! What is that!"

"The negative energy from Jo's rejection of you and willingness to leave you behind with an injury damaged your aura." Dawn explained. "It looks really bad.. We're fortunate that Zoey understands Mike wasn't in control when he attacked her, otherwise she'd have a similar injury."

"Huh?" Staci looked confused, "What does that mean?"

"We'll explain later." Zoey said as she exchanged a glance with Cameron. "First let's get Brick healed. I suppose we could try and coax the creature here to heal him-" she mused, but stopped when B walked over to Brick and simply picked up the cadet. "Or that works too. Thanks B!" B flashed an approving grin.

"So.. you don't mind if I come along?" Staci asked cautiously.

"Of course not! It would be best if we all stuck together." Dawn said with a smile at the bald girl. "Though.. maybe your relatives and their stories could stay behind?"

As the six teens started towards the beach, none of them noticed the sand they left behind starting to shift..