Amanda's choice

by AmandaYoungFan

For years, she's done the Entity's bidding, thinking somehow, her doing so was also doing the bidding of the man she respected most, John Kramer. But seeing the survivors outside of the trial have made her question if what she's doing is right. What happens to a killer in the realm who no longer has the drive and stomach to do the Entity's bidding? (Feel free to comment)

71. Highlanders

Breakfast was magical. It was largely catered, but lord was there plenty of food. They made small talk during breakfast. Afterwards, they retired to the massive living room. Amanda was in a navy sweater and slacks, but just like her preference in the realm now, her tanned feet were exposed as she settled onto the couch next to Jake barefoot If she was inside anywhere that was warm, she was sans shoes and socks.

They decided to stick to the fake story of escaping the ship. If it had been good enough to sell to Archer, it would also sell to Jake's parents. Several news organizations had called Jake's parents after being unsuccessful reaching them at Jake's apartment. His cell phone had rung so often he'd muted it. There would be time to talk, once they got their ducks in a row.

"That footage..." Sylvia looked at the expensive rug. "So awful. We thought that was the last time we'd ever see you alive. But...Despite our heartbreak we were so proud of you. There were some video clips taken of you while you were loading the lifeboats and you were kissing and even in spite of the danger you were brave and happy and it seemed like you were unafraid. Seeing everything you did made it so much harder thinking you had died, because you'd been so selfless. There was that long trip you made up the rail...Where did you go, Amanda?"

She smiled. "Mr. Shaw asked me to take a look at the bow. He was very worried about whether or not it was underwater. He kept saying when the bow was submerged, that we wouldn't have much time left. But as I was going there, I remembered in our hurry to leave that we'd left some things in our cabin that we might need, like Jake's cell phone and wallet. So I snuck up there and snagged them before I went to the bow. And Mr. Shaw was absolutely right. Once the pilots told us the bow went under, it seemed like we had very little time, maybe an hour at most."

She paused, "When I left again, it was to see if there were any passengers left like that confused man who had somehow slept through the evacuation alarms. And then while I was in there..." Amanda shuddered. "The lights went out. It was terrifying. I thankfully found a flashlight in an emergency kit. I had to knock open some cabin doors to get sunlight in the corridor to see it."

So Jake lied about the last moments and the way they had escaped the ship. Amanda's throat was dry and she excused herself to the Park's massive kitchen and got a small glass of water. She remembered something Jake and she had talked about this morning. She glanced around the kitchen before remembering the drawer. She stuck a knife in the belt in her slacks and covered it with the sweater, and folded up a wad of paper towels which she stuck in the front pocket of her slacks.

When she returned to the living room, Jake was saying, "And because I just have a sixth sense, I managed to get the lifeboat right to a beachfront resort." They all chuckled. "And then you pretty much know the rest."

Sylvia said, "And Amanda? What made you change your name?"

She smiled and lied. "I didn't change it per se. Linda is my middle name. I liked it better than Amanda for a time, but...I dunno, something clicked and so I just decided to use the first name I was born with. Jake almost gave it away during that first dinner, remember? He started to call me Amanda and then he changed to Linda and so he said my name was Amalinda. Lord, that was smooooooth." She giggled, as did everyone else.

Jack said, "It's wonderful to see you healthy, Amanda. You...Weren't doing very well when Jake and I spoke before your treatment. It looks like it has done wonders for you."

And Amanda and Jake shared a look. Do or die time. Jake said, "We decided that there's something we need to tell you...You realize that what I'm telling you now...You're sworn to secrecy. You can never tell anyone about it, ever." His parents shared a look but nodded.

And so Jake confessed. About the realm. And Amanda fudged her history in the realm. And they said it was controlled by something powerful, and that they had a task of trying to escape killers, while the killers were tasked with trying to kill them.

"It was in the woods near that cabin in Ohio. That's what brought me there. Amanda...We did know each other briefly in college, and when she wandered into her own set of woods, it was almost a dream in a way, because it reunited us."

Jack said dubiously. "How long were you in this...Realm?"

"We were there for 23 years. That's why when we were both returned to the real world, and found each other again, I proposed to her so quickly. Because we'd already had a 23-year relationship. In the realm, we never age and never change physically."

Amanda interjected, "It wasn't an experimental treatment. I was dying. Jake knew that the realm had the power to heal me, and so he begged the thing that controlled it to bring me and Jake back to the realm. And it did. It healed me. But...If I'm outside the realm for too long, I'll die. I'm healthy for only about two weeks at a time."

Jack looked at Sylvia and touched the side of his head. "They were in that lifeboat for over a week, honey. I'm sure there's been some heat stroke. Or maybe they got knocked around a bit before they could escape the ship..."

Amanda stood up and pulled the knife from her belt, then pulled out the wad of paper towels. Jack and Sylvia shrank back in fear. Jake watched her as she took the sharp blade and quickly sliced open the palm of her left hand.

Jack and Sylvia both started screaming when they saw the blood. Amanda's hand was quickly coated in it. Sylvia said she was going to call a rescue squad but Amanda hollered, "Wait!"

She held the paper towels tightly over the wound, and eventually her blood soaked through the top layer. But everyone waited. And then Amanda wiped her palm with the remaining section of the wad that was clean and held up her left palm. There was no cut. It was completely healed.

"That's...Quite a neat trick." Jack's face showed that he was a little bit rattled, but still disbelieving. Amanda had prepared for that, and so she said, "Follow me."

And in spite of themselves, they did. Amanda walked to the staircase. The mansion had six stories. She tried to gauge how high the top level of the iron works was, compared to the house. She dashed up the steps to the fifth floor and looked over the railing. "Stand clear."

Amanda climbed over the railing, resting her feet on the little bit of floor that stuck out past it, and as Jake's parents watched, she walked off of it. They watched her fall, legs down, for five stories. She landed directly on her feet, let out a grunt, partly crouched, then stood upright. And then, for fun, she wiggled her toes on the marble floor of the entryway.

There was no way she could have made that jump normally and not shattered both of her legs. Jack and Sylvia both knew it. They were telling them the truth about this place. And Jack Park said, "Ok. There's a realm." Sylvia was already nodding and Amanda hadn't needed to give the jumping demonstration for her to believe. Sylvia had been convinced from the moment the cut in Amanda's hand had healed. This just cemented it. Jack said, "So...You can only leave it for two weeks at a time...Otherwise, Amanda will regress and her Tetanus will kill her."

Jake nodded, it wasn't the truth but it was close enough. "She'll regress within minutes to the state she was in when I took her back to the realm. Giving her a real-world vaccination won't do anything, it's now cemented into her body from when she crossed over this last time."

Jake wasn't sure why he'd added in that last tidbit before he was asked, but thought of it as they were talking and decided to throw it in. Dad or mom may have thought of it eventually.

As they walked back into the living room and settled into the comfortable chairs again, Jack said, "How do you feel about all this?" He looked at Amanda.

And she started crying, and it wasn't an act. "How do you think? He gave up his life to save mine. Now he's there with me indefinitely if he doesn't want me to die and wants to stay married to me. In addition to worrying you'd think the whole damn story was nuts, I've also hesitated to tell you out of a fear you'd think I've stolen him from you."

And then Jack surprised everyone, especially Jake. He got up from his chair and sat next to Amanda. "I was born in South Korea, you know. And while my family was not the poorest in Fukuoka, we only lived, in what would be American terms, paycheck to paycheck. I met Sylvia when she was on a vacation. It was, at least in my case, love at first sight. She was there for, two weeks?" He looked at Sylvia and she nodded.

Jack continued, "I knew she was the one I was to marry. She...Well, I know she liked me, but marriage? I'm not sure she was in the same mindset at that time. I kept in touch with her after she left, and as soon as I was able to come to America, and move here to New York City, I did. We started in Queens. We dated, and eventually we fell in love. I swore to her when she accepted my proposal that I would work and I would give her everything she needed and more. And I did so. She helped pay my way through business school, and I earned a degree. But it came at a cost. I only saw my parents on trips a handful of times before they both passed."

He looked in Amanda's eyes. "When you love someone, you sacrifice. Sometimes it's your fun, sometimes its family. I could have remained in Korea and found someone who made me happy, but she would not have been Sylvia. I did what I needed to do to be a part of her life. Jake has done what he needed to do because he wants to be a part of yours. Your love for each other is obvious...And I see the way you look at him. Sometimes it's as though you don't believe you have him."

Amanda let out a choking sob. "I grew up with little. And I've had nothing for much of my life. Yes, and I apologize for the language...Jake is a fucking dream come true for me. He had the pick of virtually anyone and 23 years ago, he chose me. I'm sometimes shocked that he did, I admit it. And it was never about the money it was always about him and how he made me feel. The place we stay in at the realm...It's entire size is basically the size of just your living room. But I don't care because it's not about the place, it's about the fact that he's in it. I give him everything I have to give him every day and I never feel like its enough but he makes me believe it is."

Jack smiled. "That's how I felt about Sylvia. And that's why we could never resent you for the situation you are in. I had to give up my parents almost completely to marry Sylvia and I did it. Jake hasn't really given us up, per se, as you can leave your realm and return to us much easier than I could return to my parents...What happens...In between?"

Jake said, "We believed that every time we returned that things would reset, and I admit, that bothered me, because it meant every time we came back that you'd forget everything we'd done the time before. Basically we were under the assumption that every time we returned from the realm, we would return in the morning of November 9, 2006, the date and time I returned to the realm with Amanda when she was dying. Now it appears that isn't the case. It pulled us back on Nov. 23rd, and we were in the realm for about two weeks longer when we returned again. But when we came back again, we came back not in the morning on Nov. 9, but in the morning on Nov. 23."

He started lying. "The realm actually pulled us back the day before yesterday, after we'd been adrift for quite awhile in that lifeboat. As I said, our two weeks were up. However, after the being that controls the realm learned how we spent our two weeks, it let us return again after two weeks. It's cruel but often fair. So when we came back, we'd expected we'd return to our cabin in the woods, but that wasn't the case. When we returned we were right back on that boat...So I worked and worked and finally got the engine going and then...Well, you know the rest."

Sylvia was looking at Amanda. "So the healing abilities stay with you...?"

"Only for two weeks," Amanda told her. "Also, it will prevent us from aging and we could wipe out three buffet lines a day and we won't get fat. Since we're hunted, rather than hunters, our special abilities are basically only the healing and the jumping factor. Sometimes we have to jump from great heights while being chased, and they would break our legs otherwise, or potentially kill us."

Jake said, "So...Here's what I think is going to happen...I think after we leave, time will go on for you, like it does for us. You'll keep aging, and we won't. And every time we return from the realm, we'll...I dunno, catch up from the point we left in two weeks. So when we leave this time, it will be the morning of Dec. 6. When we return from the realm, we'll return on Dec. 6. So...if we don't come back for five years and stay in the realm, when we DO come back, we'll come back right to where we left things. Five years will have passed for both of us, but it will be wiped away for you and we'll create a new history, including us, for two weeks, from the morning of Dec. 6 to Dec. 19."

Jack considered, "So if your mother and I live say, 20 more years...It will actually be much longer than that, because you may only visit in two week intervals five to 10 times per year." He stood up and walked over to Jake, "I know what she means to you, and I'm glad you told us. Even if we only have 20 more years in us, to you, we have many years. We'll make the most of it every year when you aren't here, and make even more of it when you are here with us."

"Sometimes it hasn't been easy, but you know what?" Sylvia looked at them. "We believe in till death do us part. When things got bad, we worked through them. In your case, things were perfect. But Jake wasn't ready for death to part you. He did what he did to keep you."

Amanda started crying and Sylvia left her chair and put a hand soothingly on her shoulder. "If that doesn't show his love, nothing does. How could we resent you for stirring that emotion so deeply in him. And you're not gone from us. If might get tricky later, when we're much older and you are unaged, but we'll figure it out. The important thing is we both know that after we're gone, you'll love and take care of Jake, and you'll be happy."

Jake's parents swore secrecy. Jack was a CEO, after all, and such a completely ludicrous story about his son remaining unaged in some alternate universe being chased by killers would make Jack sound like he needed a straight jacket, and would potentially make his board of directors try to oust him. They decided to make the most of the two weeks they had now, and if they were willing, Jack said, they were welcome to stay at the mansion. "And we'll make sure we wash the sheets carefully after you leave," Jack told his son with a wink, privately, much to Jake's horror. 'Screw your wife son, we understand,' is what that wink was telling Jake.

When they checked the answering machine for the land line of the house, they discovered a number of requests for interviews had been received. One of them was from NBC studios. Would the Parks be willing to come to the NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for a taped interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams? Anytime they were available this week. A number to call was given. ABC and CBS were also interested in speaking with them.

Of course, it was not difficult to parse why. Jake had explained it accurately on the plane right back. If they were just of a background like Rogo was, there would probably be less interest. But since one of the two missing passengers had been the son of Jackson Park, the billionaire CEO of Park Industries, it was a much bigger deal. Brian Shaw also came from modest origins, but as leader of the rescue efforts, and because of the number of American passengers, it was big news. But they realized the story there had been told from Shaw's own perspective. Now, the story continued that they had been found alive. Now the networks wanted to know the details about how the two passengers who had quite obviously been doomed to drown had somehow beaten the impossible odds to survive.

Amanda kept herself in check by believing that the wiki entry on the disaster, and her part in it would be small. If a wiki page was created for Amanda Park, she could update it herself with some phony history of herself. It would be a good opportunity for her to spin a yarn on her life that WASN'T what it truly was. But still, she needed to make a phone call.

She used another old laptop of Jake's that he had left in the closet of the mansion to track down the number of the Boston FBI headquarters and then used Jake's cell phone to call the office. She was connected to the extension for Supervisory Special Agent Peter Strahm. She dropped a few hints about who she was after he answered, and after he quickly understood who it was calling him on the other end of the line, he gave her his cell phone number and asked her to call him there.

So she did. And after he picked up, she explained the Ocean Princess situation and apologized. She was all over the fucking news and it truly hadn't been intentional and she was so sorry that after all he'd done for her to help her escape her past as Amanda Young, she'd been stupid enough to have her face all over the internet where someone could potentially recognize her.

But, to her surprise and relief, Strahm completely understood and didn't blame her. "It couldn't be helped," Strahm told her. "You didn't get on that ship to become famous, of course. But there's a couple things going for you on the Amanda Young end of things. Number one, pretty much everyone in the office has seen the exciting video, and no one, and I repeat, no one, has said, 'Hey, doesn't that look just like Amanda Young?' So that's good news."

"But we're getting hassled to do interviews. And because Jake is who he is, we're going to have to do a couple of them, I'm sure. Also, the video was mainly from a distance so it was harder to see my face clearly. I'm not going to have that opportunity if we sit down for an on-camera interview with Brian Williams. What do I do when I'm in close-up? Should I say doing an interview and talking about it will bother me too much and have Jake be interviewed alone?"

Strahm was silent a moment. "Eh, I don't think that's really necessary. Just change your appearance."

Amanda said, "That was something Jake suggested too. But how? I can't change my face, you know."

Strahm was quick to tell her that was a bit extreme. "You shouldn't have to go that far. Dye your hair, maybe red or black, or blonde. And get some colored contacts that change your eye color. You could even get a pair of glasses that just have clear glass for lenses. Just a few differences that will subtly change your look to even the most eagle-eyed of viewers. I mean, it may not be necessary. I watched the video and I honestly didn't recognize you at all, and while I get that it was from a distance, the camera managed to get close enough to make out your face more than you would have thought. Since the sinking and the release of that video, I've see everything that comes here from all the associated bureaus, and it's been more than a week of radio silence. Even now, the investigation is closed, and Amanda Young, for all intents and purposes, is dead. To be honest, you could probably get away with not changing your appearance at all, but from a personal standpoint, I think that would be in your best interest, just to go the extra mile."

"Why do you say that? I am literally shocked right now that you think I could just continue to look the same as I do now and get away with it, even if my face is viewed by a ton of people and law enforcement when they watch the news," Amanda said.

He replied, "Well, to be honest, I think that even IF someone were to suspect, I am firmly of the belief that they they wouldn't do anything. That's part of the reason why I could pull a switcheroo during the autopsy because I knew they were only barely interested. Number one, if you were revealed alive, it would make law enforcement look like rubes if we all closed the case and then re-opened it because we missed bringing Amanda Young in after misidentifying a corpse and declaring her dead. Everyone has moved on now, and it would just reopen the healed wound, and really, be fairly meaningless. I mean, that Jigsaw case was huge, and we finally closed it, and it's my firm belief that everybody wants to continue to rest on our laurels. We figured it out, and John Kramer and everyone that knew him is dead and no one has to spend their lives looking over their shoulders afraid they're going to be plucked from the streets for Kramer's newest game."

Strahm paused for a moment. "Number two, based on the investigations, even before we closed the case, virtually everyone who was investigating it pretty much wrote off your actions as a form of Stockholm Syndrome. Based on the obvious lack of you being at certain key crime scenes, your involvement was determined as heavily peripheral, and borderline coerced. It helps that the game we know you were directly involved in, which included Matthews, was filled with a bunch of victims that weren't very innocent, least of all Matthews himself. Daniel certainly wasn't crying for your head after we revealed his father was confirmed dead."

He sighed, "And this may hurt your feelings, and I'm sorry if it does, but it's also a big factor so I apologize but it needs to be said: Based on your background...And who you were, I think even if they did notice a resemblance, they wouldn't believe it. They simply would not believe that Amanda Young would have met, and made Jackson Park's son fall in love with her. They would not believe that Jake Park would love an ex-junkie who was born into little money and an alcoholic father. I mean, I believe it because I know it's you and I see how much you both love each other. But everyone else? No. And if they do some sort of amateur investigating, and they're wrong, falsely accusing the wife of a billionaire's son of having once been Jigsaw's apprentice is a career-ender. It's a huge risk if they're wrong, no matter how much they may suspect."

Amanda smiled and said, "I'm not offended. You're right, Agent Strahm. That's something I hadn't thought about. And our meeting and falling in love was virtually by chance. I mean, personally, I can't believe he married me sometimes, because of our different backgrounds. I gave up on the idea of marrying any decent man in my 20s, and I gave up any hope of marriage at all in my early 30s. But I'm so happy he did, and I give him everything I've got in return."

Strahm breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, because I didn't want to make you feel bad. And I know you do. I could see it in you during the wedding. You were just enamored with each other. If one of the agents I supervise came to me and tried to re-open an investigation into you, I'd deny it primarily because of your marriage, I'd even deny it if my mostly-former partner, Perez, were the one to initiate it. But I truly don't believe it would come to that for two reasons. One, most of the people already know you were a victim, even as an apprentice."

He paused again. "The other reason is kind of insulting, but I'm in for a pound now: You're not a big fish. John and Hoffman are both dead. They were the biggest fishes to catch. Finding and apprehending Amanda Young, herself a known victim, isn't going to lead to a promotion. It's not going to bring a huge boost to anyone's careers, and I talked to several prosecutors in the area before you were found "dead," and all of them said if you HAD turned up alive, you likely wouldn't have been tried because they didn't feel a jury, even one that wasn't sympathetic, would convict you."

Amanda said, "Well, that's a bit of a relief."

Strahm laughed. "I thought you'd like that. They told me that if you were apprehended, they'd probably plead you off with a couple of misdemeanors and probation. In the case of Lynn Denlon for example, they'd offer a plea to false imprisonment. And then they also might make you plea to carrying weapons. Those were the only things you were known to have been provably guilty of, and like I said, you'd get probation and maybe a small fine for both. And the one who told me about those charges was the prosecutor who was directly involved in the investigation."

He continued, "Long story short, I think it's over. But if for some reason it isn't, if for some reason someone in law enforcement really risks his career and proves that you are actually Amanda Young, if you get dragged in, the prosecutor, at most, is going to give you a quiet slap on the wrist, especially because it will piss off the Park family if it becomes public. That's why, after I falsified the autopsy, I went ahead and got you legal documents as Jake Park's wife, because I believe almost completely that you can live your life fairly normally and without fear that anyone from law enforcement is going to come knocking on your door. I mean, Hell, I used a cropped and edited mugshot for your driver's license photo. I know it was seen by more than one person, and no one recognized you. You probably don't even need to modify your appearance, like I said, but just in case, you could do a few minor things that will make you look different in a close-up interview."

Amanda sighed. "I appreciate that. I'm glad I called you and talked to you. To be honest I've been worried since the moment we hit land and the hotel employees were all fawning over us. I even told Jake, we're famous now, and I was Jigsaw's apprentice."

Strahm said, "That's another thing I probably should have mentioned. Do you think anyone from law enforcement, even if they recognized you, is going to risk coming after you with that video of you being completely selfless and heroic on that cruise ship posted all over the internet? You almost died giving up your space on the rescue helicopters to other people. You had hundreds of chances to leave, and you chose to stay. You and your husband literally made sure everyone else was off of that ship and it almost killed you doing it. Again, anyone on the investigation wouldn't be able to reconcile Amanda Young with the woman who behaved so selflessly on that ship. They just wouldn't. I fully believe they won't make the connection, even though they might think you look a lot like her."

He paused. "Keep my cell number, if you have questions, call anytime. It was probably safe to talk on my desk extension, but better safe than sorry. And honestly, thank you."

Amanda said, "For what? It's me that needs to be thanking you for all you've done."

Strahm said, "But you didn't have to thank me, and you did anyway, and I appreciate it. And you didn't need to make this call. And I know part of it is because you're looking out for yourself and are scared, but you also were worried that this situation would put my job and reputation at risk, and you called me seeking advice before you proceeded to venture into the public eye. If I'd told you not to do it, you would have found a way not to. It shows you care. You know I took a lot of risks and you were worried about my ass too. Once again, it shows me that I made the right decision at Gideon. Now go, enjoy the spotlight and being considered a hero. You've earned it...And I wouldn't go redhead. Based on the tan, I think black hair would suit you best."

Amanda laughed, thanked him and said her goodbyes, and she kept the note she'd made with Strahm's number and put it in her purse. When an apprentice, she'd been wary of authorities but now she knew for sure that Supervisory Special Agent Peter Strahm was definitely one of the good guys, and she owed him a Hell of a lot.

She pulled Jake aside and told him about the call and Strahm's suggestions. Then she sat down with Sylvia. After all, who better to discuss making beauty changes with than her mother in law? "You know, I've never been thrilled with green eyes," Amanda told her. "It's my least favorite color. I've always been more of a fan of the colors blue and purple. And my hair, it's a mess. I haven't been to a stylist in over a year. My hair actually used to be dyed black, but it's faded."

Sylvia immediately jumped into action. She was avoiding becoming a glasses wearer by using contacts. "You know they make lenses, right?"

Amanda looked at her, surprised. Sylvia said, "I go to Cooper Eye Care here in the Upper East Side. They have non-corrective contact lenses available. You have no vision problems, correct?" Amanda shook her head. "I thought not. They have lenses that you can wear that will just change the color of your eyes. Purple I'm not sure of, but you could easily get a pair that would make your eyes blue."

Amanda smiled eagerly, "That would be SO fun to surprise Jake with. I'd almost seem like a new woman." She'd kidded him about it in the plane, and now she was going to actually go through with it. She bet that the sex would be just a little bit hotter if her hair was black and her eyes were blue and she looked a bit different, even if Jake said a change in her appearance wouldn't affect him like that.

Sylvia smiled at her conspiratorially. "I know exactly what you mean." They both giggled. Sylvia said, "As for your hair, let me see if Marc Joseph can squeeze us in. They're the best in Manhattan and they are who I use." She patted her long, styled hair demurely. Amanda giggled again.

Sylvia called both places and found that there was an opening at Marc Joseph in a couple of hours. Amanda forced herself into shoes and socks as Sylvia called for a limo. Sylvia called the boys together and said, "We're going out, just us girls, so Amanda will be a new woman when it comes time to do those interviews, if you end up doing them. We'll be back in awhile."

The limo arrived and the two ladies had a ball laughing and joking all the way to Cooper Eye Care. Once inside, Sylvia told her usual optometrist what Amanda was seeking, and she was shown several different shades of Air Optix breathable blue contacts. The optometrist said they could be worn for up to 30 days without needing to be removed, as they allowed air to enter the eye while in use. Amanda settled on an icy-blue color that reminded her of Ray Liotta's and insisted on paying, opening her borrowed purse to reveal several thousand dollars.

Sylvia's eyes widened. "Where did that come from?"

Amanda smiled. "The Ocean Princess had a casino, and as part of the cruise package Jake got us, we had a $25,000 credit. I learned how to play poker in my younger years, and played a high limit game during the first day of the cruise. I had some hands go my way and I cashed out with over $73,000. Sadly, 25 grand went down with the ship, but I kept 23 in cash and I snagged it when I went back to our cabin during the sinking to get Jake's wallet and cell phone. That reminds me, I need to get one of those too."

Sylvia smiled. "A card sharp, and immortality? Amanda Park, you are an incredible woman and thank God my son managed to snag you."

Amanda said seriously, "No, it's me that does that. Thank God, I mean. He changed my life...And he saved my life on that ship. I'd be lost without him. There's not a day that goes by that I'm not grateful for him."

The optometrist gave her three pairs for each eye, and also added in a contact lens case, saline solution, and eye drops for contacts in case her eyes happened to get dry. Then she brought over a pair of disposables and sat Amanda in front of a mirror and taught her how to put in and remove contacts. Surprisingly, it was harder than Amanda thought, but after about a half an hour, she got the hang of it.

She went out with her little bag to the limo with Sylvia. Since they had over an hour to kill, Sylvia took her to Obao noodles and BBQ, a Vietnamese eatery, for lunch. Sylvia chose the duck noodles, and Amanda went with Pho Bo, liking the sound of the beef. Since they were well out of earshot, Sylvia asked questions of the realm.

"So these killers...How do they...?"

"Well they can kill us outright after they've hooked us a few times, using something called a Mori. It's an offering that can be burned before the match. Or, they put us on hooks and after we've been hooked a number of times, we get sacrificed. When we're on the hook, there's three stages. The first time we're hooked, we can try to pull ourselves off of it a few times, but if we fail, we immediately go into the second stage. When that happens, sacrificial hooks fall, and we have a certain amount of time we can hold them off before they close on us and sacrifice us. But when we do, we just wake up in our cabin, completely healed and restored, afterwards. We've both gotten kind of used to it after all this time. It's like an immersive video game, that is painful when you lose, but you have infinite do-overs."

"And there are other steps," Amanda said. "We can get rescued by other survivors. If we don't struggle and are unhooked in time, we get two more hooks before we're sacrificed. If we struggle into phase two and are rescued, then if we get hooked again, it's game over and we wake up in the cabin. For the killer to be able to kill us outright, we have to be hooked at least twice."

She continued to discuss the basic format and rules as they ate, and about the certain perks, and the odd healing method the survivors had when first aid kits weren't available.

When she was done, Sylvia said, "I wouldn't give up the mansion for it, but it does sound...I don't know...Exciting? How did you get selected? To go to the realm, I mean?"

Amanda giggled and lied, "Wrong place, wrong time, I guess. Me and Jake just happened to be in a particular spot that was a portal to the realm, and opened the door accidentally and were brought in. I was shocked that someone I knew from college was there. And we started falling for each other again, almost immediately."

With lunch over, and Amanda paying again, they returned to the limo to go to Marc Joseph, arriving 15 minutes early.

There were a ton of offerings and Sylvia had to help her. Amanda selected a full color, called a Balayage, A blowout trim that kept her hair past her shoulders, and Sylvia talked her into both of them getting a manicure and pedicure. Her nails after the shipwreck, Amanda admitted, were slightly rough. As she was a waxer before she went to the realm as a killer, there was nothing in her crotch that needed waxing, she'd be smooth there forever. They closed it out with joint revitalizing deep tissue facials.

Amanda's first trip was to the chair to get her color in place. She went with black. Once the color was percolating, she waited a bit, chatting with Sylvia until she got her rinse and the stylist removed her split ends. They left her hair damp while she and Sylvia both got their facials, then manicures and pedicures. Amanda couldn't resist going with sparkly purple polish again. "Purple is Jake's favorite color on me," Amanda told Sylvia with a wink.

Then the stylist teased her hair, primped it, and made it shine. It was gorgeous. The stylist told her to wait until the day after tomorrow to make sure the hair color was set strongly so it would last and not wash out too quickly, and gave her tips on how to style her hair at home the way she had styled it just now in the salon.

Sylvia called the limo to be picked up. Amanda went over to pay when Sylvia went out to flag down the limo. The stylist totaled everything up. "Full color, trim, style, two manicures, two facials...Comes to $755 dollars."

Amanda kept her face expressionless. It was astronomical, but they were on the Upper East Side. She counted out $1,300 in hundreds and told the stylist to keep the remainder and share whatever was fair with the person who had done the facials and pedicures. The stylist beamed.

She looked at the clock. Somehow, they had been here for close to four hours. The price one paid to be gorgeous. Amanda told Sylvia the bill was taken care of when she came back inside, and Sylvia said, "Oh, I was going to get it for you."

Amanda took ta set of the new blue lenses and the saline solution from the limo and winked at Sylvia. "Be right back." As she had left a tip of over $500, she was graciously shown to a bathroom. With nominal effort, she got the first lens in, and then the other, and looked at herself with her gorgeous, shining black hair and her intensely ice-blue eyes. Being bi, Amanda knew if she ran into a girl who looked like her, and was unmarried, she'd fuck the girl in a heartbeat. She loved the look. The black hair looked stunning with her golden-brown tan, and her eye color was hypnotic, and she could leave them in now for a month. They were extremely comfortable, and Amanda soon forgot she was even wearing them at all.

She went out into the main salon and Sylvia looked at her and clapped. "Oh...Jake is going to LOVE it." She whispered. "And I'm not going to be THAT parent. You two are married, and the mansion has thick walls." Amanda winked and grinned. She didn't know that Jack had basically told his son the exact same thing earlier.

Back to the mansion they went. And then they walked through the door. And Jake came from the living room and for a brief moment he almost asked where Amanda was because even those subtle changes had made his mind not recognize her briefly. But of course she WAS right there. Her hair, radiantly black, shined in styled waves, and her eyes, in that brilliant shade of blue, were positively hypnotic.

"Sorry," Amanda told him, and even her voice matched her gorgeous look, slightly lower, seductive. "I wasn't expecting to be at the salon that long but it was exquisite."

Jake shook himself from his stupor and said, "It's okay, mom called and told us you were on your way. Dinner is catered, we only finished laying it out a minute or two ago. You both are in for a bit of a surprise. Your timing is perfect."

Amanda smiled and pulled off pulled off her ankle boots by the door and tucked her socks into them and padded over to him barefoot and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. Even with the new eye and hair color, Amanda's habits showed through her new, sexy look.

And so they walked to the dining room. "Looks like you had some fun too," Jack said to his own wife, instantly picking up on the fact that she'd had a facial. "What did that set you back?"

Sylvia shrugged. "Amanda did all the buying, but she must have left a Hell of a tip because my stylist and the manicure and spa girls were gushing about her when she put her lenses in and I was waiting for her. Where had I been hiding her, they asked me."

Jack smiled slightly. He knew she wasn't a freeloader and didn't marry Jake for his connections or name, but still, it pleased him anyway when Amanda paid her own way rather than allowing Sylvia to dote, which Sylvia would have loved to do. His son had chosen and married very well, despite the marriage being the first time Amanda was actually a socialite.

In the mansion's massive dining room, Amanda clapped happily as she looked at the table. It was filled with food. Jack said, "You were both a day late for the holiday, but of course I was happy to use my connections so we could enjoy ourselves now."

The table was laid out for a full Thanksgiving feast. There was a huge roasted turkey, specially prepared mashed potatoes and a ton of hot gravy, stuffing that was far beyond anything from Stove Top, A specially-prepared green bean casserole, rolls, butter, cranberries and a pumpkin pie, among other foodstuffs.

They filled their plates and Sylvia said grace and they dug in. Everything was exquisite. She forced herself to have more of the green bean casserole and had stuffed herself to bursting and afterwards she held her tummy, suffering.

With the meal completed, Giles swooped in to collect the leftovers and Amanda insisted on helping, and soon the entire Park family was loading containers and laughing as they carried them to the enormous fridge. Moving around helped Amanda's suffering stomach, which was a relief.

Amanda spoke with Jake briefly and they decided to return the call to NBC Studios to speak with Brian Williams. Amanda called the number that was left, planning to leave a message but of course someone was there. Would the day after tomorrow be okay?, Amanda asked them. That would be on a Sunday.

Yes, Sunday would be fine. John Seigenthaler was the weekend host but Mr. Williams would be present at the studio at 11 a.m. on Sunday to meet with them for a personal on-camera interview. Just see the r and give their names and they would be escorted to the news division. Amanda thanked the person on the other end of the line and hung up.

"So how does food work in the realm?" Jack asked. Amanda had returned to Jake's side at that moment. They were all now in the massive living room, relaxing in their food comas. Amanda stretched herself out on one of the couches with Jake and dropped her bare feet into his lap, her usual MO.

Jake grinned, "Well honestly, we don't eat there. Or drink there. The cabin has a shower and a sink but no toilet."

Amanda smiled and added, "We actually wondered about it while we were on the ship. We decided to try eating and drinking to see if we could do it, and still would enjoy it. Part of it was because we thought the crew might ask questions as to why the couple staying in the cruise ship's most expensive room, and who had access to every eating spot on the ship, didn't use any of it for nine days." Amanda giggled and rubbed her bare foot on the top of Jake's thigh.

"And so...I had been enchiladas and you had..." A taco salad, Amanda reminded him. "...and we both had sodas and we took the first sip and it was normal and we ended up killing half the glass pretty quickly, not because we were dying of thirst but just because it tasted good. And the food was excellent but...I'll let you tell them, because you're blunt."

Amanda smiled and looked at Jake's parents. "We haven't had the urge to crap or piss since we first ate, and we still haven't. At all. And I drank a fair amount of alcohol the first night and we had champagne to boot and nothing. So it appears we can eat and drink just fine, but whatever power the realm has that has stuck with us just makes the food disappear without any digesting."

Jack being Jack, he said, "I wish I could patent that. I'd make my fortune even bigger in this diet craze day and age."

Amanda held up a finger. "It's not perfect though. Because if you came to the realm a bit thick, it doesn't matter how much running we do in the trials, it never burns off. There's a woman there, Jane Romero, who..."

"JR?" Sylvia looked at Amanda intently. "Talk show host? Had a cosmetics line?"

Amanda said excitedly, "That's her! I mean I knew she was well-known, but didn't know she was THAT well-known."

Sylvia nodded. "She disappeared..."

"She fell asleep at the wheel of her car. She told us she was driving to her dad's house and had a headache and took the wrong pill I think. She passed out and drove into a lake and the realm pulled her in. She's met a heck of a guy named Ash Williams and they're a couple. Ash came from 2018 and sometimes he tells me all sorts of things that happened from his time."

Jack was suddenly EXTREMELY interested in the conversation and said, "Oh? What types of things?"

Amanda said, "Well Apple is going to release a new cell phone that's unlike anything we've seen before. Internet access, and apps you can use and play games on, and email and even you'll be able to surf the internet on it. He said it came out really early in 2007, like January or so, and they've updated it to a bunch of different models since. I think they're at like the Apple X or something in his year."

Jesus, Jack thought. That would eventually make the stock worth a fortune. He made a mental note to speak to his broker to buy shares of Apple before January of next year. Thank you, Amanda. When you make a return trip I'll make sure you and Jake get a splendid cut. Amanda had no idea after all the joking she'd done about doing it herself, that she innocently turned Jack Park into a Biff Tanner.

They chatted for while longer but couldn't shake the food comas and decided to all head for bed. Jake held his father back and said, "Don't go overboard on the Apple stock. She told you that innocently but I know you. I saw the dollar signs. Now that you know she knows things about what's to come...Don't be picking her brain over that stuff because she doesn't know that you're a great guy, but you also love great money."

Jack smiled. Busted. He said, "I won't try to buy out Apple, son, I promise." He thought of another angle. Instead of buying it for him, he could buy it for them, and take a cut of the profit when the stock eventually soared. He followed his son up the stairs and wished him good night when Jake got to his door.

When Jake walked into the bedroom he saw that she had lit candles and was already laying with the comforter pulled down, completely naked. And as he shut the door he was rigidly erect. Even in the candlelight the blue lenses hypnotized him. He got naked himself in a daze.

"Your parents have strongly hinted that we can fuck our brains out while we're here, and considering how I'm in a near-constant state of wanting to fuck your brains out, I decided to take them up on it." She idly rubbed her clit with a finger and Jake saw the nail on her forefinger as she did so. Purple again.

And then he was in bed. And then he was on her, and because she was already dripping wet in anticipation of his cock, with a deep thrust, he was in her, and she kept her eyes open and he kept being hypnotized by her as they passionately fucked and he wasn't ashamed to admit that with the black hair and new eye color it was like he was fucking an even more femme-fatalish version of his wife and he had to struggle to keep from climaxing before her. His orgasm seemed poised at the tip of his cock and when she finally moaned and came his orgasm rushed from him almost immediately and it was a relief to empty his balls inside of her.

He laid in the bed panting as she smiled and licked his sperm from her finger as it ran out of her. He muttered, "Yes, Mrs. Park, I'll gladly murder your husband so I can have you."

"Good, she said, knowing of his femme fatale fetish and playing along as she got him hard again and pulled her on him. "He's a lousy lay and I need a man who can fill me again and again. Don't worry, we won't get caught. And then after, You'll have me forever...Until I let you take the fall for the murder..."

He fucked her twice more, savoring every minute of it. She never stopped looking in his eyes, only letting them close when she blinked. He was exhausted after he'd made her toes curl four more times between emptying his own balls in her twice more.

She settled in beside him, and while he wasn't a contact-wearer himself, he knew it wasn't a good idea for a person to fall asleep in them. He asked her, "So don't you need to take those out?"

Amanda grinned in the candlelight, sweaty, oh so sexy as her body rested beside his. "No, they're a new style, Air Optix. I can wear them without changing them for a month."

Jake groaned in pleasure and excitement.

"Now go to bed big boy. I expect you to be awake before me, and I then I expect you to wake me up by sliding your dick in me before breakfast. During breakfast...We'll discuss how you're going to kill my husband and leave me with an airtight alibi..."

"Yes Mrs. Park," he replied, before they both drifted off into a contented sleep.