KEY: 'word' = p.o.v. person's inner thoughts.

"word" = speech

#word#= action/occurrence

word = sound

(word)= random....you'll figure it out.

(A-n: random comment)= author's note

Keep my philosophy in mind....during a film, I am dealing with the characters. I am not dealing with the people that play them. Even if I mention the actor who plays them, for whatever reason, I'm talking to the character during the story. ...this, of course, doesn't mean that my opinion of a character hasn't been previously shifted due to the presence of a familliar face. Also, chapters 1/8, 1/4/ and 1/2 will be short, moderately well written, and to the point. It gets much better later...I promise.

Thank You , the management =D

Chapter 1/8- Prologue

This is the story of two bestest buddies.....one of whom signed up for the opportunity to test new video games before their release. Honestly, most e-mails she recieved were for crappy games...things she never wanted to play in the first place, let alone have to test and fill out a stupid survey for suggestions. However, God has a reason for everything. One day she found an e-mail inviting her and one guest to test out a revolutionary new type of gaming. This was a super-advanced virtual reality simulator. It was going to be used as a theme park attraction. This, described as the "ultimate movie fan's fantasy", literally placed you in the film. A lucid dream of sorts. This girl, being the movie obsessed geek she was, happily accepted the invite. A few days later she was sent a letter with two free passes to the theme park, directions and instructions on what to do when she got there. Her one guest was her best friend......

Chapter 1/4- Woo...Yay..hooplah

Two teenage girls walked down a large paved area. One, a blonde haired girl, is holding a map and walking quite briskly. She seems to be in her own little world. The other, with dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, quickened her pace in an effort to catch up to her friend. She stopped long enough to look at her watch, which read "4:56 A.M.". She sighed, muttered something about how 'goddamned early it is' and began walking again. We then see that they are walking through an unoccupied theme park.

#zoom in on the front of the map the blonde is holding#.

"ELIZABETH!!", is shouted loudly, in an irritated tone.

#quickly pan up to see her green-blue eyes flash in alarm#

Elizabeth stopped abruptly, lowered the map and turned around.

Her friend, Laura, walked up towards her. She did not look like a very happy bunny. Laura then shouted, "GOD! I'm fat and it's five in the morning! Slow down whore!!"

Elizabeth laughed, "Sorry....", she said and waited for Laura to catch up.

When Laura did the two began to walk once more. "We're not far from the building at all now.", Elizabeth said.

About five mundane minutes of walking later, the girls found themselves in front of a huge building. It was covered with the beginnings of large, attention drawing signs and other nifty things.

"I'm gonna guess that this is the place..", Laura said, looking up to better see the gargantuan structure. Elizabeth shook her head, "Nope, This is gonna be some 'insert pathetic kid's tv program' LIVE show. We wanna go to that one.", she pointed to a humble, warehouse-type building to the right of it. Laura looked insulted, "oh.....well excuse me all to hell...", she stepped in front of Elizabeth, and began to walk towards their destination. Elizabeth shook her head in amusement and started toward the building as well.

They went in and saw that it was much nicer than the outside led one to believe possible. The interior design looked very similar to a museum.

"Ok....It says to go to room 10...", Elizabeth said, reading the confirmation letter she'd been sent. Laura pointed, "Hey...there it is. I can see the sign." The two girls eagerly jogged over to the doorway. The sign next to the door read "ROOM 10 (biatch!)". That last part had obviously been written with a sharpie marker. They looked at each other, then the sign, then each other.....then they laughed. Laura knew she had to....in a horridly raspy, black accent she said, "What did the five fingers say to the face?!"

Before Elizabeth could stop laughing and ask 'what?', Laura faux-slapped her, "SLAP, BITCH!!!..I'm Rick James!!"

They stood, blocking the doorway from no-one, until their laughter died down.

"ok...", Elizabeth began after both had fully recovered, "let's pimp this.."

They walked in the room and were confused when they found it dark, and empty.

Elizabeth became worried and a little flustered, "I don't understand....they said come EARLY. Don't tell me everyone is that damn lazy!", she scoffed.

As it turned out...the room was only almost empty. They saw someone stir..they'd been sleeping, head rested on the table, and very well camouflaged by the darkness.

"oh...Goodness. I'm so sorry..", the man got up and instantly went into action. He flipped on a light switch, illuminating the room. He continued to speak, "ah..you must be the first lucky ones.". He took the confirmation letter that

Elizabeth was holding. "Laura...which one would that be? ", Laura raised her hand slightly, "ok. so, that makes you Elizabeth. correct?" Elizabeth nodded, smiling. She stuck her hand out and waved at him. He paused for a moment after this, studying them. He then looked at his watch, "...My...You are the early ones. But, that's why we have this." He gestured to a large Jolt Cola vending machine. Elizabeth made happy little 'yeeee' sounds in the back of her throat. She ran to the machine, "OOOOO! only 75 cents."

Pulling three dollar bills from her wallet, she proceeded to get four bottles of the highly caffeinated beverage. Laura watched as her friend opened one of the bottles and began to drink it, she shook her head. Elizabeth chugged about 1/4th of the bottle. She recapped it and smiled, "This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultraviolence..", she said in a British accent. The small group then proceeded to a very 'bi-weekly bussiness meetings held here' type of room.

Chapter 1/2- VERY SHORT AND TO THE POINT..(so one can quickly move to the next chapter...which is very interesting.)

They then sat around a large table. I could go into the long and rambling monologue of the instructional man. But, How bout no. It was boring enough to make Elizabeth drink every last drop of the precious Jolt Cola in order to stay alert. I'll briefly outline all rules, info and guidelines.

I. General:

This new system places you in the most realistic virtual environment (since the one you live in right now). Everything will be felt in a way identical to real life. You will be in control of your actions. You can change what happens in the movie, and interact with characters. Pick any film from our VAST selections. Films run in a cycle, it is VERY possible that you will come into a film mid-way. However, a time is kept...it is possible to schedual an alert for the beginning of a film. You may exit the film at any time you wish.

You will have a wrist watch with four buttons: Exit= end current film, Abort=exit entire simulation, Help= Troubleshooting info, View= Read message from administrator. A small blue light is also on the watch. This light flashes if you have a message from an administrator. Some films will have built in safety programs, these can be turned off by an administrator. You can be injured....the mind makes your experience real. Everyone must go through at least one simulation, to test their stability, before the saftey can be turned off. Try to be independent of sudden physical contanct with charaters when you exit a film. If you press 'exit' and someone grabs onto your arm, they may be transported to the film selection area. This can cause terminal errors in the program, but is a VERY rare occurance. It is sometimes possible to use a feature where you play as a character that already exists in a film. Select this on the 'options' screen for a particular film. You will be in appropriate costume if the film's plot calls for it, but most of the details in your appearance will be controlled by your own mind.

II. Restrictions:

No pregnant women, No old people, and nothing X-rated....however R and NC-17 are permitted. You are the testers, you probably know what you're doing.......use you're own damn judgement.

(Hey, when I said BRIEFLY outline...I meant it.)

Finally, the girls were led into an equiptment filled room............a half hour of explaining and form signing later...

Chapter one- "Fuckin-A v1.0": The effects of jolt cola on persons locked in bathrooms with criminals

..the picture fully materialized around her and Elizabeth was a little surprized. This greatly differed from the endless white place where the program had loaded. She now stood in a rather trashy looking metal room. It kinda reminded her of the robot motel from that show Futurama. There was little or no room to move around, but she did her best to look for any evidence of the selection screen she was supposed to use. She turned to face the opposite wall. She searched for any type of button or switch. Suddenly, there was a rather hydraulic sound behind her. Elizabeth spun around to see a square section of wall above her head push out. The two top corners lowered slowly until the square had flipped down in front of her face to reveal a plasma screen. "...woah....That's boss.", Elizabeth said aloud to herself. A DDR-reminiscent selection system, with lists of choices as opposed to a wheel, flickered to the screen. 'hmmm....', Elizabeth thought and scanned across the first list of selections, 'OOO!'....It seemed after only a few seconds she had found her first choice. She pressed the little blue button on the screen that said From Dusk Till Dawn. The selection screen faded only to be replaced by a new one with information about the movie. Just as the rather nervy man who'd given them instruction had suggested, the film was already in progress.

After a few moments of fuzzy darkness, in an abrupt transition, Elizabeth found herself sitting in the back of a winnebago. Being thrust into a film mid-scene was a tad bit jarring. She became more alert and examined her situation. She quickly recognized the scene she was in. "oh shit...", Was all she could think.

Then, Seth's voice came from the front of the vehicle, "Richie..."

He seemed rather annoyed at being inturrupted, 'what?", he asked sharply.

Seth continued, " I told you to watch those kids, not to talk to them."

For some reason...possibly a glitch in the Matrix, Seth did not say the line about "cutting the chatter."

Elizabeth then crossed her arms and pondered her next move. She momentarily considered informing Kate of what she'd allegedly asked Richie. She smirked at the thought of Kate's possible responses. She mentally weighed the pros and cons until..

"What does your shirt say?"

Elizabeth looked up, a little surprized by the sudden and unexpected dialogue, "Oh..I'm sorry... what?" She asked, flashing a smile. Richie's eyes darted about for a moment......he began, "uh......I just wondered what your shirt said."

Elizabeth uncrossed her arms and looked down at herself. She really hadn't thought about her clothes. She was actually wearing something similar to her regular attire, but melded with what her father called "What girls are SUPPOSED to wear during summer."... This consisted of a pair of dark green/black camo cut-offs (her legs actually appeared to have some sun on them...woah), a pair of black sandals (the kind from Hot Topic with little skulls on them) and an oddly appropriate shirt for the occasion....Elizabeth chuckled, "It says 'Whatever happens in Mexico stays in Mexico.' what a coinquindink....."

Before anyone had the time to respond, the Mexican border came into view.

Seth seemed to reclaim command once again, "ok everybody, it's showtime........." another glitch in the Matrix "Richie....take.", he turned to Elizabeth, " What was your name again?"

She thought about giving him an alias, but didn't want to risk.....well. She couldn't really think of a risk...but, she had a feeling..."Elizabeth." she said.

Seth nodded, "Richie take Elizabeth to the bathroom. Kate, Scott....go up front with your dad."

The winnebago pulled to a stop. A border patrol-man (who looked striking similar to Cheech Marin) walked up to the window. Jacob put on a fake smile, "Hello Officer."......

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, insanity and very bad judgement ensue:

Elizabeth stood in the cramped lavatory. She was sandwiched between two convicted criminals, with a gun shoved firmly against her right cheek and an arm around her waist that kept her from moving a terrible lot...and kept her from taking in a large amount of oxygen. For most people this would be a time of panic, urgency and fear. However, Elizabeth never did fit in the category with 'most people'. She stifled eccentric giggles and the freakish urge to instigate a 'group hug', at least 85% of their stay. Generally she was more reserved than that,...but; considering the four bottles of Jolt Cola she drank in the training room (that were just now really taking effect), her enthusiastic love of really icky, violent movies, and her bizarre attraction to Quentin Tarantino (who just so happens to play the crazy mo-fo holding a gun to the side of her face as we speak), she felt like she was being very reserved just by keeping herself from laughing like a goddamned hyena every five seconds out of sheer giddy-ness..and possibly lack of air. But, no matter. To her, this was heaven. She listened in amusement as the brothers bickered. All seemed moderately well until Seth said, "As long as you don't act like a fuckin' nut, we'll be just fine."

Richie seemed none too happy with this, he removed both his gun from Elizabeth's cheek and his death grip on her mid-section. "What the hell is that supposed to mean??", he said angrily.

Elizabeth grinned, at this point she could've moved from in-between them.......................'nahh..'. Anyone who tells you that it's more entertaining to watch a pair of armed-robbers/brothers argue from the sidelines, has either never tried it before or is a lying sack of shit. If only she had some popcorn....or maybe twizzlers.

Anyway, she returned her attention to the argument.

Seth looked confused, "What?"

Richie was apparently quite upset about this, "You just called me a fuckin' nut."

Elizabeth now decided she was in the mood to stir things up a little. This, indeed, was a simulation...why be plain when you can be crunchy? She cupped her hands over her mouth so they acted as what could be best described as a very small megaphone. "ooooooooooooooooh...", she said. This, of course, was an expletive she'd picked up at school. It resonated through the entire cafeteria whenever a conflict broke out, turning the entire student body into a Jerry Springer audience gone wrong. In her generation children had gotten much lazier, instead of chanting "fight" they simply said 'oooooh.." in a deep tone. Both brothers looked at her a little oddly. She smirked momentarily, now the center of attention. She lightly elbowed Richie and said, "ya know.....I wouldn't let him talk to me like that, if I were you."

Seth looked a little shocked..."Hey, just who the fuck asked you for your goddamn opinion!?"

Elizabeth arched her left eyebrow and smiled, 'God, I love being a smartass..'. She just shrugged, "No-one..But, that never stopped me before. I watch the news. I know all about you two. I don't think it wise to call the person who broke you outta jail a fuckin' nut.." She'd always liked to believe the idea that most run-of-the-mill murderous weirdos just needed a little positive attention. There could've been no more opportune time to safely test the theory.

Richie just looked at her wide-eyed. It was the only time he could really remember someone being on his side when there were other logical choices.......especially not a fucking hostage....and she hadn't been with them long enough to develop Stockholm Syndrome.

#cue Twilight Zone theme#

#cut away abruptly#

Meanwhile, up front:

Jacob talked to the patrolman as best he could.....but, Jacob was a really fuckin' bad liar. The officer looked at him suspiciously.

Scott could hear a lot of verbal activity coming from the tiny bathroom and an intense amount of doubt in his father's voice as he spoke to the border policeman. It was terribly unsettling. He worried for his cousin. She was stuck in a bathroom with those bastards, probably had a gun to her head..He figured if any cop got involved they'd almost definitely shoot her. He and Kate had been the ones to ask if she could go on vacation with them, it'd really be their fault if she got shot. He eyed his father's wallet on the floor next to the driver's seat. It'd been put there by Seth after he'd finished invading Jacob's privacy. Scott was struck with a sudden idea, and discreetly kicked the wallet to the back of the winnebago. Sure enough, as soon as he'd done this the officer asked his father, "Sir, can I see your license and registration?"

Jacob turned and looked at where it'd been sitting, he began to worry, "uhhh..."

Scott interrupted him, "Dad, You put it in the back earlier. I 'll go get it.' He got up before anyone had time to question this and headed towards the back of the vehicle......

Back in the room of intense small-ness and poor quality lighting (a.k.a. the bathroom) :

If there had been any fur in that restroom, it would've been flying by the time Scott poked his head in the door. He saw the kinda creepy/ angry man in a suit standing behind and slightly to the left of his cousin, who was facing the loud/angry man in a suit. (A-n: kinda creepy and/or loud, angry man in a suit.....XD #giggle-snort#) They were arguing quite intensely about something. Scott had a sneaking suspicion that his cousin Elizabeth had probably said something a little too headstrong for loud/angry man in a suit's liking. She'd do things like that periodically. She differed a lot from he and Kate. She didn't put up a front and she was damned unconventional, but somehow most adults still loved to talk to her.....obviously these ones did not. Even thought Elizabeth loved nothing more than a good debate every now and again, a person kidnapping you generally had no desire for disagreement. Scott tried to get their attention, "hey....", he said quietly..they continued arguing. They all seemed to be having fun with it now..#sarcasm#.. Scott sighed, "...HEY!!!", he yelled. This succeded. They all silenced and looked at him in unison, wearing the same surprized expression. "The border officer is suspicious already because dad can't lie......so, SHUT UP!!", he whispered. They all exchanged forgiving looks. "..yeah, ok.', Seth said. They nodded. Scott smiled, and closed the door. He grabbed the wallet off the ground and went back up front.

"Here dad....Sorry it took so long.", Scott said as he handed his father the wallet. Jacob began to hand it over to the officer. "That won't be nessicary sir. I'm coming aboard. I'll look at it then.", The sleazy looking patrolman walked around to the door of the winnebago and knocked. (I don't know why he knocked....) Kate opened the door and just prayed for...something....

At this point the inhabitants of the bathroom had decided it would be a good idea to take temporary residence in the shower. Because it was meant to be mobile, the shower had a unique door which looked more like a refrigerator door than anything that ever belonged in a bathroom. A less cryptic description would be that it was water-tight and opaque. There were actually two separate lights in the bathroom, one over the sink and one in the roof of the shower. This was stupid, because there was only one light switch. It'd been turned off, because we all know nothing is more suspicious to a border patrolman than an empty lighted bathroom in a motorhome. It was totally pitch black, and totally silent. This was pretty cool actually...very relaxing. At least, until they heard someone step in the winnebago. A terribly tense vibe grew between the people in the darkened shower. (-A-n: That last sentence is one I never would've guessed I'd write.) Elizabeth whispered as quietly as she could, "...the suspense is terrible, I hope it'll last." If either Seth or Richie recognized her use of a Willy Wonka quote, (not that she thought they would..) neither of them was willing to say so at that moment. They listened as the footsteps of what was probably a short fat man came up outside the bathroom. a distinctly Mexican voice said, "I'll ask you again...is there anyone else in this vehicle, beside you, your son and your daughter?". However, they failed to hear a reply. There were soft indistinguishable sounds. After what was really 30 seconds but seemed like 15 minutes, the door to the bathroom was jerked open. Footsteps came inside and thumped around a little.

Elizabeth felt the air on the right side of her face move. 'W.T.F?' She turned her head as a reflex, but of course she saw nothing...being that it was completely dark. She figured there was a good chance this was a bad thing. However, she tried to ignore it... It was probably nothing......'yeah right, think about who you're next to,,..'. She took a deep, silent breath in and cautiously raised her hand. She tried in vain to find whatever had moved, but felt only air. She silently continued to reach into the unknown, thinking of all the possible things she might come in contact with. Her hand shook a little. She was about to just say 'screw it', and bring her hand back to her side where it belonged. Then, success!...oh wait....no..just something worse. She felt cold steel....a gun...pointed right in the general direction of the sound that the short-fat-Mexican-policeman's feet produced. She moved her hand, then she felt warm, slightly clammy skin......then duct tape. 'shit...he's gonna shoot the mothefucker..', she thought.

'please,,..tell me you did not JUST figure that out. slow-face.', her subconscious said. Her subconscious was very moody today.....it picked a wonderful time too. #sarcasm# But, back to the story... Elizabeth knew that shooting a border patrolman would be NO help to the film's continuity at all. She lightly pushed on Richie's hand, trying to get him to lower the gun. He flinched. She flinched more. Terrible suspense...Elizabeth had gotten what she'd hoped for after all. 'Maybe that used up all my luck for the day.' she thought. But, unwilling to give up, she tried that last resort thing....... an attempt at telepathy. ' Don't shoot the fuckin' officer.....that's a bad idea. You can shoot plenty of anonymous Mexicans in Mexico without trouble...just wait a few minutes.' She repeated the thought a few times. Just when she started to feel really stupid for every thinking that she could use telepathy, she felt Richie lower his hand.

'woah.....did I just make him do that?', she thought. Then she also heard the steps of the patrolman seem to fade. she began to relax, 'this just keeps getting more and more....

BANG!!!!

In a final pathetic attempt to make a bust, the Mexi-cop banged on the shower door with all his might after making a faux exit. No-one standing in the shower even breathed differently. God bless the huge amount of stamina watching horror films obsessively or robbing people can place in one. The officer groaned due to lack of response. He muttered something in Spanish, and his footsteps were heard stomping out.