Marco1094: thanks! i'm glad you liked it i liked writing that chapter :-)

note from me: okay i'm wicked sorry it took me like forever to post a new chapter, and to top it off, it's short. i have 3 projects due for school pretty soon, but once they're gone, i'll make chapters that are longer and have less droughtness in between them haha

"Where were you?" Alex asks urgently.

"In here," Jake breathes softly.

"The whole time?"

"Whole time."

"How'd you pull that off?"

"Long story."

"We've got time," Mike insists.

"Not a lot," Alex tells them. She turns to Ari and Jake. "Make it quick," she commands.

"Okay." Ari sighs, trying to figure out how to begin their story. He glances to Jake for help.

"Basically, there's booze on this island. And apparently, lots of it. They were out in like, ten minutes," he explains.

"That's not a long story," Mike accuses.

"It sounded better than saying 'Short story' though, didn't it?" Ari asks, grinning a little.

Mike tilts his head to the side, as if he is thinking this over. "True," he finally answers.

Alex peeks out of the window and points downward. They don't notice him, so she kicks Jake in the shin.

"What was that?" he asks, rubbing his shin.

"Get down!" she hisses.

They go down. Alex presses her ear to the door, and listens hard.

"Nah, they're all gone."

"You don't know where they went? At all?"

"Nope."

"Damn it. He's gonna kill us, you know that?"

"Not if we kill them first."

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?"

"Easy." There's a short, uncertain silence, and then a soft chuckle from one of them.

"God, you're a genius."

"I know. It's a gift."

They walk away, still chatting aimlessly with each other about little random tidbits.

Alex's hands are covering her eyes as she shakes her head slowly.

"What were they talking about?" Ari asks.

"The button," she answers.

"What?"

"Or the key. They're the same thing, only with different forms."

"Did you know about this already?" Jake asks.

Hesitantly, she nods. "I've known about it ever since I came here. I just had no idea they knew how to use it."

"What exactly does 'it' do?" Mike wants to know. Actually, he's not sure if he wants to know, but it's better than saying "asks" again.

Alex sighs. "You don't want to know. You really, really, don't."

"Does it fry us?"

Her mouth twists a little. "Um…in a word…basically."

"Oh."

They take this news almost a little too calmly, Alex thinks. Why aren't they shaken up? Are they at all? Or what? She is confused. She knows she would be upset.

"We need to leave," she whispers urgently. "Before they press it while we're in here."

They've realized. They know. They're in trouble. She can dimly see Jake's hands shaking. She grabs them and holds them in her own.

"We're gonna get out," she assures him. "Don't freak out on us now. Just pull through this once. Then you can get panic attacked all you want. I promise."

Jake swallows hard and long. Finally, he nods. She doesn't let go of his hands.

Following her example, Ari and Mike hold hands as well. They glance up at each other, and gasp. They fling each others' hands away, their eyes wide and embarrassed.

"That was just because they--" Mike begins.

"Yeah, dude. I got it," Ari assures him.

"Let's get out of here before we get blown up."