A/N a.k.a Bonnie's Foreword: jordanjanellejoy (All shall be revealed in this following chapter), Melika (At this point, we're no too sure what's worse... prison world or this place. hehe. I guess only time will really tell)
Thank you so much for the support guys. xoxo
CHAPTER THREE
"What do you mean we're in a game?"
"I mean you fucked up big time."
"Me?" Bonnie spat, insulted by the accusation. "How is this my fault? How is that even possible?"
"Maybe if you weren't so quick to condemn me all the time—"
"Maybe if you didn't do questionable things I wouldn't have to judge you period," she chipped in.
Kai arched his brows with disbelief. Bonnie rolled her eyes and studied the few people scattered around the small encampment they were standing in. What was up with the depressing blue green lighting in this place? Could they make it anymore despairing? And what of these so called quests the non-playable-people were spitting at her every time she tried to talk to one of them. She'd asked them various questions, tried to steer the conversation in another direction but all she got was blah bitty blah blah blah dragons and stopping of rituals. She understood nothing, nor did she care to. It was infuriating. They spoke and spoke and spoke for what felt like hours, so much so that she'd drowned them out eventually, unable to hold onto the so called story for even a second to grasp what was going on. She'd even gone so far as to accept a task or two out of curiosity sake and as a means to shut them up. Not that it helped any, Bonnie still didn't know what was going on and the main gal no longer talked to her, a grey question mark dangling over her head like a ill-conceived crown.
"Besides," Bonnie amended, regarding him sternly, glaring at Kai as if to drive her point home. "I wasn't aiming for a disaster or taking a trip to another prison worldish nightmare with you."
Kai braced a hand against his chest, patting at the space above his heart in fictitious hurt, a pout on his lips. Bonnie sighed and moved to lean against the side of the carriage next to the merchant. People on horses, miniature dragons, oversized spiders and shudder-worthy globes of what looked like the grossest Jello came and went, but no one seemed to care enough to stop or talk to her however much she tried to gain their attention – it was as if they didn't see her at all.
"Maybe so, but you did something and now we're trapped."
"Trapped?" Bonnie echoed, her eyes wildly dancing around in search of proof. "How can we—"
"I don't see a big neon red sign saying EXIT THIS WAY, do you?"
"Then you did this," she accused.
"Me?" he parroted in the same manner she had some seconds ago, only he appeared amused by the notion and patiently waited for her to clarify.
"You're the almighty leader of the Gemini coven. If one of us possesses the juice to turn ourselves into some dawn of the dead horror sim in the making, it's you!"
Kai stared at her, a small smile of astonishment playing on his lips. "And why would I care to do that? Do you deem me so crazy that I'd exchange one prison, which I spent eighteen years dreaming of escaping, for another?"
Bonnie didn't answer, not immediately, a look of deep thought and uncertainty in her eyes.
"Forget it," she retorted and eased onto her haunches, running her hands through her hair in frustration in attempt to collect herself. She knew from experience that they could play this constant bicker game all day. They'd been doing it since they met.
Kai walked away. When she looked up from the ground, she caught a sight of him in front of the jam-packed merchant. She couldn't hear their exchange, couldn't see what he was doing while the two interconnected in some private tête-à-tête. Bonnie already knew it was a repetition of the same exchange over and over. She'd tested the theory on all of them and he'd told her as much. It looked surreal from an outside perspective but showcased how detached from reality they were – how alone.
Kai broke away from the chattering character and smiled as he walked toward her again. Bonnie held his gaze, finding his smile infectious, his face softening a degree or two.
"Here," he said as he lowered himself onto his haunches in front of her, a slice of watermelon appearing in his cupped hands as if by magic. He was still teaching her how to use her inventory, how to reach into the leather bag without doing it physically. He was adjusting far better than she was.
"What's this?" she asked, studying the piece of titillating looking fruit. Her foul mood slowly evaporating.
"A peace offering."
"They're out of chocolate?"
He grinned. "Can't say I've seen even a stitch of the stuff around here."
"We really are in hell," Bonnie said with a melodramatic sigh, bestowing him an appreciative smile.
His own widened a touch, his elbows coming to rest on his knees while he waited for her to take it.
"Is it safe?" she asked, taking a hold of the piece of fruit to examine it. It looked real enough, if not a little animated - like the fake fruit her grandmother had used to add color to the center of her kitchen table. Kai seemed to think it over. He'd assumed everything was up to scratch.
"Only one way to find out," he reasoned after a seconds deep thought, taking a gentle hold of her waist to draw her closer, her knees coming to rest upon the top of his thighs. She didn't complain and elevated the piece of fruit between them, levelling it with their mouths. Neither prepared to take the first bite.
"You've been practicing this for years, haven't you?"
"What?" Bonnie asked with a confused frown.
"The marriage thing. The mashing of the cake."
"No," she denied immediately. He chuckled. "Just take the bite."
"On the count of three…"
Kai nodded and locked eyes with her as he started to count backwards. It was stupid and childish and yet the entire exchange felt intimate and enlightening, like they were discovering something together. They leaned forward, the few inches needed and bite into it together. Neither bothered to be timid about it.
"Ugh!" Bonnie groaned, drawing back to wipe her chin with the back of her hand. "That's disgusting!"
"Like chewing into cardboard," he agreed, looking no less disgusted by the deceptive piece of fruit.
Still there was a sensation that sliced through the both of them to make up for the lack of nutrition, one that soothed even the slightest of niggle. Bonnie spat out of the watermelon, dropping it to the floor and wiped her hand on her pants.
"I need a shower," she complained, dabbing at her jaw once more, remembering that she also had zombie goo in her hair, on her face and other areas. She must have looked like a gremlin and smelt like one, too. Kai helped her off his lap and stood, unmindful of her space as he wiped his hands on her pants.
"Do you mind?" she asked without hostility. "You have your own clothes!"
"But mine look better."
Bonnie eyed him up and down , she'd been looking past his armor all night… or day. She was beyond knowing what the time was anymore. His top was a deep blood red and consisted of many straps that criss-crossed his chest and waist. He also had what appeared to be a rattle or enormous wand attached to his right hip, one far fancier than her nothing. Bonnie still hadn't figured out what her weapon was—and if she even had one—although she'd been encumbered by them. They'd been hidden in the deep recesses of her bag and found only as she spoke to the merchant. Kai advised her to sell anything that appeared red, which as it turned out, was everything. She could pick them up, hold them, but as soon as she tried to take a swing or stab at the air with it, it was as if her arm turned to stone. She could only release it with the inclination to do so, like somehow—the game or world—they were stuck in was able to read her intentions and thwarted them.
"You're right," she said after a beat, opting to take the highroad on this one. There was no point debating their fashion choices. "Which brings us right back to our headache. How do we get back?"
Kai appeared to think it over for a moment and then shrugged. "We wait."
"I'm not—"
"You don't have a choice, Bonnie."
"We haven't looked—"
"And where do you expect we'll find the answer?"
"There's magic… there has to be some kind of—"
Kai waited for her to find the right word to articulate herself in a way that didn't make her seem naïve.
"What if we tried a teleportation spell?" she suggested
"It wouldn't work."
"Why not?"
"Because we're integrated into the data."
"How can you be sure?"
"I'm not."
"Then why won't you even attempt it?"
"It's too risky and you're already struggling with your magic."
"It's not mine—"
"Then how—"
"I don't know," she replied, freeing up her space and walking away from the carriage to head up the small hill. He caught up and trailed beside her, if not faster.
"The good news is," he said once they'd reached the top of the hill and she appeared to run out of a steam, "that spells like this usually run out of oomph and will pop us back into the real world."
"You can't be sure of that."
"No, I can't," he said honestly. "But I can hope. It's better than the alternative."
"And in the mean time?" Bonnie asked.
"We settle. Do a few quests, find you a shower and… make a little money."
Bonnie took a minute to think it over. He extended a hand, waiting for her to take it. When she did she allowed him to walk her up the gravel pathway for the intimidating gate in the distance that looked as if it led into a castle.
"I don't even know how to play, I don't even know what I'm doing half the time and I'm not sure I walk to walk back out there," she said, shuddering as she withdrew her hand, too afraid of what was on the other side of that door.
"Just follow my lead."
Bonnie looked skeptical and watched as he went to stand at the door and against it. "I'm not looking to add another death to my achievement record."
He smirked. "I'm not that bad."
"I didn't say you were."
"Yes you did."
"Fine. I did," Bonnie admitted and heaved a small sigh. "But I saw the way you were running around out there. You had no sense of direction."
"I was caught off-guard."
"Oh please—"
"Stop stalling," he said, knowingly reading her intention, extending his hand once more to coax her. "I can't travel without you. And it's not because I don't want to."
Bonnie buttoned down her fear, hating that he could tell what she was doing or thinking at times.
"But that's the way this gate works." He touched his free palm to the wooden surface of the heavy gate.
She counted back from ten and took a tentative step forward, then another, and before she knew what was happening, a golden circle of light fell around them. Kai looked ready while Bonnie all but leapt to take a hold of his hand, to anchor herself to him.
"See you on the other side—" he uttered just as the two were launched into another bout of nauseating blackness.
