Alright, this chapter's going to be very, very, VERY similar to Cody's chapter, but hopefully it won't feel redundant or repetetive.
...Or at least TOO repetetive.
-X-
GWEN
10:04 A.M.
FACILITY ENTRANCE
-X-
I look over my group, as I think about who would probably be the best person to leave behind.
Trent's already a big fat "No." We're a couple; we need to do everything together. It'd be stupid to ask him to stay behind.
Noah? …Well, he may annoy the snot out of me, but he's smart. He'd be a big help in this search. And hey… if he does end up with the million dollars, well… at least he isn't Heather.
Izzy? …Well, I doubt she'd stay behind anyway.
But… that leaves…
I groan inwardly. Oh, God… This is bad. Really. Don't think I'm blind. I saw how Cody reacted to my reaction earlier when Chris split us up into teams. It was really because of Leshawna. I wanted her on my team so bad…
But he doesn't know that…
And now… I have to tell him he has to stay behind?
Dammit… I'm sure he's going to take this the wrong way too…
The other teams have already chosen who's going to stay behind for them, so here goes nothing…
"Well, I'm not staying behind," I say, and I pause for a few seconds, getting ready for the possible emotional meltdown of the poor soul smiling at me… that small, soft, gap-tooth smile…
Damn it…
"I think Cody should."
I look at him, and right away I can feel guilt build up in me. His smile is long gone, and I can feel the temperature in the room drop like dead weight.
"Why not Izzy?" Noah suddenly speaks up. Damn it, Noah! You're just making it harder…
Izzy explains why she wants to go in the facility, and Noah concedes. "Alright, fine! …Trent, you stay."
"What?!" Okay, that's not happening!
You know what? I change my mind. Cody's pretty smart, right? He can come along, and Noah can fucking stay behi—
"Hey, I doon't really want to participate in this challenge, eh." Ezekiel? What the—? "How aboot I stay behind for you guys?"
…Whoa. I did not see that coming.
"…Wow, you'd do that?" Cody asks, and I can just feel the happy start radiating from him. Sudden overly-happy mood swings may not really be my scene, but I can't help but smile at Cody's sudden surge of happiness. It feels more like him that way. He's… sorta like Geoff and Owen in that light—he only seems like himself when he's happy.
And I admit… I'm a little jealous.
I mean, let's face it. If I was happy all the time, everyone would be concerned for my health. See, everyone expects me to be sad or angry. And it's sort of the opposite for Cody—if he's sad or angry, something feels off, like the universe is no longer in balance.
My point is, there is enough of me in the world. I don't want Cody to become one too.
Especially if it's because of me…
-X-
10:10 A.M.
TEAM TWO HALLWAY
-X-
"Alright, someone really needs to hire a janitor," is the first thing I say since we started our trek down this hall.
Trent chuckles, and I blush. "Chris, Chris, Chris… Stingy as always, am I right?"
"Yyyyyep. So… how long do you suppose this challenge is going to take?"
"Oh, for the love of all things sane… SHUT UP!!"
I glare at the bookworm, who was glaring back at the two of us. But before any fists start flying, I smirk at him. "You're just jealous that you don't have a boyfriend like I do, Noah."
"Oh, fuck you."
I chuckle. "I didn't think I was your type."
Izzy joins in. "Ooooooooooh! Are we talking about Noah's love life?"
"SHUT UP!!"
"Guys, cool it," Trent finally speaks up. "So what if he likes guys? Big deal. It's not cool to pick on him for it."
"We're not picking on him for that," I explain. "We're picking on him 'cause he denies it, even after Izzy snagged his 'Topless Hunks' calendar."
"THOSE CALENDARS HAVE VERY WELL DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE HOLIDAYS!!"
"Oh, right," Izzy jokingly scoffs. "That's like Cody reading a Playboy magazine only for the exciting news articles… though I can imagine you reading a Playboy magazine only for the articles."
"Hey, sometimes they have good articles," Noah defends himself. "There's a Jhonen Vasquez interview on the Suicide Girls website that's very informative and entertaining."
I stop in my tracks, causing everyone to stop. "What?" Noah asks, obviously assuming he said something that caused our sudden halt. But no, he's not the reason.
"Cody, hurry up!" I call, spotting him in front of two large paintings. When he doesn't start moving right away, I lower my voice a little. "If I lose to Heather because of you…"
"Coming! Coming!" He quickly rushes over, and I smirk a little. He knows me a little too well, I think…
…I'm not sure if that's a bad thing, but I won't hold it against him.
We reach a dual set of doors, and we enter through it.
(The door opens slowly, creaking softly.)
The room is rather small, and very messy. Papers and books litter the floor.
Trent goes over to the other door and tries to open it, but the door is locked.
Izzy offers to look for the key. Trent and Cody try to help, but Izzy tells them that she can do it herself.
"Well, this could take a while…" Noah groans, and I sigh. How the hell can Trent and Cody stand him?
…
…Maybe the same way they can stand me?
...Damn. Now that I think of it, Noah and I really aren't that different.
I guess that makes sense then. Ever since I found out about Cody's crush on me and the fact that Trent liked me back… I often wondered what was so fucking special about me. Why me? Why do they like me? Guys like them… they're supposed to like Heather or Lindsay, not the brooding Goth girl.
How can I ask why Trent and Cody can stand Noah if I haven't been able to answer why they can stand me yet? Why they like me. Why do they like me?
Maybe… Maybe I should lighten up on Noah…
Ultimately, Izzy finds the key. "Ha-HA! Here is our prize!"
"I'd prefer the million dollars," I joke, and Cody chuckles.
"Alright, we're good to go," Trent says, and he unlocks the door.
(The door opens slowly, creaking softly.)
HOLY SHIT!!
There's a fricking body on the fricking floor!
"Damn interns sleeping on the job," Noah remarks, but I beg to differ.
"…I don't think he's sleeping."
Someone must sense my fear, because I feel two arms wrap around me from behind. I look to see who it is.
Trent.
I sigh with relief. Though it wouldn't have really mattered who was comforting me right now, Trent is the only one I wouldn't feel awkward with.
I close my eyes, calming down in his warm embrace. He speaks. "Come on. I don't know what happened to this guy, but we need to kee—"
Uuuuuuuooooooooooooooouuuuuuuu…
…What the hell was that?!
"Um, guys?" Cody points to the floor, his whole body shaking.
I look down…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The once dead body now sits up. Without thinking, we head straight for the other door in the room.
"OPEN THE DOOR!!! OPEN THE DOOR!!!" Cody shouts, and Trent thankfully does so.
(The door opens and shuts quickly.)
A few heavy breaths later, I find myself shouting. "What the fuck was that thing?!"
Despite the question obviously being rhetorical, Izzy answers it. "I think it was a zombie."
"NO SHIT, EINSTEIN!!"
"So… Harold was right all along?" Trent, you have no idea how much I love your excellent powers of observation…
"Dammit! We should've run the other way!" Noah's hands grab at his head. "Now we're stuck in this damn building with THAT thing!"
…Damn. He's right. It's weird how fear fogs logic like that. "Well, I guess we'll just have to keep going…"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Cody steps in front of me. "Don't tell me you still want to win the money, Gwen! We need to find another way out of this place!"
"Gee, you think?" Okay, I admit that sounds… harsh, but I'm not stupid, you know! "That's my plan, genius! I'm looking for the freaking exit here!"
"…Oh…" I notice him slouch, and I frown. Why does he have to be so easily hurt? I hate doing this to him… "…Sorry, Gwen… It's just… What… What if we don't make it out of here?"
I glare at him. "Cody, don't talk like that."
"But…"
"Cody," I interrupt softly. I don't want to hurt him anymore. I need to get him to be happy for us. We need a hopeful person. We need someone to tell us we can get through this. And if that person isn't Cody… then who the hell is it?
I try to explain this to him. Optimism is going to be the glue that holds us together. And if our optimist isn't doing his job, we're as good as dead.
When I'm done with my explanation, I pat him on the shoulder. He blushes and nods, the latter telling me that he understands what I'm saying to him. I smile. "Good. Now come on. Let's find another way out of this place before we run into any more of those things."
He smiles back at me. "Okay. So, where do we go from here?"
I look around, and soon everyone else begins to look. Most of the doors in this room (which is rather like a large hallway) are locked, but Cody manages to find an unlocked door, and we enter it.
(The door opens slowly, creaking softly.)
It's a small office, and luckily no zombies have this room occupied.
Noah quickly spots a magazine on the chair. He checks the date. "…This is recent… Very recent… It must be one of the interns' magazines." He skims through the magazines.
He starts panicking.
"What? What is it?" Cody asks, and I begin to worry about the cynical bookworm.
"…Oh my God…"
"What?! What?!"
"…OH MY GOD!!!" Noah's panicking becomes louder and more violent. It's scaring me. What the hell did Noah see that caused him to flip out like that?
When he begins to shout about the apocalypse, I almost start to lose it.
Then he mentions Stephanie Meyer.
…You fucking asshole… getting me worried sick…
And to think I almost sympathized with your ass earlier!
Cody's still trying to calm him down. Damn, the kid's got to have more patience than a fucking doctor. (Patients)
No wonder he kept hitting on me long after I made it clear I wasn't interested.
Noah says he needs to vent, and Cody suggests he uses the typewriter. Weird, I didn't even notice there was a typewriter in the room.
After warning us that his venting may last a while, I sit down on the floor. This is going to be a long fucking day…
…and hopefully one I'll live to tell my grandchildren…
And with that, the clicking of Noah's fingers on the typewriter begins…