Muddled Mediterranean Madness, Part 9

Day 6, Deadly Life, Postscript

7:00 PM

The elevator took the remaining attendees back to the globe plaza. Most decided to make the silent march back to the hotel. They weren't necessarily hungry but dinner, any kind of distraction really, would have been vital for most of them.

Hanging back from most of the crowd, Will balled his fists. "What is wrong with that stupid mouse?" he grumbled.

Will took a couple of deep breaths before realizing that Justin was right next to him. "Hey," Justin spoke up.

"Hey," Will replied. The two stood in silence for a moment. The crowd dispersed and the globe was soon back in its place. All their locations were still on the map, even for Tara and Mike.

"I know I should be feeling something right now, but…" Justin said through gritted teeth. "I still don't. If I did have a… girlfriend…"

"Do you think she was your girlfriend?" Will asked.

"I don't know!" Justin snapped, slamming his hands against the railing that separated the globe from both of them. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be snapping…. I just want to find out what's going on!"

Justin blinked back his tears as he felt Will put a reassuring arm around him. "We have to keep going, for Marco, for whoever that Alex girl was, and for Tara. Even Mike," Will spoke through his own raspy voice.

"I want to feel more than just bad for them…" Justin said as he stared again at the globe. Will stood, the two of them not speaking, only vaguely aware of each other's presence. "I'm so selfish. You lost your step brother in that mess."

"Yeah," Will could only declare. "I'm supposed to protect him as a knight. I feel like a failure now."

Justin offered a hand of support. The two of them stared for a moment before their breaths seemed to calm down. "Now what?"

"Let's grab dinner, it'll be late. And I want to hit my workout. The offer still stands for you to join me," Will said.

"Yeah," Justin replied. "I'm going to take it. Sounds like you need it more than I…"

"Not going to disagree, but I'm not going to agree," Will shrugged. "I hear you make a good sandwich. Do you take requests?"

"I can," Justin nodded. "I assume a lot of protein?"

"Sure, if that's what you think I need."

8:00 PM

Dinner that night was a light affair for many. There were several who had opted to forgo the last meal of the day and turn into their room, shower, or do whatever it was. Susan, Max, Stanley, Rapunzel, Adam, Ivy, Chyna, Lizzie, and later on, Will and Justin, were the only ones there. They sat at one of the shorter rectangular tables.

There wasn't much dialogue. The sound of clinking utensils and eating filled the room with the occasional creak of the chair.

Lizzie and Ivy were the first to leave. The younger girl still had tear stains down her face and the older girl tried her best to dry them. Ivy gave a reassuring squeeze to Chyna's shoulders before leaving.

Shortly after was the pair of Will and Justin. Each carried with them a small shaker bottle with protein and another water bottle. Stanley made a move to grab some more food with a soft trudge at his feet.

The plates became empty as the remaining patrons started to glance at their handbooks. "Miss Heffley?" Max spoke up. "Do you still need us to help clean the kitchen?"

"You don't have to," Susan dismissed, a haunted look in her eyes. "Only if you want to. I was…"

"Totally right," Adam interjected. "We left the kitchen a mess and we should have cleaned it up."

"Suppose that's the case," Chyna shrugged. "I don't know anything about cleaning."

"We can teach you," Rapunzel offered.

"Maybe you want to supervise us because we could make things worse? Or you could give us advice on how to clean?" Max offered.

"Sure," Susan picked up her dirtied plates. "I have a lot of stories about my boys trying to clean."

Rapunzel and Adam glanced at each other. "We'd love to hear them when we clean," Rapunzel said. "Stories are great."

Adam looked over the group of them at the table. He nodded in agreement. "Oh Stanley, we're just about done with our food," he told the younger boy. "No need to rush, we're just cleaning up."

"I'll clean up later," Stanley tightly gripped the plate of food and his cup. "I'm okay eating by myself for a moment."

"Take your time then, we'd hate for you to get an upset stomach," Susan mentioned.

Stanley watched as Max, Rapunzel, Adam, Chyna, and Susan made their way into the kitchen. The door to the cafeteria opened up again when Basil and Wendy, the former atop the latter's shoulder, and the latter holding Basil's skateboard, made their way in. "What a day," Stanley sighed.

8:30 PM

The office was still accessible after all was said and done. Jessica sat at her computer with her fingers tapping away at the computer. She shot up straight when she heard the office door open. "Goliath, nice to see you," Jessica quietly said.

"Nice to see you too," Goliath said curtly.

"That was awful bold of Stanley to lie," Jessica said after a minute had passed.

"And it steered us on the right path," Goliath let out a breath. "It's always the simple lies that we can construct the best."

"I won't disagree there," Jessica fiddled with a mouse. "That little guy has a lot of smarts about him."

"I'm inclined to agree. But at the same time that might be dangerous," Goliath said. "I didn't tell anyone this but my hostage was Tara's. Gavin."

"Sounds like a young paramour," Jessica smiled wistfully.

The door opened again as Aladdin walked in with a bag of monocoins. "Right, this isn't the store," sighed Aladdin. "Is it okay if I sit down with you two?"

"Sure," Jessica said. "What do you think will happen to the ones we were responsible for?"

"I shudder to think about what else that mouse can do with them," Goliath drolled.

"At least Chyna's hostage is still alive," Aladdin fiddled with a keyboard. He pulled out a small ball and started rolling it in his hands. "But I'm still troubled."

"With what the mouse said, right?" Jessica turned to Aladdin.

"He said they won't be in danger of the death of their ward…" Aladdin repeated. "It's a clunky way to say it…"

"Well let me say it," Jessica started. "Aladdin, I had your hostage. A cute monkey, anxious little thing. I hope it can breathe better."

Aladdin stared at Jessica. "T-Thanks," Aladdin blushed. "But you did the bare minimum in keeping him alive."

"It was such a strange request," Goliath stood up. He fiddled with a monocoin in his hand. "I found this, Aladdin, do you mind coming with me to the store? Idle and lonely hands are a devil's work."

Aladdin stood up. "It was nice talking to you, Jessica," Aladdin smiled.

Jessica again stared at her screen. The hostage video still played in the background. She left the office with the screen still on, unaware of the change to a live feed. On the screen, the monkey stirred slightly, but was otherwise unharmed.

10:30 PM

Tanner sat on the edge of the beach. The waves were lapping against the edge of the beach in a steady rhythm. The gondola, sandcastle, and any trace of Tara were erased from the small shoreline that overlooked the ocean and the volcano. Tanner looked up at the volcano and towards the fort. It seemed so far yet he knew it was so close. The entire thing felt so unreal.

"Tanner?" a voice called out.

He whipped around. Evie's blue hair shone in the moonlight and ruffled in the wind. "It's late, what are you doing out here?" Tanner asked.

"I heard the announcement, and I'll ask you that too," Evie stepped down onto the beach.

"Okay, but I asked first," Tanner held up finger guns.

Evie snorted. "I wanted to think away from the hotel. Away from the people if I may be so bold. I wanted to find Justin or Wendy to talk to, but I suppose you'll do."

"I'm honored," Tanner smiled. "I'm just staring out into the ocean. It's hardly any ocean. I think I've said that a lot."

"You have," Evie said. "But it's the closest you have right?"

"Right," Tanner sighed.

There was another five minutes of uncomfortable silence only broken by the waves lapping against the shore. "I know Tara would have loved this view," he finally spoke.

"She always seemed like the girl to look at the small things. She would have loved it…" Evie agreed.

The sea became almost tranquil as the moon almost rose in the sky. Its reflection appeared in the water like a conspicuous flash in a photo. A light wind seemed to ripple the initially perfect photo scene as Tanner and Evie took in the sights. "Is it weird I feel bad for Mike?" Evie said bluntly.

Tanner started to bury his hands in the sand next to him. "No," he finally said. "Like, it's such a terrible sitch for any of us. I don't like that he murdered but if what the Ghost Host said is…"

"I don't like to think about it either," Evie trailed. "But we'll have to go through these next few days if we're still alive."

"Well," Tanner stood up. "We are now. I need a friend to walk over to the hotel. Care to join me?"

Evie looked at Tanner offering her his hand. "Sure."

11:00 PM

Kevin sat at a table in the conference room with his hands around his mouth. It was hard. It was exhausting. But it was done.

And there was a reward? There was a reward in store. He did not necessarily look forward to the notion of the theme park opening up. But it was something to fight against the rigamarole.

He looked around. Thalia took a chair and was staring out at the ocean. On another table Basil was pacing a small plate sized circle. Behind him the ghost host loomed as if he was in a meditative stance.

The door opened. Camilla seemed to rest into a loafing position for lack of a better word while she stared at her handbook, silent. That was enough.

Kevin stepped out of the conference room and headed to the store. There was a surprising line forming with Wendy at the counter. Behind her Sally was at a respectful distance away. Kevin kept a similar sized gap as Wendy emptied her pocket again. Wendy turned around to see the two staring at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long."

"It's alright," Sally said in a voice that sounded almost haunting and haunted.

"Take your time," Kevin added.

Sally didn't spend a lot of time at the counter. She left with a bag of two items that he couldn't necessarily discern. Sally politely greeted Kevin before heading up the stairs.

Kevin picked up a notebook and pencils and tried his hand at the small random machine next to him. He put in a coin and out came a small toy mouse. He put in another coin and got a small coil of ribbon. It was a strange night and he'll have to do something for his, well, boredom.

He made his way to the fifth floor past the flights of stairs. His room wasn't that far from the stairs nor the bathroom like the others.

When he walked into his room he did his usual routine of pushing the office chair that was once attached to the desk against the lock. He tested the lock and wrapped a small shirt around it. With a sigh he lied down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Maybe when he woke up the nightmare would finally end.

22/24 Alive

Deadly Life End

Chapter 1 End