The Set Up

N/A

TOBY

I wake up with a groan. Yeah, I was kind of up late last night talking with Moira online. I would have much rather preferred to do it in person, but her team was kind of uptight and mental. It's not fair because she's so close and I can't even see her? What kind of bullshit is this?

We're all staying in a suite which is nice because it means we each get our own room. It's nice to not have to share a bed for a change or sleep on a couch. My own, big, large, glorious bed. Sigh. I pass Ryan's bedroom on the way to the bathroom and notice she's sharing it. What's even more curious is that she and Coty are basically spooning. His arms are around her, cuddling her tightly, and she's all passed out contentedly. I wouldn't have pinned them as an item at all. I shrug, and go to take a piss. That's when things got a little chaotic.

"What happened? What am I doing here?" I hear T practically yell. Guy's having a meltdown. So maybe it wasn't him who was into her. I guess it was the other one. Even that didn't make sense though because Cory is so...cool. Really, he could do a lot better than Ryan.

"Nothing happened." She says.

"We didn't...."

"No, we didn't do anything. Just fell asleep. I had a bad night, Cory helped me through it. That's it."

Uh huh, not sure I'm buying it as completely innocent. I mean, maybe nothing happened, but something happened if you know what I mean.

"I-." T starts. "Ipod!"

That's when I got out of the bathroom just in time to see him bolt out of Ryan's room, grab a hold of Ipod who's on her way to the kitchen, and they're signing something fierce. I can pick up a few words. I'd been trying to study up on the language, but it's fast and hard to follow sometimes. Most of it is common sense though. She's pissed, that much is clear by the huge frown on her face. He's desperate because his eyes are wide and almost pleading as he explains whatever to her. I'm pretty sure I see something that resembles "boyfriend", and I get the jist of the fight.

T's got it bad for Ipod. I can tell by the way he gawks and looks all dopey every time they talk. I think she's interested in him too, but in denial. If it wasn't a big deal that he woke up in Ryan's bed because she had a boyfriend and didn't care, she wouldn't be so damn pissed. That's just my opinion though. No one has to listen to me.

Finally T responds verbally as Ipod turns away from him. "I know, but I thought something was happening. You can't tell me I'm the only one noticing."

I don't hear her reply because she's no doubt doing her thought speaky thing and guarding it well. He's right though. He's not the only one noticing either.

He sighs and leaves the room. "Well if it ever does matter, that's what really happened. Just thought you should know."

She stomps off to the balcony, slamming it shut on her way out. I get why she's frustrated. She's got a boyfriend. From what I know of the guy, he sounds kind of like a dick, but she says she loves him anyway. They have a pretty deep history together after all, but T and her obviously have a super tight bond. Whatever right?

Ryan comes out and she's all ready to go and run or something. I guess we have some free time since we haven't seen any instructions yet, so she leaves the room. I decide now is a good time to take advantage of the shower, and take a nap. Yeah, I know, I just got up. Whatever.

I wake up several hours later to Ipod shaking me.

"Something is wrong. I haven't seen T or Ryan for a while."

"Maybe they're getting frisky." I tease. She scowls and looks like I just stabbed her in the stomach with a knife. Yeah, she's into him. "I'm kidding. They're probably each doing whatever."

"We need to find them. We have an envelope. It's time."

"Oh!" I get up immediately and go to the kitchen where a large manilla envelope is waiting. She didn't open it without us, but I wasn't going to hold back. Hello, it could be important.

"Ryan isn't going to like this." But she doesn't stop me either.

I shrug, obviously I don't care. I tear it open and dump out a bunch of papers. They're maps. Inside is a DVD.

I stick it into our entertainment system and we both watch. Chance Cagney appears on our screen.

"Aloha Introversion with a three! I hope you are enjoying your stay in beautiful Hawaii. I'm sure by now you are wondering where your other team members are. The hunters gathered up anyone who left the hotel room today and brought them to X marks the spot. I'd hurry, because the longer you wait, the less treasure you will find, and I'd hate for the next time you see your comrades to be in the hospital. Aloha."

The screen went black and I turned off the TV.

"They're missing?" I ask Ipod. She bites her lip and nods. We had to rescue them before they got hurt. We did. This makes me more than a little nervous. Ryan and T were always super dependable, and a lot stronger players than I had ever anticipated them being. Our whole team as a whole functioned a lot better when we were all together and on the same page I noticed. Now it was just me and Ipod. The guy who had an unreliable power, and the girl who couldn't communicate effectively. Crap.

I go to grab my bag and start filling it with all of the necessary stuff. I'm determined. "Let's do this."

CHALLENGE SIX

"Now that you're gone, feel like myself again. Grieving the things I can't repair and willing.

To let you blame it on me."

SIX - The Past Problems

RYAN

We spend about two days in Orlando. As much as I hate to say it, we needed that extra day to rest and regroup. Toby's been different for one, actually, we all have, and after what happened in the swamp I'm pretty weary of him. Actually, I'm not sure how to feel about any of the members on my team right now. They all are good people, don't get me wrong, but they're also closed off. No, I don't supply a lot of information about myself, but that's not quite the point. What I mean is, we all obviously do not trust one another, and that is not a good sign. In the thick of things, we pull through, but I don't know if it will be enough to make us win.

Our next challenge is waiting by the door of our hotel room. Someone obviously slipped it through the door crack. I pick it up and rip open the envelope, and I'm curious, real curious. Everyone else is still asleep in the other room. Toby is sprawled on the couch. T/Cory are in the bed, and Ipod is in the other. Boys, I don't know why they can't share a bed with each other. The couch doesn't look too comfortable, but Toby insisted. Something about wanting to be up all night playing some stupid video game. Waste of time, but I didn't want to fight him too much on the issue because in the end, I'm not sure it would have been worth it. Irritating, sure, but so long as he continues to function appropriately, I won't be giving him grief over it. Now if that changes, that'll be another story.

Who you going to call? Ghost busters. Enter this address, and be ready to face a new kind of truth. Complete this task, and you'll be one step closer to your goal and your next treat. It’s a doozy.

I stare at the note, thinking about the picture I got as part of our last reward. I keep it close to me, and I don't let anyone else see it - anyone else see her. I don't think the others would understand if I told them after all. I'm sure they don't think much of me to begin with, but to find out that I have a daughter through a one-night-stand might destroy any credibility I have left. If we can win this, then I can be with her, and I can't wait. It was a mistake to have given her up to begin with, but at the time I would have done anything to keep my ex.

The others sleep for another half an hour. I don't want to rush anyone awake, but we should get moving soon. T is the first to wake up. He grabs his glasses and rubs his eyes, before getting up and using the bathroom. He showers and is ready in a decent period of time as well. I like that he's so considerate of time. Cory, not so much, but I suppose that's why T is the one who gets the morning hours and Cory is the night owl. Not to say Cory isn't fun and interesting. His laid back attitude is mildly refreshing, but he's also immature to the point where I want to sock him a lot.

"Stop making so much noise," Toby whines from the couch. He groans, looks at the clock and sees that it's around 9:30 in the morning, and decides to get up so he can use the bathroom next. He doesn't shower, but he gets ready all the same. Gross much? So long as he doesn't smell I suppose. Ipod, per usual, is last to get up. The girl is lazy as all get out.

I show the others the note, each looking it over curiously.

"The address is for some place in New Orleans." T comments. "Looks like we have another fairly long journey ahead of us."

Toby groans a little, he's kind of always complaining I've noticed. "I'm so tired of sitting in a damn car."

"We all are." I say, and start packing up my bag. "I'm not looking forward to this challenge. Let's get it over and done with as soon as possible. Plus I don't know if they've siced the hunters on us yet."

"Can't even eat breakfast first?" I sigh, because as much as I don't want to eat on the go, again, because fast food only does so much good for a person. I also don't want to waste more time. "We'll stop at a grocery store and pick up something? Or maybe a diner."

"Diner sounds divine. I would kill for something at least sort of resembling home cooking. Might be the closest we can get to it." Toby says with a sigh.

"We'll see how much time we have first."

Not too much longer and we're on the road again. We ended up spending more time at the hotel eating the complimentary breakfast it provided and then high tailed it out of there. So far we haven't had any high speed chases, and I'd like to keep it that way. I think our plan to avoid using our credit cards as much as possible is working. Toby is shotgun today, T is in the back curling up and looking miserable, and Ipod is jamming to her music. It's a long drive. It takes us a couple of days even because I don't speed, and because of some traffic issues. Oh and Toby wanted to get up and stretch, a lot.

We pull up in front of a large, abandoned house. I'm not looking forward to this. I always hated movies about hauntings, or scary movies in general. I also never enjoyed going on haunted house rides, despite my ex's insistance that they were 'fun'. I close my eyes and open the door.

"Alright, let's do this." As soon as we enter, hands are grabbing me. It takes me a moment to realize they belong to hunters. I struggle but these guy are strong. Eventually, a blindfold is placed over my eyes, and I'm taken away, shakled down, and then abandoned.

"Hello?" I call out. "Guys?"

"I'm here." I hear T's shakey voice. "Toby? Ipod?"

There's no reply. At least I'm not alone, but the lack of sight is throwing off my entire perception of where I am and the space I'm in. It makes me feel claustrophobic and if there's one thing I'm especially terrified of, it's that.

"Okay, stay calm, and figure out how we can get out of this." I mumble to myself. I try to feel around me, searching for something, anything, that will help me get out. I can move my arms a little and I grasp a hold of something hard and slimey. Gross. Then I realize that this hard and slimey thing is in the shape of fingers and I scream.

"What happened?" T asks. "Are you okay?"

"I think I just touched a dead person." "What? That's disgusting." But I'm not sure if he believes me. T is always so logical and he's still in this mindset that the show producers wouldn't allow for anything to actually hurt us or kill us. I on the other hand am not so sure. Ever since the night in the fun house, I've been skeptical.

"Do you think you can get out?" I ask. "Let me work on it, for a second but I...."

He trails off. "What is that light?"

"What light?" I ask. I can't see anything, not really, but then it appears in my line of vision as well. A light, and in such a way that I can see it perfectly despite my blindfold. It surrounds me, and then when it fades away I find myself sitting in the corner of a living room, completely alone. "T?" But there's no reply.

I slowly stand, curious, scared, but determined to figure out this puzzle and get the hell out of there so we can keep moving forward. I grab the handle of the door in front of me and open it to find my ex. Before I can get a word out, his hands are around my throat and he’s pushing me up against a wall, trying to kill me.

Struggling, I fight, hit, kick, do whatever I can to get him off of me, but it’s no use.

“You should have thought about this better. You know there is no way I’m going to let you bring that brat back into our lives. I never wanted to be a father. Should have just aborted her.”

I’m starting to get dizzy, but I’m able to mouth out three words I’d never once told him before. They’re hard to say. I never wanted to ever admit to him I had betrayed him, but now I suppose it doesn’t matter since he was never loyal to me to begin with.

“She’s not yours.”

His grip loosens on me. “What was that?”

I can speak now at least, and breathe. “She’s not yours.”

He then back hands me and I hit the wall. “Lying whore!”

I fight back, giving him one solid kick into the knees. He falls, and I run for the door. I run through the halls, they’re all blank and desolate. They kind of remind me of a dream. I glance back to see if he’s following me, and I run into a wall. Only when I turn back forward I notice it’s not actually a wall I ran into but a guy. A big, strong, guy because his chest felt like a wall.

He’s familiar, and it takes me a moment to figure out where I know him from. He’s the one I cheated with, my one night stand.

“Ryan, we need to get out of here and get back to the others.” He says.

“What are you…?”

“I need you to focus. You’ve admitted your biggest secret. Now you can get through the door.”

“Get through the…door?”

“Focus.” He whispers, and then disappears into nothing else.

Focus on what? I close my eyes, an idea forming in my mind. If I can go back in time, maybe I can go back to the room as though this never happened. Time passes by and I float back through the hallway, back to the room and then through the light into the blackness.

“STAY OUT OF THE LIGHT T!” I scream.

“Huh?” I hear him say. “What light?”

I’m panting, shivering, and then I feel strong, yet gentle hands on my upper arms. I try to get free but I’m still restrained.

“It’s me,” T says and pulls off my blindfold. “Are you okay?”

I nod. “what happened? I don’t….”

“Creatures of the dark, messing with your head no doubt. They have a tendency to uh, feed off of your biggest fears.”

“Did you see anything?”

“Hmm?” He asks and completely blows off my question. With a small hand gesture, I’m released from my chains. “Let’s see if we can find the others. They can’t be far right?”

CHALLENGE FOUR: SHIFTING

"The secret side of me I never let you see. I keep it caged, but I can't control it, so stay away from me, the beast is ugly.

I feel the rage and I just can't hold it."

FOUR:

Toby Smyth

Long car rides are boring. I can't get my internet to work because we're constantly moving, I've beaten all of the games on my laptop and I can't download anymore because the internet isn't working. I've seen every movie I own. Basically I'm left with staring out the window and listening to the radio, sleeping, or talking. None of those sound appealing to me. I should also add that my ass hurts.

We try to eat some decent food at least. You know, none of this filling up on only McDonald's and Burger King crap. Don't get me wrong, I love it all, but it makes me feel like I ate about a ton of bricks. Cory got the brilliant idea to keep fruit and jerky in our stock constantly. I swear, he's a genius, funny as hell too. I still don't know yet if it's a made up fictional personality, or if they really are two separate people in the same body. Time will tell I suppose, but I kind of with Cory would make more appearances than T would. The guy has no spine. Yes, he did save my life, but he's so quiet I sometimes I want to punch him to see if he'd do anything about it. Makes me sound mean, I know, and I'm usually not, but for some reason he just rubs me the wrong way. I think it has something to do with his 'poor me' walk. Dad always talked about it back home. The people who wallow in their own misery and don't do nothing to change it. That's what T makes me think of. I don't know what he did, but he needs to buck up.

Three days of driving and we arrive in beautiful Florida. I'd never been away from home before. My family didn't go on vacation, too expensive. We sometimes would take day trips in state, but it never amounted to anything all that crazy or fun. Then when my 'condition' showed up, we didn't even leave the city. Let me tell you something about my home town: it's small and old fashioned. Like if I'm going to buy anything fun or interesting, I get it at Wal*Mart which isn't even in my town. It's in the next town over. The movies we get are all delayed. I'm sure you all can see why I got into my internet pirating hobby. Funny thing is, my mom fully encouraged it because it saved us money and kept me occupied.

I didn't steal everything. I bought a lot of games and things. I did have a job, and I had to have money and a legit copy of Final Fantasy XIV to get that up and running for so long. Without that, I wouldn't have met Moira. I love her, and my life wouldn't be the same without her. I'm still amazed that she's a part of the game. Amazed and worried. We are on different teams, and even if winning would change my life, I'm pretty sure it would change hers too. As much as I want to cure my problem, I also want her safe and happy.

We park at the coordinates on the GPS, which is the entrance to a park in the Everglades. Exciting huh? Only not really. I'm not looking forward to this one bit. It's hot and kind of sticky and it smells weird. Though I can't complain about getting up to stretch my legs. I rub my butt too, massaging out the numbness. Ipod sees me doing this and gives me a weird scowl.

"What?" I ask her. She only shrugs and turns to stretch. Then bounces off to start blabbing at T in sign language. Those two are always talking as though it's their secret language. I'm not quite sure how to feel about this. I don't like secrets. I spend so much of my life in them, but complaining about it also makes me feel like a hypocrite. I guess I just hate that they're so necessary. They're shady.

"Okay, we're here and there's supposed to be something to tell us what we're going to be doing exactly." Ryan says and she's searching for our instructions. She's always business. It's more or less annoying. Even when we stayed at a hotel, and that's saying if we did because she always wanted to keep trading with the driving so we were constantly on the go. Until Cory threw a fit over needing some solid sleep before we drove off the road. Anyway, at the hotel, she made sure to get us in bed early and up at the ass crack of dawn. Kind of irritated me because I finally had an internet connection that would let me do more than send off a fast email. I really want to kill something. I feel stressed and overwhelmed which usually leads to bad things.

Games have always been what kept me normal. School stressed me out a lot and so did my chaotic social life. I'd come home and play a game, and get to be me. Being the star football/basketball/baseball/track/golf/tennis player, I was naturally rather popular in school. Not to mention the fact that I have amazing abs. Girls were always all over me, but I was never allowed to date because of my 'condition'. It's also why I couldn't go to parties. Day trips to the mall or the movies, sure, but no parties, and I had to leave school dances early. An hour of fun didn't make it worth my time. Thus, games.

“This might help.” I point to a plaque nearby that has the big ol' Escape Show logo on it. We all crowd around it. “In the swamp you'll find what you need. A treasure to help you with your deeds.”

“And how are we going to find a treasure in the middle of one of the largest swamps in America?” T asks with a frown. “Especially since we don't know what we're looking for.”

Ryan investigates the plague some more and finds something that resembles a tracking device attached to the back. There's a red light that blinks every so often and a quiet beep to go along. “This perhaps?”

“Let's get moving.” I make a motion for her to step forward. “The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can have whatever the awesome reward is.” Not to mention I was curious as to what this treasure was.

“Um, g...guys?” T says in a shaky voice.

“Hunters!” Ipod spits it out for him and points behind us just as a group of suited men and women get out of a car. Unlike before, they don't hesitate to start running right off the bat.

Ryan bolts and we all follow. I have no idea if we're going the right way though because the beep is becoming even more spread apart than before.

“We need to go in a new direction.” I shout after her. “Turn around!”

“And get caught?” She shouts back, glancing over her shoulder at me.

“Pick a new direction then, just do something!”

“I think we're losing them,” T adds.

Ryan turns a sharp right on the path and then another so we start heading back towards where we came. At least we're on another trail, and she slows her pace as she tries to figure out which way to go next. We go left now. Stop. Turn around and go right. I'm not sure she knows what she's doing, but I also have realized that telling Ryan she's wrong and incapable is a bad idea. She's too determined and way too high strung. The only person who has the balls to stand up for her is Cory. I try, but she doesn't respect me enough to listen. Too bad he's sleeping, or wherever the hell he goes when he's not present.

We keep heading down this path, the beeping on our tracking device is becoming more steady and more frequent. Then of course we hit a dead end.

“Are you kidding me?” I groan, panting. “Now what?” In front of us is gross, smelly, swamp. Ryan takes a step towards it and the beeping becomes more excited. Figures right? That we'd have to go into the middle of a nasty ass swamp.

“I doubt it's deep. We can swim.” Ryan suggests.

“Gaters,” T says. “I don't think it'll be so simple.”

“I see canoes.” Ipod says. She's always the observant one. I've yet to see her miss a thing. Sure enough, there are canoes not too far off. They're on the other side of the protective railing.

Without any hesitation, Ryan hops on over and lands in the water. She climbs into one of the canoes. I follow after, I've never been in one before, but I figure if I'm going to be safe with anyone it'd be her. I'm not a fan of the water. Drowning scares the crap out of me. I know how to swim and all, but unless I'm in a pool, I don't want anything to do with it. If I can't see what's going on around me, then I'd rather not have anything to do with it.

The other two are close behind us. Ryan and I are already off, following the now persistent beeping. Thirty feet or so and it's one solid sound. It's giving me a headache, and that is never a good thing. They're another trigger for my ability.

“Who's going down there to-.” I begin.

“I got it! Then I can tell you if something is going on.” Ipod says and starts to strip off her shirt so she can hop into the water. I'm not complaining. T of course is trying to not look and be all gentlemanly but I have a feeling he's not complaining either. She jumps in and goes under. “I think I see something. Like a light or something.”

We all watch, our eyes fixed on the water. There's bubbles, the canoes start rocking, and hunters appear at the shoreline. They don't get into the water, but they don't need to yet. One of them points and a gust of wind blows over us, threatening to tip us into the water as well.

“Something has my leg!”

T stands up and jumps into the water, probably without even thinking first. The wind gusts are getting stronger, one hunter walks into the water, and it makes me think of Terminator a little too much. I shiver. And that's the last thing I remember beyond falling out of the canoe and hitting my head against something in the water.

When I come to again, I'm in a bed, and I know what happened instantly without anyone having to say a word. They all had the same unsure, shocked, scared expression.

“What the hell did you do?” Ryan finally demands. “You could have killed us all! Why didn't you tell us that you turn into some kind of a monster?”

“Do we know what you can do?” I snap back. “I barely know anything about any of you. Why should I share all my deep dark secrets?”

“Because this one could have killed us!”

“Ryan,” T says and shakes his head. “Let's not scream at each other.”

I think this is the first time I've liked the guy. Wait, no the second time. The first was when he saved me from the box. Without him I'd be dead.

“It started when I was about thirteen. I was attacked by a dog, blacked out, and my parents were freaking out because I turned into whatever it is I turn into. I don't remember anything that happens when it does. I just go by what people tell me, and I guess it's bad.” Real bad, and I hate it. People don't tend to think I feel remorse though. After all, the monster is me, right?

Ipod grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze before she hugs me. I like her, but she also seems like the only sane person in the group.

“So what happened?”

“You went unconscious.” T says. He's pacing now. “I tried to pull you back onto the canoe, but then you started changing. Your body shifted, got larger, became this weird purple and black color, and wings.” He shudders. “You saved Ipod. The hunters were holding her under. I don't know if you....”

Killed anyway, got it, but I did some damage. I groan, my head hurts. It usually does right after. “We get the thing?”

“We did,” Ryan says. I can tell she's still pissed as hell. “We were waiting for you to come to first before opening it. It's some kind of a box.”

“Well, I'm up now.” I mumble.

She nods and grabs a white box. She pops off the lid and holds it for all of us to see inside. Inside are five envelopes, each with our names on it, a brass key, four tickets for Disney World, four flashlights, and an LCD screen.

“A gift for you. Something personal, something fun, something to protect you, and something for your future.” Ryan read a small strip of notebook paper. “These must be for protection.” She points to the flashlights. “We used these against the hunters in the fun house. I'm not sure what this thing does.” She points at the screen. “I guess we're going to Disney World though.” She then hands out all of our envelopes.

Ipod opens hers first and smiles as she sees a picture of what has to be her family and her boyfriend at a picnic. She reads a note. “Remember your goals.”

T opens his next and chews on his lip. He doesn't show anyone the picture. “My note says the same thing.”

I rip open my envelope, curious as to what I'll have. A picture of my family no doubt. I miss them, but at the same time, I don't like the pressure they've put on me to 'get better'. I'm surprised to find a picture of Moira. My heart beats a little faster, and I smile like a nerd.

Ryan opens hers and scowls. In fact, I think I see tears in her eyes and she quickly leaves.

“Are we done now?” I ask.

“For now.” T says. “I think we can all use some sleep though.”

I nod, and reach for my laptop so I can send Moira an email. I can talk to her, and I don't even want to question why. If I mention it, I'm afraid someone might try to take her away from me.

“Thinking of you. I just wanted you to know. Love you.”

I put her picture under my pillow, but I never let go of it. Then I fall back asleep.

CHALLENGE THREE: IT'S MY BODY, I'LL DO WHAT I WANT TO

"Here's the situation: been to every nation. Nobody's ever made me feel the way that you do. You know my motivation given my reputation.

Please excuse me, I don't mean to be rude."

THREE

CORY RANOVER

We walk into the carnival air and I'm all grins. There's a lot to be proud of, and I'm especially happy that my bro was able to step up to the plate so well. Good kid, and he's earned his time to rest. Ryan is quiet, Toby is quiet, and Ipod is trying to sign at me. I put my hands over hers to stop her.

“I'm not T hon, I'm sorry.” I say quietly.

“I'll tell him later.” She says. “So what now?”

“I need to unwind,” Toby says. “And eat something. My stomach hurts.”

Ryan's chewing on her lower lip. I remember this look. Ryan and I met a lifetime ago, once, and only once. She was just as uptight then as she is now. Obviously she doesn't recognize me because the last time we saw each other, I wasn't in T's body. I was in my own. As much as I want to say something to her, that she's not as alone as she probably feels, that she isn't with complete strangers, I keep it to myself. The last time I saw her, I'm pretty sure she wanted to make sure it was the last time. Our relationship is definitely a story.

“Some down time would be nice.” I agree with Toby. I nudge her, trying to get her to bend a little, but I'm nervous. I don't want to give myself away. Though, she doesn't remember my name, so that could be a good sign.

She looks at me and raises an eyebrow. “Did you just touch me?”

I poke her shoulder, “I've touched you twice now. Yes.”

“Don't.”

I back away from her and scowl. Maybe she did. Maybe I should ask her?

“Sorry,” I mumble. “Loosen up a little though okay?”

She rolls her eyes. “Go play. Let's meet at the entrance in about two hours. Then we can figure out where we're going to sleep for the night.”

“Awesome!” I pause. “Can I huge you first?”

“Why?” She raises an eyebrow. “I don't like being hugged by strangers.”

That answered that question.

“When we get to know each other better then,” I say. “You get a hug. Go ahead and give it when you're ready. I just think you could use one.”

“I like your brother better.” She says and walks away from the group. Toby bolts in the opposite direction as her and Ipod looks at me while scratching her chin.

“You're weird.” She says with a smile. “I like hugs.” She comes up and gives me one, and I can't help but laugh. “You going to be okay or do you need a chaperone?”

“I should be asking you if you want an escort.” I wink.

“I'm a tough cookie. But I'll be at the bouncy castle if you need me.”

“Cool,” I nod and watch her leave. Not gonna lie, both her and Ryan are hot. Ryan is more petite in size, and definitely more curvy and sultry. Ipod on the other hand is bubbly and adventurous. She's got long legs and good proportions. You can tell she works out a lot too. I watch her go and shake my head. They can go on my to-do list for later. I need to focus on the now.

Two hours is a lot of time to kill on my own. Yes, I understand why everyone wants their own space right now, but this would have been a good time to really get to know each other. Whatever right? I start by getting a corn dog and watching the locals. I win myself a few liters of pop: Coke, Fanta Orange, Mountain Dew, and Dr. Pepper. Should be good for while we're traveling right? I'm thinking practically, though I'm devouring the Mountain Dew now.

I make eyes with a local girl. She's an itty bitty blonde thing, cute as a button, and she's doing the flirtatious smile thing too. After about two different booths of her practically stalking me, I finally approach her coolly. It was easy for me to become confident in my brother's body. He's a good looking guy. Shorter than me by about five inches, but he has a charming smile and he takes care of himself. We both have the same blue eyes too, so the adjustment wasn't difficult or traumatizing for me. If he had been a fat slop, or a twig, that might be a different story. He is a little thinner than me as well, but the muscle tone makes up for it. I don't feel weak. I don't feel pathetic. I've almost always felt like myself. It's made the whole situation easier to manage for me.

Her eyes roam over me and she smiles. “Hey there.”

“Hello, I kept noticing you were looking at me. Was wondering if I got something in my teeth,” I tease her.

“I didn't mean to stare.” She says with a blush. “I just notice strangers pretty fast. We don't see a lot of them come through here. I've seen a lot of them tonight, but I especially noticed you.”

I can tell she knows how to play the game, which is good. I don't like girls who are oblivious in the ways of 'hooking up'. I avoid them actually because I don't want to be one of those 'assholes' who manipulates and then runs. I want my fun, sure, but I don't want to devastate anyone to get it. We walk around the carnival, looking for something fun to do, or a good place to go and connect.

Yes, I realize I'm in my brother's body. This has always been a stress relief for me,among many other complicated factors. I'll leave it at I have some baggage I'm dealing with, you know, just like everyone else on the planet does. It's not a big deal. When it comes to T and I? We have a don't ask, don't tell sort of policy. I don't go out of my way to tell him what I do in my free time beyond vague details. He has yet to ask for specific ones.

I think deep down he knows what's going on, and he doesn't want it to be confirmed. In his mind, he's still a virgin, and I suppose if we go based on the fact that he hasn't had sex yet, yeah, that's true. I know it's important to him to fall in love and all of that sappy mushy stuff. I've been there, done that, and it had its ups and its downs. It was a good life experience, and I'm sure some day he'll have it. If he knew some of the things I did in his body, he would probably have a meltdown though and he might stop believing in it himself. I don't want to see that kind of destruction happen. Naturally, whatever I do, I'm extra, extra careful.

I have rules in place. One is no sleep-overs. Two is no psychos. Three is going out of my way to go to a place where I will for sure never see anyone during the daytime. The morning hours are his, and I don't know if he'd have any clue how to handle a run-in with a girl he's never met before. Like I said, meltdowns, and T is an expert at those.

“How about this one?” I point to the tunnel of love. She puts her hands on her hips and raises an eyebrow at me. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

“If you're thinking you're going to have all the fun, you've got another thing coming.” She says matter of factly, and I'm amazed by her boldness.

“Then let's just focus on you,” I say with a shrug. She raises both her eyebrows this time. I think I confused her, especially since my tone was nothing near sarcastic or mean. I nod at her encouragingly and take her on the ride. I'll keep this PG and just say she had a good time. That's kind of all you need to know right? She's clinging to my arm when we get off the ride, almost like she's afraid of letting me go.

I look down at her and give her a big, toothy, smile. “Thanks for indulging me.”

“Night's still young.” She says with a wink. “Are you sure you want to say goodbye so soon? I'd really like to return the favor.”

I glance at my watch and think this over. I'd say I have about another hour before I need to meet up with the others. There were a few other things I want to do too of course. One of them is get something for T. He did well. He needs some kind of positive reinforcement. I know I shouldn't get too much stuff because the space is limited, but there are a few things essential for traveling. If there's one thing I know, it's road trips.

“If we keep it quick, I have a curfew in half an hour.” I say.

“Then let's go play in the mirror maze.” She smirks and starts to drag me towards the fun house. I don't move a muscle. There were parts of that adventure I wasn't present for, stuff I'll hear about later, but the stuff I was around for was enough to scar me from going into mirror mazes for life. “Something wrong?”

“I already went into the fun house, it was kind of lame.” I say, trying to stay cool and not let on that my knees are shaking. “What about the bouncy castle?”

“Too many kids.” She pouts at me. “Did you see the princess fun house, or the haunted one?”

“The haunted one.” The fun house certainly didn't look anything like a princess castle to me.

“Did they finish remodeling it? I was told it was closed.” She shrugs. “Sad that it's lame. It used to be so cool! I'll show you the princess one. Trust me, you'll like this.”

I sigh and let her take me. The outside of this house is like a castle, pink is everywhere, and it's not exactly what I would call sexy. Still, she's a local, and they tend to know more about what's cool and what isn't better than anyone else I've ever met before. She hands the clerk a ticket and a twenty, and we waltz in.

“What was that for?” I ask. My paranoia is starting to warm me that maybe this isn't such a good idea because the clerk shuts the door behind us.

“Just insuring we'll have some privacy.” She says and drags me through a tunnel, over some shaking steps, and down a slide. She kisses me at the bottom of the slide and plays with T's trademark cowlick. I've tried I don't know how many times to get rid of it. It's near impossible. For whatever reason, his bangs just want to fly up, ya know?

I close my eyes, trying to relax. I have nothing to be so paranoid over. We're on a break. We have some time off. I'm fine.

“You're so tense.” She says. “Let me help you loosen up a little.”

“Please,” I whisper. I just want to be lost. I don't want to think about any of this stuff, about life, anymore. I want distraction. I want to be happy. I want to be me, or as much of me as I can.

With another kiss, she helps me up off of the slide, and takes me into the mirror maze. While the other had been dark, with smoke, and trippy lighting affects. This one was bright with neon pink and green brightening up the world. Day and night difference, let me tell you. I actually feel safe for the first time since I entered the attraction. She pushes me up against a mirror and kisses me, hard. Her fingers are flying over the buttons on my shirt and then over T's ripped abs and then down....

I have about ten minutes to kill when it's all said and done. We go our separate ways, and I start to search the games to see if there's any other cool prizes I can win. I'm at the entrance with about five minutes to spare. In my arms I have a large duck pillow-pet thing for T which should help with his motion sickness. I'm the first one there, Ryan is next and she's walking with Ipod oddly enough, and Toby is late by about ten minutes.

“What is that?” Ryan asks, and points to my goods.

“Snacks for the ride,” I gesture at the candy and soda-pop I've won. “Pillow.” I hold up the toy. “Do you got a problem with it?”

She stares for a moment and then shakes her head. I notice Ipod has a small plush, pink, unicorn in her hands that she's wringing the life out of. Toby also has something, but I can't quite make out what it is.

“Let's get going,” Ryan says at last. Then I see she has a small stuffed banana. Hilarious right? We go back to our car and see an envelope taped the windshield. “Looks like we have our next set of instructions.”

CHALLENGE TWO: BEWARE THE FUNNY MAN

"Jinke sar ho ishq kii chha.nh (He whose head is in the shadow of love). Pao.n ke niiche jannat hogi (will have heaven beneath his feet.) Jinke sar ho ishq ki chha.nh (Whose head is in the shadow of love...)

Chal chhaiyya (Walk in the shadow)"

*NOTE: IF YOU TURN THE CAPTIONS/COMMENTS ON IN THE VIDEO, THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION APPEARS FOR THE SONG*

TWO

COTY “T” RANOVER

I groan as another bump wakes me up from sleeping. I wasn't joking when I told them I got carsick, not just carsick, but so bad it was almost ungodly. Normally when the family took road trips across the country, I'd be doped up on Dramamine and sleep the entire time blissfully unaware of the ride. Now, I don't get that luxury. Still, if I can keep my eyes closed, I might be able to stop myself from vomiting all over the place. It'd help if I had a pillow, but that would have to wait until another time. The car started to slow as we approached a small town deep in the mountains. I'd never been to mountains before, and it was disappointing that I was missing so much of the scenery because I didn't feel well.

As soon as the car is stopped, I stumble out and put my head between my knees to stop the dizzy spells.

“Dude, you look kind of green,” Toby comments as he comes up to inspect me. “If you're going to hurl, at least try to do it away from me. I'm a sympathy puker.”

“I'll keep that in mind.” I mumble.

“Are you going to be okay? Do you need me to take over?” Cory's familiar voice asks. Obviously, we do our communicating via the brain to keep from looking strange. I felt crazy enough talking to him period, but doing so vocally would make it worse.

“I'm okay now. I promise.” I tell him, and I half believe it.

Another thing about sharing a body with someone is you can't lie to them too well. Sure, there are moments where he 'blanks out',as we like to call it, or I will. I guess you could say it's a lot like sleeping. Basically, we take turns shutting down for a part of the day so the one of us can function like a normal person and the other can rest. We try to keep this time even. I generally take the mornings right after waking up, and Cory has the night hours. He's always been a night owl whereas I like to go to bed early. He likes to party, I like to read, and if I'm blanking out at night, then I don't have to be aware of whatever he decides to do with my body. We have a system of rules, and I trust him enough to follow them. There are still things that I'd rather be oblivious too though.

Then of course, there is our overlap time where we work together. Now is one of those moments.

“Just say the word bro.”

“Yeah, I know. You'll be here.”

Yes, I do kind of want him to take over so I can disappear and pretend none of this is happening. But that's all I'd be doing, pretending, and in the end that's not going to help me or him. Too much is at stake for me to not 'man up' so to speak.

I took in a deep breath and then exhaled. The air is noticably thinner here than back home. I hope I don't get elevation sickness. Wouldn't that be the icing on the cake? My luck has never been too great.

“You okay?” This voice is female and I glance up to see Ipod leaning over me. She puts a hand on my shoulder and smiles. She has a warm and inviting one, and genuine too. I know she means exactly as she says.

“I'm fine.” I nod. “It doesn't take too long to pass.”

“Good, because we need to get to our next destination.” Ryan says and stands nearby with her arms crossed in front of her. “The sooner we do this, the sooner we can hopefully relax.”

I'm not too sure on this one, but I didn't want to burst her bubble just yet. My gut instincts and logic are telling me that moments of rest and relaxation will be few and far apart. I took in one last breath and then slowly stand back up. Low blood pressure too. If I get up too fast, I see all kinds of black spots. I adjust my glasses.

“Let's continue.”

Ryan nods and leads the way into the carnival. She scowls when Toby stops at a ticket booth. “What are you doing?”

“Gettin' tickets, duh. Ya need them to get into thin's like fun houses, last I checked.” He hands each of us a strip of small red tickets. “Yer welcome.”

“Thank you,” I say in a barely audible voice and stare down at the tickets. Toby rolls his eyes and half glares at me. I wince simply because I don't like hostility. Conflict and I were never good friends. Just thinking about it make me sick to my stomach actually. Surprising, I know, since I'm here for beating a man to death. Looking back on that night, I still remembering feeling queasy. I almost backed down as soon as I knocked on his door, but the minute he said 'Oh hey buddy!' like we were best friends? I completely lost it. The nausea replaced with pure hate. I hope I never feel that way ever again. But what was Toby's problem with me?

I take in the sights and sounds of the carnival as we walk, in search of the fun house Chance had instructed us to go to. I'm also on the look out for these hunters. They didn't come after us at the motel, but I think they were only trying to intimidate us then. Now, I have a feeling the gloves are coming off.

The place is busy. Lights are blinking all around to the point where I'm glad I don't have epilepsy because I probably would have gone into some kind of episode if I was. Loud music played from various different rides and stands, as well as the taunting and pleading voices of the workers trying to entice us over. And the smells! Grease, fat, and sugar fill my nostrils.

“Is that mini donuts?” Cory asks. “We need these.”

“Later.” I say.

“And a corn dog. A big ass corn dog. And cheese curds, and an elephant ear.”

“Just pace yourself, I don't want to feel sick in the morning. You know my stomach isn't exactly made for this kind of stuff. And you do remember I'm not exactly a fan of super sweet stuff.”

“Okay, I know you're grumpy from the car ride and the rude awakening, but will you please stop being a Debby Downer? I know how you are, thank you very much. Just trying to be a little optimistic.”

I bite on my lip, knowing he can't see it, and that he already knows the reasons why because one of the downsides to sharing a body with someone is they know all of your thoughts and feelings without you having to explain them. I can't help it though. He's right. Next I'm sure he'll be telling me I need to 'man up'.

“You need to breathe. Are you sure you don't want me to take over here?” He says in an unusually calm way.

“Yes!”

“Fine.”

I sigh, shoving my hands in my pockets as we speed up our pace. I see the fun house, and I shiver. It's ominous. Smoke pours out of its front doors, and it doesn't appear to be large in size, but I also can't see an exit so I don't feel comforted. We had the attendant our tickets and stare at the entrance.

“Here goes nothin'.” Toby says, and pushes Ryan in to go first.

“What a tool.” Cory says.

“Seriously.” I agree.

I move in after her, Ipod follows me, and Toby takes up the rear. The thing is, I can't find Ryan there.

“Any sight of her?” Toby asks.

I shake my head.

Ipod signs 'f-bomb this s-bomb', and I nod back at her signing,

'I agree.' That got a smile out of her, but I figured it would. She did say she preferred to communicate that way, and I'm sure she's happy to be around someone who understands her. I certainly know what that's like, but for different reasons.

Toby is missing now too, and I don't know where he wandered off too or if I'm missing something and bad things were going on. Whatever the reason, I grab onto Ipod's arm firmly, but carefully. 'Stay close.' I sign, almost afraid to speak. My words are caught in my throat, plus I want to focus on listening. Maybe I could hear footsteps, talking, something that would help us out here. All I hear is the smoke machines.

I step forward, which is really the only way to go oddly enough, so it makes me more confused about where Toby had gone. I don't get it. At all. As I walk, I keep my grip on Ipod. If I can touch her, I know she's there, and then if for some reason something were to take her, I'd definitely notice. I don't plan on letting her get away as easily as the others had. She doesn't seem to mind. She shifts my hand so that she's holding it in her own. It's definitely in a platonic way. Just hands clasped, no intertwining or anything. Don't get me wrong, she's cute, and a nice girl, but we did just meet each other. Girls are kind of the last thing on my mind anyway.

We walk into a hall of mirrors. The smoke is still all around, and it's disorienting to say the least. I put a hand in front of me so I'll know if I'm coming up on glass or an opening. Ipod actually moves closer to me and she's shaking slightly. I nod at her, trying to be encouraging. I open my mouth to say something and she shakes her head, putting a finger over my lips.

“I'm picking up a frequency. I hope they can't pick up mine. It's staticy, but they're tracking us through sound.” She says in the strange way she does her mind speak.

My jaw drops, how clever. No wonder Toby was so easy to grab, he doesn't shut up. Neither does Ryan from what I can tell. She's always barking out orders or something. This is going to make things interesting. Especially since the further we venture into the maze, the darker it becomes. Black lights are everywhere making the white spots on my plaid button down and jeans stick out, not to mention the white glow of Cory's crystal. I identify Ipod by her teeth and visible bra strap.

I'm getting confused in this maze. Especially since now I think I'm seeing things, things like other people. I thought I saw Toby and Ryan in one mirror, and then the next I saw men in suits with night vision goggles on. What exactly is this place? Then Ipod's grip on my hand tightens and she stops walking.

“What the hell...?” I hear her voice popping in.

I face the same direction she is and see in red, gorey letters, all over the mirror. Beware the funny man.

“It's gotta be some kind of a riddle.” I say to Cory. Two heads are better than one right? Three are better than two. I can't exactly sign to Ipod anymore because it's too dark, and I'm afraid to talk because of what she had said about the hunters searching for us via sound. I want to ask her if she's picking up any other interesting frequencies, but I have to trust if she's picking up something useful she'll let me know.

“Seems too blunt for a riddle. I think it's a genuine -.” Cory starts.

“LOOK OUT!” Ipod screams in my mind and pulls me closer to her just as a clown decides to take a swing at my head – with a bat. Yep, a bat.

“What the hell kind of a show is this?” Cory takes over, which at this point is fine by me even if he didn't ask. He has better instincts though.

I duck, I roll, and then attack, knocking the clown to the ground with a quiet grunt. I bit my lip, hoping the hunters didn't grab me next because of the one slight sound. Nothing. Ipod is still nearby, but she's frozen in place, watching me as I pin down the 'funny man'. Something about his body doesn't feel normal to me. It feels...dense?

“Robot?” I wonder.

“I think so.” Cory says.

The clown body seems larger than a normal human, and more stiff. He still tries to swing at me every once and a while, but I've got him pinned pretty well at the arms and legs. And if he's a robot then there's got to be some kind of an off-switch, right? I start searching around the ears and the neck, and he snaps at my fingers with his teeth. Where is it? Just as I think I find it, a knee makes contact with my gut and I go sailing through the air and smash into the mirrors behind me.

“Seven years of bad luck.” The clown says and he walks towards me, ready to attack. This time he's planning on using his fists. I'm gasping for air. The kick took a lot out of me, and I'm pretty sure I got more than a few cuts all over too from the broken glass.

Cory's in charge still, but even he can't seem to make my body work.

The clown stares down at me. It's dark, soulless eyes, are glowing purple under the black lights along with it's make up. “Looks like you're pretty f-.”

He never finishes the rhyme because Ipod has the bat and is beating the tar out of the robot clown. Metal hits metal, and she's stronger than she looks because I can see the clown's body bending and denting with each blow. Cory moves my legs to trip the robot to the ground, and she goes to town on its head.

“I. HATE. Clowns.” She yells as she destroys the robot.

I'm breathing hard, still trying to regroup from my hit, and manage to sign a quick thank you to her. I don't know if she notices because her eyes are fixed on the clown, and she's panting.

“The others are close.” She says at last. “Are you okay?”

I nod.

“I think you can talk again. The hunters weren't the ones using the sound. It was the clown, you know, until we walked right into him. I guess the producers are pissed I broke their machine. Oops? But the hunters are watching. I've seen them.”

“Why do you think they aren't coming after us?” I ask quietly, in barely over a whisper. I'm still nervous. What if she was wrong and a hunter grabs me and takes me away next? Nothing happens though and I let out a quiet sound of relief.

Ipod shrugs and then offers me her hand. “This isn't over yet.”

“No shit.” Cory says. I decide to ignore him.

“Are you afraid of clowns?” I ask her quietly. She nods. “Thank you for helping me. That had to have been hard. Where are the others? Do you know?”

“They didn't say that much. I wonder if they know I can pick up on their walkie-talkies? Something about the fear room? Which is funny, because this whole place is like a freaking nightmare for me.” Ipod says.

“Tell me about it.” I mumble. I search around us, trying to find which way to go next. I see Ryan in a mirror, and she's sitting, holding her knees. “There! There's Ryan!”

Ipod looks in the mirror and then behind us, and we're surrounded by the same image. I'm trying to figure out which direction she's in based on the angle of the mirrors and how she's showing up in them all, but I'm still disoriented. Then a hunter pops into the image. The man in the suit and goggles moves towards us, arms outstretched.

“Run.” Ipod grabs my hand again and drags me in a random direction. The hunters were done watching us. It was time for the real chase to begin. I have no idea where we're going. For all I know we could have been heading back towards the start. Soon though we pass through the mirror maze and we're surrounded by nothing but darkness. I hear whimpering, and at first I wonder if Ipod finally melted down on me, but soon realize it's not her.

“Ryan,” I whisper. Then louder. “Ryan?”

“I'm here.” She says, and I detect a hint of hope.

“Are you okay?”

“I'm not hurt, but I'm stuck. I can't see, and my foot.... I think the walls are closing in on me. The room feels a lot smaller than it did before.”

“The fear room.” Ipod said. “This has got to be it.”

“This should be-.” Cory starts, but then his voice starts to fade. The glow of the crystal, which by now has been the only light to see by in this black room, disappears and now we are left in complete and total darkness.

“Cory?” I get no reply. “Cory?!” Now it's my turn to panic, because if I lost him, then I don't know what I'm even doing here to begin with. I'm here because of him. I'm here for him. Take a deep breath. That's what he'd say. Calm down. Help the others.

Ipod is gone. She's not touching me anymore. I'm about to ask her if she's still around when the room goes from completely black to blinding and full of light. I shield my eyes, and I see her in the corner, having just pulled Ryan's foot free from some kind of snare. Sure enough, Ryan was in a small box, so no wonder why she thought the walls were closing in around her. It was a clever contraption painting a great illusion for her. In the middle of this room is a glass box. Inside the glass box is Toby. He shields his eyes and looks at us. He mouths something, but I can't hear it since the glass is sound proof. He's gesturing though at what looks like the lid to the box. He wants out. Duh.

I walk over, investigating the box. I see a latch with a lock on it and a note: 'the hunters have the key'.

“Great....” I mumble. “We need to find the hunters to get the key.” I distinctly see Toby mouthing out the question 'what?' so I show him the note. He rolls his eyes. “Ipod, come over here and talk to him so he doesn't freak out? I don't think he can hear anything we're saying.”

She nods, and we swap places. I go to check on Ryan, and I try hard to not feel numb from the sudden absence of my brother. I try not to feel afraid, because isn't that just what the producers want? They're aim is to make me so afraid I freak out. I'm determined to not let this happen. I notice on the far wall an arrangement of three flashlights. Or they look like flashlights, but more high tech versions. A sign about it says 'hunter killers: one use per can.'

Ryan sees them too and gets up, hobbling slightly on one foot while she adjusts and stretches the other. She grabs one, hands it to me, and then gives the last one to Ipod.

“I suppose we have to wait for the hunters to come and get us?” Ryan asks.

“Or we could go out and find them, but I could personally use a....” I trail off when I hear a lot of thumping coming from Toby's box. A groan when I see it is starting to fill with water, slowly, but filling with water all the same. Are you kidding me? Looks like we weren't going to be getting any breaks any time soon. “We need to find them I guess.”

Ryan nods, examining her flashlight hunter killer curiously as if trying to figure out how it works. I look back at Ipod and nod at her. Her job is to stay with Toby and keep him calm.

Together, Ryan and I venture back into the mirror maze. “Don't suppose you have any ideas on how to stay not lost?” I ask.

“I have lipgloss? We can try putting that on a mirror and making a trail.” She says and pulls out a tube from her jean pockets. I'm skeptical, but it's better than nothing right?

The hunters don't wait too long to make their presence known. I see three in the mirrors and realize we only have two of the 'hunter killers' on us. But maybe one would be easier to take care of alone without the other two mobile? We could hope. The trouble was finding them and getting close. They move constantly, and the mirrors make it hard to tell what is physical and what is simply a picture. Ryan is having a hard time keeping up with her lipgloss as well.

“Dammit,” She says through clenched teeth.

It's a lot like a dance, and I barely know the steps. I'd never been good at this sort of thing in general though. All of the movement is making me dizzy and I wish Cory would help me and take over, but he's still gone. I can't even feel him. It's like he.... I can't even finish the thought. I stop trying to keep up, take a breath and close my eyes. I call upon my powers inside of me. They're complicated, hard to explain, and not all too reliable. But I'm desperate. Break the glass. Without the mirrors confusing us, maybe we'd at least stand a chance.

“Break the glass.” I whisper, and I hear a crack, followed by another, and another, until all around us the mirrors shatter one by one. I find the first solid hunter, and point my flashlight thing at him. As I press the button, a beam of light shoots out and the hunter falls over, completely stunned. I go to search the body, biting back my fears. No time to be afraid. We needed this key for Toby. Please be on this one. I silently plead.

I'm not the luckiest person on the planet, but this is apparently starting to change because there's a medium sized brass key dangling on the neck of this hunter. I yank it off easily. “I got it!”

“Great,” Ryan says. “I'll try to distract them and -.” I hear her grunt as a hunter makes a grab for her. She uses her beam and he goes down, which leaves the one. “Hurry!”

She doesn't need to tell me twice. I run through the black path, the light from the fear room glowing in the distance. I charge over the broken glass for the door, the hunter is hot on my heels despite Ryan's efforts to keep him away. When I enter the room, my eyes have to readjust and when they do I see Toby fighting to get air from every pocket he could find inside the box.

I toss the key at Ipod just as the hunter tackles me to the floor. He notices I don't have it anymore, and starts to go after her. Well, I'm not planning on letting that happen. I tackle him, and I'm surprised by my own strength. Just like with the clown, I'm able to keep him pinned, but he's much more feisty He feels like flesh and blood to me – for the most part. Something feels off to me though, but I can't quite place my finger on it.

Just as I get shoved off by the hunter, Ipod gets the lid to the box off. Toby scrambles out, gasping for air and falls to the floor with a loud thud. The hunter charges, eyes narrowed in anger. I lock eyes with Ipod, and she tosses her flashlight at me. I'm barely able to catch it, let alone point and shoot. Somehow though, I do so, hoping I hit the spot. There's a thud, and then quiet.

Ryan falls next to me onto her knees, breathing heavily and obviously exhausted. I'm pretty sure Toby is puking and I see Ipod briefly rubbing his back while he does this.

Then I hear someone clapping. I raise my eyes and see our lovely host Chance Cagney in the flesh.

“Bravo! Bravo! You did much better than anyone ever gave you credit for.” He says with a smirk.

I'm kind of irritated by his jab, but I'm too tired to care. I close my eyes, and smile because I start to feel Cory's again. It's funny, but as much as it sucks to have to share my body with him, I also like the feeling of security that comes with it.

“Are you okay?” He asks me.

“Yeah, you?” I reply.

“Yeah, I just had a force blank out. Weird huh? What'd I miss? You feel like hell.”

“I'll tell you later.”

Chance is talking, and I'm not even listening. Oops.

“So congratulations. You have made it to the top five in our competition. You are officially in the running to escape your past and start a new life for yourself. Tonight you should celebrate, and rest, because tomorrow afternoon your next challenge will arrive. If you thought this was hard, well, I hate to tell you but it only will get worse from here on out.”

Great right?

“It's a pleasure to meet you all.”

I nod, too tired to say anything else. “Okay, I'm blanking out. Have fun at the carnival, but try not to go too crazy? I really need to sleep.”

“Sure thing bro. I'm proud of you.”

I don't even reply. Now that the adrenaline's wearing off, all I want to do is sleep. Blanking out is the closest thing I'll get to doing that while Cory is awake. My exhausted body is now his problem.