Janelle
September 26th, 2007. 9:31 p.m. Everyone’s on their way back to the dorms. I’m walking next to Will. Yuko’s next to Vivian. Angela’s being carried by Josh. Sejong went off ahead because he thinks he left the stove on. A.D.’s nowhere to be seen.
“Yes, Will?” I look up at him.
“Pardon?” He looks down at me.
“Didn’t you say something?”
“May have yawned, but that’s about it.”
“I see… um… if you don’t mind, can I just talk to you about something real quick?”
“How quick is quick?”
“I promise you’ll be able to go to bed by ten.”
“I got time for that.” He nods.
Vivian turns back. “Yo, Will. Do you have your key card?”
“I do.” he flashes it to them. “Don’t wait for us. Ya’ll go on ahead.”
“Gotchu.” Vivian shoots finger-guns at him before heading off with Yuko.
Josh swats at a fly that’s been following him for a while before also heading into the dorms with Angela.
“What’d you want to talk about?” Will begins wandering through the park and I follow. Actually, it’s hard to tell who’s following who at this point.
“Well… you may not be the best person to ask about this…”
“Then why’re you asking me?”
“Because I value your opinion. Dummy.” I flick his bicep. “How… how much should you trust your teammates?”
Will looks like he just saw a ghost, but only for a moment. “Where’s this coming from?”
“I dunno… I just think it’s an interesting discussion topic. Don’t you?”
“Hmm. I don’t trust anybody except my parents.”
“Isn’t that a hard way to live?”
“Not at all. It’s easier. Means you ain’t surprised when people backstab you. Or disappoint you.”
“I see… Well… that does make sense. I suppose. What about your team? Don’t you trust them?”
“They’re… not horrible to work with. I suppose. A.D. is a decent exercise partner and Vivian; despite everything about her, is surprisingly competent.”
“What about Yuko?”
“What about Yuko?”
“Nothing. Nothing.” Good. Less competition. “Why don’t you trust them?”
“I’ve barely known them for a month. What, do you trust anybody you spend one month with?”
“Yes, because they’re my teammates.”
“Teammates that you didn’t choose.” Will adjusts his bandana.
“Fair…” I sigh. “But, what if you just had a bad feeling about a teammate? What if you think they might be up to something?”
Will just walks in silence for a moment. “That’s up to you. If you’re strong enough to stop them, then stop them.”
“Why are you so distant with your team? Why don’t you like working with others?”
Will pivots and looks down at me.
I suddenly feel very small, but I don’t mind.
“Teammates just complicate things.” His eyes look like they’ve aged twenty years. His jaw and throat tighten, but his eyes look so tender, vulnerable even. “If one person messes up, everyone suffers. It’s better for everyone if I work alone.”
“Will.” I hold his wrist tight. “I understand what you’re going through. You don’t have to be the best. This isn’t a race, okay? If you push yourself too hard, you’ll just end up burning yourself out.”
Just as Will opens his mouth...
BAM BAM
Gunshots ring from my dorm.
Josh
September 26th, 2007. 9:35 p.m. Me and Angela just plopped onto our beds. No shower. No toothbrush. Nothing. Too tired for that… Stupid Headmaster… Not my fault that weird monster’s loose… Stupid… What was I even supposed to do against that thing? I’m curled up in bed. Lights off. Nice breeze from outside the window going. I roll around and see a dude standing over my bed with a knife. Oh for the love of… Good thing I keep a gun under my pillow for just such an occasion. I pull it out and pop the guy twice in the forehead. I hear him fall over and hit the ground. I peer over my bed, but don’t see a body. I turn on my gun’s flashlight attachment to see a massive swarm of miscellaneous insects where the body should be. I can see light reflect off the bullets lost in the swarm. Maggots, spiders, millipedes, stick bugs, caterpillars. There’s a bunch of other disgusting bugs I don’t recognize that I’m sure are in there too.
I see the hallway light turn on and Angela kicks my door open. She’s brandishing the dorm toaster as a weapon. “Josh! What the hell happened?!” She looks down and sees the bugs. “Nope. Not doing this. Peace.” She drops the toaster and zaps into an electrical outlet.
“Goddamnit!” I leap out of my bed and over the swarm, then dash down the hallway and fumble around with my cardkey. “Goddamnit! Move!” I yell at my body to calm down, but nothing happens.
The swarm follows me. I can see collections of ants swarming together to form bits and pieces of a human body. A human head emerges from the bugs and starts speaking. I think I’m going to puke if I look at it any more. The face looks like a real scumbag, like if Jesus Christ did meth every day and only drank cocktails of whisky and Mountain Dew. Yeah. That bad. “You cannot escape… Josh… I will eradicate you for bothering my Lady Faust.”
“Oh, great. Another Faust fanboy.” I bust open my door and run down the hallway. Okay. Okay… the swarm’s definitely faster than me. It doesn’t slow down through turns and it can even separate into multiple piles… so I can’t just keep running around the hall until someone comes to help… I chuck everything I have at the swarm. Steel ball bearings, needles, my baseball. Nothing. Sure, a ladybug here or there gets stabbed, but it doesn’t even slow down the swarm. “Angela!!!!” I can hear the insect legs getting closer. “Angela! Do something! Anything!”
“I can’t!” Angela calls from my phone. “Unless the bugs get digitized too, I can’t hurt them!”
“God damnit!” I bang against the walls of the student dorms to see if anyone, anyone will answer.
I turn the corner next to the elevator and see another swarm of insects completely covering the floor and walls. Both swarms are approaching me at an increasingly uncomfortable pace. I can see beatles clicking their mandibles and queen bees birthing live adult bees rubbing their stingers in anticipation. To hell with this. I can’t look at this anymore. Just as I bring my gun to my temple and put my finger on the trigger…
Ding
The elevator opens up and I see Janelle and Will come in.
“JANELLE!!! DO SOMETHING!!” I start to cry and pull the gun away.
“Hehe…” the freak head emerges from the swarm and rotates towards Janelle. “What could you possi-”
“Goodbye.” Janelle points her palms over the swarm and shoots an intense stream of fire. The whole floor becomes engulfed in an inferno. The walls get singed, the fire alarm goes off, and most importantly, each and every last bug gets incinerated to ash. All the while, Janelle looks like she’s just hosing down a dirty car.
“W-wait! Wait!” The face begins to melt back into insects. It cries and wretches in agony as its flesh begins to melt. Good. If it did anything, I’d unload a full clip into the bastard’s throat. “Stop! I don’t want to die! We can talk this out! You want money? Faust’s location? Babes? I got lots of babes if you want! Dudes too if that’s what you’re into!”
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“I said goodbye.” Janelle extends her arms further and finishes vaporizing every last trace of bugs on the floor, returning it to its pristine state. Sure the walls are damaged and the carpet’s burned and there’s an alarm blaring through the halls, but the bugs are dead. That’s what matters. Janelle’s face turns blue for a moment before she recalls all the flame on the floor into her. “Woo… Hah…” She puts her hands on her knees and catches her breath.
Meanwhile, Will looks like he just saw a gaping asshole.
Angela pops her head out of a ceiling light. “Whoa… That’s a hard counter if I ever saw one.”
Yuko
September 26th, 2007. 9:34 p.m. My dorm room. I close the door behind me and immediately kick off my shoes. They hit the wall and leave a mark but I don’t care. I need a smoke. I pull the smoke and my lighter out of my bra and begin lighting up. Vivian slumps over at the kitchen bar and rests her head on a cereal box. Goddamnit… I put out a perfectly good smoke and put it back in my bra. “Do you need a drink?”
Vivian just silently nods into the cereal box.
“Vodka?”
“Raspberry…” She whines.
“Coming right up.” I get the vodka from the fridge and pour it into a glass. There’s no ice in the fridge, so I scrape off whatever frost I can from the inside of the freezer and dump it into the glass. We have half a lime still chilling in the fridge, so I squeeze whatever juice I can out of it. It’s not the best glass of vodka I’ve made, but it’ll have to do.
“Here ya go.” I tap her on the head.
Vivian looks up and glares at the glass. “Is this all you got? Give me more.”
“Alright alright. Chill out.” I double her dose then begin pouring some for me.
“More.” Vivian continues to glare at the glass.
“No. You finish it first then you can have more.”
“Mg… fine…” She tries to take a big swig, but gives up halfway through and slams the glass back on the counter. Sounds like Viv’s about to cough up a lung. Pfft. Newbie.
“Need some juice?”
“Please… ack…” Vivian wipes a tear from her eye.
“Apple or grape?”
“Apple, please.” Vivian tries to take another sip, but puts the glass down again.
I dilute her drink with apple juice. “Here ya go.”
“Thank you, Yuko…” Vivian smiles at me before taking another much smaller drink. “I might be a bitch tonight, so forgive me in advance.”
“Let it all out.” I take a big gulp and just let the vodka burn in the back of my throat before swallowing. “Better it's out now than tomorrow morning.”
bang bang bum bum bum bum bum
I hear some footsteps and gunshots three floors above me.
Vivian just takes another shot.
“You don’t want to check that out at all?”
“I’m on vacation.” Vivian tried to smile, but failed. “Unless if something bursts through that door, I’m not going anywhere.”
“You know what? I’ll drink to that.” I raise my glass to Viv and she returns the favor. We both take a big chug and let out hearty gasps.
“I just…” Vivian rubs her temple. “I just wanna go on one mission that doesn’t make me feel like garbage after, you know? Can I just save a kitten from a tree or stop some low-tier bank robbery or something? Just… anything that doesn’t go horribly wrong…” She takes another sip and finishes her cup. Didn’t even grimace this time. Guess she’s more resistant than I thought.
“I feel you…” I refill her cup like I promised. “I mean I didn’t think this would be all sunshine and rainbows, but geez…”
“Why can’t we be like Meteorman or Aqua Princess? They get parades and crap! Why don’t we get anything?” There’s no way Viv’s drunk already. She must be just that pissed.
“That’s just how it is.” I shrug.
“Mmf…” Without saying another word, Vivian drinks down her whole glass in one fell swoop. “Give me another.”
“Viv. This will be your last glass for the hour, okay? Slow the hell down. You don’t have my tolerance.”
“What’s wrong, huh? Afraid I’ll drink you under the table?” She looks at me with a scummy grin.
“Yes, Vivian. That’s exactly what I’m scared of.” I roll my eyes.
Vivian looks up at me, opens her mouth, then grimaces and exhales. “I’m sorry… Sorry… thank you for looking out for me.”
I smile. “That’s better.” I pour her and myself one last drink before putting the bottle back in the fridge.
“Just…” Vivian takes a small sip and marvels at the drink. “Damn that’s good… Anyway… just… I never, ever get to complain about anything. It’s nice to just let loose once in a while.”
“What’s stopping you?”
“Do you want to be around someone who complains all the time? I’ve had a few friends where like half of all our conversations are them bitching to me about stuff. It’s not fun. Makes them look whiny and bitchy.”
I can see The Glow growing on Vivian’s face. “I mean only if they’re good at complaining. If people couldn’t be good at bitching, critics wouldn’t get paid.”
“Ugh… fair point…” Vivian takes another sip. “Am I good at complaining so far?”
“Hard to say.” I shrug. “It’s hella weird seeing you like this.”
“Yeah… well… only you get to see this.” Vivian burps.
“Am I good at complaining?” I ask.
“If you sucked at it, I wouldn’t be getting drunk in front of you.”
For some stupid reason, that makes me laugh. “I guess that’s a compliment. How’s this? Bitch to me about anything you want tonight. Nobody gotta know.”
“Oh HELL yeah. Yuko, you’re the best! Aw man where do I even begin with this?”
“A.D. seems like a pretty easy target.”
“Oh SCREW A.D.!” Vivian takes another gulp. “Waaah waaah you murdered a kid! How dare you! How dare you save my life! Screw off! Most human beings with half a brain thank someone who just saved their ass!”
“Thank you for that by the way. I just realized I forgot to thank ya.” I raise my glass to her.
“Aw… Yuko…” She wipes her eye, but there’s no tears. “That’s why you’re my favorite teammate…” She reaches over to pat my shoulder, but slams my boob instead. I’ll just pretend that didn’t happen. Viv looks completely stupid right now. Still lucid, just stupid. “Anyway… like, dude. What? Why? I’m doing what I can here. I don’t see him being a hero or doing anything cool…”
“Yeah. You right.” I agree with her, even though I disagree with her.
“Will’s aight…” She sniffs. “He lightened up after the first mission… though I’d be pretty happy too if my legs started working again.”
“Yeah… do we even know how that happened?”
“I have enough to worry ‘bout all- whoooa-” Vivian plants her hands onto the counter.
“Are you feeling it?”
“I’m really feeling it.” Vivian wiggles her eyebrows at me. “Please, ma’am. May I have some more?”
“No. Once you start feeling it, that’s when you stop. I’m not cleaning up any vom tonight.”
“I’ll let you touch mah titty if you give me another glass.”
“No.” I cross my arms. My spine fidgets for some reason.
“Aaaaw… what’s wrong?” Viv rests her chin on the cereal box. “You don’t like titties?”
“I mean… I don’t care about them? They’re there.”
“Aawww… Yuyu… but titties are so cool…”
“I thought you were supposed to be bitching about things tonight.”
“I was… but… why complain about things when you can talk about titties?” Vivian grins like a complete loser. “Talking about titties is just sooooooo much funner.'' Now she’s chuckling like a complete idiot.
“If you say so.” I chuckle. “Who do you think has the best titties here?”
“Pffffft. You of course. You kidding me? What kinda question is that?”
I bite my lip. Why am I smiling? “Really? They aren’t - like - too big?”
“Nah… naaaah…” Vivian shakes her head. “I like big… Big good… Big very very good…”
Why is my lip quivering? Don’t smile at idiots. “Can you move?” I pat Vivian on the head. “I think we should continue this on your bed so you don’t fall and conk your head open.”
“Thas… a good idea…” Viv stumbles out of her chair, but lands on her feet. “I’m good… I’m good… Yuyu… you’re so smart… and pretty… I’m so happy you’re my friend…” she waddles over to the other end of the bar and hugs me. Her face goes right into my boob and she latches onto me tight. Like, real… real tight…
“Can you carry me to bed… Please…?” Vivian looks up at me with pleading eyes.
That’s so cute…
“Sure.” My hand plays with her hair before I start walking her back to our room. I plop her on her bed and sit beside her. “Is your stomach hurting? Are you hot? Are you nauseous?”
“Well… I mean… I’m always hot.” Vivian winks.
I sigh and get out of her bed. “Go to bed, Viv.”
“Aaaw… you called me Viv…” Vivian smiles before snuggling up with her pillow and closing her eyes. “Goodnight… Yuyu…”
I stand over her for a moment. Just a moment. Nothing wrong with a moment… right? Just… what do I do? Like… her forehead looks very kissable… Nothing wrong with a forehead kiss right? That’s not weird… right? But… she looks so cute like this… My breath’s uneasy… My legs and arms won’t quit shaking… No. No. Yuko. That’s the alcohol talking. Just go to bed.
I fall into my bed, tuck myself in, and face the wall away from Viv. Why did I call her Viv? Because Viv has two fewer syllables than Vivian. It makes complete sense why I would shorten it...
Just as I’m about to drift off to sleep, Viv starts talking again.
“Hey… Yuko…”
“Go to bed.”
“Wait… Is just one more thing… then I’ll shut… oki?”
“Okay… what is it?”
“Couldn’t Ansem just wish Genie to open Kingdom Hearts for him?”
“Go to bed, Viv.”
“Okay…”
… Oh my god… Ansem totally could’ve asked Genie to open Kingdom Hearts...