[SS] A Summer Reverie
Posted: April 24th, 2016, 12:38 pmby Zunar
A few months after the events of A Rude Awakening, Alex and friends take a trip to the beach during summer vacation. While there, they stumble upon a mysterious hideout, and find themselves in a bit of a jam...
(A/N This story decently long, being roughly 8,500 words versus the prequel which is just over 5,700. It's also a little slower in terms of getting to the action. Just a forewarning.)
(A/N This story decently long, being roughly 8,500 words versus the prequel which is just over 5,700. It's also a little slower in terms of getting to the action. Just a forewarning.)
A Summer Reverie: show
I breathe a sigh of relief as I turn in my last final exam. Finally, the semester's over; no more classes or homework to worry about for a few months. Reinvigorated by this fact, I leave the sciences building and head for my room to drop off my books.
About ten minutes later I re-emerge from the dorms, sans the heavy burden on my shoulders. During the school months, if I'm not wearing my backpack I almost feel naked, but now it only heightens the feeling of freedom.
I take a deep breath, inhaling the warm summer air, while the sun beats down on me. My only complaint is that it's a little too hot for my tastes. Maybe I should change into shorts instead of these jeans...
"Senpaaaaaai!"
Distracted from my thoughts, I look up to see Marie bounding towards me, being her usual energetic self. Almost too energetic if you ask me. Her blonde twintails bounce with each step, accentuating the image.
"Marie, you really don't need to-"
Before I can finish my sentence she hugs me tightly, giggling happily. "School's over! Now we can have fun!"
"Not... so tight..." I gasp. "Can't... breathe..."
She loosens her grip slightly, enough that I can breathe properly.
"Like was saying, you really don't need to glomp me every time like that," I say once I catch my breath.
"But don't you like hugs, Senpai?"
"It's not that, it's just... people might get the wrong idea, y'know?"
"Wrong idea? Whatever do you mean?" Her teasing smile as she says this all but confirms my suspicions.
I sigh. I should've known. I've tried many times before, but she's too stubborn. Must be all that anime she watches.
"Seriously though, can you let go of me now?"
"Nope."
Well that was blunt.
"Now that summer's here I can hug you aaaaaaallllll day."
As if the blazing sun wasn't bad enough, being enveloped by the arms of another person only intensifies the high temperature. I become aware of the sweat starting to soak the collar of my t-shirt.
"It's hot, I'm dying here. Can you please let me go?" One thing I know about Marie, she's a sucker for 'please'. At least, when it comes to me.
Sure enough, she reluctantly releases me, pouting.
"I swear, it's like I need more of me to satisfy you." This was more of a comment to myself, but I decided to say it aloud anyway.
She takes in this statement for a moment. During this time, I notice she's wearing her usual outfit: a blue blouse and black skirt, complete with matching shoes and handbag. Can't say I'm a big fan, but at least it matches. Then again, I'm no expert on fashion sense, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
An odd smile crosses Marie's face. "Even ten of you couldn't satisfy me, Senpai."
For a moment I'm confused, but then I realize what she's saying. "I didn't mean it like that. Get your mind out of the gutter. Seriously." Sometimes I hate how she loves taking things the wrong way. I bet she does it intentionally too, just to mess with me.
"Uh-huh. Suuuuure."
My phone thankfully rings, saving me from this conversation. I don't even look at the caller ID before flipping it open.
"Hey Alex, you got any plans for this summer?" It's Josh.
"Not at the moment. Why?"
"I was thinking about going down to the beach, wanna come with?"
I should've known Josh would ask me about this. He goes to the beach just about every summer.
"I know you usually say no, but I wanted to ask just in case you had a change of heart. It's not as fun when I'm alone."
"Well..." I feel bad about turning him down so much, so I give it some thought.
"Who is it, Senpai?" Marie is clearly trying to listen to the phone and figure out who called me.
"It's Josh. Now hush, I'm thinking."
"Was that Marie?" Josh asks.
"Yeah, she's with me."
"Dude, bring her with you. We'll have a blast."
He's not wrong, I'm sure Marie would love to go to the beach. Especially with me. Before I think too much about it, another thought occurs to me. "But what about Nicole? She'd be lonely if we all left."
"The more the merrier. Bring her too."
"But she doesn't like going to the beach, remember?"
"Just invite her, man. I have a good feeling this time."
I sigh. He's really adamant about this. "Okay, I'll ask. No promises though."
I can almost picture him fistpumping victoriously. "Yessss! I'm gonna get packing, talk to you later!" He hangs up and I slip my phone back into my pocket.
"What did he want?"
"He asked me if I wanted to go to the beach with him."
"But what about me? I don't know what I'd do if Senpai left me..." She pouts again, obviously being melodramatic.
"I didn't say I would. But he did tell me to bring you with me."
"Go to the beach with Senpai?! Omigosh when do we leave?!"
It's moments like this when I swear this girl is bipolar.
"He didn't say when, but he did mention he was going to start packing so I'd guess probably in the next few days..."
"Omigosh I have to get ready. I need a new swimsuit and sunscreen and-" I don't bother trying to digest the subsequent verbal torrent. In the middle of it, she suddenly realizes she's been rambling and looks up at me. "I'll see you later Senpai!" She quickly dashes off to the girls' dorm, her twintails flapping wildly behind her.
Welp, I guess there's no turning back now. Sighing, I pull out my phone again and thumb through my contacts until I find Nicole's number.
"Hey Nicole. What's up?"
"Just finished unpacking my books and stuff. You?"
"Same. I wanted to ask you... do you have plans for this summer?"
"Not really, why?"
I explain Josh's invitation to the beach and ask if she wants to join us.
"You know I don't care for beaches." Her tone is annoyed, as if thinking 'Why did you even bother asking'.
"Figured you'd say that. You might be lonely though."
"You mean you're going with him?" She sounds shocked, but it's not entirely unwarranted; I don't often go to places like the beach.
"I really don't have a choice. After Marie heard about it..."
"Don't tell me she's blackmailing you or something."
Is that a hint of venom I detect in your voice, Nicole? "Not exactly. She just got all excited about going and I don't have the heart to disappoint her."
"Have fun." Her tone is dry, unenthusiastic.
"That's it? You're not going to stop me or anything?"
"It's not like I can stop you."
"You could at least try to convince me otherwise."
"Why should I? If you want to go to the beach, that's not my decision."
"But if I go, that leaves you by yourself."
"I have other friends I can hang out with. I'm not helpless without you."
"I really will go, whether you're coming or not."
"Go. I don't care. Enjoy your time at the beach with Miss Senpai."
Click. I bring my phone down and look at the screen. She hung up on me. What's her problem? I'll never understand women.
I can't believe it, I'm actually going to the beach with Senpai. This is literally like the best day of my life. Well actually, 'weekend' is more accurate, since I've been told we'll be staying there a weekend. It'll fly by fast though, so I'll have to make sure I make good use of the time.
Those thoughts have gone through my head about five times, yet I still can hardly believe I'm riding in a car to the beach. The only way this could be better is if Senpai was in the backseat with me, but of course he had to sit up front in the passenger's seat.
"Senpaaaai... why didn't you sit back here with meeeee..." I'm not actually whining, I just love acting ditzy. It's so fun.
"Because there's really not enough room in the backseat for three," he replies.
"Nicole could've sat up front."
"That... wouldn't have been a good idea."
"Why not?" I know full well why not, but I'm curious how he'd respond so I play dumb.
"Let's just leave it at that, 'kay?" He clearly doesn't want to elaborate.
I look over to the girl sitting next to me; obviously she's the reason why.
I sit back against the seat and huff with my arms crossed. Eventually though I get bored and turn to watch the scenery outside the window. It's really quite pretty; the trees and plants are in bloom, though I only get a fleeting glance due to how fast we're going.
Eventually the mountains give way to the ocean. It's already packed with people despite only being two days into summer break.
"There's a lot of people here," I comment.
"Well yeah, it is summer," Josh replies. "If you want empty beaches you should come down here during the winter."
I scoff. "No thanks. I'm not a fan of freezing my butt off." We share a laugh at this.
"My parents have a condo out here, so we don't have to worry about finding a hotel room or anything," Josh explains. "Plus it's right on the beach, so it's really convenient."
"Wow, are your parents rich or something?" I ask, surprised.
"I wouldn't say 'rich', but they're pretty well off." He doesn't go into more detail and I don't ask.
A little while later we arrive at the condo and unpack all our things. We left late morning and it's late afternoon by now, so we don't really have time to enjoy the beach today. Tomorrow though, that's a different story. We're gonna get up bright and early and hit the beach. I'll drag Senpai out of bed if I have to.
It's only just dawned and she's already dragged him out to the beach. Sheesh. Obviously we weren't going to let them go by themselves, so Josh and I went too. We brought plenty of toys (water guns, a beach ball, etc), so we stay for a while.
Some time later, we're all sitting on the beach, a little exhausted from the excitement.
"It's been a while since I last came to the beach," Alex comments. "It's refreshing. Thanks for inviting me."
"No problemo, man. I'm just glad you decided to come this year. You always turn me down when I invite you."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I felt kinda bad about it. Plus I didn't have the heart to disappoint a certain someone." He nods toward Marie.
She giggles. "You know better than to disappoint me, right Senpai?"
Seriously? Are there barf bags here on the beach, because I'll need one if she keeps that up. Better change the subject before things get out of hand.
"So you come here every year, Josh?" I ask.
"Pretty much. I mean why the heck not? My parents let me use the condo for free, as long as I don't junk it up. They even said I could take some friends, which is why I invited you guys along."
"You mentioned it wouldn't be as fun when you're alone, but wouldn't you just spend the time watching girls on the beach?"
Alex took the words right out of my mouth. Underneath his sunglasses I know Josh's eyes are following every girl that walks by. Figures that'd be the main reason for coming to the beach.
"Hey, I'm a guy after all. Chicks come to the beach to be looked at. Why else would they be wearing bikinis?"
"There is at least one girl here that isn't." I notice Alex was looking at me when he said this. He's correct; I opted for a more conservative swimsuit, like a rational girl, unlike a certain other female who is all too aware of her current attire.
"Yeah, well, she doesn't count."
"Rude," I retort.
"I mean, you didn't want to come at first. Which reminds me... why the change of heart?"
"Well... my roommate was pushing me to get out and do something, so I thought I'd be a little adventurous."
That's not all a lie, though what really happened is she convinced me I couldn't just let Alex go to the beach with another girl. But of course I'm not going to say that out loud.
"You sure it's not just because you'd be lonely without us?"
I glare at Alex. If looks could kill, he would be a dead man. They can't though, and he simply laughs.
Deciding to change the subject, I stand up. "Well, now that we've had some beach fun, what say we check out the city?"
Alex nods. "That sounds fun. I'm curious what's around. Maybe there's a Mack's around here, I could go for a burger right about now."
"Is food all you ever think about, Senpai?" Marie asks, clearly teasing.
"Of course not. Sometimes I think about thinking about food." He grins.
"Thought-ception? Too deep for me, man," Josh remarks.
We all share a laugh at this as we head back to the condo.
While Marie takes her shower, I brush my hair. I wonder if I should cut it; it is summertime after all. I like my hair long, but maybe I should try cutting it just once. It'll grow back eventually if I don't like it short. Maybe I'll dye it too, just to see Alex's reaction. Change it from jet black to a light brown, like his. Hmm.
I decide to ponder this later, fussing with my hair a bit more until it looks decent, then dressing in a green blouse and blue shorts. Returning to the living room, I find Josh and Alex watching TV.
"Did you guys even shower?" I ask suspiciously.
"Of course we did," Alex replies. "We don't take forever like you girls do."
Josh nods in agreement. "Ten minutes, tops. You and Marie have taken half an hour, and still counting."
I roll my eyes. "Well excuse us for not being speed showerers. We actually care about getting clean, unlike you two."
"We get plenty clean, we can just do it faster than you."
I sigh. There's no winning this, might as well quit while I'm behind. "Whatever."
"There's room for one more." Alex gestures toward the empty space on the couch next to him. With nothing better to do, I sit down and join them in waiting for our ditzy companion. Soon enough she emerges and we head off. Fortunately the condo isn't far from the town so we walk, making idle chatter along the way.
A little while later we're leaving a local burger shop, having filled our stomachs.
"Whew, that was good. Never thought I'd find a burger that would rival one from Mack's," Josh comments.
"They always say local places are better than the chains," I answer matter-of-factly. "And I have to agree, that was great."
"So what's the plan?" Alex asks. "You two wanna go shopping while Josh and I go sightseeing?"
"Not a bad idea, Senpai!" Marie replies enthusiastically. "I saw one place that looked interesting on the way here."
Alex looks at me for my response. Any plan that doesn't involve her being with Alex is a good one, even if it means I have to deal with her. Come to think of it, maybe this would be a good chance to talk to her. "Sure, sounds good."
"Alright. Let's meet back here in a few hours? Say... about 3 o'clock?" Josh suggests.
I nod. "No objections here. Worst case we can call each other."
We say our farewells and part. This day promises to be interesting...
Josh and I stroll down the streets, making mental notes of what's around.
"There's a sporting good store, a jewelry store... Hey, is that a fudge shop?"
I follow Josh's gaze. Sure enough, there's a small corner shop with the name 'Fudge-Right'. "Oh man, some fudge sounds amazing right now..."
"You just had lunch and you're already hungry again? Dang man, you have some crazy metabolism."
I scoff. "There's always room for fudge. Maybe we should get some for the girls, I'm sure they would love some too. Tell you what, I'll buy. That good enough for you?"
Josh laughs. "I'm not one to turn down free food. Lead on, my man."
About ten minutes later we emerge with a bag containing four boxes of fudge, one for each of us.
"Where to next, moneybags?" Josh asks as I open a box and pop a piece of fudge into my mouth.
I take a few moments to enjoy the chocolatey goodness before answering. "I picked the first place. Your turn next."
Josh sighs. "If I must. But first, a question."
Well this is ominous. Nobody says that for just a simple question.
"So... which one's your type?"
I almost choke on my next piece of fudge. "Excuse me?"
"You know what I mean. The two chicks you brought with you."
I should've seen this coming from a mile away, but I thought we could have a normal guys hangout. Oh how naive I was.
"What brought this on?"
Josh grins. "Just honest curiosity. Don't dodge the question."
I struggle to think of a response. I suddenly hit on one and return a grin of my own. "You into one of them or something?"
He scoffs. "As if. I wouldn't have bothered coming to the beach in that case. Besides, they're both clearly into you. Especially Marie."
"She does make it pretty obvious, doesn't she?" I laugh. "Honestly it's kind of annoying, but I deal with it because I don't have the heart to break hers."
"You shouldn't lead her on like that, dude."
"Did I ask for advice on my love life?" I retort.
"Look man, I'm telling you this as a bro. Chicks do crazy stuff when you make them upset. You need to watch yourself."
"Whatever." I start walking. "I wonder if there's an arcade or something around here?"
"You come to the beach and look for an arcade? Wow dude, your nerd points just went through the roof."
"They weren't already?" I answer, chuckling.
"No comment."
Sure enough, after some searching we find an arcade. We enter and cash in for a pile of quarters, which I split with Josh. About an hour later my supply of quarters is dwindling, so I go see how Josh is doing. It takes me a little while to find him; he's off in a secluded corner playing some kind of rhythm game.
"Never knew you were a fan of Simon Says."
"Dude, something's off with this game."
I notice the machine has not given him any tickets. "Yeah, your rhythm. Obviously."
He shakes his head. "No, really. Watch." He pops a quarter into the machine. It plays a pattern of notes in a specific rhythm and he follows along perfectly.
I'm just about to say "Seems fine to me" when I hear an odd mechanical click, just barely audible over the noise of the other games.
"Hear that?"
I nod. "Yeah... what was that?"
He inserts another quarter and plays again. Again there's a soft click afterwards.
"Now watch when I hit notes now." He pushes a few buttons in a specific order. A different, deeper sounding click sounds, one that's more audible.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I ask.
"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then yes."
"Some kind of secret combination?"
He nods. "Basically. I've been trying to figure it out, but I've only got this far." He digs in his pocket for a moment, then looks up at me. "Also I'm out of quarters."
Sighing, I reach into my pocket and pull out my remaining few, quickly counting them off. "I've only got ten more."
Before we can try another combination, a gruff voice comes from behind us. "Hey, you kids."
We turn around to see a tall man with a large build approaching. With a tattoo on his left arm and black hair tied into a ponytail, he gives off a "thug" impression.
"Yes?"
He stops a few feet in front of us, looking upon us with a pressuring gaze. "Don't you know that game is broken?"
"Broken?" I echo, confused.
"You've been playing it for this long and haven't noticed it hasn't given you a single ticket?" His tone has a suspicious edge on it, as if he thinks we're up to something.
"I guess we're just that bad at it. Right Josh?" I look to him, hoping he'll catch on.
He nods. "Yeah, that's probably it."
The man glares at us. He's clearly not buying it. "Even if you lose, it gives you one ticket. Every one of the games here does. Why keep playing this game when it's not giving you any at all?"
Uh-oh. He's onto us. Though the fact that he's acting suspicious of us could mean we're right about the game being more than it seems.
"We were just thinking maybe it was like stuck or something, and if we played it enough it would spit them all out for us."
Even I have to admit that's hard to believe. Clearly he's thinking the same thing; you can almost see the suspicion in his eyes.
"Why do you care anyway?" Josh asks.
"I run the place, kid."
"Even better then. I mean, we're the ones putting our own cash into the game, not you. It's more money in your pocket."
He considers Josh for a few moments. "Tch, whatever, suit yourself. I'm watching you kids though. You do anything funny and I'll know." He retreats behind the counter.
I breathe a sigh of relief. "That was close. I owe you one."
He shakes his head. "It's cool. We were both in that fix, after all."
"Do you think he's really watching us?"
"I doubt it. He probably just wanted to scare us."
"Well, we only have ten quarters left anyway. We'll have to leave soon enough."
We try a few more times, in vain. On our final quarter, there's a third, even deeper click, and the wall beside the machine starts sliding open, revealing a hidden passageway.
"Jackpot." Josh glances toward the counter, but the arcade owner doesn't seem to be watching us. "We may not get another chance. It's now or never."
He's right. With a final look to make sure we're not being watched, we hurry into the passageway. Conveniently there's handle on the inside, so I use it to slide the wall closed behind us.
Lanterns hanging on the walls light the way forward. The hallway seems to lead underground. I look at Josh; I can tell he's curious about what's ahead, but also afraid of what we might find. We can't turn back now though. I start walking and he falls in behind me.
We walk for what seems like forever, seemingly going deeper and deeper underground. The only sounds to be heard are the flickering of the lanterns and our footsteps echoing off the walls.
The silence is unnerving me too much. I have to break it. "Any ideas where this might lead?" It's only after I say that I realize just how much the walls amplify the sound; the normal volume question sounds really loud, like I had shouted it.
Josh realizes this too. He whispers his response. "Maybe it's some kind of hideout for criminals or something. That owner guy looked like he could be one."
You really shouldn't judge a book by its cover Josh, but I get your point.
"I mean, just think. Imagine if we found and exposed a whole gang of criminals. We'd practically become famous." He's barely able to contain his excitement to just a whisper.
"And we'd have a huge target painted on our backs," I point out.
"Killjoy."
"Hey, I'm just being real here. If we were famous for that, we'd have a whole crime ring after us. I doubt we'd last a week."
Josh doesn't respond to this, so we walk a bit further in silence.
"I mean sure, shutting down a crime group would be cool, but only if we can do it without people knowing it was us."
"And how do you propose we do that?"
"I have no idea," I admit. "We'll just have to wing it and hope nothing bad happens."
Onward we walk, eventually ending up in a large room. There's a table in the middle of the room, surrounded by chairs. It looks like some kind of meeting place, though whether or not it's for anything shady is unclear.
As we're taking in this scene, I hear Josh exclaim behind me, and the thud of something hitting the floor. Whirling around, I see Josh is pinned to the ground by a large man wearing a black sleeveless tank top.
Without thinking I launch myself at Josh's attacker, knocking him sideways and off of Josh. Before I can react my left jaw is struck hard, dazing me. The culprit throws me off and advances on Josh again, tackling him once more. They wrestle for a few moments, rolling across the floor toward the wall. He takes the opportunity and throws his weight toward the wall, slamming Josh's face into it.
I regain my senses just in time to see Josh's arms drop limply to the floor. I throw myself at the assailant, aiming a punch for his throat. It connects and I pull my fist back for a follow-up jab, but he grabs me and flips me over his back. I remember my head slamming onto the cold stone, and then... blackness.
"Hey Marie?"
"Yeah?"
"This might just be me, but... you're not as ditzy as you seem, are you?"
She stops walking and turns to me, smiling. "Well, aren't you observant."
"I mean, not to be rude or anything, it's just..." I struggle to think of how to word this. "I guess I had this image of you as a big ditz, but I'm starting to think maybe I'm wrong."
She giggles. "I do go a bit over the top, don't I?"
"That's putting it mildly. You really like him, then?"
She tilts her head in thought. "Well... it's kinda complicated. I get the sense he's pushing me aside on purpose, like he doesn't feel the same way."
"Yet you still keep trying?"
A complex expression crosses her face. "That's where it gets a little complicated. I enjoy acting like a ditz and getting his attention, but I've been doing it so long in vain I've just kinda accepted I'll never be with him. Since he hasn't outright pushed me away, I think part of me is still hanging on with a little hope."
Huh, so she isn't as one-dimensional as I thought. I'm impressed.
"Maybe he's just too nice to turn you away?" Knowing Alex, this would make sense; he's one of the nicest guys I know.
"You might be right. Senpai is a really nice guy."
"I've been meaning to ask... why do you call him that?" The question had crossed my mind many times, there was just never a good time to bring it up.
"I called him that one day as a joke and it stuck. After all, he really is my senpai. Plus I like the way it sounds. It fits well with my ditzy act."
"You sure it's not because you watch a lot of anime?" I can't resist the urge to tease her a bit.
"That's a part of it. Can't deny that." She laughs.
This shopping is proving to be more fun that I originally thought. After a few more shops, I look at the time. It's almost 2:30 now.
"Maybe we should head back now?" I suggest. These bags are starting to get heavy.
Marie nods. "Might not be a bad idea. We were going to meet in front of that burger place, right?"
We head to our destination, but the guys are nowhere to be seen. Not entirely unexpected; we're still early.
"Now what? We wait?" Marie asks.
"I'll try calling." I pull out my phone and dial Alex's number. It rings a few times, then voicemail. That's odd, Alex has never ignored a call from me before. I try again, in vain.
"No good?"
I decide to try Josh's number. A few rings later, voicemail again. "I have a bad feeling about this," I say as I slip my phone back in my pocket. "Any ideas where they might've gone?"
"Maybe they went back already?"
"That's unlikely."
"But not impossible, right? One of us can take the stuff back home and look for them there, the other can look around here in town."
Once again, you impress me with your thinking Marie. Maybe you're not such a bad girl after all.
I nod. "Splitting up is the best way to cover more ground. I'll stay and look around, you take the stuff back home."
"Roger!" Marie does a mock salute and picks up the bags, heading back to the condo.
It's not likely they split up, so if I can find one the other should be around. If I were Alex, where would I be...
My eyes settle on an arcade a few blocks down. Bingo. I head inside and take a look around. It's deserted except for a tall man with a tattoo standing behind the counter.
I walk up to him. "Excuse me, have you seen two guys about my age today? Short hair, one light brown and the other black?"
"Yeah, I saw 'em. They were insistent on playing this one game here even though it's broken and it wasn't giving them any tickets. Couple of weirdos if you ask me." He turns and points to a corner of the arcade. "Over there. Huh, they're gone now. Must've slipped out when I wasn't looking."
I thank the man and walk over to the machine he pointed out. It's a simple rhythm game not unlike Simon Says.
"Why would they be so obsessed with this game?" I wonder aloud. I reach into my bag for a quarter and pop it in. It works, so no problem there. Looking over the machine itself, there doesn't seem to be anything strange.
I almost give up when I notice a crack in the wall just beside it. Peering through it, I think I see some kind of hallway. It doesn't look like part of the arcade, so it piques my interest. Unfortunately, the crack isn't big enough for me to fit my fingers and pry open. I suddenly hit upon an idea and pull out my phone.
"Marie, have you left the condo yet?"
"No, why?"
"Can you bring a screwdriver? One of the flat-headed ones? I think Josh said there was a toolbox in the closet in his room."
"Sure, where are you?"
I briefly explain where the arcade is and why I need said screwdriver.
"Gotcha, I'll be there as soon as I can!"
I've got a bit of a wait ahead of me, so I decide to cash some bills in for quarters and play some of the games. I mean why not, right?
Soon enough Marie shows up and hands me the requested item. I lead her back to the rhythm game and show her the crack in the wall.
"That's definitely suspicious," she says after peering through the crack. "Do you think Senpai and Josh might've gone in there?"
"It's a possibility. It looks like it goes down underground, which would explain why we couldn't reach them. No cell signal underground."
After a bit of working, I'm able to pry open the wall enough to grab it with my hands. It's quite heavy though, so it takes me a bit to pull it open enough for us to fit through it. We close the door behind us once inside, lest someone notices it being open.
I wake to my head throbbing like mad. I try to reach up and massage the wound, but my arms won't move. Looking down, I seem to be tied to a chair.
"Ugh, my head..." I groan.
"Alex? Is that you?"
"Josh? Are you tied up too?"
"Yeah. What a mess we're in, huh?" He chuckles a bit, clearly trying to lighten the mood a bit.
"You all right? That guy really did a number on you."
"My head hurts like hell, but I think I'll live."
I take a look around. The room is very dark, only lit by a single bare bulb hanging directly above us.
"Y'know, if not for the whole being tied up thing, I'd be having deja vu."
Josh laughs. "I know how you feel. This is just like old Graham's basement, isn't it?"
Before I can add anything we hear the squeaky sound of a door opening, followed by heavy footsteps. A man appears in the doorway, though he's too far from the light to make out his features. "Good, you're awake now."
"Who are you?" I ask.
"I knew there was something fishy about you kids. Should've thrown you out when I had the chance." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pistol.
"Wait, I recognize that voice... you're the arcade owner, aren't you?"
The man steps out into the light, confirming our suspicions. "The name's Jirad."
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"This is my secret hideout, I have a right to be here. Unlike two other nosy brats I know who shall remain nameless." He lifts his pistol, aiming it at me.
"You're just going to shoot us?"
He cracks an evil grin. "Don't worry, I'm not shooting to kill. You might want me to after I'm done with you though."
"Why do you need a secret hideout anyway?" I attempt to stall for time while trying to come up with a plan.
"I thought if I got a place like this that nobody could find I wouldn't be disturbed. Apparently I was wrong, because you kids can't mind your own damn business."
"Why an arcade though?" Josh asks.
"Beggars can't be choosers, kid. You'll learn when you're older." Another evil grin. "That is, if you live that long." He takes a step forward. "Now, no more stalling. Who wants it first?"
My brain races for a moment, desperately trying to figure out an escape plan. Unfortunately, I'm bound to this chair so tightly, I can barely move. I try to throw my weight to shift the chair, but it won't budge an inch.
Jirad laughs at my futile attempts. "If you want to be first that badly, who am I to refuse?"
I cringe and brace myself. The next moment there's a gunshot, and pain erupts in my left shoulder. I'm unable to stop myself from crying out in pain. I hear Josh's voice, but am too distracted dealing with my wound to understand what he said.
I look up at Jirad. His expression is sinister, a sadistic smile plastered across his face.
"How's it feel to stick your nose where it doesn't belong?"
All I can do is glare at him, grimacing to hold back more exclamations of pain.
He walks around behind me. "You're next."
I hear Josh protest, then another gunshot and a painful scream. It seemed almost too high-pitched for a guy. Is that what mine sounded like?
"You two be good little boys until I get back, and I MIGHT let you go." He heavily emphasizes the word, smirking. Without another word, he heads back through the dark hallway and up the stairs.
The sound of a gunshot echoes down the hallway, followed by a cry of pain. My stomach lurches; I think I know whose voice that was. Marie chokes back a squeal, obviously recognizing the voice too.
A few moments later, there's another gunshot, and another familiar scream. At least we've found both of them. Let's just pray they're not dead.
I look over at my companion. She's on the verge of tears. Not that I can blame her; I'm fighting some back myself. Whoever shot them is going to pay. Big time.
My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a door creaking open. I quickly look around for a hiding spot but Marie tugs my arm, apparently having found one already. We crouch in the shadows around a corner and watch as a familiar large man walks by. I look over at Marie; she's just as shocked as I am.
What is he doing here?! I mouth.
We wait until his footsteps are far away before emerging and heading down the hallway he came from. We eventually find an old wooden door, presumably the source of the creaking we heard earlier. I press my ear against the door to listen. I can just barely make out voices, though I can't tell what they're saying or how many there are. I turn to Marie and point to my ear, then to the door. She nods in understanding.
It'll be very difficult to get into this room unnoticed considering how loud the door creaks. I heard somewhere that if you open a creaky door fast it creaks less. Considering we have no other options, it seems like the best plan.
Stand back, I mouth to Marie, motioning. I grab the handle and push hard, stopping the door before it bangs against the wall. Opening it fast was a good plan; all that came out of the door was a short, relatively soft creak. The voices inside stop; obviously they heard it, but hopefully no one else did. We slowly creep down the stairs to make as little noise as possible.
I faintly hear Alex whisper "You heard that too, didn't you? That was different than usual."
Josh answers, but his voice is too soft for me to hear.
I reach the corner and slowly peek around it. Alex and Josh are tied to chairs back-to-back in the middle of a dark room, with only a bare lightbulb as a light source. I motion for Marie that it's clear and we hurry over to our friends. Alex's eyes light up when he sees us.
Before he opens his mouth I put my finger to my lips. He nods, then grimaces, glancing over at his shoulder. I notice the bullet wound and involuntarily gasp. That must've been from one of the gunshots we heard earlier. Thank god it was only a nick to the shoulder.
Marie circles around to Josh, making him aware of our presence and also shushing him. I hear her gasp as well, and can only assume Josh has a similar wound. We gotta get these guys untied, pronto.
I examine the ropes binding them to the chairs. They're not too thick, but not exactly thin either. I pull out the screwdriver Marie gave me earlier and dig the edge of it into the thinnest part of the rope. It's not the best tool for the job, but it's working, albiet slowly.
"How did you find us?" Alex whispers.
I briefly explain about us trying to call them, going into the arcade and finding the wall cracked, and the subsequent string of events. By the time I finish, I've almost dug through the rope. I slam the screwdriver against the fray in the rope and it snaps, the ropes falling to the floor. The guys breathe a sigh of relief and jump up, massaging their wrists.
A moment later I'm suddenly wrapped in a half-hug. "Thank you..."
"Ew, you're getting blood on my shirt!" I hear Marie cry. Apparently Josh hugged her just like Alex hugged me.
"While I appreciate the gratitude, maybe we should save it until after we get out of here?" I gently push Alex away to punctuate my point.
"She's right. We're not home free yet. Speaking of which..." Alex looks at me. "Any ideas?"
"The only way I know is back the way we came," I answer.
"There has to be another exit somewhere," Josh says.
Alex nods. "Most likely, but we should probably stick with the one we know. No sense in getting lost looking for an alternate way."
Everyone agrees on this point and we creep back up the stairs, me supporting Alex and Marie helping Josh.
Our pace on the way back is slowed a little by mine and Josh's wounds, but having the girls helps us a little. We walk for a while, but stop when we suddenly hear Jirad's voice. "Damn kids... what's a man have to do to get some peace around here?"
Nicole silently peeks around the corner for a few moments. "He's sitting at a desk," she whispers when she comes back. "He's not facing this way, so if we're careful we should be able to sneak by him."
"Maybe we should go one at a time?" I suggest.
"Good idea," Josh agrees.
Nicole volunteers to go first. She peeks around the corner again and then hurries to the other end of the room. She watches Jirad and motions for me to come. I go as fast as I can, making it safely. So far so good, Josh is next. Then finally Marie. Right before she makes it across though, she trips and falls, hitting the floor with a loud thud.
"What in the hell?!" Jirad jumps up from his desk and whirls around.
Josh grabs Marie and quickly pulls her along. Our need for stealth gone, we sprint as fast as we can down the corridor. Behind us we can hear Jirad's bellowing and heavy footsteps, though it's unclear how far away he is.
"We can't run the whole way," I say. "He's going to catch up."
"You sound like you have a plan," Josh points out.
"One of us will have to stay behind and keep him busy so the others can escape."
"That's suicide. We should all stick together and deal with him when he catches up." Nicole's tone is firm.
"Maybe we can surprise him," Marie suggests. "If we hide around a corner and jump him, we could catch him off guard."
Since when did Marie think of plans? Not that I'm complaining, mind you. "Not a bad idea."
Quickly we coordinate a plan. We round the next corner and line up, waiting for Jirad. As soon as he rounds the corner, Josh and I tackle him to the ground. Sure enough, he seems to have not been expecting that. In the confusion I snatch up his pistol and fling it across the hallway.
Once he realizes I stole his weapon he roars with anger, seizing me by the collar. Josh gives him the old one-two with a right hook to the jaw and then a jab to the throat. He flinches slightly at Josh's attacks, but not enough for me to wriggle out of his grip. Josh throws a hard punch to Jirad's gut which winds him slightly, but his grip stays firm. The next instant Jirad grabs Josh with his free hand and slams him against the wall, dazing him.
Jirad turns his attention back to me, lifting me into the air and squeezing my neck. My legs flail wildly in the air as I struggle to escape his grip, which is only getting tighter by the second. My air supply cut off, I begin to feel light headed.
Nicole charges toward Jirad, wielding her screwdriver as a makeshift dagger. She attempts to stab him in the arm, but he grabs her wrist just before the edge connects. She squeals with pain as he twists it, the screwdriver clattering to the floor. He then kicks her away and she hits the floor hard.
Deja vu settles in, except this time there's no Josh out of nowhere to save me. The scene starts to become hazy, my lungs screaming for precious air. I want to hold on, but I... don't know how much longer... I can take this....
BANG!
There's a gunshot, then a roar of pain and suddenly I'm dropped to the ground. After taking in deep gulps of air I look up to see Marie standing farther up the hallway, Jirad's pistol in her hands.
"I've got your back, Senpai!" she says, her pistol trained on Jirad. My jaw drops. Did she actually just shoot a gun? Who is this girl and what did she do with Marie?
I can hear Jirad groaning in pain behind me. I would almost feel bad for him, had he not just tried to choke me to death. Through his grunts he begins to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Marie asks.
I watch Jirad as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a spherical object with a pin in the top of it. It takes me a moment to realize what it is: a grenade.
"Heh heh... you thought you could get away that easily?"
Marie freezes. Jirad watches her for a few moments, a sinister smile crossing his lips.
"What's the matter, girlie? Aren't you going to shoot me?"
Looking into Marie's eyes, I can tell she won't. The only reason she shot him earlier was because he was hurting me, and even then she only shot his arm. She can't shoot him with intent to kill.
I take a second to assess the situation. Jirad is within arms reach of me and Nicole is lying unconscious only a few feet away. Josh has recovered from his daze but isn't daring to move a muscle, lest he provoke Jirad to pull the pin.
"Better think fast, kids!" Jirad yanks out the pin and drops the grenade at his feet, sprinting off down the corridor.
Before I can even think, I hurry over to Nicole and grab her, pulling her away from the bomb as fast as I can. Its beeping speeds up faster and faster, signaling its explosion. It's clear we aren't going to make it far enough to be completely safe, so I do one final heave and then throw myself on top of her to shield her.
The explosion is deafening and causes the whole corridor to shake. I feel a few shrapnel dig into my legs and back. Josh and Marie emerge from around the corner, hurrying over to us. Josh helps me lift Nicole onto my shoulders. A moment later, his face changes to a horrified expression.
"The ceiling's caving! Hurry!" he cries. We sprint down the hallway, hearing cracking and thudding noises behind us. I'm slowed down a bit by the girl on my shoulders so Josh and Marie run ahead to pull open the exit. They get it open just as I make it there and we tumble out into the arcade in a heap, a dustcloud engulfing us a few moments later.
All the running combined with my wounds has drained my energy. I vaguely recall hearing shouts and Josh and Marie calling for help, but after that... I pass out.
I wake to a dull rhythmic beeping. Opening my eyes, I realize I'm lying in a hospital bed, and said beeping was from a heart monitor. As my vision comes into focus I see a nurse walk over to the bedside.
"You're awake now."
"Yeah." My response was more of a croak than an actual word.
The nurse smiles. "You're lucky, young man. One more inch and a shrapnel would've pierced your lungs."
Right, the grenade. It takes me a second to remember exactly what happened.
"Your friends are waiting outside. I'll tell them you're awake."
I watch her walk out the door. A moment later Nicole, Josh, and Marie hurry into the room. Nicole makes it to the bedside first and throws her arms around my neck. I can hear her whispering to herself "Thank god..."
"How are you feeling?" Josh asks.
"I've been better," I answer.
"Those shrapnel were quite a thorn in your side, weren't they?" He chuckles.
I grin weakly; Josh always knows how to lighten the atmosphere. "What happened after we got out?"
"Josh called the hospital," Marie explains. "We explained what happened and they rushed you straight here."
"What about the arcade owner?"
Marie shrugs. "Somebody else was running the counter. He didn't know anything about the secret passage, nor anything about this self-proclaimed 'owner'."
"Huh. Guess he was lying then."
"Seems like it," Josh says.
I turn my attention to the girl sobbing against my chest. "Y'know, you can let go any day now Nicole."
She shakes her head, refusing to let go.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Marie elbow Josh. "Maybe we should... yknow..."
He nods, grinning. "Catch you two lovebirds later." They exit the room.
"You idiot... scaring me twice in one day..."
"I really screwed up, didn't I?" I sigh. "I should've been more careful. I'm sorry, Nicole."
"Don't apologize... please don't apologize..." She looks up at me with tear-stained eyes.
"Nicole?"
"You got hurt because of me. I was stupid to run at him like that. It's my fault, I should be the one apologizing."
I shake my head. "No, what you did was brave. He was just too strong. Don't blame yourself for that."
"But you risked your life to save me, and-"
"It's okay. There's no use crying over spilt milk. I'm fine and you're not hurt; that's all that matters."
"I don't know what I would've done had I lost you, and that scared me so much..."
I lay my hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sorry, Nicole. But I'm still here, and I'm not going anywhere. It'll take a lot more than some crazy old man with a bomb to do me in."
She smiles, tears still rolling down her cheeks. More words are unnecessary; everything else we want to communicate can be done without them. I may be weak physically, but with Nicole at my side, I'll make it.
Together, nothing will bring us down.
About ten minutes later I re-emerge from the dorms, sans the heavy burden on my shoulders. During the school months, if I'm not wearing my backpack I almost feel naked, but now it only heightens the feeling of freedom.
I take a deep breath, inhaling the warm summer air, while the sun beats down on me. My only complaint is that it's a little too hot for my tastes. Maybe I should change into shorts instead of these jeans...
"Senpaaaaaai!"
Distracted from my thoughts, I look up to see Marie bounding towards me, being her usual energetic self. Almost too energetic if you ask me. Her blonde twintails bounce with each step, accentuating the image.
"Marie, you really don't need to-"
Before I can finish my sentence she hugs me tightly, giggling happily. "School's over! Now we can have fun!"
"Not... so tight..." I gasp. "Can't... breathe..."
She loosens her grip slightly, enough that I can breathe properly.
"Like was saying, you really don't need to glomp me every time like that," I say once I catch my breath.
"But don't you like hugs, Senpai?"
"It's not that, it's just... people might get the wrong idea, y'know?"
"Wrong idea? Whatever do you mean?" Her teasing smile as she says this all but confirms my suspicions.
I sigh. I should've known. I've tried many times before, but she's too stubborn. Must be all that anime she watches.
"Seriously though, can you let go of me now?"
"Nope."
Well that was blunt.
"Now that summer's here I can hug you aaaaaaallllll day."
As if the blazing sun wasn't bad enough, being enveloped by the arms of another person only intensifies the high temperature. I become aware of the sweat starting to soak the collar of my t-shirt.
"It's hot, I'm dying here. Can you please let me go?" One thing I know about Marie, she's a sucker for 'please'. At least, when it comes to me.
Sure enough, she reluctantly releases me, pouting.
"I swear, it's like I need more of me to satisfy you." This was more of a comment to myself, but I decided to say it aloud anyway.
She takes in this statement for a moment. During this time, I notice she's wearing her usual outfit: a blue blouse and black skirt, complete with matching shoes and handbag. Can't say I'm a big fan, but at least it matches. Then again, I'm no expert on fashion sense, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
An odd smile crosses Marie's face. "Even ten of you couldn't satisfy me, Senpai."
For a moment I'm confused, but then I realize what she's saying. "I didn't mean it like that. Get your mind out of the gutter. Seriously." Sometimes I hate how she loves taking things the wrong way. I bet she does it intentionally too, just to mess with me.
"Uh-huh. Suuuuure."
My phone thankfully rings, saving me from this conversation. I don't even look at the caller ID before flipping it open.
"Hey Alex, you got any plans for this summer?" It's Josh.
"Not at the moment. Why?"
"I was thinking about going down to the beach, wanna come with?"
I should've known Josh would ask me about this. He goes to the beach just about every summer.
"I know you usually say no, but I wanted to ask just in case you had a change of heart. It's not as fun when I'm alone."
"Well..." I feel bad about turning him down so much, so I give it some thought.
"Who is it, Senpai?" Marie is clearly trying to listen to the phone and figure out who called me.
"It's Josh. Now hush, I'm thinking."
"Was that Marie?" Josh asks.
"Yeah, she's with me."
"Dude, bring her with you. We'll have a blast."
He's not wrong, I'm sure Marie would love to go to the beach. Especially with me. Before I think too much about it, another thought occurs to me. "But what about Nicole? She'd be lonely if we all left."
"The more the merrier. Bring her too."
"But she doesn't like going to the beach, remember?"
"Just invite her, man. I have a good feeling this time."
I sigh. He's really adamant about this. "Okay, I'll ask. No promises though."
I can almost picture him fistpumping victoriously. "Yessss! I'm gonna get packing, talk to you later!" He hangs up and I slip my phone back into my pocket.
"What did he want?"
"He asked me if I wanted to go to the beach with him."
"But what about me? I don't know what I'd do if Senpai left me..." She pouts again, obviously being melodramatic.
"I didn't say I would. But he did tell me to bring you with me."
"Go to the beach with Senpai?! Omigosh when do we leave?!"
It's moments like this when I swear this girl is bipolar.
"He didn't say when, but he did mention he was going to start packing so I'd guess probably in the next few days..."
"Omigosh I have to get ready. I need a new swimsuit and sunscreen and-" I don't bother trying to digest the subsequent verbal torrent. In the middle of it, she suddenly realizes she's been rambling and looks up at me. "I'll see you later Senpai!" She quickly dashes off to the girls' dorm, her twintails flapping wildly behind her.
Welp, I guess there's no turning back now. Sighing, I pull out my phone again and thumb through my contacts until I find Nicole's number.
"Hey Nicole. What's up?"
"Just finished unpacking my books and stuff. You?"
"Same. I wanted to ask you... do you have plans for this summer?"
"Not really, why?"
I explain Josh's invitation to the beach and ask if she wants to join us.
"You know I don't care for beaches." Her tone is annoyed, as if thinking 'Why did you even bother asking'.
"Figured you'd say that. You might be lonely though."
"You mean you're going with him?" She sounds shocked, but it's not entirely unwarranted; I don't often go to places like the beach.
"I really don't have a choice. After Marie heard about it..."
"Don't tell me she's blackmailing you or something."
Is that a hint of venom I detect in your voice, Nicole? "Not exactly. She just got all excited about going and I don't have the heart to disappoint her."
"Have fun." Her tone is dry, unenthusiastic.
"That's it? You're not going to stop me or anything?"
"It's not like I can stop you."
"You could at least try to convince me otherwise."
"Why should I? If you want to go to the beach, that's not my decision."
"But if I go, that leaves you by yourself."
"I have other friends I can hang out with. I'm not helpless without you."
"I really will go, whether you're coming or not."
"Go. I don't care. Enjoy your time at the beach with Miss Senpai."
Click. I bring my phone down and look at the screen. She hung up on me. What's her problem? I'll never understand women.
I can't believe it, I'm actually going to the beach with Senpai. This is literally like the best day of my life. Well actually, 'weekend' is more accurate, since I've been told we'll be staying there a weekend. It'll fly by fast though, so I'll have to make sure I make good use of the time.
Those thoughts have gone through my head about five times, yet I still can hardly believe I'm riding in a car to the beach. The only way this could be better is if Senpai was in the backseat with me, but of course he had to sit up front in the passenger's seat.
"Senpaaaai... why didn't you sit back here with meeeee..." I'm not actually whining, I just love acting ditzy. It's so fun.
"Because there's really not enough room in the backseat for three," he replies.
"Nicole could've sat up front."
"That... wouldn't have been a good idea."
"Why not?" I know full well why not, but I'm curious how he'd respond so I play dumb.
"Let's just leave it at that, 'kay?" He clearly doesn't want to elaborate.
I look over to the girl sitting next to me; obviously she's the reason why.
I sit back against the seat and huff with my arms crossed. Eventually though I get bored and turn to watch the scenery outside the window. It's really quite pretty; the trees and plants are in bloom, though I only get a fleeting glance due to how fast we're going.
Eventually the mountains give way to the ocean. It's already packed with people despite only being two days into summer break.
"There's a lot of people here," I comment.
"Well yeah, it is summer," Josh replies. "If you want empty beaches you should come down here during the winter."
I scoff. "No thanks. I'm not a fan of freezing my butt off." We share a laugh at this.
"My parents have a condo out here, so we don't have to worry about finding a hotel room or anything," Josh explains. "Plus it's right on the beach, so it's really convenient."
"Wow, are your parents rich or something?" I ask, surprised.
"I wouldn't say 'rich', but they're pretty well off." He doesn't go into more detail and I don't ask.
A little while later we arrive at the condo and unpack all our things. We left late morning and it's late afternoon by now, so we don't really have time to enjoy the beach today. Tomorrow though, that's a different story. We're gonna get up bright and early and hit the beach. I'll drag Senpai out of bed if I have to.
It's only just dawned and she's already dragged him out to the beach. Sheesh. Obviously we weren't going to let them go by themselves, so Josh and I went too. We brought plenty of toys (water guns, a beach ball, etc), so we stay for a while.
Some time later, we're all sitting on the beach, a little exhausted from the excitement.
"It's been a while since I last came to the beach," Alex comments. "It's refreshing. Thanks for inviting me."
"No problemo, man. I'm just glad you decided to come this year. You always turn me down when I invite you."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I felt kinda bad about it. Plus I didn't have the heart to disappoint a certain someone." He nods toward Marie.
She giggles. "You know better than to disappoint me, right Senpai?"
Seriously? Are there barf bags here on the beach, because I'll need one if she keeps that up. Better change the subject before things get out of hand.
"So you come here every year, Josh?" I ask.
"Pretty much. I mean why the heck not? My parents let me use the condo for free, as long as I don't junk it up. They even said I could take some friends, which is why I invited you guys along."
"You mentioned it wouldn't be as fun when you're alone, but wouldn't you just spend the time watching girls on the beach?"
Alex took the words right out of my mouth. Underneath his sunglasses I know Josh's eyes are following every girl that walks by. Figures that'd be the main reason for coming to the beach.
"Hey, I'm a guy after all. Chicks come to the beach to be looked at. Why else would they be wearing bikinis?"
"There is at least one girl here that isn't." I notice Alex was looking at me when he said this. He's correct; I opted for a more conservative swimsuit, like a rational girl, unlike a certain other female who is all too aware of her current attire.
"Yeah, well, she doesn't count."
"Rude," I retort.
"I mean, you didn't want to come at first. Which reminds me... why the change of heart?"
"Well... my roommate was pushing me to get out and do something, so I thought I'd be a little adventurous."
That's not all a lie, though what really happened is she convinced me I couldn't just let Alex go to the beach with another girl. But of course I'm not going to say that out loud.
"You sure it's not just because you'd be lonely without us?"
I glare at Alex. If looks could kill, he would be a dead man. They can't though, and he simply laughs.
Deciding to change the subject, I stand up. "Well, now that we've had some beach fun, what say we check out the city?"
Alex nods. "That sounds fun. I'm curious what's around. Maybe there's a Mack's around here, I could go for a burger right about now."
"Is food all you ever think about, Senpai?" Marie asks, clearly teasing.
"Of course not. Sometimes I think about thinking about food." He grins.
"Thought-ception? Too deep for me, man," Josh remarks.
We all share a laugh at this as we head back to the condo.
While Marie takes her shower, I brush my hair. I wonder if I should cut it; it is summertime after all. I like my hair long, but maybe I should try cutting it just once. It'll grow back eventually if I don't like it short. Maybe I'll dye it too, just to see Alex's reaction. Change it from jet black to a light brown, like his. Hmm.
I decide to ponder this later, fussing with my hair a bit more until it looks decent, then dressing in a green blouse and blue shorts. Returning to the living room, I find Josh and Alex watching TV.
"Did you guys even shower?" I ask suspiciously.
"Of course we did," Alex replies. "We don't take forever like you girls do."
Josh nods in agreement. "Ten minutes, tops. You and Marie have taken half an hour, and still counting."
I roll my eyes. "Well excuse us for not being speed showerers. We actually care about getting clean, unlike you two."
"We get plenty clean, we can just do it faster than you."
I sigh. There's no winning this, might as well quit while I'm behind. "Whatever."
"There's room for one more." Alex gestures toward the empty space on the couch next to him. With nothing better to do, I sit down and join them in waiting for our ditzy companion. Soon enough she emerges and we head off. Fortunately the condo isn't far from the town so we walk, making idle chatter along the way.
A little while later we're leaving a local burger shop, having filled our stomachs.
"Whew, that was good. Never thought I'd find a burger that would rival one from Mack's," Josh comments.
"They always say local places are better than the chains," I answer matter-of-factly. "And I have to agree, that was great."
"So what's the plan?" Alex asks. "You two wanna go shopping while Josh and I go sightseeing?"
"Not a bad idea, Senpai!" Marie replies enthusiastically. "I saw one place that looked interesting on the way here."
Alex looks at me for my response. Any plan that doesn't involve her being with Alex is a good one, even if it means I have to deal with her. Come to think of it, maybe this would be a good chance to talk to her. "Sure, sounds good."
"Alright. Let's meet back here in a few hours? Say... about 3 o'clock?" Josh suggests.
I nod. "No objections here. Worst case we can call each other."
We say our farewells and part. This day promises to be interesting...
Josh and I stroll down the streets, making mental notes of what's around.
"There's a sporting good store, a jewelry store... Hey, is that a fudge shop?"
I follow Josh's gaze. Sure enough, there's a small corner shop with the name 'Fudge-Right'. "Oh man, some fudge sounds amazing right now..."
"You just had lunch and you're already hungry again? Dang man, you have some crazy metabolism."
I scoff. "There's always room for fudge. Maybe we should get some for the girls, I'm sure they would love some too. Tell you what, I'll buy. That good enough for you?"
Josh laughs. "I'm not one to turn down free food. Lead on, my man."
About ten minutes later we emerge with a bag containing four boxes of fudge, one for each of us.
"Where to next, moneybags?" Josh asks as I open a box and pop a piece of fudge into my mouth.
I take a few moments to enjoy the chocolatey goodness before answering. "I picked the first place. Your turn next."
Josh sighs. "If I must. But first, a question."
Well this is ominous. Nobody says that for just a simple question.
"So... which one's your type?"
I almost choke on my next piece of fudge. "Excuse me?"
"You know what I mean. The two chicks you brought with you."
I should've seen this coming from a mile away, but I thought we could have a normal guys hangout. Oh how naive I was.
"What brought this on?"
Josh grins. "Just honest curiosity. Don't dodge the question."
I struggle to think of a response. I suddenly hit on one and return a grin of my own. "You into one of them or something?"
He scoffs. "As if. I wouldn't have bothered coming to the beach in that case. Besides, they're both clearly into you. Especially Marie."
"She does make it pretty obvious, doesn't she?" I laugh. "Honestly it's kind of annoying, but I deal with it because I don't have the heart to break hers."
"You shouldn't lead her on like that, dude."
"Did I ask for advice on my love life?" I retort.
"Look man, I'm telling you this as a bro. Chicks do crazy stuff when you make them upset. You need to watch yourself."
"Whatever." I start walking. "I wonder if there's an arcade or something around here?"
"You come to the beach and look for an arcade? Wow dude, your nerd points just went through the roof."
"They weren't already?" I answer, chuckling.
"No comment."
Sure enough, after some searching we find an arcade. We enter and cash in for a pile of quarters, which I split with Josh. About an hour later my supply of quarters is dwindling, so I go see how Josh is doing. It takes me a little while to find him; he's off in a secluded corner playing some kind of rhythm game.
"Never knew you were a fan of Simon Says."
"Dude, something's off with this game."
I notice the machine has not given him any tickets. "Yeah, your rhythm. Obviously."
He shakes his head. "No, really. Watch." He pops a quarter into the machine. It plays a pattern of notes in a specific rhythm and he follows along perfectly.
I'm just about to say "Seems fine to me" when I hear an odd mechanical click, just barely audible over the noise of the other games.
"Hear that?"
I nod. "Yeah... what was that?"
He inserts another quarter and plays again. Again there's a soft click afterwards.
"Now watch when I hit notes now." He pushes a few buttons in a specific order. A different, deeper sounding click sounds, one that's more audible.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I ask.
"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then yes."
"Some kind of secret combination?"
He nods. "Basically. I've been trying to figure it out, but I've only got this far." He digs in his pocket for a moment, then looks up at me. "Also I'm out of quarters."
Sighing, I reach into my pocket and pull out my remaining few, quickly counting them off. "I've only got ten more."
Before we can try another combination, a gruff voice comes from behind us. "Hey, you kids."
We turn around to see a tall man with a large build approaching. With a tattoo on his left arm and black hair tied into a ponytail, he gives off a "thug" impression.
"Yes?"
He stops a few feet in front of us, looking upon us with a pressuring gaze. "Don't you know that game is broken?"
"Broken?" I echo, confused.
"You've been playing it for this long and haven't noticed it hasn't given you a single ticket?" His tone has a suspicious edge on it, as if he thinks we're up to something.
"I guess we're just that bad at it. Right Josh?" I look to him, hoping he'll catch on.
He nods. "Yeah, that's probably it."
The man glares at us. He's clearly not buying it. "Even if you lose, it gives you one ticket. Every one of the games here does. Why keep playing this game when it's not giving you any at all?"
Uh-oh. He's onto us. Though the fact that he's acting suspicious of us could mean we're right about the game being more than it seems.
"We were just thinking maybe it was like stuck or something, and if we played it enough it would spit them all out for us."
Even I have to admit that's hard to believe. Clearly he's thinking the same thing; you can almost see the suspicion in his eyes.
"Why do you care anyway?" Josh asks.
"I run the place, kid."
"Even better then. I mean, we're the ones putting our own cash into the game, not you. It's more money in your pocket."
He considers Josh for a few moments. "Tch, whatever, suit yourself. I'm watching you kids though. You do anything funny and I'll know." He retreats behind the counter.
I breathe a sigh of relief. "That was close. I owe you one."
He shakes his head. "It's cool. We were both in that fix, after all."
"Do you think he's really watching us?"
"I doubt it. He probably just wanted to scare us."
"Well, we only have ten quarters left anyway. We'll have to leave soon enough."
We try a few more times, in vain. On our final quarter, there's a third, even deeper click, and the wall beside the machine starts sliding open, revealing a hidden passageway.
"Jackpot." Josh glances toward the counter, but the arcade owner doesn't seem to be watching us. "We may not get another chance. It's now or never."
He's right. With a final look to make sure we're not being watched, we hurry into the passageway. Conveniently there's handle on the inside, so I use it to slide the wall closed behind us.
Lanterns hanging on the walls light the way forward. The hallway seems to lead underground. I look at Josh; I can tell he's curious about what's ahead, but also afraid of what we might find. We can't turn back now though. I start walking and he falls in behind me.
We walk for what seems like forever, seemingly going deeper and deeper underground. The only sounds to be heard are the flickering of the lanterns and our footsteps echoing off the walls.
The silence is unnerving me too much. I have to break it. "Any ideas where this might lead?" It's only after I say that I realize just how much the walls amplify the sound; the normal volume question sounds really loud, like I had shouted it.
Josh realizes this too. He whispers his response. "Maybe it's some kind of hideout for criminals or something. That owner guy looked like he could be one."
You really shouldn't judge a book by its cover Josh, but I get your point.
"I mean, just think. Imagine if we found and exposed a whole gang of criminals. We'd practically become famous." He's barely able to contain his excitement to just a whisper.
"And we'd have a huge target painted on our backs," I point out.
"Killjoy."
"Hey, I'm just being real here. If we were famous for that, we'd have a whole crime ring after us. I doubt we'd last a week."
Josh doesn't respond to this, so we walk a bit further in silence.
"I mean sure, shutting down a crime group would be cool, but only if we can do it without people knowing it was us."
"And how do you propose we do that?"
"I have no idea," I admit. "We'll just have to wing it and hope nothing bad happens."
Onward we walk, eventually ending up in a large room. There's a table in the middle of the room, surrounded by chairs. It looks like some kind of meeting place, though whether or not it's for anything shady is unclear.
As we're taking in this scene, I hear Josh exclaim behind me, and the thud of something hitting the floor. Whirling around, I see Josh is pinned to the ground by a large man wearing a black sleeveless tank top.
Without thinking I launch myself at Josh's attacker, knocking him sideways and off of Josh. Before I can react my left jaw is struck hard, dazing me. The culprit throws me off and advances on Josh again, tackling him once more. They wrestle for a few moments, rolling across the floor toward the wall. He takes the opportunity and throws his weight toward the wall, slamming Josh's face into it.
I regain my senses just in time to see Josh's arms drop limply to the floor. I throw myself at the assailant, aiming a punch for his throat. It connects and I pull my fist back for a follow-up jab, but he grabs me and flips me over his back. I remember my head slamming onto the cold stone, and then... blackness.
"Hey Marie?"
"Yeah?"
"This might just be me, but... you're not as ditzy as you seem, are you?"
She stops walking and turns to me, smiling. "Well, aren't you observant."
"I mean, not to be rude or anything, it's just..." I struggle to think of how to word this. "I guess I had this image of you as a big ditz, but I'm starting to think maybe I'm wrong."
She giggles. "I do go a bit over the top, don't I?"
"That's putting it mildly. You really like him, then?"
She tilts her head in thought. "Well... it's kinda complicated. I get the sense he's pushing me aside on purpose, like he doesn't feel the same way."
"Yet you still keep trying?"
A complex expression crosses her face. "That's where it gets a little complicated. I enjoy acting like a ditz and getting his attention, but I've been doing it so long in vain I've just kinda accepted I'll never be with him. Since he hasn't outright pushed me away, I think part of me is still hanging on with a little hope."
Huh, so she isn't as one-dimensional as I thought. I'm impressed.
"Maybe he's just too nice to turn you away?" Knowing Alex, this would make sense; he's one of the nicest guys I know.
"You might be right. Senpai is a really nice guy."
"I've been meaning to ask... why do you call him that?" The question had crossed my mind many times, there was just never a good time to bring it up.
"I called him that one day as a joke and it stuck. After all, he really is my senpai. Plus I like the way it sounds. It fits well with my ditzy act."
"You sure it's not because you watch a lot of anime?" I can't resist the urge to tease her a bit.
"That's a part of it. Can't deny that." She laughs.
This shopping is proving to be more fun that I originally thought. After a few more shops, I look at the time. It's almost 2:30 now.
"Maybe we should head back now?" I suggest. These bags are starting to get heavy.
Marie nods. "Might not be a bad idea. We were going to meet in front of that burger place, right?"
We head to our destination, but the guys are nowhere to be seen. Not entirely unexpected; we're still early.
"Now what? We wait?" Marie asks.
"I'll try calling." I pull out my phone and dial Alex's number. It rings a few times, then voicemail. That's odd, Alex has never ignored a call from me before. I try again, in vain.
"No good?"
I decide to try Josh's number. A few rings later, voicemail again. "I have a bad feeling about this," I say as I slip my phone back in my pocket. "Any ideas where they might've gone?"
"Maybe they went back already?"
"That's unlikely."
"But not impossible, right? One of us can take the stuff back home and look for them there, the other can look around here in town."
Once again, you impress me with your thinking Marie. Maybe you're not such a bad girl after all.
I nod. "Splitting up is the best way to cover more ground. I'll stay and look around, you take the stuff back home."
"Roger!" Marie does a mock salute and picks up the bags, heading back to the condo.
It's not likely they split up, so if I can find one the other should be around. If I were Alex, where would I be...
My eyes settle on an arcade a few blocks down. Bingo. I head inside and take a look around. It's deserted except for a tall man with a tattoo standing behind the counter.
I walk up to him. "Excuse me, have you seen two guys about my age today? Short hair, one light brown and the other black?"
"Yeah, I saw 'em. They were insistent on playing this one game here even though it's broken and it wasn't giving them any tickets. Couple of weirdos if you ask me." He turns and points to a corner of the arcade. "Over there. Huh, they're gone now. Must've slipped out when I wasn't looking."
I thank the man and walk over to the machine he pointed out. It's a simple rhythm game not unlike Simon Says.
"Why would they be so obsessed with this game?" I wonder aloud. I reach into my bag for a quarter and pop it in. It works, so no problem there. Looking over the machine itself, there doesn't seem to be anything strange.
I almost give up when I notice a crack in the wall just beside it. Peering through it, I think I see some kind of hallway. It doesn't look like part of the arcade, so it piques my interest. Unfortunately, the crack isn't big enough for me to fit my fingers and pry open. I suddenly hit upon an idea and pull out my phone.
"Marie, have you left the condo yet?"
"No, why?"
"Can you bring a screwdriver? One of the flat-headed ones? I think Josh said there was a toolbox in the closet in his room."
"Sure, where are you?"
I briefly explain where the arcade is and why I need said screwdriver.
"Gotcha, I'll be there as soon as I can!"
I've got a bit of a wait ahead of me, so I decide to cash some bills in for quarters and play some of the games. I mean why not, right?
Soon enough Marie shows up and hands me the requested item. I lead her back to the rhythm game and show her the crack in the wall.
"That's definitely suspicious," she says after peering through the crack. "Do you think Senpai and Josh might've gone in there?"
"It's a possibility. It looks like it goes down underground, which would explain why we couldn't reach them. No cell signal underground."
After a bit of working, I'm able to pry open the wall enough to grab it with my hands. It's quite heavy though, so it takes me a bit to pull it open enough for us to fit through it. We close the door behind us once inside, lest someone notices it being open.
I wake to my head throbbing like mad. I try to reach up and massage the wound, but my arms won't move. Looking down, I seem to be tied to a chair.
"Ugh, my head..." I groan.
"Alex? Is that you?"
"Josh? Are you tied up too?"
"Yeah. What a mess we're in, huh?" He chuckles a bit, clearly trying to lighten the mood a bit.
"You all right? That guy really did a number on you."
"My head hurts like hell, but I think I'll live."
I take a look around. The room is very dark, only lit by a single bare bulb hanging directly above us.
"Y'know, if not for the whole being tied up thing, I'd be having deja vu."
Josh laughs. "I know how you feel. This is just like old Graham's basement, isn't it?"
Before I can add anything we hear the squeaky sound of a door opening, followed by heavy footsteps. A man appears in the doorway, though he's too far from the light to make out his features. "Good, you're awake now."
"Who are you?" I ask.
"I knew there was something fishy about you kids. Should've thrown you out when I had the chance." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pistol.
"Wait, I recognize that voice... you're the arcade owner, aren't you?"
The man steps out into the light, confirming our suspicions. "The name's Jirad."
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"This is my secret hideout, I have a right to be here. Unlike two other nosy brats I know who shall remain nameless." He lifts his pistol, aiming it at me.
"You're just going to shoot us?"
He cracks an evil grin. "Don't worry, I'm not shooting to kill. You might want me to after I'm done with you though."
"Why do you need a secret hideout anyway?" I attempt to stall for time while trying to come up with a plan.
"I thought if I got a place like this that nobody could find I wouldn't be disturbed. Apparently I was wrong, because you kids can't mind your own damn business."
"Why an arcade though?" Josh asks.
"Beggars can't be choosers, kid. You'll learn when you're older." Another evil grin. "That is, if you live that long." He takes a step forward. "Now, no more stalling. Who wants it first?"
My brain races for a moment, desperately trying to figure out an escape plan. Unfortunately, I'm bound to this chair so tightly, I can barely move. I try to throw my weight to shift the chair, but it won't budge an inch.
Jirad laughs at my futile attempts. "If you want to be first that badly, who am I to refuse?"
I cringe and brace myself. The next moment there's a gunshot, and pain erupts in my left shoulder. I'm unable to stop myself from crying out in pain. I hear Josh's voice, but am too distracted dealing with my wound to understand what he said.
I look up at Jirad. His expression is sinister, a sadistic smile plastered across his face.
"How's it feel to stick your nose where it doesn't belong?"
All I can do is glare at him, grimacing to hold back more exclamations of pain.
He walks around behind me. "You're next."
I hear Josh protest, then another gunshot and a painful scream. It seemed almost too high-pitched for a guy. Is that what mine sounded like?
"You two be good little boys until I get back, and I MIGHT let you go." He heavily emphasizes the word, smirking. Without another word, he heads back through the dark hallway and up the stairs.
The sound of a gunshot echoes down the hallway, followed by a cry of pain. My stomach lurches; I think I know whose voice that was. Marie chokes back a squeal, obviously recognizing the voice too.
A few moments later, there's another gunshot, and another familiar scream. At least we've found both of them. Let's just pray they're not dead.
I look over at my companion. She's on the verge of tears. Not that I can blame her; I'm fighting some back myself. Whoever shot them is going to pay. Big time.
My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a door creaking open. I quickly look around for a hiding spot but Marie tugs my arm, apparently having found one already. We crouch in the shadows around a corner and watch as a familiar large man walks by. I look over at Marie; she's just as shocked as I am.
What is he doing here?! I mouth.
We wait until his footsteps are far away before emerging and heading down the hallway he came from. We eventually find an old wooden door, presumably the source of the creaking we heard earlier. I press my ear against the door to listen. I can just barely make out voices, though I can't tell what they're saying or how many there are. I turn to Marie and point to my ear, then to the door. She nods in understanding.
It'll be very difficult to get into this room unnoticed considering how loud the door creaks. I heard somewhere that if you open a creaky door fast it creaks less. Considering we have no other options, it seems like the best plan.
Stand back, I mouth to Marie, motioning. I grab the handle and push hard, stopping the door before it bangs against the wall. Opening it fast was a good plan; all that came out of the door was a short, relatively soft creak. The voices inside stop; obviously they heard it, but hopefully no one else did. We slowly creep down the stairs to make as little noise as possible.
I faintly hear Alex whisper "You heard that too, didn't you? That was different than usual."
Josh answers, but his voice is too soft for me to hear.
I reach the corner and slowly peek around it. Alex and Josh are tied to chairs back-to-back in the middle of a dark room, with only a bare lightbulb as a light source. I motion for Marie that it's clear and we hurry over to our friends. Alex's eyes light up when he sees us.
Before he opens his mouth I put my finger to my lips. He nods, then grimaces, glancing over at his shoulder. I notice the bullet wound and involuntarily gasp. That must've been from one of the gunshots we heard earlier. Thank god it was only a nick to the shoulder.
Marie circles around to Josh, making him aware of our presence and also shushing him. I hear her gasp as well, and can only assume Josh has a similar wound. We gotta get these guys untied, pronto.
I examine the ropes binding them to the chairs. They're not too thick, but not exactly thin either. I pull out the screwdriver Marie gave me earlier and dig the edge of it into the thinnest part of the rope. It's not the best tool for the job, but it's working, albiet slowly.
"How did you find us?" Alex whispers.
I briefly explain about us trying to call them, going into the arcade and finding the wall cracked, and the subsequent string of events. By the time I finish, I've almost dug through the rope. I slam the screwdriver against the fray in the rope and it snaps, the ropes falling to the floor. The guys breathe a sigh of relief and jump up, massaging their wrists.
A moment later I'm suddenly wrapped in a half-hug. "Thank you..."
"Ew, you're getting blood on my shirt!" I hear Marie cry. Apparently Josh hugged her just like Alex hugged me.
"While I appreciate the gratitude, maybe we should save it until after we get out of here?" I gently push Alex away to punctuate my point.
"She's right. We're not home free yet. Speaking of which..." Alex looks at me. "Any ideas?"
"The only way I know is back the way we came," I answer.
"There has to be another exit somewhere," Josh says.
Alex nods. "Most likely, but we should probably stick with the one we know. No sense in getting lost looking for an alternate way."
Everyone agrees on this point and we creep back up the stairs, me supporting Alex and Marie helping Josh.
Our pace on the way back is slowed a little by mine and Josh's wounds, but having the girls helps us a little. We walk for a while, but stop when we suddenly hear Jirad's voice. "Damn kids... what's a man have to do to get some peace around here?"
Nicole silently peeks around the corner for a few moments. "He's sitting at a desk," she whispers when she comes back. "He's not facing this way, so if we're careful we should be able to sneak by him."
"Maybe we should go one at a time?" I suggest.
"Good idea," Josh agrees.
Nicole volunteers to go first. She peeks around the corner again and then hurries to the other end of the room. She watches Jirad and motions for me to come. I go as fast as I can, making it safely. So far so good, Josh is next. Then finally Marie. Right before she makes it across though, she trips and falls, hitting the floor with a loud thud.
"What in the hell?!" Jirad jumps up from his desk and whirls around.
Josh grabs Marie and quickly pulls her along. Our need for stealth gone, we sprint as fast as we can down the corridor. Behind us we can hear Jirad's bellowing and heavy footsteps, though it's unclear how far away he is.
"We can't run the whole way," I say. "He's going to catch up."
"You sound like you have a plan," Josh points out.
"One of us will have to stay behind and keep him busy so the others can escape."
"That's suicide. We should all stick together and deal with him when he catches up." Nicole's tone is firm.
"Maybe we can surprise him," Marie suggests. "If we hide around a corner and jump him, we could catch him off guard."
Since when did Marie think of plans? Not that I'm complaining, mind you. "Not a bad idea."
Quickly we coordinate a plan. We round the next corner and line up, waiting for Jirad. As soon as he rounds the corner, Josh and I tackle him to the ground. Sure enough, he seems to have not been expecting that. In the confusion I snatch up his pistol and fling it across the hallway.
Once he realizes I stole his weapon he roars with anger, seizing me by the collar. Josh gives him the old one-two with a right hook to the jaw and then a jab to the throat. He flinches slightly at Josh's attacks, but not enough for me to wriggle out of his grip. Josh throws a hard punch to Jirad's gut which winds him slightly, but his grip stays firm. The next instant Jirad grabs Josh with his free hand and slams him against the wall, dazing him.
Jirad turns his attention back to me, lifting me into the air and squeezing my neck. My legs flail wildly in the air as I struggle to escape his grip, which is only getting tighter by the second. My air supply cut off, I begin to feel light headed.
Nicole charges toward Jirad, wielding her screwdriver as a makeshift dagger. She attempts to stab him in the arm, but he grabs her wrist just before the edge connects. She squeals with pain as he twists it, the screwdriver clattering to the floor. He then kicks her away and she hits the floor hard.
Deja vu settles in, except this time there's no Josh out of nowhere to save me. The scene starts to become hazy, my lungs screaming for precious air. I want to hold on, but I... don't know how much longer... I can take this....
BANG!
There's a gunshot, then a roar of pain and suddenly I'm dropped to the ground. After taking in deep gulps of air I look up to see Marie standing farther up the hallway, Jirad's pistol in her hands.
"I've got your back, Senpai!" she says, her pistol trained on Jirad. My jaw drops. Did she actually just shoot a gun? Who is this girl and what did she do with Marie?
I can hear Jirad groaning in pain behind me. I would almost feel bad for him, had he not just tried to choke me to death. Through his grunts he begins to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Marie asks.
I watch Jirad as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a spherical object with a pin in the top of it. It takes me a moment to realize what it is: a grenade.
"Heh heh... you thought you could get away that easily?"
Marie freezes. Jirad watches her for a few moments, a sinister smile crossing his lips.
"What's the matter, girlie? Aren't you going to shoot me?"
Looking into Marie's eyes, I can tell she won't. The only reason she shot him earlier was because he was hurting me, and even then she only shot his arm. She can't shoot him with intent to kill.
I take a second to assess the situation. Jirad is within arms reach of me and Nicole is lying unconscious only a few feet away. Josh has recovered from his daze but isn't daring to move a muscle, lest he provoke Jirad to pull the pin.
"Better think fast, kids!" Jirad yanks out the pin and drops the grenade at his feet, sprinting off down the corridor.
Before I can even think, I hurry over to Nicole and grab her, pulling her away from the bomb as fast as I can. Its beeping speeds up faster and faster, signaling its explosion. It's clear we aren't going to make it far enough to be completely safe, so I do one final heave and then throw myself on top of her to shield her.
The explosion is deafening and causes the whole corridor to shake. I feel a few shrapnel dig into my legs and back. Josh and Marie emerge from around the corner, hurrying over to us. Josh helps me lift Nicole onto my shoulders. A moment later, his face changes to a horrified expression.
"The ceiling's caving! Hurry!" he cries. We sprint down the hallway, hearing cracking and thudding noises behind us. I'm slowed down a bit by the girl on my shoulders so Josh and Marie run ahead to pull open the exit. They get it open just as I make it there and we tumble out into the arcade in a heap, a dustcloud engulfing us a few moments later.
All the running combined with my wounds has drained my energy. I vaguely recall hearing shouts and Josh and Marie calling for help, but after that... I pass out.
I wake to a dull rhythmic beeping. Opening my eyes, I realize I'm lying in a hospital bed, and said beeping was from a heart monitor. As my vision comes into focus I see a nurse walk over to the bedside.
"You're awake now."
"Yeah." My response was more of a croak than an actual word.
The nurse smiles. "You're lucky, young man. One more inch and a shrapnel would've pierced your lungs."
Right, the grenade. It takes me a second to remember exactly what happened.
"Your friends are waiting outside. I'll tell them you're awake."
I watch her walk out the door. A moment later Nicole, Josh, and Marie hurry into the room. Nicole makes it to the bedside first and throws her arms around my neck. I can hear her whispering to herself "Thank god..."
"How are you feeling?" Josh asks.
"I've been better," I answer.
"Those shrapnel were quite a thorn in your side, weren't they?" He chuckles.
I grin weakly; Josh always knows how to lighten the atmosphere. "What happened after we got out?"
"Josh called the hospital," Marie explains. "We explained what happened and they rushed you straight here."
"What about the arcade owner?"
Marie shrugs. "Somebody else was running the counter. He didn't know anything about the secret passage, nor anything about this self-proclaimed 'owner'."
"Huh. Guess he was lying then."
"Seems like it," Josh says.
I turn my attention to the girl sobbing against my chest. "Y'know, you can let go any day now Nicole."
She shakes her head, refusing to let go.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Marie elbow Josh. "Maybe we should... yknow..."
He nods, grinning. "Catch you two lovebirds later." They exit the room.
"You idiot... scaring me twice in one day..."
"I really screwed up, didn't I?" I sigh. "I should've been more careful. I'm sorry, Nicole."
"Don't apologize... please don't apologize..." She looks up at me with tear-stained eyes.
"Nicole?"
"You got hurt because of me. I was stupid to run at him like that. It's my fault, I should be the one apologizing."
I shake my head. "No, what you did was brave. He was just too strong. Don't blame yourself for that."
"But you risked your life to save me, and-"
"It's okay. There's no use crying over spilt milk. I'm fine and you're not hurt; that's all that matters."
"I don't know what I would've done had I lost you, and that scared me so much..."
I lay my hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sorry, Nicole. But I'm still here, and I'm not going anywhere. It'll take a lot more than some crazy old man with a bomb to do me in."
She smiles, tears still rolling down her cheeks. More words are unnecessary; everything else we want to communicate can be done without them. I may be weak physically, but with Nicole at my side, I'll make it.
Together, nothing will bring us down.
