Bad Blood and Good Will

Kaya walked down the sandy wooden pathway out of the shopping district, the hot desert sun beating down on her. She'd gone into 'town' to grab a bite to eat, and to see if she could find a map of the nearby area.

It was only her third day here and she was already getting bored. She needed something to do. So she'd asked around and found out that there were, somehow, hiking trails through the dunes. She wasn't sure how that worked, but it would be fun to find out. Getting ahold of some trail maps had been a piece of cake. Now she just had to see who else wanted in.

She'd passed Riley on the way down, but hadn't asked him. Poor guy looked absolutely miserable. Not that Kaya could blame him. He'd really gotten the raw end of the deal.

Mind you, Kaya wasn't in love with her own changes. She deeply resented being basically **** to pressure the other girls. That was all kinds of wrong. One day wasn't enough time to adjust to something like that and it chafed at her. Still though. She had her own body. Her mind was pretty much intact. Compared to Riley, or some of the others, she was sitting pretty.

That was why she felt a little guilty about the fact that she was going to try and win this thing. If you looked at just the effects of the transformations then the others had way more at stake. Taking away the chance for someone like Riley to revert their changes didn't feel great, but Kaya's entire life was on the line here. Whatever it took, she was going win. She wouldn't let herself be caged up.

As she walked along the path a small bar and grill, not much more than a shack, came into focus on the waters edge. There was a little slip of a girl sitting at the bartop. Chloe.

Kaya stepped off the path and started cutting through the sand over to the grill. Chloe was alone, other than the bartender who was polishing glasses and minding his own business. Kaya sat down on the stool next to her.

Chloe looked up briefly from pushing her food around, but didn't say anything.

The bartender approached and Kaya asked for a pina colada. The desert wasn't exactly tropical, but it had palm trees and that was close enough. She looked over at Chloe. "Not having anything to drink?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't really drink. I mostly just came here for some quick food."

The bartender set Kaya's drink down in front of her.

"So, I've been asking about," Kaya said in-between gloriously cold sips, "and it turns out there's some hiking trails around here. I'm trying to get a group together to go out and see them."

"Hiking trails?" Chloe asked. "In sand dunes?"

"I know, right? Intriguing isn't it."

Chloe shrugged.

"You want to come?"

She thought it over. "Sure," she finally said. "Why not? I don't have anything else going on."

It wasn't the most enthusiastic agreement Kaya'd ever gotten, but she'd take it. "Great. I was thinking we'd leave on...huh, I have no idea what day it is. In six days. That'll give us time to invite some other people and get ready."

Chloe nodded silently. Kaya was content to just sip her drink and stair out over the lake.

Eventually, Chloe asked a question. "How are you handling all this so well?"

"I don't know," Kaya told her honestly. "I've been a little lucky so far. My transformations haven't really been that bad."

"It's not just that," Chloe said. "Even all the way back at the start, you weren't freaking out."

"I'm just doing the best I can. Why worry about what you can't control?"

"Because it could ruin your life?"

"Well," Kaya conceded, "there is that."

"It's like water off a duck's back for you, isn't it?"

Kaya sighed. "I'm struggling too. It's just that I guess this is what I look like when I'm struggling. I try and carry on. How are you doing with it all?" Kaya asked gently.

"I've been better." She sounded worn down.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Whats there to talk about?"

"Well, we're all stuck in a desert. Being conscripted into a harem. Changing mentally and physically against our wills."

Chloe laughed. It was good to see her liven up a little. "I guess I meant whats the point of talking. We can't fix any of this."

"We could just sort of commiserate. You say it sucks, I agree it sucks. Then it sucks a little less."

"Well, it does suck."

"Yep, it sucks."

Chloe's smile, weak as it was, faded. "I'm scared. And I'm angry. I feel like I'm surrounded by only the worst kinds of people." She looked over at Kaya, apologetic. "Present company excluded."

"Yeah," she agreed bitterly, "I know what you mean."

"What do you think about Daddy?" Chloe asked cautiously. Then, when she realized what she'd said, her eyes shot wide and her face flushed. Getting control of herself, her face contorted into a sour expression.

Kaya couldn't help it. She laughed.

Chloe was not amused.

"I'm sorry," Kaya said. "I know I shouldn't laugh. It's seriously messed up what they did to you." She finally managed to get her giggling under control.

Chloe studiously observed her plate.

"Trevor," Kaya said carefully, "isn't a guy I know too well. We've made small talk once or twice. Did you know him? Before, you know, this?"

"Not really," Chloe muttered furtively. "But I don't trust him."

"That's probably smart, given our circumstances."

Chloe shook her head. "It's more than just that. We never really talked, but I always had some suspicions about him. I caught him looking, once or twice, in a way he really shouldn't have been."

Kaya nodded. She knew what Chloe meant. She'd met enough of those kind of guys. What girl hadn't?

"I didn't have any concrete reason not to like him, just a feeling. But then I show up here. What are the odds that the guy giving me creepy vibes ends up being at the head of a creepy show."

"Violet's the head of the show," Kaya pointed out.

"For now," Chloe muttered.

Kaya finished her drink and motioned for the bartender to make her another. "Anna said some things about him. That he was controlling. Verbally abusive. Of course it turns out she's a damned liar so I'm not sure how much to believe her. They say the best lies have a kernel of truth though."

"To be honest, it does kind of track. Guys like Da...him, they tend to be that way."

Kaya spent the rest of her drink with Chloe, talking about Trevor, the show, and then, eventually, their lives outside. It was a good afternoon.

***

Kaya bumped against the door frame on her way into the suite. The bartender had poured those drinks strong. She wasn't trashed, but she was definitely more than a little buzzed. She made her way to the bedroom, crashed down on her bed, and flipped on the TV.

She was ten minutes into her show when she heard Anna get home. Great. Kaya'd been managing to avoid her since the contest and had no interest in breaking that streak. Anna had a different idea though, and joined Kaya in the bedroom. She flopped down on her own bed and sighed contentedly.

"Nice day out," Anna said, her tone as sunny as the weather.

Kaya grunted.

"I went for a dip in the lake. That water is *cold*. How's the water get so cold when it's so warm out?"

"Dunno."

Anna flipped over onto her side, looking at Kaya. "What do you think about some of the other girls? Have you met Natalie yet?"

"The sister?" Kaya asked, immediately regretting engaging. "No."

"Oh. She can be a little stubborn. What about Riley and Paige? Have you met them yet?"

"Why are you asking?"

"Just wondering."

Kaya let the conversation drop, but Anna didn't seem able to just let her watch her show.

"Hey, are we ok?" Anna asked. "You seem a little quiet."

"Are you serious?" Kaya asked back, flabbergasted.

"Yes? You're my roommate. We should be on good terms."

"Well then maybe you shouldn't fucking lie to me," Kaya said, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Are you still mad about that?"

"It happened *yesterday*. There were some pretty big consequences. Yeah, I'm still mad about it."

"I told you, it was just a misunderstanding. I mean, do you think I did it on purpose or something?"

"No. I think you did it out of habit. Which isn't much better."

"Please, Kaya. You have to understand-"

"I don't."

"Come on, tell me why you're angry and we can fix it."

"I thought I was pretty clear."

"You can't really be this upset because you misheard me. What's really going on?"

"What's going on is that you're a liar and I'm not dealing with it."

"Why are you like this?"

"Like what?"

"So *mean*. I've done nothing but try and be your friend. I don't understand why you're being so cold."

"I'm going to start sounding like a broken record over here."

Anna grew silent. Then, in a small voice, "Why doesn't anybody *like* me? Natalie hates me. You hate me. Apparently 42% of the audience literally couldn't like me less."

"It's because you're a liar," Kaya said helpfully.

"I haven't *done* anything."

"You lied." Kaya was still just trying to watch her show.

Anna stood up out of bed in a huff. She was beginning to cry. "You know what? Screw you. You're acting like a bitch and I'm not just going to sit here and take it. Let me know when you want to talk for real."

Anna stormed out of the room, slamming door behind her.

Kaya just stared after her with wide eyes. "She's fucking crazy."