Confessin' (Round 2 Vote Begins)

By the time AJ made her way back to the dock, the sky had turned ugly; uniform slate gray above the mountains peak, that faded to roiling midnight black as it expanded out to sea. Lightning danced between the sky and water, and the air pressure was nil despite a strong, evil wind that crossed the bay.

“Over here,” Hannah called out, waving her to the ceremonial conversation pit.

AJ met Leah’s gaze as she walked back, and didn’t like what she saw.

“Is it a good idea? Doing this out here?” She asked.

“It looks worse than it is. According to our meteorologists, it should be some time before landfall.”

She sounded confident enough, but her eyes reflected something else; anxiety, disconcertion, impatience.

She took a seat next to Hannah.

“How long you been back?”

Hannah made a seesawing gesture.

“About an hour, give or take. We were the first ones.”

AJ wondered what she meant, and then saw how close Emily sat to her.

“You cold?” She asked, noting the chill in the wind.

Emily only shook her head.

“I’m alright. The weather doesn’t seem to bother me like this.”

A few minutes after she arrived Loretta did, too.

“You’re next to last, right?” Leah asked. “I believe Megan is the only one we’re missing.”

Loretta nodded.

“And from the sounds of it, she was having a good time with someone,” Lori said, taking her seat.

AJ shared a disconcerted look with Hannah and Lacy. Surely she hadn’t used the dream for that purpose. It didn’t seem likely, and yet…

Before long, the woman herself arrived, hair and glasses both askew.

“It doesn’t seem as though much time has passed,” Megan observed, “Is there some sort of dilating at play here?”

“Yes,” Leah said, “The four hours in the sims moves faster than 4 actual hours. But we don’t really have time to delve into the specifics.”

“What are we doing here?” Sabrina asked. “Is it time to count votes and stuff?”

“Not quite,” Leah said, “Both the audience and the Master get a vote on your performances. But before we get to that, I wanted to give each of you a chance to explain what your vision was and what you’d intended to accomplish with each dream.”

She looked out toward the gathering storm.

“In an ideal world, I’d get to ask robust follow up questions. But in an ideal world, a typhoon wouldn’t be bearing down on us.”

“We’re in the Pacific?” Megan asked, looking up. “Or is that just what you refer to all these sorts of storms as in this reality?”

Leah ignored the questions, and if Megan noticed the looks she was getting from the others, she ignored them in kind.

“First, we have Hannah and Emily,” She said, turning toward the two. “You two used your dreamspace to craft a reality in which the two of you and Jake were in a three way relationship.”

“A thrupple,” Megan chimed in.

Eyes turned to stare at her. At one point, she might have shied from the attention. But now she kept her head up.

“We call it a thrupple. Is it not strange in your world?” She asked. “It’s fairly unusual in ours.”

“It isn’t in mine,” Leah allowed before returning her attention to the contestants.

Hannah and Emily drew into one another, Hannah draping a protective arm over the younger woman.

“That’s about the gist of it,” Hannah said, “We thought it would be an interesting perspective. And it was an inversion of how we started.”

“It was so adversarial when we started. They wanted to pit us against each other,” Emily added, “The exe and the current girlfriend, putting us in a room together. And the actual changes they’ve made to us, too…”

She trailed off, but Hannah picked up the thread.

“It can be fun, her thing and mind,” She brushed Emily’s hair as she spoke. “We didn’t choose it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun with the dynamic.”

AJ’s gut tightened, a familiar uncertainty at work within it. Leah only nodded, accepting.

“It was wholesome. Hot, but wholesome,” Emily agreed. “We wanted to send the message that the hatchet is buried, there aren’t any hard feelings, and that there are positives to this.”

Watching the other contestants, AJ saw Megan deflating a bit. She didn’t know why, but supposed she’d learn soon enough.

“And I believe there was something of a confessional that took place. At the risk of doing so myself, I fear you may have gotten a touch ahead of yourself with that. But more on that in a moment,” Leah fixed her gaze on Emily, “Can you tell me why you chose this as your platform for inserting such a moment?”

“Hey! We agreed to that,” Hannah cut in, “It was our dream to share, and we decided to share it.”

Leah’s reply was icy.

“You’re not the one I asked.”

Despite its direction toward Hannah, Emily seemed to shrink a bit from the rebuke.

“I just thought it needed to be said. With….y’know, eliminations and all that. It only seemed fair to come clean. Get everything in the open.”

“What, I don’t get it,” Sabrina cut in, “What did she confess to?”

“That I slept around before Jake did,” Emily said. “Before I gave him permission.”

The circle of contestants stirred, though no one spoke up until AJ, acting on something a bit more than a hunch, decided to.

“How’d that go down?”

“It wasn’t entirely her fault,” Hannah answered, “Our…changes got the better of us.”

It confirmed AJ’s anxieties, and deepened them considerably. She looked at Farrah, locking eyes with one of her. A tilt of the head asked a question, and AJ answered it with a frown and a nod. She’d had her suspicions, and now she resolved to act on them.

The Farrah she was not engaging straightened as Leah turned to her.

“In your dream, you engaged Jake in two scenarios that took place simultaneously,” Leah said.

“A meet up in an Italian nightclub, and a private date with him,” She confirmed. “He was aware he was in a dream in the latter, and unaware in the former. As was I, in both.”

Clever, AJ thought, but from Farrah she’d expect nothing less.

Without further prompting, Farrah continued.

“I felt it was prudent of me to spend some time with him, free of presence or machination on my part,” She said, “At the same time, I’ve known him most of his life, and I saw value in meeting him as a stranger. Either way, both were efforts on my own part to treat him as an equal.”

“Did it work?” Lacy, sitting beside her, asked.

The Farrah sitting with her daughter shrugged a shoulder.

“As much I could. It’s not easy for a woman as old as me, joonam. However I look, I fear my days of learning new habits have passed me.”

Lacy gave her a hug, and Leah seemed satisfied to move on.

“I suppose I was the next contestant. I went on a trip to New York, but shared my power with him. I wanted him to have a taste of what he might gain from this,” Leah said, “It also gave him a chance to acquaint himself with me.”

Apparently addressing herself, she tilted her head.

“And did it work? Did he like it?” She asked, “Good question, Leah. He seemed to, while he was unaware of the dream’s pretense. But once I allowed him recognition, he got rather angry about it.”

Stern, composed and serious as she normally was, the sight of Leah hosting a dialogue with herself made AJ snort. She wasn’t surprised about the idea of fucking with people with a handwave turned Jake off, when he was in his right mind. Not for the first time, she wondered how she’d allowed herself to become so taken with this woman; not that knowing would help her break it off.

“Lacy, darling,” Leah said suddenly, “You were next. In your dream, you lived out your relationship with Jake, from high school all the way to the moment he got the job at which he truly arrived.”

The Mellon job, AJ knew. She remembered where she was when Jake broke the news, sun and warm air smiling on a rooftop they technically weren’t supposed to be on. She wondered how the scene had played out in Lacy’s reality.

“He was unaware through that exercise, no?” Leah said. “You were not.”

Lacy shifted uncomfortably.

“It wasn’t exactly like that. I had this sort of…script in my head. We lived it together, but I wasn’t anymore aware than he was while we did it,” She said, “None of it would have worked without a real reset in our relationship.”

It made sense, as far as it went, but AJ couldn’t help but wonder how Jake felt about being in the dark. She’d offered him that choice herself, of course, and he’d rejected it.

“You fought with him. It was very realistic,” Leah noted. “Something about you being lazy and selfish.”

“Joonam,” Farrah gasped.

To her credit, Lacy didn’t flinch.

“Yeah, that’s right. It was realistic. That was the whole point. I wanted him to see what it would be like with me, and it wouldn’t be perfect. We both know that, why bother lying about it?”

Leah gave her a nod of approval.

“And you don’t believe you can change? That this is some…destined aspect of your character?”

The look she gave the hostess was fierce.

“You know better than that. Change is all I’ve done here.”

Julie stared at her, admiringly, and it was to her that Leah turned her attention.

“Your dream was an interesting one. You made Jake take you on a whirlwind, European vacation,” She said.

“I’d never been, and I wanted to,” Julie said.

There was something different about her. Even AJ, who barely knew her, could sense it.

“Might one think that somewhat selfish? Using a fantasy for your master to fulfil a wish for yourself.”

Julie, meek and defeated this whole contest, was cool as she answered, which did nothing to soften the words.

“Go fuck yourself. He’s not our ‘master’. Not to himself, and that’s all that matters,” She said. “And at any rate, he enjoyed the trip as much as I did.”

Unphased, Leah pressed on.

“More specifically, it was a surrender, was it not? And I quote…’you’ll find your leading lady, but it’s not me’.”

Though her composure held, Julie’s eyes were blue fire.

“What about it?”

Leah softened her tone.

“I only ask because you need points from this round to continue. If you don’t get any, you’ll be eliminated.”

“So?”

“So why should anyone vote for you to advance, when you’ve given up yourself.”

“They shouldn’t, I guess,” Julie said, “But for what it’s worth, I hope they do.”

Leah’s surprise mirrored AJ’s own, and Julie must have sensed it, because she continued.

“I’m still…it’s still hard for me. What I gave up,” She said. “But that’s done now. And now that I’ve tried some of the things I missed out on…I don’t think I’m fighting for new experiences.”

“Very well,” Leah said. “Pity you found yourself late, but I suppose late is better than never.”

As Leah turned to the next contestant, Lindsey flashed a V for victory. She was sitting with Sabrina and Rachel. It was an odd group.

“You three decided to go in together,” Leah mused, “You created a…what would you even call it?”

“An interactive experience,” Rachel supplied.

“A fucking party,” Lindsey added.

“A living video game,” Sabrina said.

“Technically Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop-” Megan started, only to blanch at the look the three gave her, “You’re right. That was pedantic. We’re working on that.”

“Fairly straightforward wish fulfillment, though your dreams did contain some interesting points of note,” Leah said, “That you’d make me the final boss seems obvious enough.”

Her smile turned dangerous.

“But Farrah as villain. AJ enslaved by me. Those were…intriguing notes. Would you care to elaborate on them?”

“The fuck?” AJ said, aloud.

That her tryst with Leah had become common knowledge wasn’t surprising. The world had shrunken such that little could remain secret. But did they really think that of her?

“Emily and Hannah were monsters as well,” Leah added.

The trio shared an uncomfortable look, but Lindsey plowed forward.

“Okay, cut the shit,” She said, “We had some commentary about how this game’s affected some of you. But none of your are villains.”

Leah crossed her arms, challenging the green haired girl with the arch of an eyebrow.

“None of us?”

“Alright, well…you, maybe,” Lindsey said. “But the rest of you are cool.”

Sabrina stepped interrupted.

“We don’t think AJ is a slave, just getting a bit too comfortable with the hostess,” She explained. “And Farrah…well, we did make you a Persona 5 boss. That’s true.”

“And what does this mean?” Farrah asked, in the tone AJ suspected she used with refractory students.

“It means we think your desire to win has turned into a bit of a problem. So we reflected the game to make your mind an arena, and the manifestation of that as a puppetmaster.”

“Fuck, that’s really clever,” Lacy muttered, earning her a reproachful look from her mother.

“I mean, you did use my cheat book on me. And took advantage of Lindsey’s weird stuff,” Sabrina said, “Can you really blame us?”

“But we still love you guys. This isn’t us saying you’re evil or whatever,” Rachel added quickly. “Just…y’know…it’s all getting to all of us.”

“Fair enough,” Farrah said, though to AJ’s eye, she still looked troubled.

She didn’t have time to dwell on the question.

“You turned our master into a mistress,” Leah said. “Gave Jake a taste of womanhood.”

Surprise registered around the circle.

“With his consent,” AJ added, for context. “I gave him the chance to make me straight or himself a woman. He chose the latter.”

“Of course he did,” Hannah said with a smile.

“Then we relived…well, let’s be real, the night I met Dana. Karaoke in some douchebag broski’s back yard. He knew what was going on. We hooked up. It was a good time.”

“I remember that!” Lacy said, eyes widening. “Wow, what a pull.”

AJ nodded. She felt tense, but tried not to let it show. Leah apparently knew a hell of a lot about these dreams, and wasn’t pulling her punches in her interrogations of them.

“Yet there wasn’t any sort of connection,” Leah added. “You left feeling as though you were better off friends.”

“And damn good ones,” AJ said. “Which he’ll need after this.”

Mercifully, she accepted it, moving on to Loretta.

“A nice drive through the Carolina mountains. Your husband’s country, if I’m to understand this part of your world’s geography,” The hostess said, “Though not his only influence on your interaction with your dream.”

“I reckon that’s true,” Loretta replied. “Though reckonin’s about all I can do. I don’t know what he actually saw in those machines.”

She seemed stiff, and uncertain.

“So you genuinely have no idea which parts of your life he glimpsed.”

She nodded.

“Wouldn’t have known what he’d seen if he’d picked the whole alternative past thing either. Though from the sounds of it, it wouldn’t have been that original if he had.”

“You were so chipper the whole time. Even when you were angry,” Leah said. “Care to explain that.”

“The whole cheerleader thing? I’m always wrestling with it, but it takes over in front of him,” Loretta said, “Guess that makes sense. He’s what I’m ‘spose to be cheering for.”

Finally, it was Megan’s turn.

“You constructed an entire reality in which Jake’s harem was…what?”

“Normalized. And consensual,” She said, straightening her glasses. “You all at least made a cameo, but unfortunately time constraints forced me to favor some more than others.”

“It was framed as a harem, though. One in which he was sexually active with all the members, and which you wanted to join,” Leah pressed.

“I mostly asked because I knew his reaction would be hysterical. It’s nice to tease him once and a while,” She said, with a slight smile, “As to doing anything with him? Unthinkable. He’s my brother.”

“Yes. You’ve been more reticent than future contestants in that regard,” Leah said, her lips curling into a knowing smile, “Though you did get some action yourself.”

Megan frowned, blushing.

“Uhm..yes, well..I did simulate…you know…”

They were all leaning forward eagerly. Megan’s eyes darted between them.

“I had sex with a figment of the simulation,” She said, “It’s not like there’s a more acceptable man around here.”

Lindsey cackled in appreciation, and AJ, remembering their conversation on the pier, only nodded her own.

“Good for you. I told you to try new stuff, and doing it in the pod was pretty fucking clever,” She said. “Was it someone specific?”

Her compliment seemed to please Megan, as she relaxed a bit.

“Not exactly. It was…kind of like a boy I had a crush on,” She said. “But a strong, suave, bodice ripper version.”

“Of course he wasn’t your only company,” Leah interjected. “Sabrina was with you as well.”

“I what?!” Sabrina asked, surprised.

Megan didn’t blush, so much as redden like a lobster in the boil.

“It wasn’t…okay…it was….but we didn’t…” She took a breath, and her voice dropped from the squeak it was turning into. “I wanted to see if I was really attracted to you or if it was an…I dunno.”

Sabrina reclined, crossing her legs. She looked more amused than angry.

“And the verdict?” She asked.

“Friends,” Megan managed to stammer out.

Sabrina considered that.

“Interesting. Though we’re going to have to have a little talk about this later.”

Megan nodded, and Leah turned her back on her.

“So…that’s the dream round. Voting opens now,” She said.

“Question. Where’s Jake?” Hannah asked.

“Recovering. And casting his own vote,” Leah said. “I didn’t want his judgement to color the audience’s”

The wind had whipped higher now. Across her bare skin, AJ felt the first drops of rain.

“We should probably get moving,” She said.

“Yes,” Leah agreed, “But there’s one more item of business we have to discuss. Which is the next phase of the game.”

She turned to face the middle distance, toward what AJ could only assume passed for a camera here.

“Our next round will function a bit differently from those previous. We will have not one, not but three mandatory eliminations. And none of them will have anything to do with points,” Leah said.

AJ felt her stomach drop. She could feel the tension ratchet up.

“There will be no contest. Only downtime, followed by a vote,” The hostess continued. “The audience will vote to eliminate two of you at the end of said downtime.”

“What?” AJ bellowed, “How is that fair? Hang out for a while with the axe hanging over your head, and by the way, there’s nothing you can do to change what the audience wants?”

“There’s always something you can do to move the audience,” Sabrina said, “Not that it’s easy.”

“You said they remove two of us,” Julie said, “What about the third?”

“That is the most malicious part,” Leah said, “Each of us will get an elimination token that we must cast for another contestant. If there is a contestant with the most votes from her peers, she is eliminated.”

“And if there’s a tie?” Hannah asked.

“Then the elimination is random. It could be the first ranked contestant, or the last,” Leah said.

“So we either choose someone to eliminate, or become endangered ourselves,” Farrah frowned, “Alliances and betrayals…yes, I see the vision.”

“There are ways to shirk elimination,” Leah said, “There will be three tokens of protection. Jake gets one, to give to a contestant of his choice. One will be awarded by the winner of this round’s popularity contest. And the third can be found on the island.”

A hush fell over them all. They exchanged glances, suddenly unsure of one another. AJ had no doubt that the purpose of this exercise was to sow discord, and from the looks of it, it was successful. She wasn’t sure why; if there was to be a victim of their collective wroth, the lead candidate was obvious.

Leah seemed to sense her thought, and grinned.

“Before you sharpen your knives for me, we will be holding some contests of sorts. A few challenges in miniature meant to provide food for thought as for whom you’ll cast your token.”

“It’d take a hell of a lot to pull you out of the fire,” Loretta mused, “What do they have in mind?”

“A few exercises to stoke animosities. Starting with this.”

Leah snapped her finger. AJ jumped as a notepad and paper appeared in her lap. The others were similarly surprised. A box appeared on the table at the center of the circle.

“We open with an exercise in self destruction. Each of you must write a confession. Admit the most damaging fact about yourself in the eyes of the other contestants.”

AJ wanted to think it over, but her fingers raced across the page, scribbling out her answer involuntarily. She looked down at it, horrorstruck. It was a truth she hadn’t even fully grasped about herself, much less one she’d have surrendered voluntarily.

I think of myself as the real master, it read.

She wanted to crumble it into a ball, and toss into the gathering storm. Instead, she folded it neatly.

The wind was howling with a force to whip the palms, the air had dropped along with any hopes of an understanding they might collectively have reached.

“I have to insist we get inside!” Rachel said, “Can we drop these in the box and go?”

Leah nodded. One by one, they deposited their secrets, retreating toward the shelter of the central complex.

The storm had begun.

VOTE HERE For the Round 2 Winners.