Echoes

The following morning, a soft, golden light filtered through the curtains of Turner’s room, casting long shadows across the neatly made bed. He stirred, a gentle smile playing on his lips as he stretched, the events of the previous day already feeling like a distant, surreal dream. He glanced around, a bit surprised at Mandy's absence.

A gentle knock on the doorway into the kitchen startled him from his reverie. “Turner?” Mandy’s voice, soft and hesitant, drifted through the wood. “You awake?”

“Yeah, I am,” he responded, sitting up and running a hand through his disheveled hair.

Mandy entered, her expression a mix of concern and hesitant warmth. She held a tray laden with breakfast, the aroma of freshly made cocoa and buttery toast filling the room. “I thought you might have slept in,” she said, placing the tray on the bedside table. “I brought some breakfast. Thought you might need it after… everything.”

“Thanks, Mandy,” Turner said, a genuine smile lighting up his face. “That’s really thoughtful.” He took a sip of the hot chocolate, the warmth spreading through him like a comforting hug. “This is exactly what I needed.”

“How are you feeling this morning?” Mandy asked, her gaze searching his.

“A little… overwhelmed,” Turner admitted, his smile fading slightly. “It's a lot, what's happening with Lana right now. I'm glad you opened up to me about that."

Mandy nodded slowly, her eyes reflecting the same sense of weight she felt. "It's a lot for everyone," she agreed, pulling up a chair beside the bed. "I know I haven't been... the easiest person to deal with lately. But I wanted you to know that I appreciate you listening. Really listening."

Turner reached out and gently squeezed her hand. "I get it, Mandy. You're going through a lot. And you don't have to be 'easy' all the time. Just honest. That's what matters."

“It wasn’t just me,” Turner said, his gaze meeting hers. “We all did it together. That’s what made it work.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, the gentle clinking of cutlery and the soft ambient noises of the nearby shore filling the room. Mandy watched Turner, her expression thoughtful, a hint of admiration in her eyes.

“You know,” she began, breaking the silence, “you’ve changed a lot since we got here, Turner.”

“Changed?” Turner asked, his brow furrowed. “How?”

“You’re… stronger,” Mandy said, her voice soft. “More confident. You used to be so… hesitant, so unsure of yourself. But now… you’re a leader. You’re someone people look up to.”

Turner blushed, a hint of embarrassment creeping up his neck. “I don’t know about that,” he said, his voice laced with humility. “I’m just trying to do what’s right.”

“And you are,” Mandy said, her gaze unwavering. “You’re a good person, Turner. And you’re making a difference.”

“Thanks, Mandy,” Turner said, his smile warm and genuine. “That means a lot.”

"Morning," Abby mumbled, meeting her sister who was already up and at it in the common area.

"Morning," Becca replied, her voice somewhat quiet as she took a swig of orange juice. "Did you sleep well?"

"Like a log," Abby said, reaching her. "You?"

"Not really," Becca admitted, turning to face her. "I kept having those… fragmented dreams. Or memories. I'm not sure which."

"About… what happened?" Abby asked, her brow furrowed with concern.

"Yeah," Becca said, her gaze drifting towards the floor. "And about… other things. Things I don't quite understand."

"Like what?" Abby prodded gently.

Becca hesitated, her fingers tracing patterns on the counter. "Like… a feeling of… belonging. But not here. Somewhere else. Somewhere… different."

Abby's heart sank. "Different how?"

"I don't know," Becca said, her voice barely a whisper. "Like… a place where I'm… needed. Where I fit. Where I'm not just… here."

"Becca, that sounds… concerning," Abby said, her voice laced with worry. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I don't know," Becca repeated, her voice filled with a quiet desperation. "I feel like I'm losing pieces of myself still, Abby. Like I'm becoming someone else."

"No, you're not," Abby insisted, reaching out to squeeze her sister's hand. "You're still you. You're just… processing. We'll figure this out together."

Becca nodded, a faint smile touching her lips. "Thanks, Abs. You always know what to say."

A comfortable silence fell between them, the gentle murmur of the morning breeze filling the room.

"So," Abby said, breaking the silence, "what do you want to do today? We could go to the beach, we could go into town, we could..."

"Did you forget it's date night?" Becca interrupted.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, it's date night with Turner," Becca clarified. "Well, it's one of our date nights."

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot!" Abby exclaimed, smacking herself in the forehead. "Wait, but do you still get a date with him? Y'know, since you're..."

"I...have no idea," Becca blankly replied. "I mean, ideally I'd want to see Turner..."

"You're moving into his room," Abby groaned. "You're gonna get to see him every day."

"Doesn't mean I don't want to go on a date with him, he is my boyfriend after all," Becca defended.

"Exactly, he's your boyfriend," Abby emphasized, a hint of exasperation creeping into her voice. "And you're gonna be living with him. Won't that make every night a date night?"

Becca shrugged, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "It's not the same. It's… structured. It's a designated time. It's… special."

Abby sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Okay, fine. But what if Kendra says no? What if they say you don't get a date anymore?"

"Then I guess I'll spend the night with him in his room," Becca said, a playful smirk spreading across her face. "Which is also… special."

Abby rolled her eyes. "You're impossible. You do realize that I'm gonna have to be there too, per the game's rules, right?"

"If it ends up being your date night," Becca insisted, emphasizing the "if".

"Okay, fine," Abby conceded, throwing her hands up in mock surrender. "But if you don't get a date tonight, don't come crying to me when you're stuck watching Turner and I have a romantic evening."

Becca's playful smirk faltered slightly. "I wouldn't," she said, though a flicker of uncertainty crossed her eyes. "I just… I want things to be normal, I guess."

"Normal?" Abby scoffed, a dry laugh escaping her lips. "Becca, nothing about this is normal. We're in some twisted reality show, you were nearly erased, and now you're talking about 'normal' date nights?"

Becca's shoulders slumped. "I know, I know," she sighed. "But it's just… it's what I'm used to. And I don't know what else to do, since everything about me seems...artificial."

Abby wanted to shake her sister, to snap her out of it. But she also knew that Becca was genuinely suffering.

"Rebecca Grace Reed, you look at me," Abby said, switching her usual playful tone into something more meant to get her sister back on the right train of thought. Becca's eyes widened slightly, a flicker of recognition in their depths. She knew her sister meant business. "Nothing about you is artificial right now. If you don't get to have a date with Turner today, I'll gladly step aside so you and him can go out. I'll just spend the night with him, per the game's rules, but I'll let you and him have the whole day. Now stop this moping about you've been doing recently."

"You try stopping the moping about once you've been through this sort of thing," Becca grumbled, her voice thick with frustration. "It's not like I can just flip a switch and be okay."

Abby softened, her anger fading into concern. "I know, Becca. I'm sorry. I just… I hate seeing you like this."

Becca sighed, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I hate it too. But I don't know how to stop it. It's like… there's this emptiness inside me. A void where something used to be."

Abby's heart ached for her sister. She could see the pain in Becca's eyes, the exhaustion in her posture. "Do you think it's because of the… the transformation?" she asked tentatively.

Becca shrugged, her gaze drifting towards the scoreboard where her name no longer was. "Maybe. Although I doubt it, considering it was reversed. I think it's just dealing with everything that's been happening recently."

"Becca, the thing that's been happening recently is your transformation," Abby reminded her.

Becca didn't respond to that.

"Becca?" Abby said softly, her voice laced with concern.

Becca remained silent, her gaze fixed on the blank scoreboard. The silence stretched, heavy and uncomfortable, until finally, Becca spoke, her voice barely a whisper.

"You're right," she responded, tears welling up in her eyes. "I've been such a burden recently. I mean, you all spent all of that energy getting me out of that awful elimination transformation, each of you taking on the idea of a moderate transformation at the end of the round, and the best I can do now is cry about it?"

"Becca, hey, look at me," Abby said softly, reaching out to gently cup her sister's face. "Don't talk like that. You're not a burden. What happened to you… it wasn't your fault."

Becca sniffled, trying to compose herself. "But I—"

"No buts," Abby interrupted firmly. "We all chose to be here. We all knew the risks. And when you were… gone, we all agreed that we had to get you back. No matter the cost."

"But—"

"Becca," Abby said, her voice taking on a pleading tone, "please don't do this to yourself. You're back. You're safe. That's all that matters."

Becca looked at her sister, her eyes searching for reassurance. "You really mean that?"

"Of course I do," Abby said, her voice filled with sincerity. "You're my sister. I love you. And I'm just so relieved to have you back."

A fresh wave of tears welled up in Becca's eyes, but this time, they were tears of gratitude. "Thank you, Abby," she whispered, leaning into her sister's embrace.

Abby held her close, stroking her hair soothingly. "It's okay," she murmured. "Let it out. I'm here."

They stayed like that for a long moment, the silence filled with the unspoken comfort of sisterly love. As Becca's sobs gradually subsided, Abby gently pulled away, her gaze filled with concern.

"Are you feeling any better?" she asked.

Becca nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "A little. Thank you."

"Good," Abby said, a small smile returning to her face. "Now, how about we forget about all this for a while? We could go for a walk, maybe get some breakfast. Or we could just stay here and talk. Whatever you want."

Becca thought for a moment, then a mischievous glint sparked in her eyes. "Actually," she said, "I have a better idea."

"Oh?" Abby raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "And what would that be?"

Becca leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Let's go find Kendra. And I'm gonna demand a date night."

Abby's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? Becca, you know that's probably not going to happen. Especially after how much of a limb she went out on to get that transformation off of you a couple days ago"

"Maybe, maybe not," Becca said, a shrug. "But it's worth a shot, right? Besides," she added with a wink, "it's not like we have anything better to do."

Abby stared at her sister for a moment, then a slow grin spread across her face. "You know what? You're right. Let's do it."

Becca grinned back, her eyes sparkling with newfound determination. "That's the spirit! Come on, let's go cause some trouble."

With that, the two sisters set off, hand in hand, ready to take on whatever challenges the day might bring. As they walked towards the lighthouse, Abby couldn't help but feel a surge of hope. Maybe, just maybe, they could find a way to navigate this crazy game and come out stronger on the other side. And maybe, just maybe, Becca could find a way to reclaim the pieces of herself that had been lost.

"Emma, you're practically vibrating," Charlotte observed, leaning against the tiki bar. "What's got you so wound up?"

Emma paced back and forth, her hands clenched. "It's just… everything. This place, Kendra, the transformations, the waiting. It's like being trapped in a pressure cooker."

"Tell me about it," Charlotte sighed, pushing herself off the doorway. "I swear, if I have to sit through one more 'heartfelt' date night, I'm going to scream."

"I personally don't mind the dates," Emma said, her voice strained. "It's the uncertainty. We don't know what's coming next. We don't know what they're going to do to us."

"Well, we did manage to get Becca back," Charlotte reminded her, trying to inject a note of optimism. "That's something, right?"

"It's something," Emma conceded, stopping her pacing. "But it doesn't change the fact that we're still at their mercy. And now, they're hinting at more transformations, more 'consequences'..."

"Kendra's just trying to scare us," Charlotte said, waving a dismissive hand. "She's losing control. We can't let her see that we're scared."

"Easy for you to say," Emma muttered, her gaze fixed on the floor. "You always seem so… fearless."

Charlotte chuckled, a hint of irony in her voice. "Fearless? I'm terrified. But I've learned that sometimes, you have to fake it 'til you make it."

"And what if you can't fake it anymore?" Emma asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Charlotte hesitated, her gaze softening. "Then you find someone to lean on," she said, reaching out to gently squeeze Emma's arm. "Someone who's just as scared as you are, but who's willing to face it with you."

Emma looked up, her eyes filled with a mixture of gratitude and vulnerability. "Like you?"

"Like me," Charlotte confirmed, her smile warm and genuine. "And like everyone else here. We're all in this together, Emma. We'll get through it. We have to."

Emma took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "You're right," she said, her voice gaining a hint of strength. "We can't let them break us."

"That's the spirit," Charlotte said, her grin widening. "Now, how about we go find something to distract us? Maybe we can convince someone to sneak us some of those chocolate chip cookies from the kitchen."

Emma's lips curled into a faint smile. "That sounds… surprisingly appealing."

"See?" Charlotte said, her eyes twinkling. "Even in the crazy, there's always something to look forward to."

"Lauren, can we talk?" Paige asked, her voice low and steady as she approached Lauren, who was fiddling with a deck of cards at one of the common area tables.

Lauren looked up, a flicker of surprise and then suspicion crossing her face. "About what?" she asked, her voice guarded.

"About… us," Paige said, pulling up a chair. "About what happened to our… agreement."

Lauren scoffed, tossing the cards onto the table. "Agreement? You mean that whole 'misfit alliance' thing? That was ages ago, Paige. Things change. Hell, Becca changed so much in these last three days I'm wondering what's real."

"They don't have to," Paige countered, her gaze unwavering. "We were looking out for each other. We understood each other."

"Understood?" Lauren laughed, a bitter edge to her voice. "You think you understand me? You barely know me."

"I know you're hurting," Paige said, her voice soft. "I know you feel like you've been abandoned."

Lauren's eyes flashed, a mixture of anger and vulnerability swirling within them. "And what do you know about that?" she snapped. "You've got your head screwed on straight. You're always so… calm. So collected."

"That doesn't mean I don't feel things, Lauren," Paige said, her voice laced with a hint of weariness. "It just means I've learned to control them."

"Control," Lauren scoffed. "That's your problem, Paige. You're so busy controlling everything that you forget to live."

A silence fell between them, the weight of their unspoken resentments hanging heavy in the air. Lauren looked away, her gaze drifting towards the window.

"Look, I get it," Paige said, her voice softening. "Things have been crazy. But that doesn't mean we have to throw away everything we had."

"What did we have?" Lauren asked, her voice barely a whisper. "A couple of shared complaints and a mutual dislike for… well, everyone else? I don't even think we have that anymore. I've seen you starting to warm up to Becca recently."

"We had trust," Paige said, her voice firm. "We had a sense of… understanding. We were both outsiders. That meant something."

Lauren hesitated, her gaze returning to Paige's. "It did," she admitted, her voice laced with a hint of sadness. "But things are different now. Everyone's changed."

"We don't have to be," Paige said, her voice pleading. "We can still be the 'misfits'. We can still look out for each other."

Lauren looked at her, her eyes searching Paige's. "Why?" she asked, her voice soft. "Why do you care?"

"Because I don't like seeing you like this," Paige said, her voice sincere. "Because I know you're stronger than this. And because… because I miss my friend."

Lauren's eyes filled with tears, a mixture of sadness and relief washing over her features. "Friend," she echoed, her voice barely audible.

"Yeah," Paige said, a faint smile touching her lips. "Friend. Now, are we going to let this stupid game ruin everything, or are we going to stick together?"

Lauren hesitated, then a slow grin spread across her face. "Stick together," she said, her voice gaining a hint of bravado. "But if you start trying to control me like you did Charlotte, I'm out."

"Deal," Paige said, her smile widening. "Now, how about we go find something to do? I'm tired of sitting around."