Your photo

You expect to find information about Charlotte. After all, it only makes sense that her asshole ex-fiance would be looking for her. You wouldn't have been completely shocked to see photos of you... from the bar. What you didn't expect was pictures of you from your time with Amber.

They weren't looking for Charlotte at all. This was all about you... and your crazy plan to hack the sim.

Which meant they'd made the connection, they knew you were here in Tahoe, and they were spending every effort to find you and, presumably, stop you.

"What were you supposed to do when you found me?" you demand.

"We're just spreading word of the lord," the girl says.

Charlotte grabs the phone and flips through the pictures. Then she turns to the girl. "Hi, I'm Charlotte."

"Sara."

"You been doing this missionary thing for long?"

Mara and Crystal both giggle but you give them a look. You aren't sure what Charlotte is up to but she'd spent a lot more time with cult-types than you had... at least knowingly since apparently Amber was involved in a cult and you hadn't even been aware.

"A couple of years... since I dropped out of college."

Charlotte nods toward the dweeb. "He talk you into dropping out?"

"I just realized that studying and getting a job and all that was unimportant considering we live in the end times and the Lord will be returning any day. I wanted to be like Mary, not Martha, focusing on Christ rather than worrying the mundane details of everyday life."

"Of course." Charlotte sounds sympathetic, as if just giving up and expecting the world to take care of you were a perfectly normal approach to life. "And is he kind to you."

"You mean Christ, or Erwin?"

"Erwin, of course. I mean, obviously Jesus is kind to you."

"Yeah, of course. And of course Erwin is kind to me as well. I mean it's not like we're a couple or anything. But--"

"Of course I didn't think you were a couple since it's obvious Erwin perfers boys."

"Huh?"

"That's a lie," Erwin declares. "I'm not a homo."

"I saw that kind of denial all the time in my community," Charlotte explains. "Guys have this fucked up idea that being gay is sinful so they pretend that they're not... and it makes them angry at guys who don't mind admitting their gayness."

"That's a lie," Erwin repeats.

Charlotte ignores him. "The thing is, guys like that really mess up girls' brains. I mean, no matter what we do, we can't really attract their attention because they just aren't into girls. But they deny who they are so girls are left hanging."

"We're in a celibate relationship."

"You are. I'm not so sure about Erwin here. You probably feel really guilty about picking up boys and fucking them, don't you, Erwin?"

Erwin looks ready to cry. "That's a lie."

"You keep saying that." Charlotte grabs Erwin's phone from him. "I'm betting there are pictures of pretty boys on this, aren't there? Not that there's anything wrong with pretty guys. I mean, I think Mike here is pretty cute, don't you, Erwin?"

"I... I don't pay attention to things like that."

"So," Charlotte turns back to Sara as she continues to flip through photos on Erwin's phone. "Giving up college for a guy who can't commit to you because he prefers guys sounds pretty weak, doesn't it? I mean, I guess we have to give him some credit for not marrying you and then using you as a front while he chases after guys... which is exactly what a lot of guys in the community do, right? What do they call girls who hang with guys like that? Beards?"

Sara is starring daggers at Erwin. "Is it true?" She demands.

"Of course not," he protests. "They're trying to put a wedge between us. You know Satan is the father of lies and they're minions of Lucifer himself."

"Well..." Sara looks mostly convinced by his words. Which makes sense. After all, apparently she's been hot after Erwin for years.

"Ah, found them. Here's the stash." Charlotte hands the phone over to Sara.

Sara's look of devotion transforms to one of anger. "But... why do you have pictures of dicks on your phone, Erwin."

"I... I can explain."

You're not sure how, exactly, he's going to explain that without admitting that he prefers guys to girls. You're pretty sure someone had better explain something... quickly... because you can practically feel the hot breath of the cultists chasing after you.

"We want to hear the explanation, Erwin," Charlotte says. "But Sara, once you hear Erwin flounder for a while, I think you'll realize you're better off coming with us. Mike here may be a bit self-centered, but at least he likes girls. A lot."

Okay, you don't think of yourself as any more self-centered than average but you definitely like girls.

"So," Charlotte concludes, "we all want to hear why you've got a phone full of dick pics. And please don't tell us that they're all your dick. For one thing, half of them are black. For another... well... I'd have to be convinced that you're carrying that much equipment with you."