Don't go chasing waterfalls

“Alright! Take a look at this!” Gina cheered, lifting up a box in triumph. It crumbled away in her hands to reveal a card.

The Ace of Diamonds

Dakota stared at her with a mute expression.

“You have exceptionally bad luck,” she finally said. “A low-value card like that is worthless. It just takes up space in your hand, you might as well throw it away.”

“Aww, don’t be like that!” Gina pouted, following her down the path. The two girls kept walking down the path beside the riverbank. Dakota didn’t even look her way, keeping her eyes focused on the rushing water.

A river, huh.

Sylvia watched from her seat with a smirk. When she’d inherited the island, there had only been peaceful lakes, no rivers or streams at all. She’d done a little construction to make up for that.

A nice little treat for you. I hope you like it!

Dakota wasn’t shaken. She continued as she normally did, keeping her eyes scanning her surroundings. And even though her hand was worth over twice as many points as Gina’s, she didn’t have any concern about the other girl trying to steal her cards.

The fact that she could walk with such self-confidence and show her back to another competitor was more than evidence enough to Gina that her old friend was on another level when it came to mental strength.

If it was Dakota… if I had been the one who died, instead of her… she wouldn’t have fallen apart like I did, would she? Gina didn’t even need to ask herself that question. The answer was already clear in her mind.

But that didn’t drive her away.

“I don’t mind having a low hand,” Gina continued, wearing her smile like a shield. “After all, low cards have their own value. Not even you would just throw a card away for nothing.”

Dakota paused in thought.

“…I suppose you have a point,” she admitted. “If I was the kind of woman who threw something away just because it was useless I would have pushed you off a cliff already…”

“Uwaah, so mean!” Gina wailed, skipping up so she was walking right beside Dakota. “Is this how you treat your long-lost childhood friend of 15 years?!”

Dakota flashed her a scowl in response. “You’re still not taking this seriously, are you?” She sighed.

Gina flinched. “That’s…”

“Do you think it’s fine to relax just because you have a higher point total than your buddy?” Dakota pressed her. “Dawn might only have 7 points right now, but that could change with one good card. And I think we both know that if she gets immunity, she’s not going to be picking you. You’re in a risky position right now, Gina. I hope you know that.”

The smile fell from Gina’s face and she turned serious.

“Of course I know that,” she replied. “But what are you suggesting I do about it? It’s not like I can make cards randomly fall from the sky. All I can do is pick up what’s in front of me.”

Dakota narrowed her eyes.

“Is that really the only strategy you can think of for winning this?” She coldly asked.

Gina’s neutral expression shifted into a frown. She glanced at Dakota’s belt.

“Or what?” Dakota smirked. “Can’t do it because you’re a ‘good girl’ now?”

Gina winced. “I-I’m trying to be,” she replied. “I mean… I don’t… I know you think that I’m a complete mess, and you’re right, I’m not sure where I’m going. In this game, or in my life in general.”

She sighed.

“Ever since what happened to you… it’s like my life stopped. I just kept sliding deeper and deeper, I stopped caring about myself… I thought that I had done something wrong, that I’d caused your ****, and I felt that I needed to be punished for that. But I still-”

“Ridiculous,” Dakota snorted, cutting her off. “Why would you blame yourself for an accident?”

“I know it sounds stupid!” Gina exclaimed. “But I’m serious, you know?! If I hadn’t kissed Nick, you never would have run out onto that bridge! And then…!”

Dakota sighed. “You aren’t wrong that what happened to me can be tied back to your actions. But where does it stop?”

“…Huh?” Gina stared at her in confusion.

“I went to that camp because Nick’s father invited me along,” Dakota reminded her. “Since my family was too poor to afford stuff like that. So in other words, you could say that Nick’s father was at fault as well, right?”

“No, why would I think that?” Gina asked.

“If not for him, I wouldn’t have been at that camp at all, right? Then I wouldn’t have seen you kissing Nick, and I wouldn’t have run out into the storm. That logic follows, doesn’t it?” The intensity of Dakota’s eyes made Gina turn pale.

“That’s… I mean…” She was finding it hard to breathe under all this pressure.

“We can trace back further than that,” Dakota continued. “If the camp director hadn’t opened a camp there, there would have been no camp for me to go to in the first place. If someone hadn’t build a bridge across that river, I wouldn’t have been able to fall off it. So where does it end, Gina? Who else are you going to blame for what happened to me, hm?”

“Nobody!” Gina exclaimed, clutching her chest. “I just… I…”

Dakota sighed. “Of course you blame yourself. It’s natural to think that you had something to do with my ****. But hundreds upon thousands of factors all piled up together in an incident that you could never have predicted. My **** was the culmination of all those things. When coincidence upon coincidence develops like that, without intention… isn’t it called an accident?”

Gina didn’t know what to say. That level of thinking was too high above her.

“I…”

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about this,” Dakota said quietly. “Longer than you can imagine. I don’t blame you for what happened to me anymore, Gina. And you shouldn’t either.”

“Dakota…”

Dakota narrowed her eyes. “More importantly, I'm still upset at you for having sex with Nick, which was something you did with intention.”

Gina flinched. The intensity of Dakota’s gaze had changed. The air had become less serious, but she still felt a different kind of pressure coming from the other girl.

“Look, like I said… I’m still trying to figure out my feelings,” Gina mumbled. “I don’t-”

“How long then?” Dakota asked. “How much time do you think you have to ‘figure out your feelings’ as you put it?”

She couldn’t answer.

“You don’t know, do you? Because you hardly even know who you are,” Dakota said, frowning.

“I know who I am!” Gina exclaimed. “I just… I fell off track, that’s all! But I’m going to-”

“You’re going to what? Turn your life around?” Dakota asked, raising her eyebrow. “Become a good girl now? Is that what you want?”

“Of course it is!”

“No, I don’t think so. I think you’re just doing what you always do. You’re getting caught up in the swing of things again. You went with the flow and ended up a druggie burnout. But now you’re here, on Harem Hotel. From the beginning, you were **** into the role of ‘Good Girl’, but that wasn’t something you chose for yourself. The audience chose that for you. If not for them, would anything have changed?”

“S-So what?” Gina asked, frowning. “I disliked it at first, but now I made a decision! This is my chance to turn my life around! I can be a good girl!”

“Because you want to? Or are you just trying to fit the mold that the audience wants from you?” Dakota pressed.

Gina’s mind went blank as she contemplated Dakota’s question.

“This game changes people,” Dakota mused, staring at the rushing river. “All of us are becoming people who our old selves wouldn’t even be able to recognize. Some are moving at a faster pace, some are moving at a slower one. Some people like Dani are resisting their changes with everything they have, and some are like Holly, throwing themselves into their new role without hesitation. But the fact remains that we are changing.”

Dakota turned back to Gina. “You’re changing too. But unlike Holly, who’s embraced becoming a cuck because that’s what she wants to be, you’re turning into a good girl because you think it’s what you should be. It's what other people want from you. Everyone you know has always hated the way you act, and of course, you’ve hated yourself. So you’re just trying to run away to something that seems better for you, isn’t that right?”

“No, that’s not… I want this!” Gina cried. “I want to become a better person!”

“Sure, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Dakota shrugged. “But didn’t you enjoy drinking with me that night?”

Gina winced. “That was…”

“Staying up late and drinking booze all night before passing out in the hall, is that what a good girl does?” Dakota asked. “Because it sure doesn’t sound like it to me. So maybe you’re not as good of a girl as you want to be.”

Gina hung her head, her face burning with shame. She didn’t have a response. She wanted to be a better person. The kind of daughter her parents wanted to be, and the kind of girl who Nick saw her as. But at the same time, she couldn’t deny how much she’d enjoyed herself that night with Dakota, or how much she’d wanted to try something a little more kinky than the loving vanilla sex Nick had given her, as fun as it was.

Dakota sighed, shaking her head. “Look, I’m not going to tell you how to live your life. But I think it’s clear you need to actually live it. Find a way to keep going on and do what needs to be done, if that’s what you want. You want to be a good girl who still drinks until she pukes? Give it a try. Or you can just give up and let ‘whatever’ happen to you. What do you think?”

“…I think you’re a very harsh friend,” Gina finally answered, wiping her eyes. She had no idea she’d been crying. “But you’re not wrong. I have to find out for myself the kind of person I want to be. Before it turns out like you said… because they’re going to change me, aren’t they?”

“Of course they are,” Dakota scoffed. “They’re going to change all of us, eventually.”

Gina couldn’t believe how nonchalantly Dakota said that. It was one thing for Gina not to be concerned, after all, she hardly cared about her own wellbeing before now. But Dakota was different. This wasn't resignation, it was confidence.

“How can you be so sure of yourself?” Gina wondered in amazement. “Aren’t you worried about what’s going to happen to you? What if you lose?”

Dakota glanced back at Gina, her golden eyes flashing.

“If I lose, then I lose. It doesn’t matter to me. But I have no intention of giving up. Even if no one here would have me for their buddy, all I have to do is continue winning challenges. I’ll get immunity each week and make it to the end. That’s my resolve.”

“…Big talk for a 12-year-old zombie,” Gina sniffled, grinning. Dakota scowled.

“It’s because I have something to believe in. It doesn’t matter what transformations I get subjected to. I have absolute faith in my love of Nick. Whatever they change in me, they won’t be able to change that. And with that, I don’t need anything else.”

Standing in front of Gina was a person she couldn’t ever imagine becoming. Someone who knew with absolute certainty what she wanted, and pursued it with everything she had.

Compared to her, I...

A flash out of the corner of her eye caught Gina’s attention, and she turned towards the large screen overhead displaying the cards. Dawn had just found a new card, the Six of Diamonds.

“Well, look at that. She pulled ahead,” Dakota frowned. “So, what now, Gina? Are you going to continue pretending that it’s not a big deal, and just let things pass you by? Or are you going to start playing to win now?”

As if on cue, their Radar Systems began to beep. Dakota and Gina both whipped their heads around to see a black box tumble down the hill. As if by providence it came to a stop at their feet.

“Well, look at that,” Dakota said sarcastically. “Another card.” She turned to Gina. “How about a wager, then?”

Gina blanched. “A wager? Huh? What would be the point?”

“Let’s consider it a test of your luck, shall we?” Dakota smirked. “You open that box. And if the card in there is higher than a Seven, that proves you're lucky enough to not have to do anything different. You can just keep playing the game as you normally do, and just accept whatever happens, win or lose.”

“…And if it’s lower?” Gina frowned, narrowing her eyes. She didn’t like the way Dakota was eyeing her up.

“Then you admit that your passive luck won’t be enough to get ahead of your buddy, and you actually put some effort into trying to win this game. Whatever that might entail.”

Gina couldn’t help but glance at the King on Dakota’s belt again. She swallowed.

“…Fine. I’ll do it.”

Dakota nodded, stepping back and letting Gina claim the box. She did, and the black material crumbled away to reveal the Seven of Clubs.

“Well, look at that,” Gina grinned, holding up the card for Dakota to see.

“It’s not higher than Seven,” Dakota said. “Looks like you lost the bet.”

“Nope! Not at all!” Gina shook her head. “This is actually the luckiest pick for me!” She happily returned the card to its spot on her belt.

“What? Because you have more points than your buddy again?” Dakota asked. “You can’t keep relying on that forever. If she starts getting more high-value cards, you’re in a bad position.”

“No, that’s part of it, but that’s not why,” Gina said, shaking her head. “It’s because Seven is a lucky number, right?”

Dakota stared at her in disbelief, pity, and a little bit of anger.

“Gina…”

“Kidding, I’m kidding. But Seven IS lucky for me. After all, I have one Seven already. If I find the other two, then that means I get the whole set!” She grinned. “Those banked points will be locked in for sure then!”

Dakota considered that for a moment. “…Mary has one of the other Sevens, though,” she said, nodding to the screen. “Will you be able to take it from her? Because that doesn’t sound like something a ‘good girl’ would do.”

“If it’s between that and losing, I won’t have a choice,” Gina admitted. “I’m not throwing this game, if that’s what you’re asking. But completing the set wasn’t the only reason why pulling a Seven was a lucky draw for me.”

Dakota raised her eyebrow. “Oh?”

“That’s right! After all… if I’d gotten a card worth more than a Seven, you’d have taken it from me without a second thought, right?” Gina winked. “After all, you’re that sort of girl.”

Dakota blinked in surprise, then smirked. “Maybe you’re not so totally hopeless,” she mused, turning and heading up the hill.

Gina happily followed Dakota and the two girls walked higher and higher up the trail. But even though they were getting further and further from the river, the sound of rushing water only grew louder. They walked down a turn in the trail, and the reason why became clear.

“Whoa!” Gina gasped. “There’s a waterfall here?!”

“It seems so,” Dakota frowned.

The wall of rushing water came crashing down several yards ahead of them. A long bridge stretched out in front of it, towards the other side. It was stable, thankfully, no rickety rope bridges here. But due to its proximity to the waterfall, the thick wood was soaking wet.

“Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me…” A grimace spread across Dakota's face as she looked closer at the waterfall.

Gina looked to see what had gotten her so upset, and gasped at what she saw. About halfway across the bridge a large rock jutted out from within the waterfall like a finger, and resting on that rock was a single glistening black box.

“Okay, yeah, that’s insane,” Gina said, shaking her head. “Come on, let’s use the hand rail to get across- Dakota?! DAKOTA ARE YOU CRAZY?!”

Without hesitation Dakota stepped onto the wooden bridge. It was wider than it looked, easily six feet, and with a reinforced handrail on the side opposite the waterfall. If someone was careful there was no risk whatsoever.

But you couldn’t reach that box if you were careful.

There’s no way she’d put something low value in that spot. It’s probably a King or a Queen. Even though Dakota was convinced of this, she couldn’t shake that doubt in her head. Only two Aces and two Twos had been discovered so far. And knowing Sylvia, she was exactly the kind of person who would put something worthless in a place like this to troll the competitors.

It was a gamble. But the game wouldn’t end until all the boxes were opened. And if that was a King, Dakota wouldn’t let anyone else get it.

Gina wanted to call Dakota back, but no matter how much she shouted the rushing water made it impossible. She had to get closer. But if she chased after her, there was a chance she might slip and fall herself.

It’s fine, right? There’s no way any of us are in actual danger! Sylvia wants to keep us alive!

And yet, Gina’s hands were shaking.

What’s the matter with me? She asked herself, watching Dakota slowly ease her way across the bridge. A few months ago I wouldn’t have even hesitated!

Grabbing a box from off a waterfall was the kind of drunk bet she would have happily taken in the past, given her complete lack of regard for her safety. But now the thought of doing so gave her pause.

Maybe I really have changed then.

But Dakota made the Gina of the past look like a regular scaredy-cat. She showed no hesitation at all as she made her way to the center of the bridge. Without a handrail to even rest against for support, the other girl leaned forward and extended her hand out towards the rock.

Almost there… this is… this is nothing. Dakota tried not to think about the running water in front of her. Just because she knew how to swim, that didn’t mean things like rivers and waterfalls didn’t shake her to her core. It was natural to be terrified of something she’d died from once already.

But she was going to win. She couldn’t let that hesitation get the better of her. She leaned forward even more, stretching out her arm until she felt her fingers curl around something solid and metal.

Dakota’s heart swelled with triumph as the box crumbled away within her grasp.

Then she felt her foot slip.

The all-too-familiar sensation of losing her balance atop a bridge flashed through Dakota as she felt her stomach rise in her chest. She didn’t even have time to scream out before she tumbled off the bridge.

Then her fall was suddenly cut short.

“Aargh! Ow!” Dakota felt her shoulder wrench upwards. Something had caught her arm! She shot her head up to see what had happened.

“Gina?!” Dakota sputtered in disbelief.

“I-I did it…” Gina panted. She was lying flat on the bridge, her hand grabbing Dakota by the wrist. She held on so tightly her fingers turned white.

Dakota thought she saw tears in the other girl’s eyes, but it could have been water from the falls.

“I couldn’t before…” Gina’s face turned red, and she smiled in relief. “Last time… I just… I just watched you fall, but now, I… I was able to save you…”

Holding onto Dakota’s hand like this, keeping her from falling into the river below, it felt to Gina like she'd finally been released from an unseen burden that she’d been carrying all her life. As if a blindfold had been lifted from her eyes she saw the path forward for the first time. She hadn't hesitated to fling herself across the bridge and save her friend before she fell.

“…You moron…” Dakota mumbled, her face heating up with shame. “You didn’t have to do something this reckless… you know Sylvia won’t actually let anything happen to us…”

“Oh, really?” Gina sighed in relief. “That’s good…”

“…Huh?”

“See, uh… I managed to stop you from falling, but, uh… that’s really all I’ve got. I have like zero muscle strength, and now that I’m actually holding you like this, I feel like my arm’s going to get ripped off, so…”

“DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! DON’T YOU DARE DROP ME!”

“Hey if you were still 12, this wouldn’t even be a problem you know!” Gina shouted back at her. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to carry another human being?! With one hand?! I don’t even work out, you know! You should be happy I’ve managed to hold you up this long!”

“Don’t give me that! If you can carry those massive things on your chest then you should at least be able to pull me up!”

“Oh yeah? Maybe I should go back to being passive and just let ‘whatever’ happen! How’d you like that?”

“I’m telling you, if you drop me in the river you’re going to wish you didn’t!”

“Aargh! You… fucking… bitch!” Gina strained herself, holding onto Dakota with both hands at his point. It took a fair amount of doing, but she finally managed to haul Dakota up to the point where she could get a firm grip of her own, and pull herself back up. Dakota groaned, collapsing on the wood beside her.

“My arms are so sore…” Gina mumbled. “I’m never… doing that again…”

“Your arms are sore?” Dakota groused. “You practically tore my arm out of its socket!”

“Dakota I swear to God If the next two words out of your mouth aren’t ‘thank’ and ‘you’ I’m shoving you off this fucking bridge.”

“Thank you. And if I go I'm dragging you with me this time.”

“At this point it might be worth it. Just to see you drown again.”

“This fucking card better be worth it…” Dakota used the hand she could move without muscle pain to check the prize she got for all her hard work.

“What was it? If I had to haul you up here for a fucking Three, I swear-”

“The King of Hearts,” Dakota replied, turning the card towards Gina. The two girls glanced at each other and burst out laughing.

“Dakota got another King, huh? Darn. She’s really rocketing up with those points,” Kim muttered, shaking her head. Two Kings had been discovered so far, and both were in Dakota’s possession.

“We shouldn’t envy what other people get,” Mary said, diligently searching the bushes for more boxes. They’d moved deeper into the forest at this point, following the scanner. There was a box somewhere in the clump of bushes in front of her, according to the Radar System she was practically standing on top of it. Kim was looking for it as well. But Mary couldn’t help but notice the way she kept eyeing the Two on her belt.

No, I can’t think about that now. Kim would never try to steal from me. Mary trusted Kim absolutely. She’d introduced herself to the girls as an honest worker, and nothing Mary had seen from her so far would make her question that statement.

Her doubts were quickly forgotten when she pulled a branch aside and uncovered another black box.

“Found it!” Mary held up the box as it began to crumble away. “Oh, it’s… the Queen of Clubs?!”

Mary couldn’t believe her luck. That made two Queens between the both of them, the only Queens discovered so far!

“That’s great, Mary! Way to go!” Kim cheered. She seemed genuinely happy for her, but Mary could see the way she was staring at the card. Kim didn’t say anything, but it was obvious she wanted it.

No. Why won’t you trust her? She’s your friend! Mary reminded herself. But she couldn’t hide the unpleasantness in her chest. A tiny seed of doubt was taking root. Could what happened with Holly have really shaken me that much?

She’d trusted Holly, and the other girl had hurt her, even if she hadn't meant to. If she trusted Kim, would the same thing happen?

“Mary… I’m sorry.”

Mary flinched, snapping out of her thoughts and taking a step back out of reflex. For a moment thought that Kim was apologizing because she was about to try and take the card from her!

“K-Kim…” Mary stammered out, only to see the pained expression on her friend’s face.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry,” she apologized. “But I really… right now, it feels like I really need that Queen from you!”

At this point, Mary was almost tempted to give it to her. But she also wanted the Two, didn’t she? Kim’s eyes were glowing with desire that Mary had never seen from the other girl before.

“Just… let’s not worry about it right now,” Kim finally mumbled out. “I don’t know why I’m acting like this, but I know it’s making you uncomfortable… look, if you don’t want to team up anymore-”

“No!” Mary cried, rushing to her friend’s side. “No, that’s not it! I just… I…”

She didn’t know what else she should say. She wanted to keep teaming up with Kim. But Kim was acting so strange. It was like she was **** to get the Queen from her.

“Argh, damn it! Look!”

Then all of a sudden, she wasn’t so ****. Kim’s attention changed completely, and she looked away from Mary, staring up at the scoreboard.

It took Mary a second to figure out what was going on. But then she saw it. Holly and Dawn had both found Twos. All the Twos had been discovered, and they were all being held by different people.

“This stinks!” Kim grumbled, kicking a rock. “I’m never going to be able to complete the set!”

Complete… the set… Why did that sound familiar? Kim and Mary both glanced at each other, and gasped.

“Your/My transformation!” They exclaimed at the same time, eyes widening.

“Aargh, that’s totally gotta be it!” Kim groaned, slapping her head in frustration. “This stupid 100% Completion transformation! Now that I have these cards, it’s forcing me to try and complete the sets! Damn it, this sucks! No wonder I care so much about getting those Twos!”

Mary frowned. It was one thing to want to complete the set of Queens. But Kim’s transformation was so actually compelling her to complete a set of Twos, one of the lowest groups in the game. That must be hard for her.

“Well, maybe we can do something about it!” Mary decided.

Kim blinked. “You think so?”

“I know so!” Mary nodded. “Holly’s our friend! If you explain things to her, then she’ll definitely give it to you!”

“Okay, but what about Dawn?” Kim asked, frowning. “Dawn and I aren’t that close.”

“Oh, yeah…” Mary frowned. If worst came to worst, they were both bigger than Dawn, and could probably take the card by ****. But Mary didn’t want to do that. “Well… Dawn’s trying to win, right? So she probably doesn’t even want a low card like a Two! We could offer her something to trade for it, or see if she’ll just give it to us!”

Mary checked her Radar System and found a tiny dot right at the edge. “Take a look! There’s another box over there! Maybe it’ll have a high value card that Dawn would want for the Two!”

Kim didn’t feel great about giving up a card worth a lot for something as low as a Two. If she were thinking rationally, she absolutely wouldn’t have agreed to make a trade like that.

But right now, her transformation was making those decisions for her.

Mary and Kim rushed through the forest, getting closer to the box. Their Radar Systems were beeping. And that’s when both girls heard it. Two more beeps, echoing a little further away. Mary gasped and checked her scanner again.

Just as she thought. Two other competitors were closing in on the same box.

Mary took a deep breath and pushed herself forward. She and Kim would get to the clearing first. If they could find the box in time, then…

The two girls broke out of the clump of trees and arrived in a tiny little field. It seemed almost surreal, a tiny clearing like this in the middle of a dense forest. But Mary had long-since given up trying to understand how this island worked.

It was quite a relief, though. The field was totally empty, save for a single rock in the center. A box was sitting on the rock, and Kim rushed over to grab it. The box fell away and revealed the card inside just as the sound of footsteps came crashing towards the clearing.

“Oh no! They got it before us!”

“Fuck! This is why I said we needed to run faster!”

Mary’s eyes widened as she heard a familiar voice. Well, both voices were familiar. One because she’d heard it for many years, and the other because it had a distinct, if faint, French accent.

A second later, Holly and Rose burst out of the forest.

“Mary? And Kim! So it was you two!” Holly’s expression immediately brightened, but Rose’s tensed up. She glanced away from Mary, her face turning red.

“Hey guys,” Kim said, glancing at the Two of Diamonds on Holly’s belt. Now that she saw the Five there, she was feeling that same urge rise up again. “Sorry, but, uh… we got it first.”

Kim checked the card she’d pulled, and winced. It was the worst card to get in this situation.

The Nine of Diamonds.

Now she had three cards in common with Holly. And everything in her was telling her to take the cards from the shorter girl without hesitation. But she **** herself not to.

“So you two are working together, then?” Kim asked, glancing at Rose. “I wasn’t expecting that. But I suppose that’s why Rose still doesn’t have any cards.”

“I’m giving all the cards I find to her,” Rose said, nodding to Holly. “And in exchange, she’s agreed that if she gets immunity, then she’ll choose me to be her buddy.”

Mary frowned. “Um… but then doesn’t that mean she’ll have to get a higher score than Dakota?”

She glanced at Dakota’s point total. It was already over 30.

“We’re doing the best we can,” Rose grumbled. “We can’t all find box after box like you girls.”

Mary blushed, feeling a little guilty that she felt so proud of herself.

“Um, actually…” Kim stepped forward. She felt a little guilty asking this after Rose had just finished explaining how important it was for the two of them to get more points, but her transformation compelled her to ask. “Can… would it be okay… can I please have your Two?” She begged.

Kim wanted three of Holly’s four cards, actually. But the Two was the only one she could bring herself to ask for without sounding rude.

Holly didn’t take it that way at all. She face brightened. “Sure, of-”

Rose clamped her hand over Holly's mouth before she could agree to throw in a set of steak knives. She smiled diplomatically at the two girls. “One moment please. Team meeting.”

She dragged the squirming Holly out of earshot and removed her hand.

“What are you doing?” Holly demanded.

“I should ask you that!” Rose hissed. “What are you thinking, offering to give away one of our cards like that? I found that Two!”

“It’s Mary and Kim!” Holly replied. “They’re clearly trying to complete a set of Twos! They both have one! They're my friends, I’m just trying to help!”

Rose sighed. Holly was sweet. But right now, Mary and Kim were their opponents. They needed to be ruthless! Even if it didn’t matter if the other two girls ended up with higher scores than Holly in the end, Holly needed every point she could get if she wanted to beat Dakota.

“Just leave it to me, okay?” Rose pleaded. “I’ll try and work something out.”

Holly nodded reluctantly.

“Okay, how about this?” Rose returned to the girls with a grin. “We’ll trade you the Two… if you give us that Nine you just pulled.”

Kim gasped, and her hand instinctively shot to protect the card on her belt. But she didn’t say “No” either. It was complicated. She didn’t want to give up the Nine. But she wanted the Two BADLY. Mary already had one. With that, they’d have three. She could give up the Nine for that, right? Even though it was so many points…

Rose narrowed her eyes. Just like I thought.

“It’s your transformation, isn’t it?” She asked. “It’s making it so that you HAVE to get your hands on our Two. And not just our Two, either, I bet you want our Five and our Nine too, don’t you?”

Kim winced. She was right on the money.

Rose continued. “Well, with Mary’s Two over there, you’re even closer to completing that set than any of the others. So what’s it going to be? Trade the Nine for a Two?”

“Rose!” Holly scolded her. “That’s too mean!”

“They’re our opponents right now!” Rose protested. But she knew Holly was right. She’d lied to Mary and Kim, and Kim had been nice enough to forgive her on top of that. To use her transformation against her now for such a one-sided deal would feel terrible. But Rose couldn’t just give away a card for free, either.

Okay, how about this?

Rose turned and looked Kim in the eye. “Instead of trading our Two for your Nine, what if we trade our Two and our Five for your Nine?”

Kim gasped. “Wait, really?”

“I think it’s a deal that works out good for both of us,” Rose nodded. “Look, we can give you our Two, but you’ll still want our Five and our Nine, right? And I think a part of you really wants another Queen, on top of that.”

Kim's expression said it all. Again, Rose read her like a book.

“Thought so. With the way your transformation works, it’s better if you only have a few types of cards in your hand, I think. Only one or two different numbers. You can only hold five cards at a time anyway, right? If you're pulled in too many directions you'll go crazy. Better to minimize that desire.”

“I think she’s right, Kim,” Mary mumbled. “Maybe I should open the boxes from now on, and then we can pool our multiples together for you to complete sets for.”

She didn’t want Kim to get so obsessed like this. Kim didn’t want that, either. They were making the deal at a loss, but she really wanted that Nine.

I mean the Two and the Five. I really want that Two and Five. ...Damn.

“There’s another thing to think about,” Kim said, glancing at Mary. “Right now, thanks to my transformation, I want to complete sets for all the cards I have. Two, Five, Nine, and Queen. But the strongest thing I’m feeling right now is the Two, for some reason. It’s like I gotta complete that no matter what. And I think the reason why is because there are three of them here right now.”

“Oh, that does make sense,” Holly said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “So maybe if you have two Twos and two Fives, you wouldn’t feel so strongly about the other cards you get, then.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Kim shrugged.

“So do we have a deal?” Rose asked.

Kim didn’t hesitate this time. She nodded.

Rose handed over the Two first. And as soon as Kim got it, it felt like giving away the Nine hardly even mattered. Heck, she barely even wanted the Five!

They traded the Five for the Nine next, and both parties were happy. Kim in particular was happy, because she had learned something new about her transformation.

“Something new?” Mary asked as the two teams went their separate ways.

“Yeah,” Kim nodded. Her new hand was almost full. She was letting Mary hold onto her Five in order to test her theory. “While I want to complete anything 100%, my transformation really only prioritizes one thing at a time. One impulse is always stronger than the others, and I think it’s whichever task is closest to completion. The Two was closest to completion because all the Twos have been discovered, unlike for the other numbers. And then when there were three Twos in the clearing, the same thing happened. So I think the closer I get to completing a task, the more I feel compelled to complete it, even if something new that requires completion appears in front of me.”

“That’s very helpful!” Mary nodded in agreement. “So… since between the two of us, we have three Twos, does that mean…”

Kim nodded. “It means my desire to complete the set has skyrocketed. And there’s only one person that can help with that.”

Right on cue, Dawn stepped out onto the path with a sour expression on her face. She reeked.

“Dawn!” Mary gasped. “Are you alright? You stink!”

“Of course I stink!” Dawn spat. “I just finished digging around in the stables! And all I found was this fucking Two!”

She displayed the Two of Spades with spite.

Kim swallowed. It was right there. Right in front of them. She opened her mouth to ask, but realized anything coming from her would sound too ****.

So Mary asked instead.

“Um… if that Two… if it’s such a burden, then… could we have it please?” She asked sweetly.

But Dawn was no Holly. She looked suspiciously at the two girls.

So that’s what this is.

“You two are working together, huh?” She smirked.

“Yeah,” Kim nodded.

“Of course we are, we’re buddies,” Mary agreed.

Dawn sighed. Two buddies working together. That was a problem. She’d warned Rose about this.

“So you want my Two, huh? Well, you’re right, it’s not worth shit, even if it smells like it,” Dawn scowled. “But no. I’m not giving it to you.”

“Why not?!” Kim exclaimed. She clasped her hand over her mouth. That had sounded a lot whinier than she’d wanted.

“Because in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly winning the points game!” Dawn spat. A bit of an understatement. The only people who had lower scores than her were Rose and Carly. Rose was helping Holly win, while Carly only had one card so far, a high-value one.

There was no doubt Dawn was in a really tough spot.

“…I am willing to trade it, though,” Dawn offered.

Mary didn’t like the look in her eye.

“Fine!” Kim said. It didn’t matter at this point. “What do you want?!”

Dawn smirked.

“Your Queen.”

Kim blanched. Dawn’s statement had been so absurd that for a second her rational side took control again. “You can’t be serious!”

Mary didn’t bother pointing out that Kim had offered her Queen herself to Mary for a Two not that long ago.

“I’m deadly serious,” Dawn replied. “Between the two of you, you almost have a full set. A full set you can’t complete without this card right here. Do you think I’m so nice that I’m just going to give it to you? Of course not. There’s no telling what sort of boon you’ll get for completing the set of Twos. It could be something that completely throws off the balance of this whole show. No, if I’m going to risk that, I want at least a Queen’s value in points.”

Kim bit her lip. This sucked. She wanted that Two so badly. But giving up 10 points like that…

Dawn stared calmly at her, like she already knew what the other girl was going to say.

Knowing how smart she is, she probably already figured out that my transformation compels me to complete a set, Kim realized. Damn it! She’s got me over a barrel and she knows it!

As an economics major who'd been working for a pittance since she was 14, it went against everything Kim believed in to make such a terrible trade. This wasn’t like helping prop up Mary. This was one of her rivals.

And yet...

“…Deal,” she spat out, tossing the Queen of Diamonds at Dawn’s feet.

“Here you are then,” Dawn said, handing Kim the Two. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

For a moment, Kim considered pushing Dawn down and taking back her Queen. But even though she couldn’t do something like that, the fact remained that she’d thought about it.

But the moment passed. Dawn walked past them down the trail, her tail twitching behind her. And as she departed, so too did any lingering desire for Kim to complete a set of Queens.

“…I’m sorry…” Mary touched Kim’s arm out of sympathy. “That was so mean.”

“It’s fine,” Kim said, shaking her head. “She’s just trying to stay in the game. Unlike me, she doesn’t have a buddy who’s got her back.”

Kim felt bitter over Dawn taking her Queen like that. But she’d gotten something out of it too.

“Mary?” Kim turned to her friend. “Can I have your Two, please?”

“Of course,” Mary replied, smiling at her friend. She handed over the Two of Clubs, and gave Kim back her Five for good measure. The four Twos began to glow. The cards rose into the air and spun together in a ball of light before disappearing, and in their place appeared another box. This one was bigger thought, with a lid.

Kim opened it to check the contents. She had just barely managed to pull open the lid when it sprang open on her, revealing that it was almost completely empty, except for a single coin.

“What's this coin for…?” Kim mumbled, taking it out of the box.

Then Kim noticed a small piece of paper tucked away in the corner of the box. She unfolded it and read what was written on it.

Double or Nothing: The contestant will receive a coin. They may flip that coin at any time. If heads, their current Victory Points will be doubled. If tails, they will lose all their current Victory Points. (Only works once.)

Sylvia giggled at Kim’s little dilemma.

Well… will she take the deal, or not? It could go either way. After all, it’s not like she has much to lose. It would be far more interesting if someone like Carly or Gina had completed that set, but I suppose it’s fine. The question is, is the diligent, hardworking Kim ready to risk it all on a gamble, even with such a small number of Victory Points?

While waiting to see what Kim would do, Sylvia checked the board again. Finally a set had been completed!