Canapés Epicure

Caleb was lying on the couch in the reading nook, breathing heavily, but smiling. The umbrella had actually worked surprisingly well. Ultimately, it was still physically exhausting to be outside, but just the illusion of cover on his head kept him from going into a full-blown panic attack. Sure, he had to fight it the whole way; he had only managed to make it to the dock and back, and he felt like he had run a marathon, but he had gone outside. It was possible to do! Noemi was sitting across from him on the floor, lying and smiling up at him. She had wanted to lie next to him, and Caleb wouldn’t have been opposed if he hadn’t already been struggling to get air to move through his body. Practicality had to win out over fun for the moment.

He smiled down at Noemi and sighed before turning over slightly. He hadn’t heard from the others since they left on their expedition, and he was starting to get worried. Craning his neck, he looked towards the Clock down on the other side of the lobby. It was closing in on eight; there was only an hour until curfew. He shot upright. Something must have happened; he had been so distracted with trying to leave the hotel, he hadn’t noticed how late it was getting. He made a move to stand and the sudden shift caused him to bend at the knee.

Noemi scrambled up, concern washing over her face, “Caleb? What’s wrong? You look stressed.”

Wincing, Caleb concentrated on putting weight on his leg and forcing it to straighten and standing up shakily, “It’s almost curfew, and the others aren’t back yet. Something is wrong. I’m going to go look for them.”

Standing up, Noemi moved to help brace Caleb and help him up, a frown on her face, “Caleb, you’re in no position to go out right now. Sit back down, I’ll go out and look, I’m sure it’s ok.”

Vehemently shaking his head, Caleb pulled away from Noemi, “No, I can’t just sit by and do nothing, they’re my responsibility…if something happens to them…”

Noemi stared at Caleb. She could see the stress digging into his face, how tense he was, “Caleb-” She was interrupted by the front doors of the hotel swinging open and an exhausted group entering the hotel. They all looked tired. Maya and Lily were both wearing tattered clothing, and what had happened to Maddy!?

Noticing that Noemi and Caleb were there, Maddy self-consciously shuffled behind Stella, who gleefully waved at the two, “Hey there, you two, you’re looking pretty out of breath there, Caleb. Was Noemi giving your hot dog some special attention while we were out?” She mimed stroking with her hand and puffing up her cheeks in time with her movements.

Despite the frustration, Caleb felt his worries be washed away by Stella’s absurdity and the strength summoned from **** of will drained from his body and sending him to collapse on the ground. He looked up at the group, “You’re all ok then?”

Amy trailed in from behind, looking thoroughly wiped, and sighed, “While experiencing some minor setbacks, we achieved our goal at least. We found the upgrade shop.”

Stella puffed up her chest proudly and pointed her thumb towards it as she proudly proclaimed, “I got face fucked by a plant.”

Seeing Caleb and Noemi turn to face her, Lily’s face puffed up as a blush spread across her features. She stomped her foot and flailed her arms, “Not! Me!”

Half smiling, Caleb leaned to look around Stella, yielding a nervous yelp from Maddy, “Are you alright, Maddy?” he asked.

The chef could not make eye contact and accidentally pressed her enhanced chest together as she curled in on herself, causing another yelp before she turned away and managed to squeak out, “I’m ok, I’ll be normal by tomorrow…just drank some bad water.”

Maya excitedly ran over to Caleb on the floor and grabbed his hands, “Caleb! It was so exciting! There were traps and slimes and a snake woman! The upgrade shop too! It’s not a normal shop! It’s gambling! She rolls a die to decide on your upgrade, or you can play against her! It sounds really fun!” She was practically bouncing as she held Caleb’s hands.

Caleb looked past the purple-haired woman to gauge the group's reactions and saw Amy give a small nod, confirming what Maya said as Lily scoffed and rolled her eyes. Caleb gently held Maya’s hands and smiled, trying not to be distracted at all the shiny flesh that was poking through her outfit, “Well I’m glad it sounds like you had a good time then.”

The lottery winner beamed and jumped up and started to wave as she headed towards the stairs, “It was a lot of fun! I’m really happy I went, I’m going to go tell Mira about what we discovered!” She started to hop away

Lily turned on her heel and let out a sound of disgust, “Yeah of course, got to make plans about how you’re gonna screw us all over with upgrades.”

From behind Stella, Maddy looked at Lily, and her expression soured, “I’m going to go too, Noemi. I’ll see you back in the room.” Noemi waved as Maddy pushed past Lily and headed towards the stairs.

The moment that she had left, Stella smiled and waved, “I’m starving, gonna grab some food before curfew starts. Why don’t you join me, Lily?”

Looking surprised, Lily turned towards the imp and frowned, “I wasn’t planning on eating-”

Stella leaned in, “No, I really think it would be in your best interest.” She grabbed the plant girl's hand and dragged her off.

Amy, meanwhile, stumbled over and collapsed in one of the armchairs, sinking her full weight into its cushioned surface and letting out a long breath.

Looking up sympathetically from the ground, Caleb raised an eyebrow, “Long day, huh?” Noemi took advantage of the quiet to sit down next to Caleb on the ground.

Amy nodded and covered her eyes with her arm, “Caleb, it was just one thing after another, and when it wasn’t the catacomb attacking us, it was the bickering, and the sniping, and then the awkwardness. I had been planning to jump your bones when we got back to earn some VP, but I think I’m too tired to even do that now.”

Caleb chuckled congenially as he leaned back on the couch behind him, as Noemi ran a hand over his chest, “As tempting as that offer would have been, I probably would have had to turn you down anyway. I spent the day wearing myself out, too.”

“What?!” Noemi looked aghast and leaned in on Caleb’s chest, “But you said…that tonight we could…” Her eyes drifted shyly to Amy and who raised an eyebrow as Caleb let out a sigh.

“I did, before I felt like a truck was sitting on my chest. Sorry, Noemi, I was looking forward to it too.” He wrapped his arm consolingly around the Chilean woman, who crossed her arms and pouted.

“It’s fine, you made good progress today…” She said as if the words were killing her, “But you better make it up to me in full on our date day this week, ok? No excuses!”

Caleb set his head down on her shoulder and closed his eyes, “Yep, no excuses, I promise.”

Cheeks growing crimson as she tried to hide her excitement, Noemi nevertheless preened with happiness.

Amy lifted her arm to look over at the two. It was a sweet exchange that almost made you forget that every other woman here was expected to sleep with the man she was so devoted to. Amy tapped the side of her face with her downward-turned finger. It was optimistic to hope that today would be the least stressful of the week. Unlike last week, she wouldn’t be holed up in her room and would be **** to navigate these other women every day. Every day. She sat up and rolled out of the chair.

“Heading to bed?” Caleb asked, watching her cross the room to the bar.

Amy smirked, “No, just had the sudden urge to have a drink before bed, you both want to join me? I’m not a bartender like Stella, though, so I hope you like your liquor straight.”

Noemi and Caleb both walked over to join the Oni for a nightcap before bed.

“Then the snake lady opened the door, and now we can get to the shop whenever we want!” Maya concluded. She and Mira were sitting on the bed together as Eliza sat in the corner of the room ostensibly reading a book, though she had been listening to more and more of the conversation ever since Maya entered the room.

Mira nodded, processing this new info. Of course, the upgrade shop would have a gimmick to it; this island seemed to be addicted to them. “Well, it certainly sounds like you had a good time, even if you look a little worse for wear.”

Waving her hand dismissively, Maya smiled, “They’re just clothes, I have plenty of them and they’re real cheap to buy for BP even if they weren’t.”

Mira raised a hand to her chin and thought for a moment before asking, “Did Kalliope happen to mention whether or not contestants are informed their transformations are upgraded when it happens?”

Tilting her head, Maya tried to recall exactly what the lamia had told them, “She didn’t mention it, and she wasn’t exactly shy about pointing out loopholes and things like that. Do you think that means they are not?”

Mira merely shrugged, “If I had to guess, that’s what I would suppose. Though I would confirm with Kalliope before acting on it. If that’s the case, some transformations would be pretty obvious if they changed, but others could prove rather insidious. Makes them potentially more dangerous than sabotage.”

Across the room, Eliza shivered. She remembered the feeling of the Sabotage taking effect on her; it had been a tingling sensation that had tipped her off, but once it had taken hold, it had just become a new normal for her. If Caleb hadn’t been there to contrast who she was and had been, it would have been difficult to ascertain where the transformation started and where she began. If these upgrades didn’t even provide that sort of warning, they were incredibly dangerous.

Flopping back on the bed, Maya spread her arms out, “I want to play the game, but I don’t even know who I would upgrade, I don’t know if my transformations would even be fun upgraded. Mira, Eliza? Can I upgrade your transformations so I can play?”

Eliza bristled and shook her head, “I only have the one transformation making me younger, I’m nervous how it might change if upgraded.”

Mira smiled, “I doubt they’d age you any farther down, I don’t think Caleb is into children, and they want him to sleep with you after all.”

Frowning, Eliza was much less amused by the prospect, “That only means we have no idea what upgrades to it might actually do, so please no for me.”

Mira shrugged and looked to Maya, “Feel free to upgrade my transformations, I don’t intend to let anything hold me back in this competition, regardless of what happens to me. Just let me know when and if you’re going to do it.”

Jumping up, Maya pumped her fist, “Don’t worry, I will, though I do have to save money for the sabotage shop, I need to restock for the round. I really wish I had gotten the transformation that would have let me hold three at once. Do you want to join me, Mira?”

“Sure, I have something I want to buy, but you may have to slow your roll, miss.” Maya looked confused. “Don’t you have a date tomorrow?”

Realization donned on Maya’s face as her lips formed an “o” and she raised her hands, “I forgot all about that!”

Eliza set down her book, deciding it was no longer worth the charade. “Have you figured out what you want to do with Caleb?”

Flopping back onto the bed, Maya kicked her feet while avoiding eye contact. “Not really, I only know I’m going to do my best to earn more points.”

Mira leaned over and pet Maya’s head, “Just don’t push yourself into anything you’re not ready for, you've got the VP and time on your side.”

Maya flipped to her back, “Yeah, I understand that, but I also want to do well and have fun with Caleb.” She lowered her voice, “He didn’t make fun of me for babbling at him when we got back from the catacombs.”

Putting her book on the side table, the blonde professor leaned in, “Maya, do you actually have feelings for Caleb?”

Maya raised her head slightly, “I don’t know? What does that feel like? I just know he treats me like a friend. Mira is the only other person who does that here, even though I’m trying my best.”

“Putting that aside, why don’t you head back to your room and think on it for a bit? It’s almost curfew anyway. I’m sure if you spend some time on it, you’ll be able to come up with an activity you’d both enjoy.” Mira pats the purple-haired girl's shoulder.

Maya sprang up and sighed, “Alright, I’ll go do that.” She rose from the bed and headed to the door. “Good night!” She left the two older women in their room.

As the door shut, Mira looked over to Eliza, “Feeling any better after being up today?”

Giving it a moment's thought, Eliza got up and shook her head silently.

Mira let out an exasperated sigh, “Well, get changed, there’s always tomorrow.” Eliza wordlessly headed to her dresser and began picking out her pajamas. She wasn’t sure how she would ever feel confident enough to leave the room again, at least not without knowing how Maddy and Lily were doing.

In the dining room, Lily had finally managed to shake off Stella’s vice grip on her wrist, “Dammit Stella, what the hell.” She irritably massaged her wrist with her other hand as she stared the imp down.

Stella crossed to one of the closest tables and leaned her backside against it, crossing her arms and looking at Lily, “So what’s your end game here?”

Lily shot the bartender an exasperated look, “What are you even talking about?”

Clicking her tongue, Stella pointed at Lily, “I want to know what your goal is in antagonizing Maya the way you do, and I guess Mira too, while we’re at it, since you included her in your comment.”

The plant woman’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief, “No way am I getting a lecture about how to behave properly from you of all people.”

Tapping her foot in irritation, Stella tried to reel herself in, “Hey, you know what? I’m trying to reach out because I thought you cared about Maddy and yet you obviously can’t tell that this behaviour pisses her off.”

Lily recoiled defensively, “I just…I’m calling them out, is all. We’ve all known from the beginning that they’re the bad guys here. They told us from the start that they’re not fussed about screwing the rest of us over to get ahead.”

“Man, ok, you need to cool it with the judgment.” The bartender shook her head, “Listen, fuck I get not giving a fuck about the people you don’t like and you know if that were all it were, I probably wouldn’t be talking to you about this. But did you stop to consider for one second that during our entire time underground, the only one antagonizing people on purpose was you? And you’re the good guys?” Stella threw her hands up, “This is what I couldn't stand all last round, you and Eliza both acting like you have the moral high ground. You know what makes Maddy different? She fucking believes in people, she’s not casting judgement from on high and chastising them for doing wrong. She wants everyone to get along and believes in them to give them a chance.”

“Well, some people don’t deserve a chance, maybe!” Lily stomped her foot, feeling her face grow hot, “Maybe if you’re actively talking about throwing other people under the bus, you shouldn’t be given the benefit of the doubt.”

“You’re a goddamn hypocrite,” Stella snarled through gritted teeth, “You had no problem throwing someone under the bus for Amy during the challenge, but oh I guess it’s fine because you were screwing over the bad guys? Wait, wasn’t Noemi supposed to be part of your little group? Huh that’s strange, could have sworn you screwed her over too with that move.”

Lily felt like her skin was prickling and on fire as a wave of shame and outrage filled her senses. Her grip tightened, and her knuckles turned white. “What’s it to you anyway? I’m just trying to get through this and do my best for the people around me. Is that wrong?!”

“You’re acting like you’re special in that regard. Newsflash asshole! We’re all in the same situation. We’re all trying to figure out how to get through this. So maybe you should ease up on people trying to do things differently than you when you can’t even stick to your own guns. Because let me tell you, you’re not just alienating Maya when you behave that way.” Stella stood up and pushed past Lily to leave, knocking her shoulder. “Something to think about before Maddy gives up on you for good.”

Lily was left alone in the dining hall, her fingernails digging into her palms as she choked back angry tears and stared at the ground.