Chapter 39 by WyldCard4

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The First Challenge: Part 2

The bottle stopped spinning. It pointed close enough to Natalia that nobody questioned it when she sat up straight.

She settled yoga-style on the hardwood floor and turned to face Ariadne.

“Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Ariadne said, smiling.

“Send us all back home right the fuck now!” Natalia shouted before she could lose her nerve.

“Interesting. If that’s your dare…”

A sense of vertigo hit everyone at once. Color flashed. Pink light burst across the room.

Then everyone was around the bottle again, in a different order.

No one was wearing clothing.

“Huh,” Laurel said thoughtfully. “So that’s what happened to the house.”

“Dare fulfilled,” Ariadne said, leaning back. “You did not specify that I not return you to the set.”

Natalia’s face went red.

“Think harder next time,” Ariadne added.

“Yeah, yeah.” Natalia gave the bottle a half-hearted spin.

It landed on Laurel.

Laurel looked at Natalia. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Natalia said.

“What is the most uncomfortable thing you could be asked?”

Natalia frowned.

The question seemed to change the air around her. She stood up, accepted Laurel’s hand, and let herself be pulled to her feet while the others shifted around the bottle.

“I think that would be why I decided to divorce my ex-husband,” Natalia said carefully. “That would be the most uncomfortable thing to ask me.”

She turned toward Tess.

“Do I need to say what that is, or is answering that part enough?”

“I’ll allow it,” Tess said, bobbing up and down.

Laurel gave the bottle a spin.

It landed on Christian.

Christian looked thoughtfully at Laurel, gave Chloe a guilty glance, and finally turned to Joan.

“Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Joan said, smiling.

“Kiss whoever you think would be most embarrassed by the kiss, out of the harem.”

Christian blushed slightly after she said it.

Joan leaned in and kissed Christian with a body that resembled Chloe’s.

Christian turned beet red. Joan took her time before pulling back.

“Well played,” Chloe said.

Joan smiled at her with two faces.

The bottle landed on Joan, though it nearly stopped on Ariadne.

Joan looked around the harem with two thoughtful expressions. Her eyes rested on Chloe.

“Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Chloe said.

“Okay.” Joan hesitated. “Kiss whoever—no. I shouldn’t repeat that. Oh, I know. Slap whoever you like least in the harem on the butt.”

“Oh, that’s interesting.” Chloe nodded.

After a second’s thought, she paused.

“Most intense negative feeling, or net positive versus negative?”

“Lowest general affinity for the person,” Joan clarified.

“Huh?” Laurel looked at Ariadne.

“They met in math class,” Ariadne reminded her.

Chloe crossed the circle and smacked Laurel on the behind.

“Really?” Laurel asked.

“We’re roommates,” Chloe said, smiling. “Sorry.”

“I get it.” Laurel shrugged.

Chloe and Ariadne sat across from each other again. Joan gave the bottle a spin.

It landed on Chloe.

Chloe looked at Laurel with an intense expression.

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Laurel said.

“Really?” Chloe looked surprised.

“What ya’ got?” Laurel asked.

“Are you sexually attracted to Alan Wayne, your biological offspring?”

Laurel frowned thoughtfully.

“Good one.” She took a breath. “Yeah. He’s way too similar to Nathan not to be sexy, and it’s not like I raised him. So yeah, I’m worried it would fuck with his head if we went anywhere, but you can’t be on this show for long and not think about the target’s sexual appeal.”

Laurel’s voice stayed even, but she was blushing by the time she finished.

Everyone was blushing except Ariadne.

Even the Skynet bodies looked embarrassed.

“Um,” Laurel said after a moment of silence. “Ariadne’s turn, since everyone else went?”

“Oh, yeah.” Ariadne turned toward Christian and gave her a considering look. “That leaves me with Christian. Truth or dare?”

Christian was silent for a long minute.

“Truth,” she practically hissed.

“Would you want to date Alan if not for Harem Hotel?”

Christian sagged.

“Um, yeah. He’s cute. Chloe had, like, sixteen different shots and didn’t take them. If we lived near each other, I’d be game.”

She almost collapsed onto the floor beside Chloe, looking relieved.

“No eliminations yet,” Tess said, sounding annoyed. “Challenge eliminations, not the big ones. But still.”

Ariadne spun the bottle.

It landed on Chloe, or possibly Christian, but Chloe spoke up before Christian could straighten.

“Alright, Laurel. Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Laurel said, glaring at Chloe.

“Who was your first kiss?” Chloe blushed as she asked it.

“Oh, interesting.” Laurel’s expression softened. “Yeah, that was before Camp Prospero. Oh, I remember. God, it was Truth or Dare. A real one, at a slumber party. Tina. Her dare, not mine. She had to kiss one of the other cheerleaders, and I was the only one ‘out’ at the time, if bisexual counts. It really shouldn’t count for girls. It’s not like anyone gave a shit.”

Laurel sounded sad by the end.

“Bisexual totally counts,” Joan said. Both of her faces frowned. “It counts if some bigoted fuck would throw a brick at you, at least.”

“It never happened to me,” Laurel said. “Maybe if I dated a girl, it would’ve. Man, I was shy in high school.”

She laughed, but it did not quite land.

Chloe gave the bottle a spin.

It landed on Natalia.

Natalia looked thoughtful as she turned back to Ariadne. Ariadne met her gaze with a smirk.

“Truth or dare?”

“Dare, of course,” Ariadne said. “Do you really want to try again?”

Natalia took a full minute before answering.

“Tell us what dare would be most effective at getting us home safe and outside the reach of Harem Hotel and whoever manages it.”

Ariadne went still.

“Ah. That’s a good question.” Her tendrils twitched. “I can’t complain. It isn’t a good dare, either.”

She paused.

“I believe I have been eliminated from the challenge.”

Ariadne got up and settled on the ground beside Tess and Alan.

“Oh.” Natalia looked shaken.

She reached down and gave the bottle a weak spin.

It landed on Joan.

“Ah, okay.” Joan looked troubled. “Christian. Truth or dare?”

Christian perked up slightly. “Um, dare?”

“Okay.” Joan thought for a moment. “Earn one or more VP from something with Alan.”

Christian blinked.

Then Joan paused.

“Hey, we all have nudity VP now, don’t we?”

“We do,” Ariadne said from outside the circle.

“Fuck.”

Christian stood, walked to Alan, and gave him a hug.

Somewhere, a VP tracker ticked up by one.

Christian returned to the circle.

Joan spun the bottle. It landed on her.

“Um, Chloe. Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Chloe said, smiling at her sister.

“Oh. Well.” Christian hesitated. “Earn a VP from Alan?”

“I literally don’t know how to do that,” Chloe said. “We went through everything we could think of.”

“Oh.” Christian blushed. “Doesn’t that mean you’re out?”

“I think so?” Chloe looked at Tess.

“I would say if it was deliberate, you’d stay in if the dare was impossible,” Tess said. “But for a mistake, I think it’s more interesting if you’re out. Also, this can’t possibly keep anyone’s interest for too long, so speeding it up is good.”

“Good to know,” Christian muttered.

Chloe stood and left the circle, looking more annoyed than defeated.

Christian turned to Laurel.

“You’re up, I think.”

“Damn. I wanted to go for Chloe.”

Laurel looked between Natalia and Joan.

“Natalia. Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Natalia said.

Laurel paused. A serious expression crossed her face.

“Suck my toes until I get bored.”

“Ew!” Natalia shuddered.

For a moment, it looked like she might refuse.

Then she got down and started, visibly disgusted.

“Huh,” Laurel said after a while. “Not fun, but not boring.”

Natalia retreated as soon as Laurel waved her off.

“I think we have another round now?” Laurel asked.

“That escalated,” Joan said, annoyed.

“Did it?” Laurel asked quietly.

Laurel spun the bottle. It landed on Laurel herself.

She paused, watching Natalia, who looked more bored than anything now.

“Okay. Joan. Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Joan said.

“Do you really think you’re a girl, or is it just sexy to pretend?”

The words hit harder than the slap had.

“Yes,” Joan snapped. “Yes to both.”

A buzzer sounded.

“What?” Alan looked confused.

“Joan lied,” Tess explained.

Joan looked genuinely lost.

“I don’t get it.”

She stood and walked over to the cluster outside the game.

“You think you’re closer to nonbinary than female,” Tess said. “Female pronouns are easier to use, and easier for other people to understand. You don’t think ‘girl’ is the whole answer. You said it because Laurel was being a jackass and that was the politically acceptable response.”

“She really was being a jackass,” Joan muttered.

She sat down with the others.

The bottle spun by itself, courtesy of Ariadne, since Joan had forgotten to spin it.

It landed on Natalia.

“You’re up,” Laurel said. “And that was more than enough.”

Natalia pulled herself up, looking very annoyed.

“Truth or dare, Laurel?”

Laurel paused.

“Dare. Hit me.”

Natalia took a deep breath.

“Give Alan a blowjob.” Natalia's glare conveyed a confidence that she'd eliminated Laurel.

The room went silent.

Laurel’s breath hitched.

“What the fuck?”

She shook her head once, hard, and started moving toward Alan.

“Wait,” Alan said. “What?”

“You heard the dare,” Laurel snapped. “You know the fucked-up rules of this place. Just stay still.”

“No!” Chloe shouted. “Stop! You can’t be serious. Everyone!”

“I take it back.” Natalia’s eyes were wide. “I take it back.”

“That isn’t a thing, is it?” Laurel closed her eyes. “Fuck. Sorry, dude.”

Alan looked at Laurel.

Then at Natalia.

Then at Tess.

“...okay,” Alan muttered, not because it was okay, but because he remembered what happened if Laurel had anything less than a hundred VP at the end of the game.

Laurel flinched.

The others looked away.

Christian stared at the circle, trying to process what was happening.

“Um,” she said quietly. “It’s my turn, right?”

“You have to ask me,” Natalia said, unable to look toward Alan and Laurel.

“Truth or dare?” Christian asked.

“Dare.”

Natalia turned herself in the opposite direction.

“Fuck. Um. Fuck.” Christian squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “I don’t know. Keep your eyes closed for the rest of the day.”

“Okay,” Natalia whispered.

She closed her eyes.

No one spoke for several minutes.

When Laurel returned to the circle, her eyes were wet and her throat burned with acid reflux. Alan stayed where he was, staring at the floor with his belt held uselessly in both hands.

“So,” Laurel said, her voice rough. “We’ve got another round of this, right?”

“Um, yeah.” Christian gave the bottle a **** spin.

It landed on Laurel again.

Laurel closed her eyes and took a breath.

“Truth or dare…”

She let the tension build.

“Christian?”

“Truth,” Christian muttered.

“Most satisfying sexual experience?”

Laurel chuckled, then coughed.

“Huh.” Christian blushed. “Um, okay. Goddess. When I actually got a vibrator. I wasn’t a virgin, but yeah. That was a lot.”

“Oh, cool. Cool.”

Laurel got up and kicked the bottle into a spin.

It landed on Christian.

“Um, Laurel?” Christian could not make eye contact. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Laurel said.

“Slap Natalia really hard.”

Christian looked away.

Natalia yelped as Laurel enthusiastically followed the instruction.

“That leaves me,” Natalia said after a moment. Her eyes remained closed. “And Christian’s the only valid target.”

She paused.

“Truth or dare?”

“Fuck it,” Christian said. “Dare.”

“Lick your elbow?”

Christian stared at her.

“Huh.”

After about half a minute, she sighed.

“I’m out, I guess?”

“Isn’t that an impossible one?” Chloe asked.

“Difficult, but not impossible,” Tess said. “She didn’t intend it as impossible, at least.”

Tess nodded toward Natalia.

“Final two.”

Natalia and Laurel sat across from each other. Natalia’s eyes were still closed. She reached out and spun the bottle blindly.

Laurel snorted when it landed on Natalia.

“You’re up.”

A long silence followed.

“Do a jumping jack,” Natalia muttered.

“You didn’t ask me truth or dare first,” Laurel snapped.

Natalia’s voice almost broke.

“Truth or dare, then.”

“Truth,” Laurel said.

“Oh.” Natalia swallowed. “What’s your favorite color?”

“White,” Laurel said. “Is white a color?”

“It’s treated as one,” Tess said. “Your turn, Laurel.”

Laurel smiled sweetly.

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Natalia answered.

“Why did you divorce your husband?”

Natalia’s face went blank.

“I suspected he was going to start molesting our daughter." There was a long silence. Natalia took another breath. "And he was a bad lay.” A buzzer sounded.

No one reacted at first.

Then Laurel got up.

“Good game.”

She offered Natalia a hand.

Natalia opened her eyes, saw the hand, and shook it.

“Good game.”

Natalia and Laurel made their way back to the chairs, where the rest of the shell-shocked cast was already getting seated.

“Quick commercial break,” Tess said.

She sounded rattled.

“Then we’ll do voting.”

Everyone collapsed into their chairs and looked uncomfortable.

Challenge results: