"M-Mom?" I said, looking at my mom lying there, sleeping. "Oh no. I think that she might have been drugged." Lane said, rushing over to check her breathing and pulse. "Oh god. I-I can't stay here. Kids, here's my flashlight and my knife. Also, if you want, you can ride in my car to the nearest town with service so you can call 911." Mr. Konno said. "No! We're staying. Can you take my mom with you, though?" I said. "Of course not, kiddo! They might think that I drugged her. There's a cellphone tower, but it's all the way on the other side of the park. Honestly, who knows if your friends aren't dead already? I think it's a waste of time. Just get in the car." Mr. Konno said, anxiously. "No. We're staying." I said. "No, you're not. You're just kids, so get in the car." Mr. Konno said, getting annoyed. "Let's just go, Lee." Lane said, starting to walk away. "Yeah," I said, following Lane. "I said... GET IN THE CAR!!!" Mr. Konno shouted while grabbing the back of my hood. I whirled around and punched him in the jaw. He continued to yell at us as we walked into the fog, disappearing from sight.
"Why did you do that?" Lane said, clearly worried. "Well, because I just didn't have a good feeling about him. He was really sketchy, y' know?" I said, trying to find the right words. "Well, I guess you're right. He did seem a bit aggressive." Lane said, fidgeting with the flashlight. "If anyone attacks, I'm definitely giving them the good ol' one-two," I said, pretending to punch someone. "You know, you could use the knife," Lane said, pointing to the sheathed knife in my pocket. "Well, if I have to, I will, but in my self-defense classes my teacher said not to use such dangerous methods," I say, patting the knife. "Okay, just be careful not to hurt yourself or put yourself in that bad of danger over something insignificant. I know you've been taking self-defense classes since you were little but you should still be careful." Lane said, patting my shoulder.
"Look! That's the ride that we were going to before... well, this happened." I said, pointing to a big blue waterslide next to a sign that said 'Wet 'n Wild Waterpark!' "It says that we have to go through the water park to get to the cellphone tower." Lane said, showing me the map. "Why do we need to go to the cell tower?" I said, tilting my head to the side. "To call for help. Also, if they could get pictures of what he does to his victims, then he must have taken pictures and sent them somewhere. The cellphone tower is the only place in the park where you can send anything out." Lane explained. "Nice! I'm so glad they didn't take you too. I would have been lost if it wasn't for you, so thanks!" I said, smiling. Lane turned away and started walking faster. I caught up with him pretty quickly though. "What's wrong? Was it something I said?" I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. He brushed my hand off and said, "No, i-it's fine. I just wish I could've been less useless..." I ran in front of him and hugged him.
"Don't say stuff like that! Besides, we were both useless." I say. "W-What?! Lee, let go! We need to find our friends so get off!" Lane said, squirming and frustrated. "Look, I'll protect you, but in exchange, you have to promise to stop thinking like that, so I'm not letting go of you until you promise!" I said, squeezing him tighter so he doesn't go. "I swear if you do this I going to go on my own! LET GO!!!" Lane said. "No!!! Please don't!!! I swear if you do that, I'll die!" I said, letting him go. "O-Oh... It was an exaggeration, Lee. I won't leave, I promise." Lane said, worry flooding his voice. "Oh, thank goodness. Well then, let's go." I said, starting to walk in the direction of the waterpark. "Okay." Lane said, catching up to me and grabbing my hand. "Also, I'm sorry Lane. I didn't mean to pry. Let's just find our friends and make sure that we get my mom some help so we can get out of here safely." I said, looking at the signs and the rides, making sure no one was hiding. We were walking pretty fast, but I could tell Lane was struggling to keep up.
I slowed down my walking speed a bit, and it seemed like he noticed. "Why'd you slow down?" Lane said, inquisitively. "I just noticed that you were kinda struggling to keep up, so I slowed down," I said, looking at him. I saw his face light up red, but I thought that it wouldn't be a good idea to bring it up. "Th-Thanks." Lane said, squeezing my hand a bit. "Hey, I think I found the cell tower!" I said, running and dragging Lane to the entrance. "W-Wait! I need to breathe!" Lane yelled. "Oh, I'm sorry. We're at the entrance, but it doesn't seem right... there are flashlights... What the- Is this some kind of joke?!" I yelled, directing my attention to the note that was on my left. "Hello!!! Welcome to the Tower of Bravery! Enter... if you dare because this tower will make you face your deepest... darkest fears. Use the flashlights, and don't call the cops, because then I'll...erase these beautiful children from this earth. Also, just in case, if this is you, Lee, then I know you won't run. I'm looking forward to seeing you." It read, written in blue marker, except for the last sentence. That was written in red, and I don't think it was a marker.
"W-What are we g-going to do?!" Lane exclaimed, grabbing my arm and shaking a bit. "Well, the only thing we can do is face him. Don't worry, just remember that we're all going to be together soon. The whole posey." I said, putting my arm around him as we both grab a flashlight and I hand him a stick on the ground. We link our arms, and I could feel him trembling. He was never any good at handling scares. I patted his head, gave him a smile, and we walked into the Tower of Bravery together, ready for the worst.