The taxi drove us back to the hotel. Lily and I got off at the front entrance and thanked the driver. I don't usually do that, but...granddaughter equals a better me, so...
"Flin, do you want to join us for lunch after you put our stuff away?" She pointed at the white boxes that were following me.
"Of course, let me just give these to the person upfront, he can take them to my room." I walked over to the reception area and passed on the floating cubes to the clerk. He nodded his head and passed them on to some other properly dressed employee. "Alright, that was easier than I expected." Lily followed me into the elevator as I pushed the twenty-second-floor button. The metal doors closed.
***
The doors opened to reveal an aquamarine hallway that was laced with gold embroidery on the walls. The carpet was a deep-sea blue, and the ceiling was a dark, purple night with incredibly detailed stars. Now, this was truly beautiful, not the paintings of some old dead guys on the walls. Lily took the lead and led me to her door. Nine-three-two-one. I memorized that as soon as I saw it. She knocked on the door twice before a soft click could be heard from the other side. The door opened a crack and out popped Esmerelda's perfect face. She looked down at Lily and then noticed me. "We seem to have guests, Lily."
Lily politely answered back, "Yes, ma'am. Flin here helped me today, so I invited him over for lunch." Esmerelda smiled before she let both of us come in. I took off my trench coat and hung it on the coat hanger near the door. When I looked at the room, it was quite large. My eyes were drawn to a miniature chandelier on the ceiling that provided the most light. After, my eyes lingered on the turquoise walls, light pink carpet, and a smooth ceiling that was painted in the same color as the walls. It was...eye-catching. The furniture looked modern; there were no old, loungy sofas and ugly victorian era chairs. Rather, the new furniture looked sleek with solid colors and fewer parts.
In the kitchen, I could hear the manned chopping of vegetables. The savory aroma flooded the roo- well, it was too big to be called a room. It was more of an expensive apartment in a hotel. There were two extra doors that presumably led to two private rooms. There was a recreational room that contained a giant window. A dining room where we would be having our meal, and a living room that was connected to both of the previous rooms. Anyway, the aroma was amazing. Suddenly the manned chopping stopped, and three maids that were responsible for making luncheon bowed to Esmerelda, Lily, and then me before putting on their shoes and leaving through the door in single filed order.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Vincent POV:
The jungle was a literal hell hole. I could now see why the previous group left so suddenly without erasing their tracks. It was stupidly hot and humid. The sweat that tore through our backs became sticky and salty. Our meager clothes were drenched in bodily fluids that we could not control. The more I hacked at the vines, bushes, and branches that were in our way, the more ludicrous it felt for us to keep going. The dire need for water killed most of my other thoughts and dilemmas in my head. I tried to find some sources of water, but all of them were swarmed with mosquitoes that left us with aching bodies as red bumps emerged on our skin. Torture. It was hell and torture. Abruptly, George shouted with an empty voice, "Co...co...nuts."
Bill retracted his dangling tongue into his mouth before asked, "What?" When he spoke, his mouth splattered spit and sweat out into the air.
As sweat rained out of his head, George miserably said, "We...should've...brought along the...FUCKING COCONUTS!" His head gave up and tilted down.
I tried to slap my own head. I made contact, but the sweat on my forehead caused my hand to slip and fall into my eyes. Now, my eyes were burning from the salt. Fuck. And fuck for not bringing along the coconuts either. They had water and food all in one. We thought we were so fucking smart making our little palm leaf knapsack when we forgot to look for the one thing that was in our fucking sights the entire time. Damn it! I couldn't even make a decent sentence. My mind was fucked. My body was fucked. My friends were fucked. I heard a thud on the ground behind me. I looked around to see Bill. He fainted. "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!" I screamed. George yelled the same right behind me. We both stopped moving and hunkered down next to where Bill had fallen. Was this really the end for us?
___________________________________________________________________________
Micheal Grey POV:
While the whole country was looking at the most popular contestants- the rich or the ones with the best aptitude- I was looking at Vincent. I manipulated the system so that Vincent's aptitude would not be revealed to anyone except me. I can't risk his aptitude getting noticed if it's on the same level as mine.
But, something I saw almost made me choke to death. Vincent and his buddies were stranded in the middle of the jungle biome, waiting for their doom. "Were they stupid?! Just leave the other twin, and they can make it to the nearest checkpoint!" I yelled at the computer screen. Good thing no one was around. I stared at their situation for while. I just couldn't understand it. Comradorie was one thing, but suicide in vain is another. The twin's brother I could understand. They were brothers, and brothers stick together until the very end was probably the dude's philosophy. But, what about Vincent? Why was he still there? If he was anything like me, he would have run off by now. Why? Was it loyalty or debt that he owed them? What was it?
Whatever the fuck it was, he was ruining my chances of finding out who he really was. But, what could I do? What could I do? Do? Do? Do? Do? DO! I got it. I grabbed my keyboard and typed in a specific program. If I was the one who sponsored all of this, I could do what I please, right? I hit enter and leaned back on my chair. I'll send them a gift from the gods.
_____________________________________________________________________________
George POV:
Vincent and I were leaning against each other's backs. It didn't feel good because our sweats were getting even more sweaty when we had the body heat. But, it felt comforting knowing that there was someone that I could rely on. My voice severely cracked when I tried to say something, "Vince?"
His throat was dry too. "Y..eah?"
My body was dehydrated; I had as much water content as a raisin did. Tears tried to achieve their freedom, but none of them came out. "S..sorry fo...r the," I let out a dry cough that pained my throat, "the...everything."
Vincent tried to force a laugh, but it came out as a wheeze, "Don't...men..tion-" His head slunk down towards his chest.
The energy in my body spurred once more with great alarm. "Vincent! Vincent!" I croaked. I turned my head to see him breathing. I sighed in relief. He passed out for the same reason as Bill. But, what can I do about it?
I dragged Vincent's body into more shade next to Bill's. I sprawled down next to them, thinking about what went wrong. I slowly closed my own eyes. What more could I do? I gracefully fell into a slumb-
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
I jolted awake. I large crate descended out of the sky. It was floating on its own without a parachute or any sort of flying device. It looked old and worn out like it had fought through countless hardships to get to us. The brown box snuggled the ground as it landed mere inches away from where we were. *CLICK* The crate's upper portion opened. I hesitantly crawled over to the crate, not knowing whether this could be some sort of elaborate trap. In the end, I thought fuck it. What worse could happen? I got up and looked into the box. It was sight for sore eyes! Water, medicine, bandages, caloric dense food, and other sundries and necessities to last us a couple of days!
I immediately emptied the crate and closed the lid when I saw that there were even three backpacks made for carrying all of the supplies. The crate ascended back into the heavens.
The first thing I did was sanitize and bandage any open cuts or festering bruises on myself. Next, I check both Vincent's and Bill's bodies for the same, patching up as I went along. I searched through the supplies to locate anything for dehydration. IV tubes weren't gonna cut it, but there has to be something in here. I ruffled the plastic bags and seals until I found what I was looking for. 'Dehydration adhesive: inject and plaster onto patient for immediate relief.' Bingo! I looked in the package there were three of them too! I ripped the plastic cover and slapped it onto myself. The blue patch stung as it latched onto my bicep. There was a small needle in it. I rubbed my other hand over the location where it hurt until I felt a sense of rejuvenation wash over me. Almost immediately, my chapped lips became swollen from the water content. My headache dispersed, and my body could freely move again. I carefully placed the adhesives on Vincent and Bill. Their faces became enlightened, like mine. It would still take some time for them to wake up, but I had more than enough hope that they would.
In the meantime, I equally distributed the supplies to each of the packs. From my pack, I grabbed a chocolate bar and a canteen of concentrated apple juice. I began to chew and swallow. I had finally secured our little garden of heaven in a world full of hell.
***
Around thirty minutes later, both Bill and Vincent woke up. They rubbed their heads in exhaustion and eyed me for an explanation. I smiled at them and said, "I think it was a gift from the gods. A gift from the gods."