I can already see the Birds Eye view swooping down into a market under some bread one guy thru to another then thru someone’s kitchen and finally to

Chapter One
Chapter Seventeen
Martinez slouched his way into the kitchen. He wasn’t really paying attention to his surroundings; in his defense it was early in the morning and he’d failed at getting some appropriate shut-eye before he went and, you know, bared his entire soul to Chao. At least that was his plan. But as usual, the universe laughs at plans.
He placed a sealed plastic package into the coffee machine, then put a styrofoam cup in the appropriate location. He yawned as the machine began its burbling.
“Hey.”
Martinez snapped his head over at McCoy, who’d suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She leaned against the counter, with a big and very evil grin on her face.
“Um…” began Martinez, before he was interrupted by a voice from his other side.
“Hey.” Matt leaned there, and if McCoy looked evil then Matt looked positively diabolical. Martinez glanced behind him and saw more soldiers, all with looks of ill intent on their faces.
The corporal didn’t waste time in asking what the hell they were up to, he just started throwing hands and feet. Future scholars would count the resulting battle as one for the ages; Martinez even managed to tag Toke with a couple of pretty good punches and one really sweet roundhouse kick.
But in the end, it was still a case of one against many.
__________
“Mmmm mm mmm m mmm!” protested Martinez.
Chao sighed as she beheld his bruised and very taped-up state. “What did those idiots do to you?”
“Mm MMM mmm mm!” The corporal’s mouth was now duct-taped shut, so verbal acuity was not amongst his strong suits at the present.
She put her hands on her hips. “For crying out loud. Matt goes and gets me all worried that you’re somehow in trouble, he leads me over to some random closet and shoves me in here and I find you like this. What’s the game?”
“Gmmmm?”
Chao squatted, examining his bonds. “Well, they sure got you trussed up like a roast for the feast. Hey, if you want me to pull the tape off of your mouth just nod.”
After a moment, Martinez nodded. She reached for the tape covering his mouth, then hesitated. “Um. I don’t have much experience with this so I’ll leave it up to you. Is it better to go fast or slow? Blink once for fast, two for slow.”
With deliberation, Martinez blinked once. Chao nodded and yanked the tape off. They’d even left a convenient tab for her to grab ahold of.
“FUCKING OW!” yelled the corporal. “Um, sorry.”
Chao seated herself before his figure, which was tied up in a fetal position. “You know, the last few weeks have given me a bit of a crash-course on the types of grab-ass shenanigans you soldier types get up to. This is a new one, though. Care to educate me?”
Martinez stared at her in horrified disbelief. “Toke didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what? He just said you were in trouble and that I needed to help out.”
“That…that evil, evil son of a bitch. He said he’d explain everything!”
“Explain what? Luca, I am just about ready to walk out and leave you in here to eventually soil yourself.”
Now that he was literally hog-tied and unable to escape, Martinez realized he had to ‘fess up. “I like you,” he said in an almost-gasp. “I mean, I like you like you. In that way. I mean, I know it’s sudden. We’ve only known each other for maybe four weeks but you’re so smart and pretty and…and, you know about Asimov and Heinlein and Clarke and about orbital mechanics and star spectra.”
She sat in stunned silence while he continued. “I don’t bring much to the table, I get that. But I want to learn. After we come back from the Rithro’s repair mission, I want to go to college…I’ve started looking into that. I’m not much of a catch right now, but maybe one day you’d consider liking me that way as well…”
He was interrupted as she leaned down, grabbed his head, and planted a firm kiss upon his lips. After a moment of pure bliss for both of them, she pulled away. “You utter and complete idiot,” she said, but she said it with a smile. “Did you never think that perhaps you have some attractive qualities of your own?”
Martinez tried to shrug as best he could, being all tied up. “I mean, Toke did mention that I have some pretty nice abs?”
Chao’s eyes glinted in good humor. “Pretty nice? You’ve got an eight-pack. I could shred cheese on those bad boys.”
He looked up at her. “Wait. When did you see my abs?”
“Back when we were sequestered within Cheyenne Mountain, and we were strictly on sponge baths.” She patted his taut stomach, feeling up those aforementioned abs. “Anyways, do you want me to get you out of these bonds?”
“Um…”
Her good humor turned into a diabolical grin. “Or, would you like to remain in these bonds? Toke said something about a safe-word and safe-gesture, he said you’d explain it.”
“Of course he did. That fucker. Um. Chao, this has gone better than I could ever have imagined but I don’t think you need to know…”
“Know about what?” Her caressing of his unprotected stomach did not cease. “Does my corporal have a bit of a fetish?”
His brain seized up again at her emphasis on ‘my’. “I…”
“Let me put it this way. Would you like me to be all mean and nasty, or more cuddly and dommy mommy?”
After a long, long moment of silence he finally murmured, “Dommy mommy.”
“See? That wasn’t so hard. Well, admitting it wasn’t hard.” Her hand continued its explorations. “Now this here is indeed quite hard. Hmm. Good thing you are just too cute for words.”
“Cute?” He looked in disbelief at her, and then flinched at her continued caressing.
“One can be a badass and also cute, my dear corporal. You tick both boxes. Not to mention you’re into a fetish which I’ve wanted to indulge in for a while. Never found anyone who was into it, until now.”
Outside the closet, McCoy stood guard. She smiled in triumph as she heard Martinez yell out in pleasure, and turned to give Toke a thumbs-up.
“It’s about fuckin’ time,” she said.
Matt smiled back at her. He now sported an epic shiner under one eye. “Eh, some kids just need a bit of a nudge, you know?”
__________
It was…it was a wall. A wall he was looking at.
A wall covered in white stucco. Nothing too fancy, but it was indeed a wall and Joachim realized he was looking at it. That might seem like a substandard feat, but for a man who’d been in Joachim’s proverbial shoes it was a grand accomplishment.
His mouth worked as he swished his tongue around in his mouth. He looked around. He sat in a lawn chair in the middle of a beige room, lined on every wall with the stucco he’d just realized he was looking at. “H…hello?”
His voice felt old and clotted. Joachim looked down at his hand, and he saw wrinkled skin and age spots that he didn’t remember seeing there before.
This room only had one exit door, and now it opened. A lean man with dark skin entered. “Joachim Neimyer? I’m Zawahir Ibn Harith. How are you feeling, sir?”
Joachim fixed the newcomer with a steady eye. “I’ll be feeling better once I know where I am. And where is Corina?”
“Corina is on her way, she should be here within minutes. We had great hopes that your treatment was progressing well. Do you know what day it is, sir?”
“Of course I know what day it is! It’s…” Joachim trailed off as he realized that he didn’t know. The last few…years? Decades? He had glimpses of moments in time, as if viewed via a strobe-light. He now realized it was much, much later in time than he thought. “I…what happened?”
“Alzheimer’s, Mr. Neimeyer.” Zawahir’s eyes were kind. “You’ve been suffering from it for the last seven years. But we discovered…or, I should say, we adopted a methodology for treating it. It not only stops the damage, it has a way of reversing at least some of its effects. I fear you will never regain the memories from the time during which you suffered the most, but from now on your mind should function properly once more.”
Joachim rubbed his now-bald pate. “Is Corina all right?”
Zawahir pulled over a chair next to him and seated himself. “She is, blessedly, un-marked by the same affliction. We are, of course, putting her on a similar treatment as yourself just to make sure she remains so. With her consent, of course.”
The old man fixed Zawahir with a direct stare. “This whole thing smells experimental. Why choose me?”
“Mmm, you are as sharp as ever, sir. This is indeed an experiment, and we chose you because you are one of the preeminent rocket experts who ever lived. We need such skills now.”
“What?”
Zawahir leaned forward. “I will do my best to catch you up…”
__________
She walked through the door, supported by a cane. The one person, the beacon in Joachim’s life. Corina lit up upon seeing his gaze. A gaze with intent, with purpose. “They said you were feeling better!”
Before he or the surrounding interns could react, Joachim now found himself with a hundred-ish pounds of enthusiastic elderly woman in his lap.
“Tell me something only you know,” she whispered.
Joachim smiled. “Do you remember what I told you when we saw the green flash? That one time, in Hawaii? During our honeymoon?”
“I do. You said that the flash was the souls of those who’ve gone before.”
“And I promised you that, if I passed before you, that you would just need to look for the flash to see me.”
She clasped his wrinkled face in her own equally-lined hands. “You did better than that. You came back to me.”
“I guess I did.” He kissed her, reveling in the fact that this time he’d remember it.
Zawahir motioned to everyone else in the room. They all quickly got the hint and left the pair to their mutual happiness.
__________
The door of the simulator cracked open and Kifa came scuttling out. She peered up at the normally stony face of Master Sergeant Wilkes; right now the latter looked like he’d just been kicked in the chest by a donkey and was still trying to process it. “How did I do?” asked the xyrax. “It seems like I did quite well.”
“Um…Kifa. Well. Um. Did the controls seem to operate right?”
“Oh, yes! Very much, quite intuitive! It’s been ages since I simulated combat within an atmosphere! That was fun!”
“Fun. You do realize that you were going up against aces. I mean real, human aces?”
“Oh. I thought that was the case.” Kifa peered back into the simulator. “Was I not supposed to know that?”
Wilkes finally laughed, something that was fortunately captured by several cameras and used as blackmail material for many years after. “You did fine. You also just utterly smoked several of the finest pilots on Earth, and that includes non-Americans.” He regarded her with a steady gaze. “I wish I could recruit you to TOPGUN, I’d love to see you show those strutting peacocks a thing or two.”
“What is TOPGUN?”
He sighed. “Right now, it’s in the same exact department as buggy-whip manufacturing. You just showed these punks that, even in atmosphere, you’re death from above.”
Kifa seemed to shrink into themselves. “I didn’t mean to…”
“Now, now, Kifa, this is a good thing. Gotta keep those aforementioned strutting peacocks on their toes. But soon we’ll be dealing with fighting using orbital mechanics, something with which our air-combat people have about as much actual experience as they do with chatting up the fairer sex.”
“Which fairer sex? I mean, my kind is hermaphroditic so I know the mechanics but…” Kifa trailed off as it blinked its four big, oil-drop eyes.
“You are too damned cute for your own good. Pick a sex, any one, I for one do not give a fuck anymore. Point being, we humans need a crash-course in how to fight in space. No atmo, so trying to maneuver using flaps and wings and things is right out. We need to understand how orbits work. Not just intellectually, but in our bones.” Wilkes patted the simulator. “We need you to teach us. We need you to teach an army. Well, navy. Technically. I guess it would count as a navy. Either way. You know how to do this shit, and you just proved that even in atmosphere you can run rings around our best and brightest. So. Are you willing to show us your voodoo?”
“My voodoo…” The blue-furred spider suddenly rose on all of its legs. “Of course! This will be used against the Breakers, yes?”
“Of course.”
“Then it will be my greatest pleasure to show you all of my voodoo!” Kifa paused. “Although, if I received a headpat or two it would also help me properly consider how best to teach you.”
Sergeant Wilkes sighed and reached down. Kifa purred in delight as the usually-taciturn sergeant unleashed the full might and power of Human Headpats upon the alien pilot.
__________
Sadaf watched as the two dark-haired women and one blonde-haired woman had a black-and-white cap fitted over their heads. Both had received a haircut for this day; Parvati for one seemed to be less than thrilled about losing some of her tresses.
“This is the snoopy-cap,” said the aide who stood between the two women. The surroundings were sterile and very, very white. “This cap contains your communications, and it will keep your hair in place during launch.” This was the actual process getting shown to the world. Behind them, Ravindar and Martinez were also in the process of getting suited up, but this was done with much less fanfare. The aide’s words carried to them all, of course.
“Arms up!” Everyone going into space today raised their arms, and a large tubby-looking upper suit then slid down over five figures. Many human hands made sure that their heads made it through the upper ring. “This is the upper part of your pressure suit,” said the aide. “The gloves and helmet will complete that part, but that will come later. Now I will need you all to step into your pants…”
Everyone did so; Chao was the one who didn’t quite make it look elegant. She grinned at Martinez as she fumbled for a bit getting her pressure-suit trousers on; his resulting blush was caught for the cameras but it wasn’t until a week later that someone realized what it meant.
“Latch!” The aide’s voice was hard as metal.
Many hands reached out, twisting multiple metal rings to lock the upper and lower halves of the four pressure suits into one cohesive piece.
“I still say we could make them some proper hardsuits,” said Sadaf to Takh. The two stood off to the side, not exactly part of the dance but not apart from it either.
“No, I think this is better,” said Takh. “We need to make this look more like a…human effort.” Her XO stood at parade-rest, with both sets of arms clasped behind his back.
Sadaf nodded. “I will default to your judgement. By the way…how are you and Corporal McCoy getting along?” She nodded towards the last-minute addition to the crew.
“Um…Ma’am, I…” His faltering was not helped by watching the humans in the clean-room getting clear helmets fixed over their heads. Each latching was followed-up by a tap on the shoulder and a thumbs-up.
The big human, Ravindar, waved his arms over his shoulders as he got the feel for the suit. He’d managed to get the helmet on without an issue, in spite of his substantial beard. “Need more air?” asked a much smaller woman at his side. He shook his head, while he continued to flex and get comfortable with how the suit restricted his motions.
Getting the Sikh to this moment had been a master-class in diplomacy. Not least of which was because he still carried a weapon upon his person. Sadaf had no experience with ‘Sikhism’, but she could appreciate any culture or creed which dictated the need to carry a protective weapon at all times. It appealed to her nature.
“Do you think Parvati knows that he’s, well, into her?” asked Takh.
His captain’s voice became damn near sultry. “Now Takh, and here I thought you were all clueless. I’ve heard of the effort these humans went through to get Chao and Luca together. Would you like me to ask them to perform a similar effort for you and Corporal McCoy? Hmmm? It would make for quite the photo-op, as the humans would say.”
Takh felt a bit of panic, somehow. “No!” His panicked reply was low, hopefully not picked up by the surrounding cameras. “I mean, she’s so small. I could hurt her…assuming she wants to be romantic, of course.”
“Romantic? Takh, I admit I am still learning about human body language but trust me…if you want that, she wants that.” She pondered the humans in the room still going through some last-minute checks of their pressure suits. “Let’s put it this way. If you don’t make a move, then I just might ask Dhuz if it’s okay to add a human to our harem when we get back.”
“What?”
“I have learned quite the delightful human phrase. It is, as they say, Time To Nut Up Or Shut Up. I do find McCoy really cute, after all. As do you.”
Her XO grumbled semi-silently for a bit. “Fair enough, Captain. I’ll ask her. While we’re out there.”
“Good.” The humans in the clean room were now about finished with their checks, and Sadaf felt a bit of a thrill. She was, after all, witness to a species taking their first steps into a larger universe.
Five hoses were now shoved into five chest-mounted receptacles, each hose leading to its own hand-held air-conditioning unit. Another complicated round of checks, slaps, and thumbs-ups then followed.
“They do know that we’re just going to walk beside them right into the landing boat, right?” asked Takh. “This whole process isn’t really necessary.”
“Let them have this moment,” said Sadaf with a gentle smile. “They’re having fun.”
__________
The five white-suited individuals emerged from the hallway to pretty much universal uproar, both in person and online. The suit color was all NASA, but the logos were not. All four wore the emblem of the United Nations at their shoulder, a pair of olive branches surrounding a polar view of the world. The four humans all did their bit and waved for the cameras. Those in charge of the cameras did as instructed, and ignored the two black-and-sliver figures behind the quartet. The latter weren’t wearing any sort of pressure suit.
In the middle of the courtyard hovered the real talking piece, a landing boat from the Rithro. Its entry door was already lowered, and with another wave to the cameras from each of the five humans, they walked up the ramp and into the craft.
The five of them then looked at each other as the door began to close behind them. They’d trained together for a bit, enough to get a feel for each other. But now there was a real sense among them of holy shit what now?
Their mutual what-nows were interrupted as Tofa appeared. The arachnoid alien held a tray in one pedipalp, and upon that tray sat a little dish of what looked like Brazil nuts.
“Greetings!” chirped Tofa. “Welcome to Rithro Air, I assure you we have an excellent safety reputation. Well, almost excellent, if you don’t count the affair around Barnard’s Star. You may now take off your pressure suits. May I interest you in a nut?”
The four humans (and a few of the aliens) flinched as Ravindar let loose with a hearty belly-laugh. He reached up to undo his helmet while he beamed a brilliant white smile at their greeter. “You? I like you. We’re going to be fast friends.” He reached down to pluck a nut from the tray. “Madame? Do you want to take the first nut? Or should I taste it first?”
“Um…” For once, Parvati looked uncertain within her glass-and-cloth cocoon. “If you wish to taste, then please go ahead.”
“As you wish.” Ravindar held her eyes as he bit into the proffered nut. “It seems to be all right,” he pronounced.
After the great ceremony with which they’d been ensconced into their pressure suits, the humans then with reluctance emerged from their cocoons.
“We set up some chairs for everyone!” exclaimed Tofa, who gestured to the sides of the landing craft.
“Um, where do we put all of this?” asked Martinez as he held up a pressure-suit gauntlet.
The alien spider blinked. “Oh, right! Kexal, would you mind helping our guests stow their material?”
__________
The conference room at ULA now looked out over an even-greater bustle of activity. They were determined to at least match SpaceX in terms of tonnage-to-orbit; maybe they’d do so more efficiently? The mere notion had set a fire under everyone.
Joachim sat in a wheelchair while he studied those in front of him. “Ladies and gentlemen. I have, through some strange technological miracle, been re-granted the use of my mind. Not only that; they tell me that I and my wife might, if certain tests go well…we could become that which we once were. I intend to make sure that this gift does not go to waste. Not for me, nor for my wife, nor for the rest of humanity. Anyways. We have some aliens who need our help, we have some psychotic robot idiots who are fucking things up for everyone, and we need to get some serious tonnage into orbit as a result. Is that about the shape of things?”
“That’s pretty much the shape of it, sir,” said Dwight.
Joachim pointed a wrinkled finger at the speaker. “You. I’ve been caught up enough that I know you were the one to advocate for the use of Sea Dragon.”
“Just as a Hail Mary,” Dwight protested.
Clara cleared her throat. “I mean, I understand the enthusiasm but nobody has ever fired a pressure-fed engine that big. A single engine, mind you.”
Joachim rubbed his chin. “I understand your concern. But also keep in mind, this is a pintle injector, not a shower-head like they had on the F-1s on the Saturn-Five’s first stage. Pintle injectors were classified at the time. That’s a pity, because pintle injectors are safe as houses.”
Clara looked over at him. “Really?”
“Oh yeah, they’re pretty much bomb-proof.”
The team regarded the design now up on the screen. Clara was the first to speak their mutual thought. “Could…could we make this work?”
Joachim’s exclamation brought them all up short. “Of COURSE we can!” He thumped his cane into the floor for added emphasis. “Gentlemen…and ladies, please forgive me Clara…not one month ago I was a drooling wreck of a human. Today I come before you with my mind re-borne and in full function. I intend to make full use of that function. As does my wife, God bless her. We are going to set an example.”
Joachim stood, levering himself upright via his cane. “Here I stand,” he said. “Like Martin Luther before me, I can do no other.”
After a moment, everybody else in the conference room stood as well.
“Welp, we’re all standing,” said Dwight. “Okay, so what do we do now?”
Joachim pointed his cane at the screen. “Now, my dear Dwight, we Build. That. Fucking. Thing. We’re gonna show these Coalition assholes how we humans put some serious fucking tonnage into orbit.”
“Fuck yeah,” said Clara, as an unholy light came into her eyes.
“Fuck yes indeed,” replied Joachim. “The question now is, what do we put into it?”
The other people in the room looked at each other, just before bursting out into exclamations as to what they wanted put into that first launch. It was the sound of people on an expense account to beat the band.

This sub has been an incredible source of information and inspiration, so I gave myself an hour to write down and share some insights from the recent three-week road trip I’ve had with my partner.
General remarks:
- Our main goal was to enjoy nature, so we were okay with spending absolutely no time on the golden circle or in Reykjavik. Due to the weather, we ended up doing both anyway; but these would be the parts of the trip I would skip first. Coming from continental Europe, we had almost no jetlag and could safely start directly with our journey. With more jet lag, some more time to adapt is definitely a good idea.
- We rented a 2WD campervan from Star Car Rental and spent all but the final night on campsites. Our experience with Star Car was very good. The price was competitive and included unlimited mileage, additional driver and all necessary utensils (chairs, table, cooking stuff). We got picked up from the airport and were ready to go within 15’. When giving back the car, we got driven to our hotel without any inspection (we did have zero excess insurance).
- Mid-May to beginning of June was a very nice time to travel. The days are long (I’ve seen no darkness), almost all camping places are open, but the crowds at the highlights are small – except for the big boys in the south.
- We started our days quite early and therefore typically arrived during the afternoon at the campsites. The kitchen area, showers and laundry spaces were often free to use. Be prepared to go to campsites that have only 2 stoves and 1 shower. During prime time, expect some waiting times.
- We picked up around 100 € worth of cash – two campsites were cash-only, everything else was absolutely card-first / cash-free.
Useful ressources:
- Vedur and Safetravel: This sub is absolutely right. Learn how to read and anticipate the weather before you get there. We were there during two yellow warnings and these things are really no joke. It helps to have plenty of time to spontaneously adapt the schedule. And we’ve seen it all: blizzard in the West, hail up North, storm in the East and sun in the South.
- Google reviews & park4night: These were pretty accurate for the campsites. 4+ stars are no-brainers, 3+ depend on your needs (kitchen, shower, electricity) and less than 3 should be avoided. Also, remember to rate them yourself during/after your trip to increase the statistical significance ;)
- Google Maps/MyMaps: MyMaps was useful during our planning to fill with random highlights (waterfalls, hotpots, hikes, campsites) and to set up a rough itinerary. Google Maps is accurate on paved roads. On gravel roads, expect some significant delays. Maps calculates with 80 km/h, while you will probably never exceed 50 km/h. In the Westfjords, we guess-timated our times with 2 minutes per kilometer on the gravel roads. The Happy Campers Campsite Map as well as the Hot Pot Iceland Map were nice to have in the back-pocket to check with some time to spare whether something is close by.
- Polarsteps: This was a cute little App, which we used to keep family and friends informed. You can add pictures and some text to your highlights. This way, you don’t send the same picture into various chats and there is a location- and time-dependent context.
Cost: This is the per-person cost breakdown for our 21-day trip (20-day camper rental, 1 hotel stay, total 3’500€).
- Rental (zero excess insurance, additional driver): 1’135 €
- Flight (from continental Europe): 700 €
- Activities (Pools, Spas, Horse-riding, Kayak): 300 €
- Camping (pretty consistent 2’000 +- 500 ISK p.P.): 275 €
- Groceries (Bonus, Kronan, Netto): 255 €
- Coffee, Beers, Food in Restaurants: 260 €
- Petrol (420 € in total for roughly 3’600 km): 210 €
- Souvenirs: 180 €
- Ferries (into Westfjords and to Westman Islands): 95 €
- Hotel: 75 €
Highlights:
- Sundlaug and Spas: When camping in small towns, very often there will be a swimming pool close by. They are not expensive (around 1000 ISK pP) and a great way to relax after a long day. Also, it feels nice to take longer, hot showers without knowing people are waiting in line. We decided to go for some smaller premium spas and were very happy with all of them: Krauma was one of our first stops, the Forest Lagoon was incredible during evening hours and GeoSea was also fantastic. Re: nudity. It takes a bit to get used to, but its very refreshing to see this very open approach to nudity in the pools. No one cares, no one watches – just do your thing. It’s cool to see groups of friends at all age groups be so open about it. Certainly very different compared to continental Europe.
- As we had to skip the Eastfjords a bit due to storm, we had some time left at the end. We spent the last 3 nights on the Westman Islands. It was great to leave the car for a longer while and do everything by foot. There are plenty of things to do and the swimming pool is fantastic.
- Mulagljufur: Use Google Maps to find the exact location, as of now, there is no sign along the road. The canyon is very beautiful and we ended up hiking for almost three hours. Couldn’t get enough of the views.
- Glymur: The infamous log wasn’t placed when we were there, but the short hike to the cave and towards the canyon was absolutely worth it.
- Camping highlights: Melanes campsite at Raudasandur beach (Westfjords): incredible scenery, wild drive to get there; Thingeyri campsite (Westfjords): directly at the fjord, fantastic infrastructure (probably the best kitchen we’ve had) and IMHO a great alternative to the Tungudalur campsite in Isafjordur; 66.12 N campsite (near Husavik): insane ocean view, good infrastructure, one of the best sites along the diamond circle; Glamping&Camping (Westmann Islands): beautiful setting, good infrastructure.
Itinerary (Highlights: *, ** or ***)
Day 1: Arrival at KEF during the afternoon in pouring rain, set up campervan, first grocery stops at Bonus and Kronan, Dinner at Issi’s Fish&Chips*, Camp at Hjalli Kjos
Day 2: Glymur hike** (up to river, no log), Krauma Spa**, scenic drive into Snaefellsnes, Camp at Freezer Hostel
Day 3: Check out Snaefellsnes highlights, get to Stykkisholmur in the afternoon, Ferry Baldur to Brjanslaekur, Hellulaug hotpot*, drive to Melanes campsite*** on Raudasandur beach
Day 4: full day at Raudasandur, great hikes, another night at Melanes campsite.
Day 5: Long drive through westfjords. Highlights included the self-service fish station in Talknafjordur (amazing fisk bollur**), Dynjandi waterfall and Sandfell hike. Camping at Thingeyri*, relax in local swimming pool
Day 6: drive to Isafjordur, check out city (kind of underwhelming, but it was a national holiday; the brewery is nice), do some small hikes in the area. Camp at Tungudalur.
Day 7: very long drive out of westfjords towards Varmahlid. Hot dog stop in Holmavik and arrive at Lambeyri campsite (cash only)
Day 8: woke up with dead battery, but got jump start by campsite owner. Horseriding tour at Lytingsstadir* was very nice, drive to Akureyri, visit Forest Lagoon**. It was Saturday night when we visited, upon leaving we had police checking every driver for alcohol – so better hold off the pool-side bar ;) wanted to camp at Vaglaskogur but campsite wasn’t open. Went up until the CJA campsite in Laugar with a late-night stop at Godafoss (around 10pm, were the only people there)
Day 9: check out Myvatn area: Dimmuborgir hike, Hverir, Leirhnjukur hike**. Then continue to Dettifoss and camp at Asbyrgi. Late night hike to Asbyrgi ‘island’*.
Day 10: Hike in Asbyrgi canyon, continue to Husavik, visit GeoSea**, camp at 66.12N***
Day 11: long drive with very strong winds. We had to go back to Akureyri (optician to fix broken glasses), so went through Myvatn again with a quick stop at Grjotagja. Beautiful drive, weather was too bad for Studlagil canyon, so we continued all the way to Borgarfjordur eystri. Crazy winds during the night and we were happy that our car didn’t get blown away.
Day 12: unfortunately, no hikes in this beautiful area. Waited for storm to pass until lunchtime, visited harbor with puffins**, drive to Egilsstadir (hot dog stop), continue to Seydisfjordur (kind of underwhelming town, the drive is gorgeous though) and, due to weather forecast, continue all the way to Djupivogur campsite.
Day 13: Incredible drive from Djupivogur to Höfn, stops at Hvalnes and Jökulsarlon. Hike at Mulagljufur***, camp at Svenifell.
Day 14: early-morning hike in Skaftafell**, continue to Kirjubaersklausur for campsite. Had to skip Fjardrargljufur due to weather, visited local swimming pool.
Day 15: yellow warning again. Continued to Vik for Skool Beans Coffee*, quick stop at Reynisfjara beach (red alert was on, so we didn’t go further than the sign), continue to Skogarfoss and hike part of Fimmvorduhals*, camp in Selfoss – swimming pool was closed unfortunately.
Day 16: Weather forecast was very bad, so we spent the day in Reykjavik. Walked around town, grabbed some coffees and visiting the local Sundhöll*. Camp at Mosskogar** (cash-only)
Day 17: Golden circle: hike at Thingvellir, look at Geysir, skipped Delfoss. Camp in Selfoss again.
Day 18: quick stop at Seljalandsfoss, ferry to Westman islands. Set up camp at Glamping&Camping** for the next 3 nights. Visited Brothers Brewery*.
Day 19: Kayak tour with Kayak-and-Puffins-company***. Visited local swimming pool* (trampoline slide was very nice) and watched a local handball game.
Day 20: Hike along volcanoes and coast**, visit brewery again, go to puffin bay**
Day 21: Ferry back to mainland. Drive back towards KEF. Drop-off campervan and spent night in Konvin Hotel. Early morning shuttle to airport (we arrived about 2h early for our 7 am flight and had plenty of time).
Of course, I’m very happy to answer any questions you might have!
Hope this is helpful to some of you :)

hello! everything obo and bundles very welcome.
price is per each item.
measuring cups have labels smudged and water pitcher has a little crack so it leaks a bit. i have two thin striped blankets (~twin size). down to meet on campus if that's easier.
talk to me first abt kitchen island pls
pickup 6/12-14 (toaster and island would be 6/15)
if you're not in a spot to spend right now, free works! message for questions <3
mixing bowls, salad spinner, pot
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kitchen supplies (knife holder w/o knives)
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toaster oven (well-loved, but works!)
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pitcher w/ a little crack as you can see + 2 filters
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fan
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shoe rack
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clothes organizer
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kitchen island (w/o anything in/on it)
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trashcan w/lid (great for bathroom)
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wastebin w/ no lid
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pretty used yoga mat
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great desk light!
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cute beach towel/thin blanket
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kitchen scissors
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This Friday is my last day at Chick-fil-A, and after a half decade of it being my pleasure, I’ve created some bits over time that it only feels right to share. These are fun little things and are in no way meant to be taken negatively or overly serious. They’re just how I keep myself chuckling throughout the day.

1. When I ask a guest for their name and their name happens to be the same as mine, I respond with, “That’s a good name to have.”
   
2. Once a year I’ve added a new adjective to “my pleasure”. Currently, if we have time, we’re at “It is of my utmost, absolutely, never ending, undying, ever-benevolent, unbeknownst pleasure.”
   
3. I recommend all the sauces that I don’t like.
   
4. Asking guests to pull up in the drive thru and racing them to the spot with their food in my hand.
   
5. Asking guests if I can pick a name for them (this one’s really fun! Buzz Lightyear and Kermit are regulars who refuse to go by their real names now)
   
6. Instead of breaking down boxes normally, full sending myself with the box into a wall.
   
7. Asking the kitchen if they see the fourteen deluxes on screen to see the panic. (there are no deluxes on screen)
   
8. Wearing a different name tag from the graveyard of employees past. Somedays I just wanna be Allen, you know?
   
9. Telling guests that the sauce lids are scratch and sniff.
   
10. Ordering a fruit cup everyday and proclaiming that it’s antioxidants time.
    
11. The last one’s kind of evil, but it cracks me up. If we have two different kids toy boxes open and someone orders two kid’s meals, I’ll put a toy from different boxes in each bag.
    

February 8, 2146, Project Chameleon HQ, Brussels, PRE
It has been a few weeks since Project Autumn has returned back to her normal life. Her days were pretty routine. She would wake up and eat breakfast. Then head to briefs and classes. Then, she would eat lunch before heading off to drills and training that left her sore and extremely fatigued. Autumn would eat dinner, shower, talk to Juliette for a few hours before falling asleep to do it all over again. The days soon became three weeks since she saw Juliette in person. Autumn’s next mission to Rio was quickly approaching. Autumn was excited about it, but what she really wanted to do was spend time with the girl that she really liked. Her training was done, and she was packing her bags for her mission. Autumn was told that she would be a part of the next gauntlet that would take place after she gets back from Rio. She was very excited about it and couldn’t wait to tell Juliette. Autumn looked at the time and saw that it was still five hours before she would normally call Juliette. She was bored, lonely, and really wanted to talk to her. Autumn wrestled with this as she packed her bags.
Agents of Chaos HQ, New York City Containment Zone, PRE
Icari raced through one of the remaining buildings of what was once an overpopulated city. Most of what was once known as New York City was destroyed during the Great War. The city was deserted and hardly anyone lived there. It became the perfect location for the headquarters for the Agents of Chaos. Icari found this out through hacking the government’s mainframe. She decided to put an end to them once and for all. Icari also wanted to know what their connection was to the Prospers. She raced floor to floor eliminating their commanders and whoever she came across. Soon, she found the last remaining members as she stalked
them in the lower parts of the building with her curved blades ready to strike. Icari cornered them ready to end the threat of the Agents of Chaos. They knew that they were out of bullets and out of time. They huddled in fear from what they perceived to be their inevitable demise.
“Wait! Please, don’t kill us.” Agent 1 said with fear in their voice.
Icari was shocked and amused as she stopped and said, “Wait…what? Why shouldn’t I?”
“Be…because we are extremely sorry for all of the stuff that we have done.” Agent 1 replied.
Icari scoffed and started to move closer to them. She suddenly froze when she received a notice of an incoming call. Icari smiled when she saw that it was from Project Autumn.
Icari looked at the Agents and said, “Hey, can you all give me some time. I really need to answer this call.” Icari answered the call with a French accent. “Hello, Mademoiselle Autumn. Is everything alright?”
“Did. Did she just put us on hold?” Agent 1 asked.
“I know right and what’s up with the French accent?” Agent 2 replied.
Icari glared at the agents and put a finger to her lips to silence them. They quickly covered their mouths with their hands with fear in their eyes.
Autumn replied, “Hi, Juliette. It is so good to hear your voice. Yes, everything is fine. I am packing for my mission to Rio. I was bored and lonely. I started to think about you and how much I really miss you.”
Icari smiled as she sat down on a desk facing the agents and said. “Aww. That is sweet of you to say. I have been thinking about you too.”
Autumn said, “I hope that I am not bothering you or anything. Are you busy right now?”
Icari replied, “No, not at all. I was taking care of something easy, but it can wait.”
Autumn quickly replied, “Are you sure? We can talk later if you want.”
Icari smiled and said, “No, it’s okay. I am sure that we can talk now.”
Meanwhile, the remaining Agents of Chaos began to argue with one another about what they
should do. Icari could hear their bickering and became extremely annoyed with everything that they were saying. She stood up and glared at them.
Icari counted the remaining agents, sighed, and said, “Autumn, give me a moment, please. It should take me… about thirty seconds to finish this simple task.”
Autumn replied, “Umm…sure. Take your time. I will be here when you are done. Please don’t take too long.”
Icari smiled and said, “Thank you, Mademoiselle. I promise not to keep you waiting long.”
Icari lunged at the remaining agents as they backed away in horror. Fifteen seconds later, Icari had taken care of the last remaining Agent of Chaos. She picked up a cloth and cleaned her daggers. Icari put them away before she pulled out a black disc out of her pocket. She headed towards their command center.
Icari asked, “Autumn, are you still with me?”
Autumn quickly replied, “Yes, yes. I am still here.”
Icari smiled as she put the disc on the main computer’s case and pushed a button as lights began to light up clockwise. She smiled and said, “Thank you for waiting.”
Autumn smiled and replied, “You’re welcome. I would have waited longer.” Autumn teased as she continued. “But… I guess the issue wasn’t as difficult as you thought.”
Icari laughed and said as she left the command center, “Sorry, I suppose I overestimated how difficult the issue would be.”
Autumn laughed and said, “I guess that I wouldn’t know, but the reason that I called you earlier than normal is I have news that I couldn’t wait to tell you at our normal time.”
Icari picked up a bag as she headed down the stairs to the basement where the building’s support beams were located. Icari said, “News? I appreciate you calling me to give us more time to talk, but what is the news?”
Autumn replied as Icari put small boxes with tubes filled with a green and yellow substance on the support beams and flipped a switch, “Yes, I was told earlier today, that after I get back from the mission to Rio, I will take part in the next gauntlet to decide who I may get paired with. What do you think?”
Icari was shocked and froze when she heard the news. She became scared that it would become a lot more difficult for her to see Autumn. Many feelings and thoughts ran through her head.
Autumn became concerned and asked, “Juliette, are you still there?”
Icari shook her head and replied, “Sorry, to make you concerned, and I am happy for you. Are you excited about your mission to Rio?”
Icari threw the empty bag aside after she placed the last box. She started to head back up the steps to the command center.
Autumn was excited as she replied, “I am super excited to be going for a couple weeks. They said that I deserve it from all of the stuff that I have dealt with lately. It will be two weeks of nothing but swimming and relaxing in the summer air.” Autumn became nervous as she continued. “B-but I- I w-wish that you could be there. It would be my first Valentine’s Day spending it with someone that I really like.”
Icari saw that all of the lights were lit green as she retrieved the black disc. She smiled and said, “Well. Mademoiselle, I may be able to make your wish come true.”
Autumn was shocked as she said, “Really? Tell me you aren’t joking or teasing me. Are you being serious?”
Icari had walked down the stairs to a door that led to an alley. She smiled and replied, “I would not joke or tease you to turn around and break your heart. I cannot make any promises, but I will make sure that I will do my best to help your wish come true.”
Icari walked out the door and pushed a button on her wrist. Suddenly, a black and red motorcycle appeared in the shadows with a black and red helmet with cat ears on it.
Autumn was sad as she said, “I understand. I thought that it would be a great time spending the two weeks with you instead of alone by myself.”
Icari sat on the motorcycle and put on the helmet. The sun started to peek in the east sky. She started
up the motorcycle as she replied, “Do not be sad, Autumn. I promise you that you will have my answer by the time that you land in Rio. You might be surprised by what I can do in such a short period of time.”
Icari pushed a button on her motorcycle as she drove off and disappeared from site. She pushed another button that caused an explosion behind her, and the building collapsed into dust.
Autumn blushed and said, “I believe you and look forward to your answer. Listen, I have to finish packing, eat dinner, and shower. Can I call you later?”
Icari smiled as she replied, “I understand, and you can call me whenever you like. I look forward to talking to you soon, Mademoiselle Autumn.”
Autumn said, “I look forward to talking to you soon too, Juliette. Bye for now.”
Icari said, “Bye for now.” There was a small click. Icari sighed before she continued. “Watcher, are you there?”
Watcher scoffed. “Yes, I am here. Are you done flirting with your girlfriend?” Watcher said annoyed.
Icari snapped back, “I wasn’t flirting with her, and she isn’t my girlfriend. Listen. When I get back to the safe house, I will be uploading the files that I uploaded from the Agents of Chaos mainframe. I need you to decipher the files to see if they were working for the Prospers and any other useful information.”
“Anything else?” Watcher asked.
Icari replied, “Yes, I need you to immediately hack into the system and book a flight for me from Harrisburg to Rio De Janeiro. I need a limousine to take myself and Autumn to the harbor, where a boat will ferry us to a beach home on Paqueta Island. We will be there for two weeks. Put everything under the name Juliette Trudeau.”
“Why should I?” Watcher asked abrasively.
Icari replied, “Well, you have two choices. Either I am out of your hair for two weeks, or I make your life a living hell for the next two weeks. Then, I still book it on my own. You choose.”
“Fine. Fine. It’s not like I care if you spend time with your girlfriend or not. Everything will be taken care of by the time you make it to the safe house and upload the files.” Watcher replied.
Icari snapped back, “For the last time, she is not my girlfriend! And thank you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t mention it. It is kind of nice to see you happy once more. Have fun and
remember that we have a war to win.” Watcher said kindly.
Icari smiled and said, “Yeah, I won’t forget.”
An hour and a half later, Icari pulled into the safe house in Harrisburg. She pushed a button on her motorcycle and the garage door opened. Icari pushed the button, and it closed. She pushed another button, and they became visible once more. Icari took off her helmet and placed it on her motorcycle. She walked to a wall in the garage and revealed a secret panel. Icari inputted the code, and a secret staircase was revealed. She walked down the stairs as the wall closed behind her. A room lit up as she opened the door. The computer turned on and system was running. Icari approached the computer as she took the black disc out of her pocket. She put the disc on a reader. The lights flashed on and worked in reverse. Icari received the itinerary, confirmation for the rentals, and digital tickets. As the disc was uploaded to their mainframe, Icari walks to a closet marked for Juliette. She opened up the closet and pulled out two bags already packed for her for two weeks in a summer environment. Icari closed the door. When she was done, she walked over to check the disc and saw that it was fully uploaded. Icari grabbed the bags and walked up the stairs. When she got near the top, the computer shut down, door sealed closed, and the secret door into the garage opened. After Icari had passed, the door closed and sealed shut. Icari walked into a normal home and left the bags near the front door. She cooked lunch at the same time Autumn would call her. They talked for a few hours before Autumn headed to bed. Soon, Autumn and Icari headed to their perspective airports to start their journey to Rio. Five hours and forty-five minutes later, Juliette’s plan landed at the International Airport in Rio
De Janeiro. She grabbed her carry-on bag and went to get her check in luggage. Juliette headed for the main doors and walked out into a sunny midmorning day. The air was refreshing, and it was already setting up to be a warm day. Juliette had made sure to change her appearance before she left for the airport. Juliette looked around and saw a limousine. The driver was standing outside it. He was holding a sign with Juliette Trudeau written on it in big letters. She smiled and walked over to him. The driver eyed her as she approached.
Juliette said,” Olá, eu sou Juliette Trudeau.”
The driver lowered the sign. “Olá, eu estive esperando por você, Sra. Trudeau.” The driver replied.
Juliette smiled and asked, “Can I see your sign while you put in my bags in the trunk, please?”
The driver bowed. “As you wish, Sra. Trudeau. Your guest should arrive soon from Brussels.” The driver replied as he handed over the sign and a marker.
Juliette smiled as she took the sign and marker from the driver while she said, “Obrigado.”
“De nada, Sra. Trudeau.” The driver said as he placed Juliette’s luggage in the back.
He walked to where Juliette was and took the sign and marker from her. The driver opened the door for Juliette to get in. When she was seated, he closed the door and stood outside of the limousine. Thirty minutes later, Juliette’s heart began to race as she saw Autumn walk out of the airport with her luggage in tow. Autumn had put on her glasses and looked around. She froze when she looked towards the limousine. Autumn slowly walked over to the driver.
Autumn cautiously said, “Hi, I am Project Autumn. Are you looking for me?”
The driver bowed. “Yes, I have been expecting you, Sra. Autumn. Let me put your luggage in the trunk.” The driver replied.
Autumn thought, “I never would think that Project Chameleon would have a limo waiting for me at the airport.”
Autumn replied, “Umm… sure. Thank you.”
The driver opened the door for Autumn to get in. He closed the door after she was comfortably seated in the back of the limousine. Autumn watched the driver take her stuff to the back. She was startled, and her heartbeat faster when she heard the sound of a familiar voice from inside the limousine.
Juliette smiled and said, “Hello, Mademoiselle, Autumn.”
Autumn instinctively lunged at Juliette as she turned to face her and kissed her lips. She immediately realized what she had done from the shocked look on Juliette’s face and blushed as she moved away. Juliette smiled and took Autumn’s hands into her own.
Autumn said, “Hi, and I’m sorry Juliette. I don’t know what came over me. I just got so excited that you were here.” Autumn took a deep breath before she continued. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
Juliette replied, “It’s okay. I am happy to see you too. I told you that you would have my answer by the time that you had landed here. I thought that the best way for me to give you my answer was to be here in person to give it to you.”
They heard the sound of the trunk closing and saw the driver walk down the side of the limousine to the driver’s door. He opened it, got in, closed the door, and started the engine. He pulled away from the cub and headed towards the pier.
Autumn said, “I am really glad that you brought your answer to me. When did you get here? How long will you be able to stay here?”
Juliette squeezed Autumn’s hands and smiled as she replied, “So am I. I got here around two hours before you did. If it is alright with you, I plan on being here the entire two weeks that you are.”
Autumn smiled as she said, “Yes, yes. That would be perfect for me. But…where are we headed?”
Juliette winked as she replied, “It is a secret, and you will have to find out when we get there.”
The driver drove them through town as they talked in the back of the limousine. When they arrived at the pier, The driver parked the limousine and got out. He went to the side and opened the
door. Autumn and Juliette got out and looked around. They spotted a yacht ready to go as the driver took their luggage out of the trunk. Some men came over and grabbed their luggage, and they followed them onto the yacht as the limousine pulled away. Thirty minutes later the yacht pulled away from the pier and headed towards a small island. Autumn looked around excitedly as Juliette smiled and watched her reactions. Soon, they had docked at the island. Another limousine was waiting at the pier as they got off the yacht. The same two men carried their luggage off of the yacht, and the driver put the luggage in the trunk of the limousine after Autumn and Juliette got in. They drove them a little ways until they reached an office building. Juliette got out and checked in. She came back out with their keys. The driver drove them to the beach front rental home. As Autumn got out, she was amazed. She turned to face Juliette as the driver took their luggage out of the trunk.
Juliette smiled brightly as she said, “Surprise.”
Autumn was still shocked as she asked, “Are we staying here the entire time?
Juliette nodded as she replied, “Oui, this is the rental home that I had reserved for us the two weeks. Are you surprised?”
Autumn looked at home and back at Juliette. She blushed as she replied, “Very much so. I can’t believe that you would go through all of this trouble just for me. Thank you.”
Juliette smiled and said, “It was no trouble at all to see you. You’re very welcome. Shall we go inside?”
Autumn blushed and replied, “Yes, I would like that.”
They grabbed their luggage and headed to the front door. Juliette pulled out the key cards and handed one to Autumn. She swiped the key card reader. It beeped, turned green, and an audible click could be heard signaling that it had been unlocked. They headed inside and were at awe from how beautiful everything looked. They looked around and saw two large rooms, a kitchen, patio, living room, both rooms had a bathroom, a breakfast nook, pool, jacuzzi, grill, study, and everything that someone would need. They walked back to the bedrooms.
Juliette asked, “Which room would you like to take?”
Autumn looked away and replied, “Well…I was…thinking that…that we could share…the same room, if…if you don’t mind.”
Juliette smiled and replied, “I don’t mind. I would enjoy that very much.”
Autumn smiled and said, “I would like that too.”
They picked the largest room and took their stuff in there. They put everything away and decided to change into their swimsuits. They headed to the beach and swam for a while. Autumn and Juliette grew closer through the days. They spent every day together. On Valentine’s Day, they went swimming when the sun rose. Autumn and Juliette came back and feed each other chocolates and ate chocolates. They laughed and were having fun until Juliette remembered that soon Autumn would leave for the labyrinth to run the gauntlet and became sad. Autumn noticed this and became concerned.
Autumn was concerned as she asked, “What is wrong, Juliette? Why are you so sad?”
Juliette frowned as she replied, “I just remembered that you will be going away soon for the gauntlet
where they will team you up with a new partner. Then, there will be no room for me in your…”
Juliette was shocked as she looked up at Autumn who had put her finger on her lips.
Autumn smiled warmly as she said, “No one will take your place in my heart, Juliette. I don’t care who they pair me with, but you will be the only one for me. So, do not worry about that. I will always be only yours.”
Juliette smiled and lunged forward knocking Autumn over and the chocolates onto the floor. She kissed Autumn deeply. The day past and was the best Valentine’s Day Autumn ever had. She woke up the next morning to realize that Juliette wasn’t in bed with her. Autumn could hear Juliette’s voice carrying in from the patio. She decided to see what is going on. She was sleepy as she got up, stretched and yawned as she put on a robe. She walked to the patio as she rubbed her eyes.
Juliette said, “.... Yes I... I promise that...See you...I.., you.”
Autumn smiled when she saw Juliette watching the sun rise. She was in a robe and held a cup of coffee. Autumn walked over to Juliette and hugged her from behind. She caught the smell of the coffee, the morning air, the beach, and Juliette’s hair. Juliette smiled and giggled from Autumn’s warm embrace. She leaned back into her. Then, Juliette turned around to face Autumn and handed her the mug that she was holding as she leaned against the railing. Autumn sipped coffee and smiled.
Juliette said, “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
Autumn smiled and nodded as she replied, “Good morning. I slept very well. I woke up, and you weren’t in bed. I heard you talking to someone. Is everything okay? Who were you talking to?”
Juliette took the mug from Autumn as she replied, “I am sorry to have worried you. I am usually back in bed before you wake up. Yes, everything is fine. I was talking to Dr. Hubert like I do every morning to make sure everything is okay back at home. You know that you could always just run away with me. I know a place where they will never find us. We could start a new life together.”
Autumn smiled warmly as she said, “I am glad everything is going well back home for you. I would like that, but you know that I can’t leave. We would have to look over our shoulders for the rest of our lives on the run.”
Juliette frowned, looked at the mug, and replied, “I know, and I wouldn’t want to live on the run either.” Juliette paused before she continued. “I just have a bad feeling about this. Please, stay safe.”
Autumn put her hands on Juliette’s as she replied, “I will be safe. There is nothing to worry about. The gauntlet is completely safe, because only training rounds are allowed to tally up scores. I will call you immediately after it is over to prove that nothing happened to me.”
Juliette looked into Autumns eyes and said, “I hope that you are right.”
The rest of the time flew by and soon they headed back to the airport for their flights. Autumn left first, and Juliette left next. Juliette landed in Harrisburg International Airport. Autumn landed at Brussels. They had a quick conversation as Icari made it to the safe house. After they hung up, Icari got a phone call from Watcher.
“Hey, Icari. I hope that you had fun. I went over the files that you sent me, but I couldn’t decode them. So, I…” Watcher started to say.
There was a brief pause before a monotone girl’s voice spoke. “Hi, mommy. We need to talk.” The girl said.

Tldr: This got a lot longer than I intended. A lot to catch up on! The first part is about where we were. The second is what we are doing to fix it. We organically folded into a holistic method of dealing with clutter and made a lot of important connections while doing it. The kitchen experience has been, by far, the best and most healthy decision we have made.
It's been a while since I have participated here. Some pretty sad things happened and I had not made much progress. I've never been good at sharing when I am being a fuck up or asking for help. I wasted away my entire winter and now warmer weather is rolling in, which is going to prevent me from working in the garage until this coming winter.
Its not all bad, though. I managed to avoid backsliding and engaging old coping mechanisms that compound the hoarding situation. I managed to hold the house together during a time of grief and while it wasn't ideal, it's about a lifestyle, not a meal. Right? It's not that I haven't felt any guilt over not moving forward. I definitely have. It just hasn't been a particularly helpful or motivating feeling.
Depression and grief wreck everything, though. While that part of my life held the line, I still have a drinking problem and I don't really eat my feelings, but I do care less about my body, in general. I quit being active and let my diet slip enough to gain thirty pounds of organ strangling fat, caused by pouring 2-5 beers on top of 3-6 shots of booze every night. Then day drinking on the weekends. I have never been a day drinker. I've always been a functional alcoholic - meaning I can abstain, but when I start, I dont stop until it is all gone and most of the time I want more. The majority of my life, I would probably drink once every few months. The drinking every day is relatively recent. I know this isn't AA, but I will get to how it's related.
About a month ago, I woke up and thought, living like this is going to kill me. What if something happens to my partner? Because he is right there with me. Along with the unhealthy choices and their consequences, I was not sleeping well. That hard, visceral fat makes it incredibly difficult to breath and get comfortable. That's on top of serious health problems I already have. Six months of this and something had to give.
We woke up and started searching for a healthy eating challenge. You know the whole ADHD thing and turning things into a game usually yields some type of immediate success. We made a grocery list and cleaned out the fridge. We took three garbage bags of expired food out of the fridge. I'm not a food hoarder, even. I could give a shit about anything in there. We've both just been too depressed to worry about cleaning out the fridge - for six months. He went to the store. I did a deep clean on the fridge, which was nearly empty. We unpacked the groceries together, and let me tell you. I was super giddy over seeing all the fresh produce and how clean and organized the fridge was. I opened the fridge a few times, just to look at it, it was such a beautiful thing.
We have carried on this schedule for a month. Wake up on the weekend, meal plan for the week and make a grocery list. He goes to the store, I clean out and wipe down the fridge, check the pantry, and print any recipes we need for the week or grab them from our binder, and put them on a clipboard that hangs on the kitchen wall. Only recipes we love go in that binder. Life is too short to eat mediocre food. If we don't love it, the recipe goes in the trash.
The first week, I started meal prep, which is something I have never done before. Like having smoothies for breakfast - buying just enough bananas for a week, cutting them up, splitting into servings and freezing means zero bananas go in the trash. I haven't thought about making banana bread, that I am obviously not going to make, all month. I also spent enough present and sober time to notice the walls were getting a little dusty and grimy, so I washed most of those. The one left requires moving furniture, so it had to wait.
During the second week, I did some more meal prep and did a cursory clean out of the pantry, checking dates and organizing where everything could be easily accessed and seen. That was another trash bag of expired food out the door.
I used to get so angry because I would spend a week cleaning and organizing the kitchen. He would just stuff things in there, not paying attention to how things were organized. Yesterday I opened one of the cabinets and it struck me. Seeing the contrast between the pantry and fridge and these cabinets, I don't think any of those spaces have ever been organized in a way that makes much sense. We don't have upper cabinets, but instead two six foot tall floor cabinets. One cabinet has been things we use often and the other things we use less. Kind of. Then two cardboard boxes of plastic. God knows what. Then we have a lower cabinet, with random shit shoved in there.
I spent the day reorganizing and keep in mind, I've been through all this stuff at least once in the past two years. Barely anything in the cardboard boxes has been used. Lots of tupperware from the 90s. Lids with no bowls. Stained bowls with no lids. Don't ask me why I didn't toss these last time, because they were gross looking, even when clean. All of that went away and there are no longer two cardboard boxes stuffed in my cabinet. Two trash bags and a box of (recyclable) plastic later and you can see and access everything easily and like items are together. Everything has a place and it's evident where everything goes.
So . . . Now there is no more cabinet, fridge, or pantry Jenga. It's more pleasant to cook in there, easier to clean the fridge, easier to put the dishes away. With food being such an integral part of living, it just makes life easier. I hate to admit it, but for the first time in my life, I understand why having highly organized cabinets matters. And for the first time in a long time, I am not just ready to get rid of things. I feel like going through this process is gently rewiring my brain to think about objects and space a lot differently. I felt nothing but excitement over the prospect of an organized space, as I was tossing all that plastic in the bags. I've been motivated sans the period of depression. I've never been this motivated. I have been aware for a while that I wasn't going to organize my way out of the garage hoard or the house clutter. I believe cleaning out a space, where the objects inside were meaningless to me and seeing just how much of a difference it made has highlighted how much I need to get rid of if I want the rest of my life to be as beautiful as my refrigerator.
Health wise, we quit drinking beer and went from six shots a night to four. We are cutting back as we lose weight. We no longer buy booze for Sunday. We chill and have a few glasses of wine. Cleaning and organizing, I am on my feet more and getting more activity. I'm eating a Mediterranean diet and three meals instead of two. I weighed in this morning and I have lost a total of 12 lbs in a month. I still have another 18 to get to my weight before the depression and another 20 for a healthy weight. My body is squishy again, which is better. I sleep better. I have more energy, which feeds into being able to do more work around the house. I feel better mentally and physically.
So, yeah. I missed out on garage season. It's house season, though and I have a very productive Summer ahead. It's amazing what focusing on my nutrition has done for us. That's not in the general sense that just eating better will fix your mental illness or disorder. But focusing on the entire experience of nourishment and making it easier and more pleasant to cook healthy meals. Bonus points are that we are having fun cooking together and actually saving money by not overbuying and doing a little meal prep. That also resulted in a very insignificant amount of waste over the past month.
Over the Summer, I hope to add a kitchen island for more counter space, give the cabinets a fresh coat of paint, get the brand new dishwasher hooked up, and continue to make my kitchen a pleasant place to spend time.
Anyway . . .
If you made it this far, thanks for joining me on this journey. I know it was a novel. I appreciate you!

July 7th Excerpt From the Journal of Violet Stone
​
I don’t remember much. Just the scenery flying by me as I ran from the train station. I didn’t see anyone chasing me. But I felt chased. I didn’t know what to think, what to feel, or even where the hell I was going. The only thing I felt was fear.
​
When I finally stopped, it was because I just couldn’t run any further. My lungs burned, begging me for air. So I ducked into an alley, trying to catch my breath, and organize my thoughts. The rain pounding down around me was too loud. The street was too quiet and every car that passed by sent another fresh jolt of terror through me as I replayed what had happened at the train station over and over again in my mind. The way that he’d fallen, the look on his face in the instant before he’d gone under the train. Oh God… I couldn’t get it out of my head! I couldn’t stop seeing it in my mind!
​
I wanted to go home, but was that even an option? How the hell does someone just go home after something like that? I couldn’t just waltz through the door like nothing was wrong! If Sam and Lisa didn’t notice, Rose sure as hell would and that assuming that the police weren’t already there. Someone could have recognized me! That Marilyn Monroe looking girl on the platform had gotten a good look at me. What if she told someone? It didn’t matter whether I’d meant to push the guy or not! It didn’t matter how much I’d fucking hated him at the time. He was dead. I was responsible. I’d pushed him. It was my fault.
​
‘I’ve just fucking killed a man!’
​
That thought… that reality didn’t feel real. It hadn’t truly hit me yet.
​
‘I’ve just fucking killed a man!’
​
I felt sick. If I actually had anything in my stomach, I might have even thrown up. Moving made me feel even worse, so I just stood there, letting the rain soak me to the bone, shaking from the horror and the cold while I tried to figure out what the hell I was going to do next. But all I could think about was the way he looked as the train went over him, and wondering if anything would have changed if I’d at least tried to grab him. Could I have caught him? Could I have saved him? What then? What would happen next? As far as I knew that motherfucker had murdered my goddamn parents! Should I really have even bothered trying to save him? Maybe I should have felt vindicated by all of this? Maybe this was some kind of justice, right? It sure as hell didn’t feel like justice. It’s not like I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this had been the guy! There were doubts! There were a lot of fucking doubts!
​
I heard the sirens in the distance. But nobody came for me. I saw a police cruiser pass my alley. It didn’t stop for me, but it did make me think about my sweater. The goddamn sweater… it would probably be enough to identify me, right?
​
For a moment, I thought about turning myself in to the police. I mean, maybe once I told them that it was an accident, then maybe they’d be cool with it and let me go? I mean, the police are just known for being trustworthy and reasonable, right? What did I possibly have to worry about with them? I could just turn myself in and everything would be hunky fucking dory! ‘Oh, you just threw a man in front of a fucking subway train! Yeah, no big. Go home! Take a load off! Get some coffee! Try not to think about the man you just threw under a fucking subway train!’ Yes! Go to the police Violet! Great idea! And while you’re at it why don’t you do it in the fucking nude too? GREAT IDEA VIOLET! ALMOST AS GREAT AS THE TIME YOU THREW A MAN IN FRONT OF A FUCKING SUBWAY TRAIN! REMEMBER THAT?
​
I took off the sweater and abandoned it in the nearest dumpster. I hid it under some trash bags and hoped to God that nobody would ever find it, then, after standing in the rain like an idiot for several minutes with no idea on where to go next, I started walking home.
​
Nobody noticed me.
​
Nobody followed me.
​
The city was just… quiet. Not quiet, quiet. But nothing felt out of place. The world around me almost felt normal, and it was my own fault that the normalcy felt wrong somehow.
I entered my old bedroom through the fire escape, just like I used to back in high school when sneaking out at night to drink was the worst thing I’d ever done. I could hear people in the apartment, and I listened to see if any of the voices were unfamiliar. I heard Sam and Lisa talking over breakfast, and I could hear the TV. Nothing out of the ordinary. It satisfied me enough that I was safe. I locked my bedroom door and crawled into bed, pulling the covers over my head and listening to the rain and the voices outside. But I heard nothing out of the ordinary. It was like nothing had happened. Like it was all just a bad dream. Eventually, I fell asleep.
​
I stayed in bed until well after noon, staring up at the ceiling when I couldn’t sleep anymore. Sam and Lisa both left for work. I could hear Rose going around the house. She’d said that she had the day off, save for classes in the evening. She only bothered me once, though. Knocking on my door to check on me. I told her I was sick, and she didn’t pry. She didn’t sound suspicious. Just concerned.
​
I kept replaying what had happened at the subway station over and over again in my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and I couldn’t stop hating the quiet around me.
​
Sometimes, I wondered if it was just a bad dream. If maybe I’d never even left my room at all. Maybe I just wanted to believe that. It was better than thinking I’d just killed someone. There was a part of me that didn’t really seem to care. It still hadn’t fully hit me yet. After all, no one had come for me. So maybe it really was just a bad dream? Even if it hadn’t been, how had that man known who my Mom was? What about the things he’d said? Was it just a weird coincidence, or a horrible mistake? Maybe it was both.
​
I checked my phone when the afternoon began to slip into evening. The whole event was getting hazier in my mind. I was starting to convince myself it hadn’t happened. Lisa had messaged me, asking how I was feeling. Rose must’ve told her I was sick. I lied and said I was feeling a bit better, then I checked the news.
​
When I read the story I felt sick all over again. No name for my victim, no information at all. The man who’d gone under the train was just identified as ‘a man.’ That was it. Nothing else. There wasn’t even a picture of him.
​
There was however a picture of me… kinda.
​
It was blurry as hell. I tried to make out my own face amongst the black and white pixels but I couldn’t. It might have been me as I entered the station, although my hood was over my head, my hair was covered, and the only thing I could sort of identify was my lips, which aren’t exactly that distinct. Really, it could have been anyone in that picture. Anyone at all.
​
‘An unknown possible suspect’ It said under the picture. Followed by: ‘The suspect is believed to be male, approximately 6’2 and was last seen wearing a grey hoodie and jeans.’
​
They got the outfit right, and were only a little off with the height by two inches.
​
All in all… I can’t say that any of this really seemed damning to me. Although the idea that the police (or at least the news) had no idea who I was didn’t do a whole hell of a lot to calm me down. The idea of ‘getting away with it’ seemed just as bad as being caught.
​
For the second time that evening, I wondered about turning myself in to the police. I mean, this wasn’t exactly first degree murder. It was an accident! That had to be at least manslaughter, right? I mean, it was still a crime but it wasn’t first degree murder, right?
​
Christ… I was probably committing an even bigger crime by not coming forward! Why wasn’t I going to the nearest police station? What the hell was stopping me? Fear? Fear of what, consequences? You don’t fucking kill a man and not suffer any consequences! Even if it was an accident, there had to be some kind of consequence, right?
​
Was it justice? Assuming that this guy really had been the one who’d killed my parents all those years ago, did he really deserve to die like that? Thrown screaming under a train and… and…
​
God I didn’t even know if it was really the guy or not! It could have been anyone! He could’ve just randomly known my Mom and just so happened to look like her killer! It wasn’t even a perfect resemblance! I mean, fuck, how many fucking people in New York have blond hair, blue eyes and glasses? Thousands at least! Justice wasn’t a valid excuse! It just wasn’t!
​
I wanted to continue to lie there and stew, but I don’t know if that was really an option anymore. Slowly, I forced myself to get out of bed and head into the kitchen. I’d eaten nothing all day, which wasn’t all that healthy of a diet. As a further fuck you to my digestive system, I rummaged through the cupboard. There was a box of off brand pop tarts that I jammed them in the toaster for breakfast, if you could still call it that at five in the evening.
​
While I waited for my sugar enriched breakfast to ‘cook’ I raided the fridge for a drink. I found some OJ, and wandered into the living room. Rose had already left for class, but I knew Sam and Lisa would have been home soon.
​
When they did come home, they found me in the living room, under a blanket and finishing my shitty off brand pastries. Lisa fussed over me, like I knew she would. Sam just took over the TV and changed the channel to something other than the news.
​
I went to bed early last night, checking the news stories again on my phone before lying awake in bed. I might have slept a little. I couldn’t really say. I was just alone with my thoughts.
​
I’m not supposed to go back to Toronto for another day or so. But maybe I could leave early? Fuck off, leave all of this behind me and try to move on with my life? Sam and Lisa wouldn’t question it… much. That sounded like a horrible idea though. Just… fucking off, forgetting, pretending that this didn’t happen. It sounded like a mistake. Running away seemed like the exact kind of thing that would come back to bite me in the ass… and then what would I do? Was I supposed to just keep running from it? I knew in my gut that this would only ever make things worse. What would that do to Sam and Lisa? What would it do to Rose? I didn’t want to find out. I didn’t want to put them through that!
​
As I lay in bed a quiet resignation settled over me… and oddly enough, with it came a bit of peace. I guess even if no one else ever found out about what had happened at Prince Street, even if I took that secret to my grave, it would still gnaw at me. I’d still be looking over my shoulder, waiting for the day to come when it caught up with me. I didn’t want to deal with that. I didn’t want to put my family through that!
​
So I made a decision.
​
I don’t know if this will be my final entry or not.. I might not be coming back after this. Sam, Lisa, Rose… if any of you are reading this, I’m sorry. I swear to God, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.
​
I’m going to go to the police in the morning and I’m going to turn myself in. So if this is it… well… goodbye.
​
I hope you don’t hate me too much.
​
***
​
Okay, so what the fuck?
​
I did the right thing! I turned myself in to the police! I was ready to go to jail over this!
​
Instead, I’m back in my old bedroom at Sam and Lisa’s and I’m 99.9% sure that I’m off the hook.
​
I went to the police station. I told them that I was there to confess and up until that point, things went as expected. They took me to an interrogation room and I waited for someone to come and talk to me. I was in there for about an hour, fidgeting aimlessly with my hands and waiting for some kind of judgment before someone finally bothered to show up.
​
The guy who walked through the door had a sort of ex military look to him. His eyes were intense and he had a muscular physique with a neatly trimmed goatee. He didn’t say a word to me as he came in. He just looked down at the file in his hands before sitting down at the desk.
​
“Violet Stone, right?” He asked. Straight to business. I always thought that Detectives were supposed to come off as friendly at first. This guy seemed like he’d come in with the express purpose of kicking my ass.
“Yeah, I’m Violet.” I said.
​
He looked up at me, sizing me up for a moment before huffing.
“Alright… well Violet, well my name is Vincent Bennett. I’m the Detective assigned to the Arthur White case. I understand you’re here with information, correct?”
​
Arthur White? Was that the name of the guy I’d killed?
“Yeah… I was… I was the one on the subway platform with him.”
“The one who pushed him?” Bennett asked.
​
I hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“It… it was an accident!” I said, “He’d grabbed my arm, I was just trying to get him off of me!”
“Right… tell you what Violet, why don’t you walk me through what happened yesterday morning, okay? Tell me everything that you remember.”
​
I did just that. I told him about how I’d run into Arthur and his daughter while I’d been out on a jog, I told him about how he’d mentioned my mother and how I’d followed him, and finally I told him about what had happened on the subway platform.
​
The whole time, Bennett just took notes and nodded quietly, only pausing a few times to ask a question.
“So - you attest that it was an accident, that Mr. White fell into the path of the oncoming train?” He asked.
“Yeah… yeah, it was.” I said.
“Okay. You mind if I ask why it took so long for you to come forward?” He asked, “I mean… this happened yesterday morning. It’s been at least twenty four hours.”
​
“I was panicking!” I said, “Look, I didn’t know what to do or if I should come forward or what!”
“A man was killed,” Bennett replied. “And you fled the crime scene. You also took a while to come forward. Forgive me if I find any of that suspicious.”
“Well, I’m trying to do the right thing now!” I argued although Bennett’s stony expression didn’t seem to change much.
​
“Miss Stone… are you aware of who Arthur White is?” He asked. “Do you know much about the White family?”
That question of his seemed awfully loaded.
​
“No, why are they important?” I asked.
“Depends on which circles you run in,” Bennett replied. “I’m gonna be honest with you… Arthur White was a real piece of shit. I wouldn’t really call him the worst member of the White family. Arguably he made the rest of them look saintly in comparison. But he was still a man with a… history. You say he resembled the man who you believed killed your parents… was that your only motivation for following him to the Prince Street station?”
“He mentioned my Mother by name!” I said, “He said he knew Diana Stone!”
​
Bennett paused, before looking up at me again.
“You’re Diana Stone’s daughter?” He asked.
My brow furrowed.
“What, you knew her too?” I asked.
“I’ve… heard the name before.”
​
My heart skipped a beat.
“So he did kill them…” I said softly, “You’re telling me that he did kill them?”
“Arthur White was not a suspect in the Diana Stone murder, no. His-”
​
Bennett’s phone started to ring before he could finish whatever it was that he was trying to say. His ringtone was the opening riff of ‘Phantom of the Opera’ by Iron Maiden.
​
He paused, tensing up a little at the sound of the ringtone. Then he quietly reached into his pocket to take his phone out. He stared at the screen, which depicted a big red X on it, before quietly standing up.
​
“Excuse me,” He said softly as he left the room, and for a few minutes, I sat there in the uneasy silence, waiting for him to come back. I found myself fidgeting with my hands again as I looked over at the mirror that dominated the wall to my left. I figured that there had to be someone behind it, watching me. Maybe it was Bennett? I squinted, trying to see if I could see him behind the glass, but there was no luck.
​
The only thing I saw was my own reflection, squinting back at me like an idiot and the security camera in the corner behind me. I looked back up at the camera, staring into it for a moment. I wondered if maybe Bennett was watching me through there. Maybe nobody was watching me? It was hard to say. I stared back into the iris of the camera for a moment, before the door opened again and Detective Bennett came back in. I saw him stuffing his phone back into his pocket.
​
Something about his demeanor had changed, but it was hard to say exactly what. When he spoke to me again, his tone was much quieter.
“Thank you for your time, Miss Stone. We have all we need. You’re free to go.”
​
Free to go?
​
“Wait, what?” I asked. “I… I just killed a guy! What do you mean I’m free to go!”
“You indicated that Mr. White’s death was an accident, correct?” Bennett asked. “That’s all we need. Go home, kid.”
I stared at him in disbelief. He was just letting me go? I’d fucking killed a man and they were just letting me go? That didn’t make any sense!
​
“So that’s it?” I asked, “You’re not going to arrest me or… or press charges or…?”
“No. We’re not,” He said. “You’re free to go.”
​
He picked up his folder and headed for the door again, pausing before looking up at the camera and then back to me. He held the door open for me, and after a moment, I got up and followed him.
“Do I need to get a lawyer?” I asked.
“That won’t be necessary,” He replied as he led me back through the police station. Once we were back at the front door, he pushed through and gestured for me to follow.
​
Once we were outside, I watched him take out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
“So that’s just it, then?” I asked. This whole thing still confused me.
Detective Bennett still didn’t reply. He just looked up toward the building, before taking a drag on his cigarette.
“Take my advice, kid… don’t ever look a gift horse in the mouth. It might not always be so pretty on the inside,” He didn’t look at me as he said that. He started down the steps of the police station, before pausing. “And do yourself a favor, keep your head down for the next little while.”
​
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, but Detective Bennett was already walking away from me.
​
I’m not an idiot.
​
Something isn’t right here. I just don’t know what.
​
I keep thinking back to the phone call Bennett got. I’ve got a feeling that it had something to do with my sudden release. What I don’t know is what or why and to be honest, I’m not sure that I want to find out.
​
Bennett told me to keep my head down, and I’m smart enough to take his advice.
​
I’m leaving tonight.
​
I’m going to let Sam, Lisa, and Rose know over dinner. I’ll think of some bullshit excuse. Maybe I’ll say that it’s a work thing, or something. They’re not going to check. I’m supposed to be heading home in a couple of days anyway, so they’re not going to think too much of it if I leave early.
​
Either way, whatever the hell I’ve gotten myself into, I want to get out of it sooner rather than later.

I know it's not laziness, it's decision fatigue and perfectionism and overwhelm and exhaustion and having too many ideas all at once and not finishing what I started. But goddamn, I hate myself so much for it.
I moved into a bigger apartment in October. I was so excited about the move! More space, green surroundings, shorter commute to work, bright sunny rooms, I had so many plans! I have a well-paying job, so my plan was to ditch all of my second-hand and cheap Ikea furniture and buy some quality solid wood furniture, paint the walls fun colors (they're bright white) and decorate with purpose.
Oh, well... Now it's July and all I have is a matress, a washing machine, a tiny fridge and bathroom cabinets. What's missing is... basically everything else. No kitchen, no bed frame, no couch, no dinner table, no closet, no decoration, no color on the walls, nothing. I basically live on the floor and on my matress. I'm so goddamned paralyzed by all the stuff I have to do.
I want a colorful apartment, but not *too* colorful because that's visually overwhelming. So i have to decide on a concise color scheme (can't decide though!). I bought Susan Pinsky's book on organizing solutions because I want my apartment to be ADHD friendly (have I managed to read more than one chapter? haha, no). I currently have about 30 neon pink post-it notes on the walls with ideas. I also have about 300 notes brain-dumped in my to-do app. I started several pinterest boards and have even more notes in OneNote. I need to merge them all into one place. I learned from several decluttering YouTubers that everything needs a home in a nicely labeled see-through container. So now my living room is currently littered with several piles of cables and electronics that I tried to sort but got bored halfway through. I still need to give my new adress to every insurance and acquaintance and there's several unopened important-looking letters piling up on the floor.
I know sometimes "good enough" instead of "perfect" is ok. But I will likely stay in this apartment for years, maybe decades, so I want to optimize it as much as I can, I want it "perfect".
And here's the kicker: I just had two weeks of vacation and wanted to hyperfocus on my apartment, because at the end of a normal work week I'm just too exhausted to get anything done. What have I done in those two weeks you ask? Played the newest Monkey Island (fun!), sleep and lay in bed (still tired), sat on my balkony to soak up the sun and read a book for aprox. 45min (should do that more often!), played roughly 50 hours of Merge Mansion and Project Makeover (yay, dopamine!). What have I *not done*? Get anything done in my apartment. Literally nothing. FML why does this have to be so hard!?

Hey everyone! I'm applying this cycle. I graduated in May 2022. I'm looking for some feedback on my school list. I'm planning on applying broadly to MDs and some DOs.
​

1. cGPA and sGPA: 3.6 cGPA, 3.45 sGPA, and 4.0 post-bacc GPA (24 credits completed so far, all science)
2. MCAT: 516 (128, 127, 130, 131)
3. State of Residence: New York with ties to Massachusetts and Pennsylvania
4. ORM/URM: ORM (Asian) + Female
5. Undergraduate: Top 40 Private School
6. Clinical Experience: 160 hours COVID-19 clinics; 600 hours scribing/medical assistant (300 hours completed, 300 hours projected); 40 hours volunteer program with Alzheimer's patients
7. Non-Clinical Experience: 250 hours soup kitchen volunteer, 150 hours Crisis Text Line
8. Research Experience: 100 hours Alzheimer's Disease research; A semester-long research project in genetics class (1 poster presentation)
9. Other ECs: Vice President of Cooking Club for 2 years; Cultural Club; Mental Health Organization
10. Relevant Honors or Awards: Dean's List for several semesters
11. Anything Else: N/A
12. LORs: Committee Letter (includes letters from humanities, public health, biochemistry, and genetics professors); LOR from scribing physician
13. Hobbies: Cooking/Baking ( I have a food blog lol); Reading

​
Current School List
MD

• Albany Medical College
• Albert Einstein
• Boston University
• Creighton
• Drexel
• Emory
• Geisinger
• George Washington
• Hofstra
• Temple University
• New York Medical College
• NYU Long Island
• NYU (very unrealistic but yolo)
• Stony Brook
• SUNY Downstate
• SUNY Upstate
• Tufts
• University of Buffalo
• University of Massachusetts
• University of Rochester

DO

• NYIT
• PCOM
• Touro (Harlem)

I've read over and over in multiple spaces, so many people with ADHD commenting that one positive thing they get from their ADHD is the capacity for creative, outside-the-box thinking and problem-solving. I am one of those people, to the nth degree.
I'm going to use concrete examples to float my theory with this community, just cuz it's easiest to explain. This is long, so skip to the bolded "Here's my theory," if you want.
I have a ridiculous capacity to figure out how to use completely unrelated materials, articles, etc. to build/create/fix something, For example, I live in a province that is nothing but rock. If you're able to dig a hole 6" deep, you've achieved the unachievable. Add to that annual hurricanes. Punctuate that with a gross shortage of/lack of building materials at the start of the pandemic. I needed to build a privacy wall to block the view from the neighbours to my firepit area. I couldn't sink wood posts deep enough to support them. Even if I could have, there were none, and when there finally were, you needed to take out a second mortage to buy an 8' 2x4. So how was I going to build a privacy wall that wouldn't fall over? That wouldn't wouldn't get pulled down by high winds, blizzards, ice storms, and hurricanes?
Well, I took concrete pile forms, sunk them as deep as I could (about 6") and cemented in ASB pipe, with the cement forms also 6" above ground. With ABS, I build two separate frames (think TinkerToys, for anyone old enough). Once my frames were done, I attached chicken wire (so so far, we've got stable and low wind resistence/wind-proof) and capped the tops so they wouldn't fill with water, freeze, expand and split open. Then I planted vines. Cheap, effective, light-weight. Even my 'can-make-anything' BIL said it was a stroke of genius.
Another example-- I built a large kitchen island (a massive chopping block). I cut a 6" hole to the right, and beneath that was a little shelf with a bucket, so I could swipe compost from chopping straight into the bucket. But how to create a funnel that would put the scraps in the bucket so they wouldn't fall around the sides? It had to be the right size, and *flexible* to pull the bucket in and out. I wandered through all the sections of Home Depot, through Canadian tire, etc. Then EUREKA! The rubber end of a toilet plunger!
Here's my theory-- maybe many ADHD folks' brains didn't 'fully develop' (/s). As children, we can imagine a thousand ways to use something. A blanket isn't just a blanket-- it's a tent, a cape, a magic carpet, etc. As we grow older, we grow out of this, and we can only see items for their intended purpose. A paperclip is a paperclip, and hammer is a hammer, etc. This is known as "functional fixedness." So maybe in that area, our cognitve development got stalled...making us super creative problem-solvers?
I Read this afterward (it touches on the above). I'm still curious, though, about how it's connected to brain development. If someone rabbit-holes this one, can you post here?

I've read over and over in multiple spaces, so many people with ADHD commenting that one positive thing they get from their ADHD is the capacity for creative, outside-the-box thinking and problem-solving. I am one of those people, to the nth degree.
I'm going to use concrete examples to float my theory with this community, just cuz it's easiest to explain. This is long, so skip to the bolded "Here's my theory," if you want.
I have a ridiculous capacity to figure out how to use completely unrelated materials, articles, etc. to build/create/fix something, For example, I live in a province that is nothing but rock. If you're able to dig a hole 6" deep, you've achieved the unachievable. Add to that annual hurricanes. Punctuate that with a gross shortage of/lack of building materials at the start of the pandemic. I needed to build a privacy wall to block the view from the neighbours to my firepit area. I couldn't sink wood posts deep enough to support them. Even if I could have, there were none, and when there finally were, you needed to take out a second mortage to buy an 8' 2x4. So how was I going to build a privacy wall that wouldn't fall over? That wouldn't wouldn't get pulled down by high winds, blizzards, ice storms, and hurricanes?
Well, I took concrete pile forms, sunk them as deep as I could (about 6") and cemented in ASB pipe (plumbing pipe), with the cement forms also 6" above ground. With ABS, I build two separate frames (think TinkerToys, for anyone old enough). Once my frames were done, I attached chicken wire (so so far, we've got stable and low wind resistence/wind-proof) and capped the tops so they wouldn't fill with water, freeze, expand and split open. Then I planted vines. Cheap, effective, light-weight. Even my 'can-make-anything' BIL said it was a stroke of genius.
Another example-- I built a large kitchen island (a massive chopping block). I cut a 6" hole to the right, and beneath that was a little shelf with a bucket, so I could swipe compost from chopping straight into the bucket. But how to create a funnel that would put the scraps in the bucket so they wouldn't fall around the sides? It had to be the right size, and *flexible* to pull the bucket in and out. I wandered through all the sections of Home Depot, through Canadian tire, etc. Then EUREKA! The rubber end of a toilet plunger!
Here's my theory-- maybe many ADHD folks' brains didn't 'fully develop' (/s). As children, we can imagine a thousand ways to use something. A blanket isn't just a blanket-- it's a tent, a cape, a magic carpet, etc. As we grow older, we grow out of this, and we can only see items for their intended purpose. A paperclip is a paperclip, and hammer is a hammer, etc. This is known as "functional fixedness." So maybe in that area, our cognitve development got stalled...making us super creative problem-solvers?
​
Read this afterward (it touches on the above). I'm still curious, though, about how it's connected to brain development. If someone rabbit-holes this one, can you post here?

The Spongebob franchise is widely known and loved by many. But many things in the series don’t make much sense. I am going to try to explain a lot of it. Spoilers ahead.
THE ANIMALS
Spongebob Squarepants, as we all know, is a sponge, specifically an “Aplysina fistularis”. Sponges are in the Porifera phylum and were the first animals to appear on earth. But he is very inaccurate to a real-life sea sponge. For one thing, sponges can’t move. They only move in larvae form. They are asymmetrical animals, lacking definite shape. Spongebob is rectangular shaped (like a sponge you would have in your kitchen), which doesn’t happen in nature. They are the most primitive multicellular animals, as they lack internal organs, nervous tissue, limbs, circulatory systems, respiratory systems, and digestive systems. They are hermaphrodites, possessing both male and female reproductive parts. They procreate by shooting their reproductive cells into the sea. Sponges can also regenerate body parts, which is shown in the show’s theme song.
Squidward Tentacles, despite his name, is actually an octopus. You can tell by the bulbous head. Octopuses are part of the Cephalopod class in the Mollusk phylum. They are highly intelligent and can camouflage, regrow limbs, jet-propel themselves, and spray ink when in danger. And since octopus lack bones, they can easily squeeze in and out of tight places. They often feed on clams, crabs, and fish. Octopuses have a lifespan of about 2 years, and their lives usually end after mating. The male will die from dementia or being cannibalized by the female, while the female will die from starvation because she sits on the eggs full time. Only about two of the thousands of eggs will survive to adulthood. Not an easy life. Might explain why Squidward is so miserable. Squidward also has a mouth instead of a beak, six limbs instead of eight, and his nose might not actually be a nose.
Patrick Star is a pink starfish, part of the Asteroidea class in the Echinoderm phylum. Patrick is noticeably more humanoid than a normal starfish. Normal starfish have their mouths in the center of their bodies and use their many tiny hydraulic feet to crawl around. Starfish have no blood or brains, and sense through their feet and small eye spots. They reproduce similarly to sponges, but most aren’t hermaphroditic. Starfish feed on oysters, snails, and also sponges. So SpongeBob should have been Patrick’s dinner.
Plankton is a plankton (hence the name). They are microscopic plants (phyto) or animals (zoo) found in water all over the world. He is specifically a crustacean-like species known as a Copepod.
Crabs are Crustaceans in the Arthropod phylum, with jointed appendages and exoskeletons. Mr. Krabs is specifically a red crab, which is about 6 inches long. Larry the Lobster is a spiny red lobster.
Pearl Krabs is a Sperm Whale and Mr. Krabs' (adopted) daughter. Sperm whales are the largest toothed predators in the world, at around 50 feet long, as well as having the largest brain. They are also the loudest animals in the world, and use echolocation to navigate the ocean. Before the discovery of petroleum, whales were hunted for their oil to use as energy. They have a large diet and are famously known to hunt the giant squid. They have four stomachs filled with methane gas, and old perfumes used to be made from ambergris, which is actually aged and hardened sperm whale feces. I bet we are all wondering, what the heck happened to Pearl? She is miles smaller than a normal whale (barely bigger than Krabs) and has arms and legs too.
Sandy Cheeks is a squirrel, and there’s nothing really odd about her except for the fact that she lives underwater. She lives in a dome with a tree and oxygen, and wears a diving suit when she goes outside. She’s also from Texas.
The townspeople of Bikini Bottom consist of many different sea animals, like fish (anchovies, trout, bass, tuna, pufferfish, seahorse, eels, reef fish), sharks, whales, dolphins, eels, reptiles, and seals. The main things that distinguish them from real sea life is their size and the presence of arms and legs. Instead of swimming, they walk around underwater like humans do on land. They also have more primitive creatures, like jellyfish and snails, along with “wild animals” underwater as well, which are just land animals with fins and aquatic features (like the “Sea Bears”). Merpeople are present in Bikini Bottom, but they are also near the size of the other animals. Even Poseidon and Neptune are pretty small, all at least under 3 feet. There are even some “human” characters in the town, in the form of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, but they are the same size as the rest of the characters, which is confusing. Maybe they are also part of the merpeople group? None of this makes much sense.
EXPLANATION
Bikini Bottom is radioactive. Bikini Bottom is under “Bikini Atoll”, a remote coral reef in the Marshall Islands in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 23 islands that surround a 230-square-mile central lagoon. This location was a place where the United States did nuclear tests from 1946 to 1956. The radiation released into the ocean around it affected the sea life in the area (maybe with a hint of magic too). That’s why the animals are so different and more human. As well as changing them physically, it made them smarter. Their town is similar to that of a normal human town, but smaller, underwater, and with animals. The residents wear clothes, use tech and tools, and live in buildings (made of small human items). Another odd thing to note is that there are lakes and pools underwater. But underwater lakes do exist, so that we can explain. In the episode “Feral Friends”, an orb comes around the town and reverts the characters back into normal animals. The world underwater is animated but is live-action out of water. When Spongebob and Patrick got dried out in “The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004)”, they turned back into normal animals. But when the water turned them back into cartoons, it also turned the other animals into that. The water is full of radiation and affects the sea life it touches. The radioactive water brings them back. Also, “Sponge Out of Water (2015)” marked one of the first times that the characters went on land, but through Bubbles’ magic.
THE TIMELINE
Similar to many other long-running cartoons (Simpsons, Family Guy, Phineas and Ferb), the timeline doesn’t make much sense without explanation. Spongebob was born in 1986, and the show’s first episode was in 1999. Which means he is a teenager in the events of the series. The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004) was supposed to be the end of the series, but the show kept going on. But I see that the first movie is set in the future, at the end of the whole series (whenever that may be). It is set after the events of the show and other movies. Many of the things from the movie were never featured in future episodes, like Krusty Krab 2, Goofy Goobers, and Neptune's Crown. There are 248 episodes of Spongebob, plus three movies, and each episode covers one or more days. So the events of the show are only happening in the late 90s and early 2000s. Episodes that are futuristic-themed are more parodical, so it’s not required to be included as canon.

Posted to reddit lighting design forum on 5 JUN 2023
I am designing the lighting for a new build residence. The calculations for kitchen lighting suggest that my design needs more lumens than are achievable with available luminaires at a reasonable density of luminaires.
The calculations are based on the formula (sq ft \* chosen fc \* 10.7639 lumens/fc). I am concerned that I am making a glaring error. Please help me identify my problem or incorrect expectations.

COMPONENTS

OVERALL

The kitchen is 287 sq ft with two sides open to other spaces

FOOD PREPARATION COUNTER

Counter area is 23 sq ft.
I chose 90 fc for light Intensity on the counter.
Suggests I need 22.4k lumens.

ISLAND

is 29 sq ft
I chose 45 fc for counter light intensity.
Suggests I need 14.2k lumens

WALKING SPACE

is 202 sq ft
I chose 20 fc for light density
suggests i need 43.5k lumens

DESIGN

I chose to light the kitchen with 4 independent light subsystems to better create unique lighting for different kitchen uses.
· Under cabinet
o This subsystem's task is to light the counter.
o I chose to control it independently as its purpose is to direct a significant amount of light on a specific area for food prep. The kitchen has other uses, however. Hence this high intensity region should be turned off to avoid distraction for other uses.
· Above cabinet
o This subsystem has two uses. Primary use is to assist in lighting the counter as under cabinet lighting can produce only a limited number of lumens. The secondary use of this subsystem is to illuminate the contents of a cabinet when its door is open. The tertiary use of this subsystem is to augment room light.
o I chose to control this subsystem independent of the under cabinet lighting so that the subsystem was available to assist in room lighting without the glare of the under cabinet counter lighting subsystem
· Island
o This subsystem task is to light the top of the island
o I chose to control it independent of all other subsystems so that it could be used for multiple purposes. The primary purpose is to offer lighting during meal times. The secondary use of the subsystem is to light the island for a person who wishes to study on the island. The tertiary use of the subsystem is to offer a dim night light for people navigating to the Kitchen in the night.
· Navigation
o The subsystem task is to light floor used by occupants to get somewhere.
o I chose to control this subsystem independent of all the other kitchen light subsystems so that the subsystem could better serve its multiple uses. The primary purpose of this subsystem is to offer basic light for the kitchen. When an occupant turns on the kitchen lights, He/she is turning on the Navigation lights. The secondary use of the subsystem is to provide background light when eating so that the food area is not the only space lit; the background lifts a dark space into something more pleasant. The tertiary use is as an alternative night light to the island pendant.

FOOD PREPARATION COUNTER

The food preparation counter is illuminated by two independent lighting systems. Undercabinet and recessed ceiling lights positioned to luminate the counter and the contents in the cabinet above the counter.

Undercabinet

Led string offers 706 Lumens/ft for 8 ft producing 5.65k Lumens

Recessed lights

3 Led recessed lights each offering 2k lumens producing a total of 6K Lumens

Total Counter illumination

11.65k lumens generated by chosen lights NOT meeting the above stated design requirements of 22.4k Lumens

ISLAND

The Island is illuminated by a three light pendant. Each light offers 2450 lumens for a total of 7.4k lumens which is considerably less than the desired design requirement of 14.2k Lumens

WALKING SPACE

for the walking area i used 9 recessed led cans each offering 2000 lumens for a total of 18k lumens. The design requirements call for 45.5k)
So my question is this....is my calculation procedure amiss (define too much light for a given subsystem) or do I have unrealistic expectations about the number of lights I need? What am i doing wrong? Please see the attached rendering of the lighting design.
Respectfully
William H. Burling

We’ve seen shadow figures before. One being years ago and it was outside. Our cameras caught it and it appeared to be waiting and pacing back and forth. It literally passed by my dogs and they didn’t do anything. I even saw it thru the window to make sure it wasn’t just our camera. I would describe it as black misty cloud. It wasn’t harming anyone and I’m assuming didn’t mind us seeing it as it appeared daily. Then it stopped appearing out front. But my brother he’s awake late at night and he has seen things outside for years. They are shadow figures and he says they just pass by or stand and disappear. Well my mom recently passed and looks like these figures are coming out a lot more. My brother saw it again outside the other day because our dog was barking late at night and nothing he could see and then a quick shadow passed almost running away and he figured that’s what the dog was barking at. Well last night my partner stays here in the living room for a bit like till 11pm and in the corner of his eye he saw a shadow peeking by our hallway he said he could feel like it looking at him and he looked at that corner and saw nothing so he dismissed it. Well he said he was still looking in the corner of his eye and saw this figure walking to the kitchen because he heard footsteps and my cat just stood looking at it. Then when he looked fully into the kitchen it was gone. These things have always been around never bothered us but why are they more around now since my mom passed? I’ll sometimes see something in the corner of my eyes too but look and there’s nothing.

"Before the break," Chris said over a shot of the speedboat, the perspective a rare side-view of the end of the dock, "the Rats got dibs on a sweet speedboat, "which they'll need." The camera panned on to the winning team standing confidently in their bathing suits, and Leshawna and Geoff shared a quick fist bump.
"Meanwhile," the camera panned to the left past the host and onto the other team, "the Maggots are stuck dodging water mines," the shot kept panning from the glum-looking losers onto their vessel, "in a leaky dinghy that couldn't float in a kiddie pool." True to the host's word, the inflatable boat appeared to have already taken on a little bit of water.
"True!" Geoff teased.
"Choose three campers to water ski, one to drive, and one to operate your gull cannon," Chris continued.
"Gull cannon?" Sammy asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, you heard me," Chris said with a mischievous grin, taking out a remote control, pointing it at the boats, and pressing its single button. With a mechanical whir two identical turrets rose up from the two vessels; multi-barreled things with small sights and a large glass tank on top containing three noticably snake-like gulls.
"Max would definitely go crazy on this," Leshawna commented.
"Each team gets three chances to shoot the bells," Chris explained. "Or the other team. Especially the other team," he grinned darkly.
"This seagull looks abnormal," Scarlett said, kneeling down at the edge of the dock to get a closer look at her team's cannon.
"Ohhh, that's not a seagull," Chris said. "These babies are half seagull, half rattlesnake, all with paralyzing venom."
Scarlett turned her attention back to the glass tank and tapped on the side of it until one of the birds screeched at her, baring its fangs and causing the brainiac to recoil with fright.
Chris laughed. "Whichever team rings the most bells, wins!"
"I'll drive!" Dave quickly suggested. "If that's okay with everybody."
"It is with me," Scarlett said. "I'll be the one operating the gun," she declared before they walked past their teammates.
"So with them driving and shooting, that means we'll be skiing," Anne Maria said.
"I can be on one ski since I'm big," DJ said. "You can take the other one, Anne Maria."
"I did the scuba diving part, so I'll just sit on the dinghy," Molly told her team.
"And I'll be on top of DJ," Katie quickly suggested, much to the brickhouse's own happiness. "There isn't enough space for me on the dinghy," she added awkwardly with a wide grin.
\
The focus cut over to the Rats as Geoff sat down in the driver's seat. "I'm driving," he said confidently, pulling a lever and turning on the engine.
"Shotgun! Been shootin' kitchen rats with my pappy since I was six," Scott said, the camera panning over to him taking control of the boat's weapon.
"I'll be sitting on the boat to watch out for bells," Sierra offered.
"Guess we're skiing?" Sammy said as Trent picked up the tow line's handle.
"I'm more into floatin' then skiin'," Leshawna hesitated.
Chris smiled, then blew an airhorn to signal the start of the challenge. The Rats' speedboat immediately started moving, causing the skiers to gasp as they were frantically pulled along.
The camera zoomed out the Maggots got their start as well, the dinghy moving away from the dock at a much slower pace, enough to drag Katie, Anne Maria, and DJ off the dock but not quite enough to keep them afloat on their skis.
\
The focus flashed back to the Rats' boat. "First place!" Geoff cheered. "This speedboat is already inches away from the Maggots' dinghy."
"Yeah, great," Scott agreed fakely.
The camera cut from them to a trail of bubbles behind the Maggots' accelerating dinghy, which soon revealed themselves to be Anne Maria and DJ on one ski each while Katie sat on DJ's shoulders.
Also rising up from the water was Fang, who snapped his jaws at the Maggot trio earning a startled cry from Anne Maria. "Drive faster!" she called up to her other teammates.
"It doesn't go any faster!" Dave called back to them.
"Keep driving!" Katie called out. "Fang's gonna eat us!"
"Wait! Someone should punch that shark out!" Molly called out.
"You want us to do what?" DJ said, looking over at her in confusion – a sentiment that quickly turned into a scream as Fang surged up behind them again.
Anne Maria took the chance and swung her fist at Fang's nose, causing him to stop chasing the Maggots.
"I don't agree with harming animals, but that shark can stop chasing after us!" Anne Maria said.
Back to Fang, he rubbed his nose that had become red and sore. Casting a look at the Maggots, he snarled at them.
The focus cut to the open water as the speedboat sped in and out of view, then the Maggots' dinghy. "Let's see if we can slow down the Rats," Scarlett called out to Dave as she readied the cannon.
"Hold on!" Molly replied. "We only have three gulls! We need to save them for the bells!"
"I know that, but the rules say that two out of three must be hit to claim victory," Scarlett fired off her cannon. The gull shot past Leshawna and Sammy and Trent – who had gotten into a pyramid formation with the nervous cheerleader on the shoulders of the sista and cool guy – and hit Geoff in the back, and he immediately felt its effects.
"I've been hit!" Geoff cried out in alarm as he stood up. "I've...been...hiiittt..." he slurred, finally toppling over onto the boat's windshield and Sierra immediately ran to his side.
"Geoff?" Sierra struggled to move her teammate. "Rats, we've lost steering!" The shot zoomed out to show the speedboat swerving off-course and plowing into a stand of reeds.
The focus moved ahead back to the Maggots, where Molly was looking back. "Now we're in the lead," she said with a smile before turning back to the course.
The perspective moved to show through Scarlett's cannon's aiming sight as the cross-hairs aligned with the bell. She readied her canon but was distracted by another gull, whizzing through and ringing the bell. The mine exploded as the Maggots passed by it, and they half-cheered, half-screamed.
"Great shot Scarlett!" Dave called back to the gunner.
"That wasn't me," Scarlett replied bitterly.
Just then the Rats sped by; Geoff still slumped over the windshield while the skiers cheered and congratulated Scott on his shot. "Great shot Scott!" Trent in particular was heard saying.
"Yeah, whoo," Scott pretended to be happy. "Stupid gun. That shot should've been way off!" he quietly said.
"OMG, we're losing!" Katie cried out as the focus cut back to the Maggots as they approached the second mine.
Scarlett cocked her cannon and fired her gull, which hit the bell. The Maggots cried out as the mine exploded right by them, and Scarlett grinned in relief.
Back to the Rats, Geoff was shivering from the gull he got hit by and still couldn't drive. He then accidentally pulled the gear stick back, causing the speedboat to slow to a stop and the waterskiing Rats to crash and fall into the boat and their skis to wander off.
"The Maggots are ahead!" Sammy cried out in alarm as the skiers got to their feet.
"And we've lost our skis," Trent added.
"Yeah, well Geoff got delirious," Scott replied.
"Everyone, chill," Leshawna ceased the argument. "I got a plan. Sammy, drive the boat. Scott, keep gunning the cannon. Sierra, continue to lookout. Trent, we'll be riding with Geoff."
"Are you sure it's a good idea to use him as a sled without his permission?" Trent questioned.
"He won't feel a thing in his condition, and I have that covered," Leshawna smirked in response.
\
The footage skipped ahead to the Rats back in motion, the members in position according to Leshawna's plan – Sammy driving, Scott at the cannon, Sierra seated, and Trent and Leshawna using Geoff as a ski.
"Nice plan, Leshawna!" Sammy called to her with a smile.
"Your skills in leadership are impressive!" Trent complimented.
"You can flatter me later. For now, keep this boat up to speed," Leshawna said.
\
Another flash took the scene to the Maggots, their boat moving to the right with Molly looking at the Rats.
"The Rats are back in the race!" Molly called out.
"I can prevent that from happening," Scarlett said as she readied another shot... only for the cannon to explode presumably by a jammed gull.
"Are you okay?" Dave asked. Scarlett coughed up a few feathers in response.
"Look out!" Molly yelled. Dave looked to the direction she was pointing, then cried out in shock.
Moments later, the dinghy crashed in to a tall rock jutting out of the lake, knocking the Maggots off their feet and causing their waterskiing teammates to crash and fall into the boat in turn.
The Rats sped past them, all cheering. "Guys! There's the last mine!" Sierra called out as the camera quickly panned to the bell on the mine.
Confessional: Scott
"No way we can win! Winning will ruin my plan! So I've got to be smart here," Scott planned.
Confessional Ends
Scott looked around to check if nobody was looking at him. Seeing that the coast was clear, he aimed the gun at Sammy and stung her left shoulder with a gull.
"Am I over the rainbow with unicorns?" Sammy's eyes widened deliriously, then glazed over as she passed out.
"Oh my gosh! Sammy's unconscious somehow!" Scott yelled out, causing them to spiral out of control.
The camera cut back to the Maggots. "Now we're done for," Anne Maria moaned.
"We're not that far from the last bell," Katie pointed to the lone mine in the water.
"How are we gonna reach that?" Molly said to her team.
"Don't worry!" DJ yelled and stood up on one of the rocks. "I know what to do!" He picked him a sausage from breakfast from his shorts and hurled it at the mine with full strength.
Meanwhile, the Rats sped along uncontrolably until they hit a particularly ramped-shaped rock. The boat, and the three inside it, were sent off flying while Trent and Leshawna fell into the water and Geoff was sent flying through the air.
The camera cut to a shot of the sausage flying through the air, then Geoff screaming through the air, then to the two crashing into each other. They fell onto the mine and plunged it underwater, with the sausage being the one to touch the bell first.
The camera backed away, becoming the view through a pair of binoculars.
"No explosion?" Chris said from the dock, the camera cutting to his side as he lowered the binoculars. "Not cool," he turned and told Chef.
Moments later, an explosion from off-screen lit up the area, and the camera moved behind the two adults just in time to catch the plume of smoke and water rising up from the lake and dissipating just as quickly.
"Ka-boom!" the host laughed.
\
"And the Maggots win!" Chris announced as the footage skipped ahead to the winning team assembled on the beach. They cheered for their victory.
"Nice shot, DJ!" Katie told him.
"I just wanted to get out of the water," DJ admitted.
The focus cut over to the Rats as they washed up on the beach.
"What happened?" Sammy asked in a slightly dazed tone.
"Scarlett had a lucky shot, I guess," Scott answered.
"Scarlett, or the guy who shot kitchen rats back home?!" Leshawna scowled at Scott, who returned it back.
Confessional: Leshawna
"I'm no dummy. Scarlett's gun was jammed, so the only functioning one had to be Scott's, and he used it to harm Sammy," Leshawna explained.
"One way or another, I'm gonna make sure this rat is out of here!"
Confessional Ends
The shot cut to the Rat girls inside their cabin at nighttime. "I don't know about you, but Scott has to go," Leshawna spoke up. "He's been acting real slimy."
"Uh, I don't know. He reminds me more of a jerk rather than a bully," Sammy admits sheepishly.
"I don't know him much, but he's not evil," Sierra said before noticing someone under Leshawna's bunk bed and pulled it out to show a black bag.
"Um, what's inside that bag?" Sammy asked.
Sierra opened the bag and gasped dramatically. "It's all the stolen items!"
"What the heck?" Leshawna exclaimed.
It was then that the Rat boys came. "Is something the matter?" Trent asked.
"Leshawna has all our stuff!" Sierra said accusingly.
Sammy took all of the stolen items out. "Trent's guitar, Scott's shark tooth, Molly's mp3 player, and even Anne Maria's hairbrush!"
"Leshawna... you're a thief?" Geoff exclaimed.
Confessional: Scott
"Yeah, I stole that stuff. Threw my shark tooth in there too. I was gonna pin it on Sierra, but Leshawna got too smart for her own good. So I just slipped that bag under her bed," Scott mentioned while whittling. "Yep. There's only room on this island for one smart guy."
Confessional Ends
The scene cut to both teams outside with Leshawna in the middle as everyone focused their gaze on her. "I'm being honest here when I say someone set me up!" Leshawna said.
"Forget that. You're gettin' a beat down," Anne Maria declared, holding her hairbrush up.
Molly held her by her arm as she listened to her music. "I'm angry as well, but we have all of our stuff back."
"Everyone, calm down," Scott interjected. "This is a Rat problem, and we'll deal with this Rat tonight."
Everyone went back to their cabins, although Scott and Leshawna stayed back. "See you at elimination," Scott taunted Leshawna and left her alone to sigh.
\
The crackle of a campfire rose over the night's chorus as the camera cut to the moon high in the sky. The scene panned down to a bush rustling just at the edge of the clearing, then zoomed out to show the six Rats – Trent on the left, then Sierra, Geoff, Sammy, Scott, and Leshawna on the far right end – seated all in a line in the front row of stump seats around the fire pit. Their eyes were a mixture of sadness and disappointment as they looked towards the just-off-screen host, and the ceremony began.
"After an episode bursting with betrayal, it's the Rats who have back-stabbed the best," Chris began, Chef already standing by with his hazmat suit and strongbox. "Following campers are momentarily safe," the host continued, holding up his tray of five ordinary marshmallows.
"Trent," he threw the first treat to the guitarist, who caught it.
"Sammy," the camera panned over to the cheerleader next as she caught his treat.
"Geoff," the marshmallow was handed over to the party boy.
"And Sierra," the host said next, tossing the eager Sierra the penultimate marshmallow from the tray.
"And, the Toxic Marshmallow of Loserdom goes to...," Chris said as Chef plucked the glowing thing from the box and held it in his tongs.
Leshawna and Scott began to look at each other with scowls.
"Leshawna."
"What?" Leshawna gaped and ducked under her toxic marshmallow. "You guys voted for me?"
"You did steal my guitar," Trent said firmly. "That's personal to me."
"How many times do I have to tell you I didn't steal anything?" Leshawna huffed.
"All evidence points to you. Who else had that bag under our bunk beds?" Scott remarked snidely.
"He's got you there, Leshawna," Geoff added.
"I haven't even been near the Maggots once, and what would I even want with those items that were stolen?" Leshawna attempted to reason with them.
"That is an excellent question, but you have to go or else I'll have my assistant drag you down the dock," Chris threatened.
Seeing that she had no choice, Leshawna groaned and made her way to the dock.
The screen flipped around a central axis, transitioning the scene to the Dock of Shame with Leshawna sitting in the bucket of the Hurl of Shame.
"I'm kinda sad to see you go," Chris told the eliminated girl. "You could've easily won the season."
Just then, Sammy arrived at the end of the dock. "Sorry to see you leave like this."
"Thanks for the support," Leshawna told her with a smile. "You do believe what I said about the stolen objects, right?"
"I know you wouldn't steal stuff from us. You're more honorable than that," Sammy pointed out.
"You really are a sweetheart. Word of advice, I think the person that took everyone's stuff was-" Leshawna said before Chef pulled the lever, flinging her screaming into the night sky.
"Whoops. I really wanted to hear what she would say to you," Chris said with sarcasm, turning around to face the camera as the series' capstone theme began to play while Sammy went back to his cabin. "Make sure to stay tuned for more Total! Drama! Revenge, of the Island!"
(Roll the Credits)

Toxic Rats: Geoff, Scott, Trent, Leshawna, Sammy, Sierra
Mutant Maggots: Anne Maria, Katie, Molly, Scarlett, Dave, DJ
Episode 05: Backstabbers Ahoy
"Last time, on Total Drama Revenge of the Island!" Chris opened, the standard shot of the island quickly cutting to a clip of the campers hurriedly assembling in the common area between cabins as the recap montage began. "Twelve campers went on a scavenger hunt," a close-up of the screen that showed the scavenger hunt locations was next, "that was spoo~ky~!" he said in an appropriate tone, several scary eyes opening up in the hollow of a tree. "And very, very, painful," he added with a laugh as Leshawna was shown getting choked by the squid-tree while some of her teammates threw rocks at both her and the tentacle, and Geoff ran right into a minefield and got blown up.
"And when we thought it couldn't get any weirder," the host continued over a shot of Dave being wrapped up by the spider, "Arachna-Izzy showed up to do an eight-legged tap dance for a captive audience and her buddy Chef," the wild child's reveal was shown as was her shooting plungers at Chef. "Which turned out to be not so fun for her," Dave was shown pounding on the spider's abdomen.
"In the end, Katie left five teammates behind," the sweet girl was shown getting on the zipline, "and lost the challenge for her team," The Maggots were at the elimination ceremony. "Someone would've been eliminated, but I decided to be swell and call it a non-elimination just to keep tensions running," Chris laughed a bit. "And I also brought Sierra back into the game for fun," Sierra coming in unannounced was shown.
"Hey, it's my show. I can do what I want," the host said as the montage ended to show him standing on the Dock of Shame. "Who will ride the Hurl of Shame next? How many times can I laugh at them, before then? Find out right now, on Total! Drama! Revenge of the Island!"
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A shot of the morning sun opened the episode, a flock of geese flying across the sky in formation in the distance. The scene cut to the girls of the Maggot cabin, the camera angled to show Katie and Scarlett awake.
The shot cut in close to Scarlett as she was deep in thought. "It's pretty fortunate for us to not lose a teammate last episode." Scarlett started her conversation with Katie.
Katie, who was brushing her hair, stopped when she was finished. "I know. Even though we lost, we still won in a way."
"But something still questions me about last time," Scarlett continued.
"What is it?" Katie wondered.
"I'm curious who would've gotten voted out since Chris didn't reveal the votes at all during our elimination ceremony," Scarlett explained.
Katie got uneasy hearing that. "Oh, I'm curious as well." She let out an awkward chuckle.
Scarlett easily saw how nervous her bunkmate was acting, and decided to press on. "You're not looking very comfortable. Care to explain what is bothering you?"
"The thing is, I voted for-" Katie tried to say, but was interrupted by Molly opening the cabin door.
"Good morning everyone," Molly greeted the two girls.
"Oh, Molly's here," Katie changed the subject. "Hi."
Confessional: Katie
"If I'm being honest, I voted for Scarlett in the last challenge," Katie admitted. "She was kind of acting cold towards us and didn't even feel as bad for our teammates getting captured."
Confessional: Scarlett
"She didn't say it, but I know they voted for me," Scarlett grimly said. "I suppose it's because of how I came off not showing my sympathies for my endangered teammates or for being too intellectual for them." She smiled proudly. "It would've been their loss had they gotten rid of me for I am the more academically skilled member of the bunch."
Confessionals End
"Guess what I found at the bonfire?" Molly eagerly said.
"What could you have found that would be beneficial for us?" Scarlett skeptically asked.
"I found this old mp3 player by one of the stumps," Molly pulled out the object. "I don't know how it got there, but I'm keeping it."
"If it's so old, why are you gonna keep it?" Katie asked her.
"It plays all the indie music from my favorite bands," Molly answered. "Modest Mouse, Bon Iver, Arcade Fire, those types of people."
"I've never heard of them," Katie said. "Sorry."
"Well you're missing out," Molly shrugged before leaving.
Scarlett and Katie watched her leave for a few seconds before Scarlett turned to Katie. "If I'm being honest, I'm not a fan of indie-themed activities."
Confessional: Molly
Molly was listening to one of her indie bands on her mp3. "Come on, skinny love, just last the year!"
Confessional Ends
A pleasant tune played as the scene moved to a shot of the lake, a few red birds flying and tweeting past the camera. The perspective inverted to show Anne Maria sitting in one of the stump seats of the bonfire pit, filing her nails as a woodpecker stood on top of her poking at her hair.
"Hey, I wasn't expecting to see you up here so early," Geoff said, walking up from the right and immediately attracting Anne Maria's attention. He was in his swimsuit rather than his usual attire.
"I didn't have much of a choice," Anne Maria said. "Katie's snorin' is drivin' me nuts, and Scarlett is kooky with her sleep analysis or whatever."
"So you're doing your hair care out here?" Geoff wondered.
"Yup," Anne Maria replied. "Why are you out in your swim shorts?"
"The water was feeling pretty cool and refreshing, and I wanted to salvage the moment as quickly as I could," Geoff answered.
"I would've been in the ocean, but I have to be fully tanned before I can go into any form of liquid," Anne Maria continued.
"Your body is tanned?" Geoff widened. "Do you use orange paint?"
This comment quickly offended the hairspray girl. "Excuse me?! Did you just disrespect my tan?!" Anne Maria glared at the party boy.
Geoff instantly realized his mistake. "No no no. I'm just saying that I like your tan. It's pretty cool."
Anne Maria cooled down. "Oh right. Now I get it."
Confessional: Geoff
"If you didn't know, I tend to slip up when talking to chicks," Geoff opened up. "Anne Maria's a babe, and a super hot one, but I have to watch what I say if I don't want to get messed up."
Confessional Ends
The scene flashed to the girls' side of the Rat cabin, where Sammy was sleeping in her bed peacefully, until she got woken up by Sierra snapping a photo of her.
"Sierra! I'm trying to sleep!" Sammy shouted in anger, causing Sierra to be frightened.
"Sorry Sammy. I was just updating the sleeping section of this season's profile!" Sierra said happily.
"Sleeping section?" Leshawna said in bewilderment. "Who would want to see us sleep?"
"I don't even want to know," Sammy mumbled.
Confessional: Sierra
"Apparently, the viewers love to see the contestants in their pajamas," Sierra said. "They probably want to make fanart of them."
Confessional: Sammy
"Was I being mean back there? Sorry," Sammy sheepishly said. "I usually get cranky if I don't get my full hours of sleep, and with Sierra back, it's going to get worse."
Confessionals End
Over on the boys' side of the Rat cabin, Trent was putting on his shirt in order to get dressed fully. "Getting dressed is done. Now to play some music to get my day off on the right foot."
The cool guy got on his knees and stuck his hand under his bunk bed to find his guitar, and his face became more and more worried as he couldn't find his instrument.
"I swear I put my guitar under here!" Trent said to himself while peeking under his bunk.
Scott entered the cabin and saw Trent's predicament. "What seems to be tugging on your strings, guitar boy?" he asked.
"Someone stole my guitar," Trent responded. "I remember placing it under my bunk bed, but now there's no sight of it."
"Ultra fangirl returns, guitar goes AWOL. Do the math, and come eat breakfast before you starve of paranoia," Scott told Trent.
Confessional: Trent
"Scott's on the rough side, but he does have a point about me not needing to overreact about my guitar being taken," Trent stated. "Someone probably just took it as a practical joke, and I'm sure they'll return it back to me."
Confessional Ends
A loon called as the scene moved to the Mess Hall, cutting inside to the Mutant Maggots, who were seated at the forward table this time around, while the Toxic Rats had been forced to claim the table closer to the kitchen. All of them were eating what appeared to be trays of mostly meat – bacon and roast chicken and some kind of intestines, with a bit of mashed potatoes and an apple on the side.
DJ was in line with his tray out. After it got filled with breakfast, he smiled a bit. "This is looking pretty good," he said to Chef, to which the cook actually smiled in appreciation.
Dave walked up to DJ with his own tray. "This is too much protein," he complained out of Chef's view to DJ.
"I know," DJ told his friend. "I'm gonna see if I can use this to make a gift for Katie."
"Why do you wanna do that?" Dave asked him. "Are you into her?"
DJ looked at Katie making a house out of her food. "Look at her. She's creative, sweet, and totally full of life."
"I didn't know you were interested in her," Dave said.
"I didn't realize my feelings for her until later on," DJ told him before walking to the right. "I'm gonna go see if there's any more leftovers for my gift."
"Attention campers!" Chris announced through the loudspeaker. "Breakfast is cutting in to precious time that you could spend getting injured!" The shot cut to the loudspeaker outside as Chris laughed. "Grab your swimsuits and meet me at the dock, pronto!"
The campers, who'd already gathered in the middle of the lodge aside from Dave and DJ, began to groan and complain. "You have ten seconds to exit the Mess Hall," Chris added, "before I release...The Raccoon!"
"The raccoon?" Anne Maria repeated in disbelief, and the ten teens started to laugh as the camera pulled back and a large crate was lowered down from the ceiling on chains. It stopped just before it hit the floor, and the campers immediately looked at it with dread.
The front face of it was punched off, revealing the giant mutant raccoon inside. It roared, and with a shriek the two teams fled the building.
The camera cut to the entrance to the kitchen, where DJ was wheeling in a service cart full of the morning meal and whistling to himself. "Hey," he asked, apparently not hearing the warning. "Where y'all goin'? Oh well," he shrugged. "I'm gonna see what I can take from this cart!"
He put the meat into his shorts, unaware of the menacing shadow creeping toward him.
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The scene cut outside to the campers catching their breaths, Chris watching them nearby with an impish smile.
"What were you thinking?" Scarlett asked him. "We could've been viciously assassinated by that intoxicated raccoon!"
Chris just laughed. "Nah, only if you got between him and food." He sent a pensive look off-screen and said "Team Maggot, looks like you're still missing a player."
The camera cut to the main lodge, where DJ was tossed out of a window with a scream.
"Nevermind," Chris said jovially.
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The footage flashed ahead to the two teams assembled on the Dock of Shame in their swimsuits – On the left: DJ in his usual shorts, Katie in a white and black striped bikini, Scarlett in a black one-piece, Molly in a purple dotted two-piece, Anne Maria in a bikini with the same color scheme as her top, and Dave in a white tank top and a pair of trunks consisting of his normal attire's colors; On the right: Leshawna in a teal speedo, Scott in his red swim trunks, Sierra in a light and lime green bikini, Trent in his orange and brown swim trunks, Sammy in a white bikini, and Geoff in his normal shorts; Chris was in the middle. Each team also had an old-fashioned diving suit connected by hose to a hand pump lying between them and the host.
"Alright," Chris began, "here to help us get today's competition underway, say hello to one of our classic competitors, Brick!"
He motioned to the side and the camera zoomed out as the cadet arrived at the dock in a patched-up red canoe.
"I'm ready to go," Brick told the host, "but remember," he gave a reminder, "my contract said demonstration only."
"Relax," Chris smiled, "no demo needed! Just chum the water and try not to get eaten."
Brick reached into the canoe and picked up a bucket of green slop. He took one whiff of it and retched. "What is this stuff?" he asked in disgust.
"Leftovers," Chris grinned, "from last season."
"This almost smells as nasty as my boots," Brick shuddered.
It was then that Fang rose out of the water and chomped down on the end of the boat, devouring the bit of chum that had been spilled on it and forcing Brick to yelp and dart over to the back of the canoe.
"This is highly not acceptable!" Brick scolded him.
"Challenge, part one!" Chris moved on. "Each team must get a pair of water-skis in an underwater mission." The shot cut underwater as he spoke, showing two sets of water skis tied to a pair of rocks on the lake bed. A school of vicious, spiny fish swam past from the right to the left, and a second later a school of eels passed through from the opposite direction. "Or drown trying," the host added as the camera zoomed in on the skis.
"One victim-I mean camper," Chris continued with a sly look, "will snag the skis in an old-school diving suit," he held up the Rats' suit, "and float them to the surface while the rest of their team pumps them oxygen," he held up the Maggots' pump. "First team to surface their skis wins, and gets an advantage in part two."
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The focus moved to the Maggots, Molly standing before her teammates and holding the diving suit's helmet. "Listen up Maggots. I'm diving."
"No problem with me," DJ agreed. "I'm not good with water, so I'll pump the air."
"Just consider it my way of making it up to you for the ice challenge," Molly said before feeling her pockets, only to realize something. "Who took my mp3 player?"
Confessional: DJ
"When I was eight, my brothers dared me to jump off the high-dive platform at the pool. I jumped, but I landed on my butt, and my trunks went so far up my butt, I had to go to the hospital and get them removed. They invited a new word for what I did. The wedgie flop. I've been afraid of water ever since," DJ explained his fear of water.
Confessional Ends
The focus moved to the Rats, Geoff at the center of their attention. "So who's gonna pump and who's gonna dive?"
"I got captured first last episode, so I'll pump the air just to show that I'm not useless," Sammy went to the hose.
"Sierra, you just came back, so you can dive in order to prove yourself to us," Scott suggested.
"Of course I'll dive," Sierra said. "I'm a certified swimmer."
Confessional: Scott
"That was much easier than I thought it'd be," Scott quipped.
Confessional Ends
"Ready?" Chris asked, now standing between Molly and Sierra, the two now fully dressed in their diving suits. Molly smirked confidently at her opponent, with Sierra doing the same, and with a sharp "GO!" from the host, the two were off.
The shot immediately cut underwater as the two splashed down and sank to the lake bed. The perspective moved behind them as they looked ahead to the tied-up skis in the distance, and after sharing a brief glance the two raced off...rather slowly through the water, thanks to the heavy suits and water pressure. The camera focused on Sierra as she suddenly stopped as though her hose had been caught on something.
She looked back and the camera panned to follow, revealing Fang holding back the uberfan's hose with a single hand. He grinned toothily, and Sierra screamed.
The scene moved back above the water, focusing on the Rats. Sammy was currently pumping with Leshawna and Scott watching her, and Geoff and Trent were leaning off the edge of the dock to watch Sierra's progress.
"Tired already, Pom-pom?" Scott asked the cheerleading girl as her breathing became heavier.
Leshawna took Sammy off the pump. "It's okay," the sista said. "I can do it for you!" She pumped so furiously that the hose started bulging as air pockets moved down it.
The scene cut back to Fang swimming viciously at Sierra; the girl turned around and screamed just as the bulging air pocket moved through the hose towards her...blowing up her suit like a balloon, causing Fang to ram into her and bounce off.
"You better get those skis, girl!" Anne Maria shouted near Scarlett as the camera cut back above the water.
"Yeah, keep up the pace," Dave added halfheartedly while kneeling on the dock.
The camera panned away from them and on to Katie and DJ, the latter operating the pump while the former talked to him...absentmindedly standing on the hose while doing so.
"Nice muscles you got on," Katie told DJ sincerely.
"Can I ask you something?" DJ said.
"Sure," Katie replied, looking up at her teammate. "What do you want to ask me?"
"What's your favorite kind of food?" DJ asked Katie. "Mine is gumbo, especially when made by my Momma."
"I like bacon. You can put it on any food you want, and they've been useful for my vlogs," Katie said.
"Bacon wouldn't go great with gumbo if you're thinking about that," DJ joked with the sweet girl.
"I know that. I'm not off the wall," Katie laughed at his sentence. As she spoke, the camera focused down on the slowly-growing bulge in the hose, trapped from moving onward by Katie's weight.
Confessional: Katie
"DJ is such an attractive guy," Katie swooned. "Is this what having a real life crush is like?"
Confessional Ends
The shot cut back underwater, Molly eagerly approaching the water skis...until she suddenly gasped, stopped, and held her breath with a look of shock. She frantically started tugging on her hose, and the scene returned to the edge of the dock as the other end of the hose began to yank and twang.
Scarlett quickly noticed it, and moved her wide gaze up the hose to Katie's feet. "What are you doing standing on the hose?" she asked sternly while pulling Katie off. "You're blocking the air." The air pocket finally rushed down to the hose.
Back underwater Molly's face had started to lose a bit of color as she kept on tugging at the hose. The air bubble finally reached her, and she let out a sigh of relief.
Back up shore, Katie started to feel really guilty. "I'm so sorry about that. I didn't know."
Confessional: Katie
"I almost killed Molly," Katie said in regret. "She's annoying sometimes, but that doesn't warrant murder."
Confessional Ends
The static cut away to the Rats, Leshawna continuing to pump air at a fast pace.
"This is taking forever!" Scott complained while holding his wood. "I gotta whittle something." He put his hand on his pocket. "Wait, where's my lucky shark tooth? Sierra must've stole it!" Scott thought out loud. "Like she stole Music Note's guitar and Indie Lady's mp3."
Anne Maria heard the commotion and came over. "Sierra couldn't steal a TV in a riot," she explained.
"Think about it. That girl's been obsessed with getting information about the show, even us," Scott replied.
Anne Maria proceeded to pat herself down. "As if, there's no proof that-" she retorted until something caught her attention. "Hey. Where's my hairbrush?" The jersey shore reject grew angry. "Oh, that is it! Sierra's getting a beat down!"
The scene flashed back underwater where Fang had gotten a hold of Sierra's air hose and was using her as a punching bag. The hose snapped from the unintended stress and the obsessive girl was sent flying through the water.
Sierra got to the Rats' skis first. Her diving suit knocked Molly down and smacked into the rock holding the skis, the force was enough to dislodge them; seconds later the two skis floated up to the surface.
A ship's horn was blown, and Chris called out "The Rats win the first challenge!" over the shot of Sierra flying out of the water between the skis with a scream.
/
"The Rats are the first to grab water skis," Chris announced over a shot of everyone assembled on the dock, "and their reward?" he said as a light-skinned female intern with a black ponytail drove a speedboat up to the Rats' side of the dock. "A McLean Brand Speedboat to use in part two of the challenge."
"Cool!" Trent cheered in excitement.
"Yeah baby!" Leshawna chimed in, the rest of their teammates smiling.
"And for the Maggots," Chris turned to the losers, a spluttering engine attracting their attention to the lake as well as the southeast Asian male intern drove up an inflatable boat to the left side of the dock. "A totally leaky dinghy!"
The six Maggots groaned and hung their heads in disappointment.
"This is almost too easy," Scott chuckled to himself before he saw Sierra catch up to the Rats with her diving suit torn up.
"Did we win the advantage?" Sierra told the farm boy.
"We sure did…stealer!" Scott muttered the last part under his breath.
"Part two of the challenge," Chris continued, briefly holding up two fingers as he continued his exposition, "a death-defying water ski race! The goal? Be the first to ring four bells on these four totally harmless buoys."
As he spoke, the shot cut first to one of the bells, then zoomed out to show it – and the others floating nearby – were attached to the top of what were very obviously sea mines. Brick arrived just then, the cadet frantically paddling his canoe up to one of the mines. He bumped into it just as Chris proclaimed its harmlessness, and the cameo and canoe were blown away by the resulting explosion.
Chris laughed. "Make that three bells," he corrected as a screaming Brick landed on the dock beside him. "See?" he told the slightly-charred young man. "You totally got to demo the challenge." The host then looked at the camera. "Who will cry for their mommy? And who's cries will be drowned out by explosions?" he asked with a wide smile. "Find out when we return." He looked down at Brick, who coughed out a little more soot.
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(Commercial Break)
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On the morning of December 8th, 1941, enlistment offices all across the United States began to be filled by young men eager to enact revenge for what the Empire of Japan had done at Pearl Harbor. The offices would stay busy for a long, long time. It was a dangerous job, with life and limb at serious risk, and many more young men would join the Army and Navy by conscription. Lesser celebrated, and likely they’d have it no other way, were whole second armies of support personnel. These would be nurses, middle-aged clerks too old and or fat to fight, surveyors, engineers, and merchant sailors.
Some would be spies or intelligence men working for the Office of Strategic Services. Others were mysterious ne’er-do-wells, scoundrels who were very good at the procurement of various goods. Some would be anthropologists and translators, eager to help obscure native communities deal with the technologically advanced war tearing the island worlds asunder. Some would be entertainers for the USO, there to help with morale, doing what they were best at, whether it was telling jokes or dancing beautifully. Others might be war correspondents, to communicate, in a highly censored way, what was going on to the folks back home. Then there were the bean counters. Everybody overlooked the bean counters.
Many of the combat veterans, and even some of the non-combat personnel, would never make it home again. Others made it home, but only after being maimed and scarred in body and mind. Yet most would make it home. All of them would have stories to tell, though many would never tell their stories. There was a culture of silence during the war, ‘loose lips sink ships.’ It wasn’t just a catchy phrase, people took it to heart. It became a habit. Even long after the war was over people kept their lips zipped shut.
And yet, there were still millions and millions of stories, and some of them would be recorded. They might be memoirs committed to paper years later. Then again, many of these people kept diaries. They would write home every chance they get. Officers as a regular part of their duties were constantly writing up reports. Every single one would end up being read by someone, somewhere, and passed up the chain depending on its importance, or filed away if the chain ended there. With every battle won or lost, extensive analyses were conducted on what went right and what went wrong, and how we could do better. Actions of bravery were written up for recommendations for medals or promotions. Every serious infraction meant a court-martial, and court martials left transcripts. Bitter denouements and protests were written when it was felt officers weren’t living up to their duties, and in these cases, the lips were zipped especially tight, but the reports themselves were poured over. Every location where the U.S. went, whether it was the location of a battleground, a ranging area for artillery, site for a depot, or a road used to transport was thoroughly mapped and described in detail.
Then there were the bean counters. How many 20 mm shells does it take, on average, to knock down a Val dive bomber? How many pints of A-positive blood should be stocked in a forward field hospital? How many gallons of ice cream are needed to keep a company of Marines in good fighting spirit? The bean counters might not know, but they recorded everything down just in case you wanted to sift through the data, and a lot of people did. The data would end up having a massive contribution to the war effort.
Last were two groups of material that were never meant to see the light of day. The sort of thing that ought to be recorded, but then hidden away only for the purview of top men. The first is information you might expect would cause classification or a cover-up. Disastrous friendly fire incidents. Accusations and or confessions of war crimes. State secrets involving intelligence on enemies and allies both.
Then there’s the other tranche of material. The stuff that defies explanation. Secrets from the hidden corners of the earth that were never meant to be revealed until some young farmboys from a country far away showed up in places where they were never supposed to be.
The following provides an example.
Excerpts from the personal diary of Second Lieutenant Yvette Morgan, Army Nursing Corps, 231st Hospital Group, Normandy region of France, July and August 1944. Aged 20 at the time of writing.
Note: Most American personnel in WWII were restricted from keeping personal diaries for counterintelligence purposes. It was not uncommon that this restriction was flaunted, particularly among personnel with the luxury of a little bit of privacy. Lt. Morgan seems to have understood the purpose of the restriction, and so the redactions in the following excerpts are her own. A careful eye will note she’s made a couple of errors, which is why censorship should be left to the professionals.
July 30th, 1944- Just got off the truck and finally made it back ‘home.’ Just spent all ‘day,’ helping set up the field hospital. We’ve commandeered a high school in the little town of St. A. I think it’s going to work out pretty well. There’s a gym with a tall ceiling and high windows, which means good natural lighting, so we’re setting that up as an operating room. We’ve got about six beds in each classroom, which is just about the number you’d like. The corridors are nice and wide enough to handle gurneys, and there’s plenty of room out front for the ambulances. I don’t think we could have found a better location outside of a purpose-built actual hospital.
The real work starts tomorrow. Well, today, I guess. They ought to be taking patients right about the time I’m writing this. I drew the short stick, and now I’m stuck with the overnight shift. That’s my luck for you. Back home that would have meant at least it would be pretty quiet, but I don’t think that’s going to apply to this kind of duty.
“Home” is actually this nice little old cottage they’ve set me up with, and four other girls. It’s in the tiny commune of L. It’s actually about ten miles from the hospital, not far from the sea. Every shift they’re going to drive us back and forth in these trucks. Seems like an awful waste of gasoline to me, but what do I know? The whole reason they’re doing this is because the hospital’s technically in range of German artillery, and they like to keep staff like us out of harm's way when we’re not needed. I suppose we won’t be in range much longer anyway. That said, Capt. G says the front line’s been stalled out for a while. He says it’s slow going with all these enormous hedgerows they grow everyplace around here. I never knew they could grow so big, they must be hundreds of years old. I thought the poplar windbreaks they started growing back home after the Dust Bowl were impressive, but they’ve got nothing on these things. We can still hear the guns, though. They’re a long way off, and kind of sound like thunder, though you can tell they’re not because the sky is perfectly clear. At least, I hope, they’re mostly our guns.
The morning’s still a little chilly, but it promises to be a warm day. I’m going to have to get used to sleeping through it. After long last summer is really here. The cottage itself is lovely. I can’t help but wonder about the people who really make this home. There’s a delightful flower garden in front and just the most precious herb garden right outside the kitchen window. When I get married and we have a home, I’m going to insist on one just like it.
The other girls? Well, what can I say. 5 of us all sharing this little place, at least we’ll be working different shifts mostly. I’m sure we’ll get by swimmingly.
July 31st- Just got back and finished breakfast for dinner. Part of me still wishes I were at work. If I were at a civilian hospital I still would be. Funny how the military insists on sticking to the scheduled shift and they order me to go home and get some sleep. I might get used to such regimentation.
I say this as if I’m not completely exhausted and overwhelmed. I’m sure I’ll sleep tonight. Today, whatever. As I’d suspected, we had our first wounded in during the morning shift. Most of them had been through the Mobile Advanced hospital and had been at least looked over by a doctor. Plenty had already gone through an initial surgery, just to stabilize them, close gaping wounds, and tie off arteries. It was really crude stuff, but I suppose that’s the point. Our doctors opened them back up and fixed them up properly. There were a few walking wounded, shrapnel wounds, and nasty burns we were able to help out too. I feel glad to be part of such a great team. I spent the first half of my shift assisting in two different surgeries. Then the last half attending the wards.
I had hoped that would be more peaceful. Our boys are so brave, even when you can tell they’re really broken up over what they’ve been through. And yet it wasn’t meant to be.
I mentioned that St. A.’s was within range of German artillery. Well, there was an attack last night, early this morning, I’m still not used to the schedule. They didn’t hit the hospital. They hit the other side of town. It was loud enough to shake all of the windows, and even the ground shook. It scared the daylights out of me. Some of the boys yelled too. A couple of them fell out of their beds and tried to hide underneath. I can’t imagine what it would be like to go through that a second time, let alone time after time, day after day like our boys.
I was just starting to get things settled down and everything squared. Then there was commotion. A bunch of orderlies, then nurses, then doctors running around the front main hall. We were expecting wounded. They’d hit an old medieval church on the other side of town. The Church of Saint Adalthred. There had been a platoon of soldiers sleeping there. Now they were bringing the survivors in.
I had never done triage before, though I remembered my training. You divide the patients into three groups. The group that needs surgery absolutely immediately if they’re going to live. The group that can wait for surgery. And then there’s the group that will die regardless.
There were two young men that were in the last group. The first had a massive open head wound. The strange thing was he was perfectly conscious and capable of speaking, despite the injury. There was just nothing that we could do for him. He was alert for about an hour, and then he simply passed away. Is it horrible to think that was something of a mercy?
The other suffered terrible burns, and apparently some of the blast as well. After the triage, I was assigned to care for him. The doctor had estimated over 90 percent of his body suffered burns in the third degree. The kind of amount that really makes you question your faith. I’ve seen burn patients, but not when they get first arrive like this. His eyes and ears were gone. A strange thing was, he wasn’t screaming like we’d expect burn patients to do. The doctor said his vocal cords were burnt out, but his lungs were relatively free of smoke damage, and he didn’t have that horrible cough. The doctor said it was like “he’d inhaled flame.” He was simply silent. He’s not expected to last the night. Day, I mean. I suppose I won’t see him again. I suppose that’s mercy too.
I mentioned yesterday that I think a school building serves as a fine hospital in a pinch. I’m not sure about that anymore. It’s the ventilation. There isn’t any in the school. Fumes from the ether linger everywhere. So does the stink of infection, no matter how much we fight it. And that last patient. It was like he was roasted. Literally. I thought I’d be sick.
August 1st- The truck ride back is starting to become my favorite part of the day. This one was a long one, despite being the exact same length as all the other shifts. We’re really packed now. The minute we get one patient ready for transport back to England, another takes his bed. They say the war might be over before Christmas. I hope. Don’t know how I’ll be able to keep up this pace for so long.
The little old priest whose church got blown up by the Germans came around to volunteer at the hospital. Poor old thing has nowhere else to go. He’s helping us roll bandages, working the autoclaves, and helping the chaplain out with the prayers. He seems to be helping with morale, god bless him. Particularly the chaplain’s. The priest doesn’t speak English and the chaplain doesn’t speak French, but they both speak Latin well enough to get by. I’ve never heard it spoken before. I grew up Lutheran, and it seems so strange. I’m a long way from home.
The burn patient is still alive. I was really surprised when I got in and found out. Apparently so are the doctors. Of course, I’m attending him again and was asked to change his bandages. Most of the rest of his skin that hadn’t already sloughed off last night did so while I was changing them. I didn’t see any sign of infection yet, though of course, we all know what’s coming. Other than that there wasn’t much I can do. He’s started letting off this low moan. The doctor said he was not really conscious. I can’t imagine he would be, he’s still getting so much morphine.
He was already bleeding through before my shift ended, so I thought I’d do the next shift a favor and take care of it a second time on the same shift. This time the doctor had me place his arms over his chest and belly, and bandage them all together. Also, he had me bandage his legs together. The doctor said that if there’s a miracle and somehow he manages to pull through, it will be because he somehow beat the infection. And if he’s going to have any chance at all then we’ll need to minimize his contact with bandages until can receive grafts. When I was done he ended up looking like a mummy, right out of the pictures. I don’t think it will matter much, and neither does the doctor. But we have to keep trying.
August 2nd- Just got back. The burn victim is still alive. It’s so strange. It’s all I can think about now. When I first got in I went straight to his room. I was absolutely shocked, it was gruesome. His bandages were positively soaked through. There was more red than white. I was just about to chew out the girl on the shift before me. I thought that nobody had changed the bandages since my last shift, but then she told me that she’d just changed them two hours previously. I couldn’t make head or tales of it. So I just got to work changing them myself. It felt so odd, the way the other patients in the room were looking at us. Like they knew there was something off about the whole thing. The patient’s moaning is getting louder too. It must be so unnerving to the others sharing the room.
Then, of all things, Maj. P and Col. S came in to observe. I haven’t seen either of them since we started setting up the hospital. They don’t usually stay up so late. They were washed up and decided to help me bandage the patient. As if they weren’t just there to observe me, but wanted to be a part of it too.
Sure enough, after only a couple of hours, the bandages were soaked through again. I’ve never seen such terribly bleeding. I asked the doctor if it could have possibly been hemophilia. It’s something I’ve only heard about but haven’t seen. He only shook his head like he was sure that it wasn’t. Yet he also looked even more confused than I was. We’ve been giving the patient transfusions. But at this rate, I just don’t know where it’s all coming from.
I know I shouldn’t be writing this sort of thing down, but the doctor confided that he’s thinking of reducing the morphine, maybe the patient will be more lucid. I don’t know how the doctor expects him to communicate with his vocal cords destroyed, or what he could possibly have to say even if he could talk. Well, it’s not my place to decide. I think he knows more about what’s happening to the poor man than I do.
It was all just blood too. In the bandages. No pus at all. I don’t know how he’s not becoming infected.
August 3rd- There’s a great deal of strangeness happening at the hospital. I saw the General’s staff car the moment our truck pulled around to drop us off, the little flags on the front gave it away.. Instead of starting my shift, they asked me to come back to Col. S’s office. My first thought was that I was in trouble, and they’d somehow find this diary. Both Maj. P and Col. S. were there, along with Gen C. who’d driven down from Corps HQ with a couple of his staff. There were also two men from what might have been regular Army, except they wore two long dark coats. I didn’t get their names.
Apparently, they’d all been there for hours and were wanting to debrief me. Well, it sure was intimidating, but they just wanted me to tell them what I’d seen. Fair enough. The patient was burned all over his body. He probably should have died the first night but hasn’t. There’s an awful amount of bleeding which I can’t account for. There’s also no pus or smell of infection, which also didn’t make sense. I told them about how he’s been given large amounts of morphine, though I didn’t say what Cap. H had said about reducing it. No, he had never been capable of speaking since brought in. No, he hadn’t been wearing his dog tags, but between the blast, and the length of time he’d been burning, he must have stripped everything off. Surely they were back in the rubble of that church. Then they thanked me and told me I could go back to work.
Well, I’d just about had it. I stood up and demanded that if they knew something about my patient that they weren’t telling me and that if they did I could take better care of him, well then they had better tell me. I think I even swore though I didn’t mean to. Maj. P almost laughed and Col. S just gave me that stupid patronizing smile. Told me I was already doing everything that I could, and that they were proud of me. He’s a good man, but I’m getting really sick of this Army “that’s on a need-to-know basis” crap.
Rest of the shift was just the usual. Strange how it's become the norm now. No, there was something else. The burn patient was in his room by himself. They’d moved the other beds out. They didn’t tell me why. Probably because his moan’s getting worse. And raspier. I still don’t think he’s out of the morphine stupor though.
Alright, it’s later the same day, the second. I’ve just woken up and had a serious chat with Kathy, the nurse from the second shift, and she’s had a lot to talk about. Rumors are swirling. I don’t know how much of this is true. My gut instinct? It’s all true.
Those men in the long coats? The rumor is they were Army Intelligence. That didn’t make a lick of sense to me at first, but then it started to come together. It turns out there were supposed to be 30 men, including the C.O., in that church that night it got shelled. Nobody else. Except when they added up all the survivors (who’ve moved on to the front), all the wounded that were taken to our hospital, and those who died, which took a while to count, then it all added up to 31 men. So somebody was there who wasn’t supposed to be there, and nobody knows who it is. They think they’ve got all of the dog tags accounted for, which might have been why they asked me about it when I came in later that night. And the one person they can’t account for seems to be the burn victim.
So they didn’t know who it was. Nobody from the St. A.’s was missing. None of the French Resistance were around that night (apparently Intelligence asked them? How else would they know?). So it's really suspicious and they were worried he might be some kind of spy or infiltrator. They still don’t even know why that church was shelled in the first place.
So they started asking questions of that poor old priest who’s been volunteering. We know because they let the chaplain sit in with him, but it seems both of the intelligence guys spoke fluent French. They asked him if there were any kind of acolyte or initiate or whatever sort of junior clergy he might have could have been there. He said no, and anybody who might have was accounted for and healthy. He asked if there was anything valuable that could have been stolen, or maybe he feared could be looted (would our boys do that?). Well, he didn’t think so. There was the holy font, which was an antique, but there were many like it and it was hardly easy to move. There was the Bible at the altar. It was very old and had great sentimental value, but again it would have no value to thieves. There was the tomb of St. Adalthred himself, which was priceless to his community but was a part of the church itself. Why the church had been built in the first place. Impossible to steal.
Then they asked the priest to come and view the patient. Perhaps seeing his proportions, perhaps it might have helped him recollect a similar person he’d seen lately. I understand why they did it. He, the burn victim, does seem shorter than any soldier I’ve met, skinner too. I wish they hadn’t, though. The chaplain said the priest had cried over seeing all those bloody bandages. There wasn’t a point, because the priest said he didn’t recognize him. The strange thing was, the chaplain had said that the priest's behavior seemed really strange. Like they got the really strong sense that the priest was being cagey, and lying to them. Not that he recognized the figure per se, but that he was thinking of something that he wasn’t telling them. He also insisted on saying a prayer over the burnt figure before he left, and they let him.
When I asked why they’d moved all the other beds in the room, Kathy said a little while after the priest had left the burn victim had started screaming, really bad. The other patients asked if they could leave the room, and because of the mystery, Col. S. agreed to it so they could isolate the burnt man. He was only calmer when I arrived later because they’d given him more morphine. When Kathy told me how much my jaw hit the floor. That part has to be baseless rumor.
August 8- I’m back in England. I’ve been too worked up to write, and worried, of course. After it happened, they put me in a truck, drove me to L. to pick up my things, and then I was on a Skytrain back to Cornwall. I guess we stopped at the cottage as a courtesy, it was on the way to the airfield. I was worried they’d find this diary, but they never searched. I don’t think they know what to do with me. I’m not sure what they should do either. They might just send me home, I suppose. I wouldn’t protest that. I just want to get on with things.
So. That night. The 4th.
I’ll start when I get off the truck. That moment when you hit the ground after jumping out of the bed is so sharp like it just sets your whole day. Like a starter pistol at a race. Something about it seemed off just as I was walking towards the door. Now I get in, and the front gallery, ever since that night of the triage, is a pretty empty place. But somebody was waiting for me, and it was Col. S. He came right up to me the moment he saw me. What an upside-down experience.
He starts leading me down the side hall, towards the back of the hospital/school where his office was. So of course I expected he needed to talk to me about something in his office. Only it turned out it wasn’t his office anymore. I thought something was off when I saw two armed guards on either side of the door to his often. Almost as soon, I heard the screaming.
I have just enough time to puzzle together what’s happened when Col. S walks right in, me in tow. They’d moved the burn patient to Col. S’s office, and he’d cleared out. The reason was obvious. The patient was screaming. Really, really loud. It hurt my ears in such a small office. The office was as about as far removed from the rest of the patients as they could move him. His bandages were soaked through, totally bright red. Jet red? Is jet red a thing? If you saw him, you’d say it was. It looked like they had been in the middle of starting to change his bandages, or just about to finish. Because there were parts of his flesh that were exposed. I didn’t realize it at first, and could only tell because of the texture.
I was just staring at him for a while. Jaw wide open. Then I looked at Col. S. He had been watching my reaction. He had such a sympathetic look. I asked him “How long has he been like this?”
“For hours,” he said. Like he was apologizing.
“How much morphine did you give him?” I asked. He was a doctor in his own right, of course. He didn’t get a chance to perform much surgery now that he’s the administrator, but I don’t think that ever leaves you.
He looked like he was about to cry.
“Lethal?” I asked.
“More,” he whispered.
We stood there silent for a few moments. Then he explained the situation. The only people allowed in the room would be doctors. Myself, and he explained I was the nurse with the most experience with him, and that I was the one he trusted the most. I’d have no other duties this shift. The chaplain was allowed in, and the priest. Also, the two guards out front, and that was it. He told me “The men from intel will be back, and a couple of spooks. We’ll figure it out then.” I had no idea what he meant by that, but I just nodded.
Well, the chaplain was there, though he looked a total mess. And it turned out the priest had stayed late but had gone home, exhausted.
So I did my duties. Changed bandages. Changed IV bottles. There were two chairs in the room, one for me and one for the chaplain. With only the one patient sometimes I’d wait. We couldn’t really chat. The screaming was too loud. I don’t think either of us got used to it.
I suppose it was about 3 AM. Mom used to call that the witching hour. Around three it started to change. The screaming that is, the cadence of it. Is that the right word? He started screaming words. Very garbled, but words. That was when I remembered the doctor had said his vocal cords had been destroyed. Had he been wrong? It had to be. Both I and the chaplain were standing over him then. The chaplain whispering prayers. Sometimes we’d look at each other like maybe the other knew what was happening. There were no answers.
The words started getting clearer. Not that we understood them, but they kind of sounded like they were French. Both I and the chaplain thought he, the patient, was becoming lucid. The chaplain opened up the door and told the guards to get the colonel, also to send somebody to find the priest. I suppose anybody could have translated, or so I thought at the time, but getting the priest sounded right.
Well, the colonel wasn’t in, but Maj. P. was. He spoke a little French, but he couldn’t understand the words. I’m still glad he was there. As a witness. I’m glad me and the chaplain weren’t the only ones. It was like the patient was chanting.
It was, maybe ten minutes after the major arrived. The screaming just stopped. No words. Just heavy breathing. Hyperventilating maybe. It occurred to me then that the bandages had become soaked through again. I’d been there the whole time. Watching. Only now had I noticed. He was glistening. The bedding was bloody too, of course. It was everywhere. And then…
Then it happened.
I had been facing another direction. But there was a sound. Like a massive, loud inhalation of are. There was this bright light, like when a lightbulb is about to short out. Except I felt the heat, and I turned. The patient had burst into flames.
I screamed. I think the chaplain and major did too. The two guards ran in. Maybe they sent somebody else to fetch the priest. They just yelled and weren’t able to do anything else. In a normal circumstance, I think somebody would have fetched an extinguisher. Except the patient suddenly sat straight up in his bed. We were positively paralyzed. He was screaming again, and all we could do is watch. His bandages and bedding all burned away. Only then he stopped.
There was this man before us. He had no skin. No eyes. Glistening red, and patches of black where the ash still clung to him. He looked at us. Looked at me. There were two black holes in his face, above the hole for his nose, and his mouth, lips burned away and teeth missing. But the holes for his eyes… I could feel him looking at me despite having no eyes.
Then he spoke. It was French again, at least I thought. I couldn’t understand it. Full sentences. Raspy, but clear. No sign of pain or duress. Yet it was authoritative like he was in full command of his faculties.
I don’t think it lasted long before the priest came rushing in. The priest said something like “sortie” and then the Major told us to get out, the chaplain and I.
We did and closed the door behind us. The two guards were further down the hall, clearly rattled.
We could hear the priest and the burned man talking. Clearly, through the door. The burned man was distinguishable by the rasp in his voice, the commanding tone. Yet as we listened, there was something off. The burned man’s French was different than the priest’s French. It was like they didn’t understand each other. It was like they were speaking two different dialects, and I didn’t realize until I heard them both being spoken next to each other.
There was a pause of silence. And then the priest started speaking in Latin. I saw a look of relief on the chaplain’s face when the burned man responded, also in Latin.
The two spoke, the burned man and the priest. They went on and on, me not understanding any of it. The burned man seemed to calm, the priest becoming more anxious as they went. Then I turned to the chaplain again. His attention was totally focused on the closed door, but he was listening to the priest and the burned man talk.
He was shaking, and pale as a ghost. I’ve seen men shake. I’ve seen them shake from the effects of blood loss and shock. I’ve seen them shake because they’ve been mad from war. I’ve seen them shake from hypothermia and hypoglycemia and drug overdoses. I’ve seen no end of fear in their eyes. Fear as they’re going under anesthesia, or having their limbs removed, or knowing they’re about to die from their wounds.
I’ve never seen a man so afraid or shaken than that chaplain on that night. And all because he was able to follow that conversation in Latin.
The door suddenly opened. The priest waved us aside, looking more determined than I’d ever seen him. We pressed ourselves against the wall to get out of the way. The burned man followed him. Silent. Walking. We watched them walk down the hallway. The guards turned and fled. Then the priest and the burnt figure turned the corner, and that was the last that I saw of them.
I remember looking back into the room and seeing the Major, slumped in a chair, hands covered his face. The smoke from the burning bandages and bedding still hung in the air, sweet and strong and foul due to the lack of ventilation.
The two men in the long coats showed up. There were also a couple of men in suits. Civilians, I guess. They sort of took charge. Then they just put me on a truck, didn’t even ask me any questions.
And that’s what happened.
I’ve been on this base for a couple of days. They seem to be giving me a lot of freedom, they let me go into town yesterday. I went to a library. It wasn’t a very big one, but I guess it didn’t need to be. I found a hagiography. Or, I guess, a sort of encyclopedia on the subject of saints.
There was a very small entry on the subject of Saint Adalthred. Very little was known about him. He’d been a saint in early medieval France. He’d preached to royalty. The Marrowvingians I think it said, I don’t know what that is. Like all saints, he’d performed three miracles. Like all saints, he’d been martyred. He’d been burned at the stake. His last miracle had been his own resurrection.
I don’t know what to do with this diary. I never should have started it, and yet I think it’s important that I did. I think I’m going to turn myself in and give it to them. I suppose they’ll court-martial me over it, send me home. I don’t want to go home, but maybe I deserve it. At any rate, clearly, there are higher powers than me at work here.
-End copy.-
All of the documentation by the U.S. during the war was massive. All of the officers, nurses, spies, bean counters, and everybody else contributed to the pile. This was long before the digital age, or even microfiche, so the sheer scale of the paperwork is hardly conceivable. It could have been measured by the cargo holds of liberty ships.
After the war, the Army and Navy needed someplace to store it all. Any of it could have had unforeseen value, and destroying it was never an option. In 1951, with the Korean War raging and threatening to exacerbate the document problem, the Department of Defense decided to build a massive new warehouse archive to store it all. In 1956, the Military Personnel Records Center was finished. Ostensibly the archive was meant to store personnel records, but the military being the military, and the warehouse being of such a huge scale, it housed other records as well. Records such as the nurse’s diary, records of things unnatural. Supernatural. Only to be seen by top men.
One of the items discussed during the facility’s construction was the inclusion of a sprinkler fire prevention system. There was a concern that such a system could leak, and cause water damage to all the important documents. So the archive was built without one.
In 1973 the building burned down, taking millions of documents with it. The cause was never officially determined. At the time, and for many years after, the biggest problem was the bureaucratic nightmare it caused for millions of veterans and collecting the benefits they were entitled to.
To a very small community, namely us, the damage was a travesty. That’s the purpose of this project. To retrieve the documentation, study, and catalog it, this entry is only the first example. Naturally, the question arises- how do we retrieve these files if they were all destroyed in the fire? Well, that’s on a need-to-know basis, Lieutenant, and you don’t need to know.
​
Author's Notes: The War Files is meant to be an on-going series of horror stories set in and around WWII, and the very real Archive Fire. Maybe it would make a good podcast? This was sort of a pilot episode and thought it would fit the theme of this month's event. If you liked the story and want to read more, I'll probably post them either to my subreddit EBDavis or my substack ebdavis.substack.com

I am a newbie writer, I'd love to hear some criticism (I can imagine there's a lot) so please tell me what you think I did right and wrong.
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I pull my head away from the sink a second or so after I splash the cold water into my face, I blink a number of times as I reach down and turn the tap’s handle. I then grab a small towel and rub my face with it.
Hmm, that never wakes me up as much as I'd like to, I’m more awake than I was, which is a victory I suppose.
I turn and walk past the barely functional shower and the clean toilet, which isn’t too impressive till you see the rest of the outpost.
I open the door and walk out into the main room. The room’s somewhat divided into two, the front door is right in the middle of the wall, and to its right is the kitchen. Well, the kitchen might be giving too much credit, a few counters with a fridge, sink, and microwave. We did have a coffee maker till Baron got drunk and broke it, which left us with no more coffee and no more drinks as Cleo had us pour the rest of the alcohol so it wouldn’t happen again with something more important.
To the left of the door is a living room, an old orange sofa, which looks like it’s seen more combat than us, honestly I have no clue where Baron and Jakob found this bloody thing. We also have a lounge chair, also orange and also in the same state that the sofa is in. We have a small wooden coffee table between the sofa and our TV. It’s a small screen and it’s black and white but it works, mostly works, the machine is fine but, well, it’s held up by these four legs and I’ll just say it, those skinny chicken legs are not aging well, we’ve already nailed boards and pipes onto these legs as braces.
We have a bit of a bet going on about how long it’ll last, I’m giving the legs three months, and Baron’s doing the repairs and is giving about six months, Cleo better hopes it breaks within the week or she’s lost her money, and Jakob didn’t place a bet.
I turn around and close the bathroom door, as I do I get a view on this side of the room, three doors stand.
On the far left is the second biggest room in the outpost, only beaten by the main/common room, Baron and Jakob have that room, it’s about twice the size of the bathroom, and Jakob and Baron were just barely able to fit a double sized bed in there, although they lost the room for a desk or anything more a pair of small bedside cabinets.
In the middle of the three is the bathroom, again, pretty small, damaged shower, clean toilet.
On the far right is Cleo’s room, about the same size as the bathroom. She was able to get a desk and signal bed.
And of course, there’s the radio desk, packed just into the far right corner, just past Cleo’s door is the radio desk, it has a ton of radio equipment on it so we can get orders from HQ.
I turn around, walk a bit further over to the living area and sit down on the lounge chair, Baron is laying down on the sofa with his head turned to face the TV, and Cleo is preparing an MRE for herself, I don’t know how she can stomach those things.
Baron is a mountain of muscle, while incredibly strong he’s not the brightest bulb, still a lovely guy to be around. He’s currently wearing some old jeans and a turtleneck.
Cleo’s very strict and pretty reserved, she’s not shy, she just doesn’t talk unless she has something to say. Currently, she’s wearing some baggy green camo trousers and a brown tank top.
“How ya doing Milo?” Baron turns his head and asks.
“Hmm, fine I guess, you?” I reply and ask back,
“Fighting fit” He answers with a smile as he looks back at the TV. I look over to the TV to see what he’s watching, it’s some kind of mechanical show.
“Feeling homesick?” I sarcastically ask.
“As if” he laughed, “Hey, If I go back into mechanics then I want you to shoot me” he adds.
We both laugh at the joke. After we calm ourselves a bit he says “Anyway, I’m only watching it because it’s between this or that bloody ‘live at the capital’ with that, umm, what's-her-faces?”
“Sue Stone?” I answer.
“Aye that’s her” He snaps his fingers
“yeah, I see your point, both her and that entire show are horrible”
“The part that gets on my nerves is that it’s always on, we never get the signal for anything good here” he continues to rant and I can’t help but chuckle, it’s always a bit funny watching him get annoyed.
“Like that ‘Lies on the coast’ show, I mean that show got another season for god sake”
“Wait really?” He asks, turning a bit and starting to sit up.
“Yeah, it’s ridiculous” I answer.
He sighs and facepalms, “I wish you hadn’t told me that”
“Hmm?”
He sighs again and leans back into the sofa “That’s gone and ruined my mood”
I laugh as I stand up “Heh, sorry man, anyway, I’m off, any idea where Jakob is?”
“ umm, I think he’s on the porch ‘though he might have gone off for a walk or something” He answers.
I nod and walk off towards the cabin door and open the old door. I see Jakob as I open the door, he’s in his late twenties and has long black hair, and is wearing combat boots, black jeans, and a gray shirt, he normally has a knee-long leather jacket on but he isn’t wearing it currently. He’s sitting on a chair with his legs on the small metal table here on the porch, he’s reading a book.
“How are you?” I ask as I walk over, he looks up from the booms quickly.
“O-oh, I-I didn’t see you t-there” He speaks as he sits up more and takes his legs off the table, “and I’m good, you?”
He has a bit of a stutter, something he said he was born with, he’s tried to get rid of it, apparently to no avail.
“I’m fine” I answer as I sit down across from him. “What’ you reading there?” I ask as I reach over and grab one of the bottles of water on the table.
“Oh, it’s a S-strange man in a st-strange land” He answers, “It’s about a-a man who from Mars who c-comes to e-earth"
“Hmm, sounds interesting” I add as I uncap the bottle.
“It is! Err, w-would you like to borrow it af-after I’m done with it?”
“Sure!” I answer before taking a mouthful of the water, “Just tell me when you’ve finished it” I add.
“will do!”
And with that, I turn my head off and look out into the forest ahead of the cabin. I then look back over at Jakob. You know it's a shame, it’s always nice to speak with him yet he almost never speaks.
Let me correct that, he’s always happy to speak and always has something interesting to say, yet he almost never starts the conversation. I’ve had to guess it would stem from his past.
His past. His past is a bit of a mystery to me. I know he was once a slave to the Dominion, I know he and Baron escaped the Dominion together and I know they later joined the Freedom Fighters, I also think, but am in no way sure, that he’s a tribal.
Two main reasons, funnily, both of which also make up his role in the team.
For one, he’s a helluva sniper, he once killed a person from two thousand meters away. He also handles the hunting for our squad, getting fresh meat is fantastic when all you’ve only been eating MREs for months.
Second of all, he’s a skilled tracker, if he’s on someone’s trail then he’ll find them. There was this guy who used to be with the Freedom Fighter, but he turned traitor and used a bomb to kill a whole unit, and then Jakob was sent after him.
Jakob tracked him across the entire wasteland, he followed him north, all the way up to the ruins of those old-world cities of Calaye and that City of Lights
I had always thought places like these either weren’t real or were greatly exaggerated, but according to Jakob, they're real.
“Hey,” Jakob says, I look away from the forest and over to Jakob, “I w-was going to go on a-a hunt, wanna join?” He asks as he stands up.
I take a second to think before replying “Sure, that sounds fun” I answer as I get up
“Yeah, I h-have a pair of rifles in the c-car” He speaks as we start to walk off the porch, but then we hear a yell.
“Everyone! Here now” we both hear Cleo yell from inside. We both turn on the spot and charge into the cabin, pushing past the door.
We see Cleo sitting by the radio, Baron standing by her. “Incoming broadcast, directly from the Colonel! Get over here”
Jakob and I rush over, albeit with a lot less worry and a lot more interest.
Colonel Barnaby is the leader of the Freedom Fighters, not our founder, that was General Margaret. Officially she is still our leader, yet she went missing over three years ago, Colonel Barnaby has refused to take her position officially until he sees proof of her death.
We stand behind Cleo as she flips a few switches and turns a couple of dials, trying to get the best connection.
After a few moments we can hear a voice. “-Re you there, Sergeant Laidlaw?” His voice can be heard cutting through the static.
“Yes Colonel Barnaby, what seems to be the problem?” Cleo answers and asks.
“09-10?” He asks. A password.
Cleo turns her head towards a small open book on the desk, the book’s filled with a series of dates and names. What the Colonel asked was a date, with the day being brought down by one, and the month being brought up by one.
“01-31-09-26” She answers. Her answer is the date of birth of everyone in the squad, in days. All the dates are off by a few days, the amount depends on the current date, the amount to change by is listed in that book.
“Good, now Sergeant Laidlaw I have an important task for you and your squad” Jakob and Baron exchange a few glances at this news, “Are you familiar with the town of Pinkton?”
And there goes my excitement for this operation.
“A member of my squad is” She answers.
“Then I’ll let them fill you in on what the town is like, The more dead air the better” He mumbles the last bit, “Now listen, upon wolf street there is a warehouse, at 02:10 a shipment will be brought into it, I need you to go there and steal a crate with a serial code of ‘01-12-20-06’. Did you get that?”
“Warehouse on Wolf Street, get a crate, serial code ‘01-12-20-06’, got it” She answers as she grabs a pencil and starts jotting it down.
“Good, after receiving this crate I need you to bring it back to your base, a team will be ‘round to pick up at some point, understood?”
“Yes sir”
“On the other side,” He says as the line goes dead, leaving our squad alone again. A few moments of silence follow before Cleo turns in her chair and stands up.
“Baron, Jakob, go get your gear” She speaks, Jakob and Baron nod before quickly turning and rushing to their rooms.
She then turns to me and asks “You’re from Pinkton right? Tell me about it”
I sigh, “It’s the crown prince of rust belt towns, it peaked twenty years ago and has been on a cliff face of a decline since”.
“Without the sarcasm?” She follows.
I sigh again, “It's a small town, it used to be incredibly important as it has a port, and it has a railway going through it since the old world made it very important for getting resources from the islands to the mainland.”
“I assume that was the peak?”
“You’d be right” I continue “Pinkton is down a river, which limits the size of ships that can go there, when new rails were built to towns on the coast Pinkton fell out of favour. It won’t have much security and most people there are in their eighties so we won’t have to worry too much about noise as they’ll likely be deaf.”
“I see, well thanks, I’ll go get my gear, you go get yours” She states and turns off, going to her room to get ready.
I turn around and walk over to the couch, I kneel down and grab a suitcase from under it, my gear is stored in there. I pull it out and walk off to the bathroom to get ready.

Hi! I’m going on a 40 day solo trip to Japan next June. (I know that’s a long way away but I love to plan.) I’ve always loved the idea of solo travel and the culture in Japan but I’ve never had the chance to experience it myself.
As it is so far away and don’t like to have a ridged schedule I haven’t planned my exact day to day but I have a list of places I plan to visit while in each city.
Not sure if this is worth mentioning but I will be 18. I’m not sure how much this changes with Japanese laws.
Tokyo - 7 Nights
I would prefer to arrive at Haneda as I believe it’s closer to Shinjuku which is where I’ll be staying. I don’t plan to do much the first day.
General things to do and places to visit while staying in Shinjuku:
-Gyoen National Garden -Omoide Yokocho -View from Government Building -Kabukicho Tower -Kabukicho -Izakaya Hopping (but with ramen) -Book and Bed -Samurai Museum -Takadanobaba
Sapporo - 3 Nights
I would fly from Tokyo to Sapporo to get around the 10 hour train ride. (It’s also cheaper)
-Sapporo TV Tower -Odori Park -Tanuki Koji Shopping Street -Nijo Seafood Market -Susukino District @ Night -Ramen Alley -Mt. Moiwa -Fushimi Inari Temple -Hokkaido Modern Art Museum
Otaru - 2 Nights -Ice Cream -Walk around canal -Otaru Museum -Music Box Museum -Antique Shops -Sushi
Furano - 1 day (28 July) -Biei Pond -Shikosai no Oka -Cycling -Melon House??? -Hike
Nagoya - 2 Nights
Once again I would be flying to save money and time.
-Toyota Factory + Museum -Nagoya Science Museum -Osu Shopping Street -Explore Sakae -Walk Yamazaki River
Osaka - 5 Nights -Dotomdori District -Universal Studios Japan (probably not) -Osaka Castle -Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street -Kuchu Teien Observatory -Namba Shops -Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine -Kuromon Market -Teamlab Osaka -Tenjinbashisuji
Kyoto - 3 Nights -Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine -Kinkajuji Shrine -Sanjusangendo Temple -Arashiyama -Gion -Monkey Park -Nishiki Market -Kyoto Tower -Mt Shosha
Hiroshima - 2 Nights (posibly 1 more for cat island) -Hiroshima Peace Museum -Hiroshima Castle -Miyajima Island -Ao Island (maybe)
Fukuoka - 2 Nights -Kushiro Shrine -Ohori Park -Uminonakamichi Seaside Park -Tenjin Underground Shopping -Fukuoka Tower -Nokonoshima Island -Momochi Seaside Park -Jim US Burger -Kuiyoiken Ramen
Okinawa - 3 Nights
I would be flying from Fukuoka to Okinawa.
-Shuri Castle -Churaumi Aquarium -Diving -Okinawa Peace Park -Mihama American Village -Kokusai Dori Street -Cape Manza -Miyako Island -Zamami Island
Hakone - 1 Night
I would fly from Okinawa to Tokyo. Then take a train to Hakone.
-Hot Spring -Chisuji Falls -Lake Ashi -Hakone Shrine
Enoshima -Iwaya Caves -Terrace Mall -Kamakura day trip -See the Town As cringe as it is I saw an anime a while back that impacted me. It is supposedly 1 for 1 set in the Enoshima area so it would be super cool.
Tokyo - 7 Nights (again)
This time I would stay in the Shibuya area.
-Meiji Jingu Shrine -Shibuya Crossing -Yoyogi Park -Hachiko Dog Statue (from that movie) -Takeshita Street -Cat Street -Shibuya Center-Gai -Shibuya Sky -Shibuya 109
If you have anything to add or suggestions, please share!
I would not be getting the JR pass as with the changes and my length of stay I would spend dramatically more money than I ever would just paying for everything with a Suica card (will all trains accept this? I know most will but will it pose a problem?)
Please let me know if you have any tips comments or concerns with my plans. I have a bunch of extra days laying around in Tokyo so I might do some day trips. Let me know if any you recommend.
I am expecting to spend about 8,000 USD on this trip. My breakdown is this. Does this all make sense. Obviously the less the better so if I hear I’m wrong that would be great. My plan for staying is AirBnB. In most places I would like to have a small kitchen. From the little bit I’ve seen I expect to spend 75 USD on average.
Budget:
$125 Daily Outline
———
$70 Housing
$40 Food
$15 Misc
———
Total Daily: $5,000
———
+$1,200 Flight
+$504 IC Card
+230 In Country
+$75 Sim Card
+$1221 Misc
———
Total Total: $8,000
Thanks a bunch!

Although, I may or may not be revved up like a duece. As you can see, I have a semi-open kitchen-living-dining in this sorta vaulted, very low A-frame cabin in the woods. This built in bookcase is shared by the living room and on the other side is the kitchen. I cannot tear out the wall completely, long story. One end of said bookcase is the support for the kitchen island, so that's got to stay. Question: can I just use a sawzall to cut a wide notch so more light is shared between rooms? Or must I lop off the top foot evenly? Or none of the above? Advice and ideas are welcome.

That level is:
• Relatively safe
• habitable
• Few entities
The level is a basically endless set of martial arts training rooms, and the hall you enter in that level varies wildly. It could be a Boxing training hall, a Karate Dojo, a Shaolin Temple, any space like that!
These places have exit doors, but they just lead to more and more different training halls, and it's easy to get lost along these paths. The appliances are in great condition, like brand new, like no one has used them before! In the closets of these rooms, you can even find martial arts costumes such as Karate Kimonos, Kung Fu Tchen Moous and even Sumo Mawashis, but they are not much better than ordinary clothes, they do not protect you from attacks or give you more speed, but if you want it, you can take it!
From time to time, you can find sports locker rooms, but in contrast to the clean halls, they are full of slime, rusty lockers and leaky showers that flood the floor. It's a pretty chaotic, uncomfortable scene and you'd want to stay the hell away from them!
However, in the midst of these training halls, you can find the Championship Stadiums: they are places that have large audiences of empty chairs, with mats on the court below. But the good thing about these places is that there are Food Machines, where you can get Energy Bars and Super Almond Water! To get this, you'll need a Gold Coin for every item you want, and you can find them by scavenging the benches in the grandstands! It can take a long time, but on the other hand, the machines are never empty, as they are replenished in a supernatural way!
When approaching some training objects, you will have an instant reaction of wanting to try them, and when you touch them, a motivation to practice that martial art will appear in your head, and soon you will be practicing. And even with no one to train you, you will see several books in the academies, teaching you the fundamentals of each art!
Even if you've never practiced or shown interest in a martial art, it will seem like the most fun and enjoyable thing in the world to you! And if you already practiced, you'll love spending a lot of time at that level!
Those who went through the level report the constant feeling of strengthened muscles, zero sleep and improved concentration, which extended a little further, when they left the level, showing themselves stronger, faster and with martial techniques worthy of a black belt!
The most important things you need to look for are the weapons of these martial arts, but not just any weapon! Because normal weapons like sticks, knives and others are very common! There are specific weapons that will save your skin in the Backrooms! Are they:
Tyson Gloves: These are a pair of gold boxing gloves, with the Tyson signature on the left hand, presumably a reference to boxer Mike Tyson. They are made of foam, but when punching with them, the impact is overwhelming, capable of throwing objects weighing more than 100 kg away! You get them if you walk into a boxing ring and punch the punching bag for 12 hours straight! They appeared in your hands at the end of that time!
Lee's Nunchaku: A black nunchaku, with two engraved dragons and a golden chain joining them together. His name is a reference to martial artist Bruce Lee. The impact of these nunchakus is even stronger than Tyson's gloves, with the difference that, after repeated attacks, it starts to catch fire, but without injuring the user. It will only incinerate the target it hits, which will be consumed by flames in seconds! You can get it at the Kung Fu Hall, needing to do 100 fingertip push-ups and stay 5 minutes in the Mabu base, the most exhausting Kung Fu pose. The nunchaku will be in the center of a mat with the Yin Yang symbol. Good luck!
Kusarigama: is a weapon composed of a metal scythe and a chain that is somehow infinite when the scythe is thrown. This scythe is insanely fast, being able to slice through multiple entities quickly at once! It is obtained in the Ninjutsu room, after you hit 10,000 shurikens in the center of the target, and it has to be in the middle, around doesn't count! When you succeed, the weapon will come down from the ceiling, hanging from the chain.
Musashi's Katana: It is the strongest weapon among all these. A sword from the Edo Period in Japan, which belonged to the legendary Miamoto Musashi! Wielders of this sword have already been able to slay countless Partygores, slicing them into pieces at Fun Level, and even kill a Death Whale at level 4000! The wielders of these swords have superhuman strength and speed, so any entity that is tangible will be slashed.
However, obtaining this sword is the most risky of challenges, and it is in this challenge that the only real danger of this level lives, The Samurai Challenge, and its only entity!
To find her, you must spend a lot of time in the Kendo Hall. How much time? It is not known, perhaps a matter of days or a week. Who says you should make 10,000 strikes with a training sword, it's not known for sure, but believe me: it's better to spend all that time training!
When you least expect it, you'll see a door that wasn't there before. Upon entering that door, you find a Championship Hall, but not an ordinary one, one specific to traditional Kendo in Japan. In the arena, you will see a box with Japanese inscriptions that say:
“Power must be earned. Prove yourself now!”
When you open it, you'll have access to the katana, but when you turn around, the whole scene changes!
If you were alone just now, you will have right in front of you an entity in the form of a samurai, in armor that seems to be rusted and worn by time and marks of combat, which earned him the nickname of Rusty Musashi.
Sometimes his katana varies in size, being little more than a kitchen knife, or even a huge 2 meter blade.
If everything was silent before, you can now hear screams and roars from the audience, even if there is no one in the pews! And now, you'll have to fight that samurai!
Combat with him is pretty tricky, as he seems to be experienced, but his armor is heavy and he moves slowly. Make no mistake though: his attacks are explosive and take you by surprise, and he's very strong with every hit! Agility and strategy are your best bets to win!
If you get hit, it's your death, but if you win, you'll be applauded by the audience, and you can take that weapon with you. So, throughout your stay, train Kendo until you're sharp, and don't fight the samurai until you're sure you're good enough!
Appetizer:
• Enter the hall with the “Martial Goods” sign at level 33
• Beat a level 4000 island native in a melee fight
• Ritual of the Mountain King has a 40% chance to bring you here
• The Red Knight can take you here if you ask to learn to fight, but it's not 100% sure
• Beat a fighting game at level 849
• Reading the book “The Way of War” in the level “The end is near” will get you here!
Departures:
• Using a lot of Incense to meditate will get you to Level 5000
• Upon exiting Samurai Challenge, you will exit at The Hub
• Finding a 90's phone in one of the stadium's bleachers will take you to Level 11.
• Diving into the Buddha-like fountain in the Shaolin Temple will take you to the Poolrooms, but touching the moss at the bottom of the fountain will land you in the Rotting Pools level!
• Trying to break into a Vending Machine will get you to the “You Cheated” Level, you greedy bastard!
• If you try to escape the Samurai Challenge through the door you came from, you'll exit the Run for Your Life Level, without your sword!