Chapter 10: Soft Reset

Anna
        ]Justin falls flat to the ground, a wide open hole in his chest. Miraculously, the burst had only hit Justin, not spreading to hit anyone else. I relax my shoulders and take my stance again, aiming at the location of the once-alive man. Smoke fills the air around, only revealing the shadow of the man. "Don't move a muscle! Unless you're Tim, then drop your weapons!" I shout, doing my best to try and convince the newcomer to take a different approach. The shadow raises their left hand up, gun in hand, and throws it onto the deceased body of Justin. Now holding their hands to the back of their head, they approach our group.

"Justin?!"

        Justin... approaches forwards, crouching by... his own dead body. That slides beside him and takes the gun. from the body. "Safety first." He says, flicking the safety on the side. Justin nods in approval, then stares back at the body. "Well, surprised much?" He dramatically wails. I shoot an arrow right beside him, not bothering to grab another. "Did you plan all of this?!" I cry, matching his dramatic vibe to get the situation across to him. He manically laughs. "Not a chance at all! Even I'm not that good at planning!" That tugs at his shirt. "Then you must be inferior to your clone, here. He's probably the one that planned it out, right?" Esther crawls over to us, entering the conversation. "Justin's plan was to keep any external forces out, right?" She motions towards the dimly lit background. "Then he can't be blamed if he doesn't know what we're going against." I put my bow down to the side, keeping it at hand. "Then what do you think it is?" I question, as all of us look to Justin for an answer. "From my luck, it was probably just a random event that happened. I tried my best to calculate everything, but since Tim had to go and ruin it all, anything could happen now." He fixes his glasses, then looks to me. "Guessing from your reaction, he's still missing." "Guessing from your appearance, you somehow escaped." I reply. He points at me with both of his hands. "Too shay. I actually sneaked up on him thanks to luck." He reaches into his pockets, and pulls out a pen with four small pulls. "Cutting edge technology got me out, and I was able to tap into my doppelganger's speech." That puts on an exaggerated face. "That's a freaking pen, Justin. You have literally anything else to use." He twirls it around with his fingers as That rants. "Your imagination is a bit limited to what a simple pen and planning could do."
"Don't you mean paper?"
"Nah. Not enough money in the budget for that."
"Then how do you remember your plans?

"Hey, who said that I didn't steal the paper? As part of my plan?"

        Esther literally gets between the two forcing herself to not look at the body in the center. "Can we move on to the issue at hand?" The guys look at each other, before a silent stalemate is reached. "Thank you..." Esther pants. "Now, how do we plan on getting Tim back?" She desperately says, hoping to resolve any more conflict. "I would agree, if I knew how." Justin replies. "I do know this, though. We need to really work together to get moving. Staying here won't help." Esther worriedly looks over his shoulder, trying to steal a look at me. "Can't we just stay a few days? Let Tim catch up? We can let Anna hunt." She suggests. That nods disapprovingly. "We have a dead body on our hands, and I have my suspicions on what might be going on. I don't want to jinx it just yet, so I'll keep my mouth shut." Justin gets up from his place, standing tall before all of us. "I know the one out to this: We get to the end of the Oregon Trail, and things will be all revert to normal." I skeptically look at him. "How can you be so sure of that, with everything that has happened?" He looks at me, a bit surprised.

"Don't you remember how this works? The season ends when at least one of us reaches the end."
"Well, I remember that, at least!"
"You took all that time to remember me? Awww... I'm touched!"
"I'm going to take more of my time to kill you later."
"Ah! It's still attention! That's a win!
"C-can we focus on our next move?"

        Justin pulls his phone out at starts to fiddle with it. "If I can get a good signal, I can call for help. For now, we can rest, like Est suggested before." Esther's face lights up brightly. "What can I do?" She excitedly asks. Justin puts the phone to his ear. "Just wait, I'm trying to get something going." That walks beside me, motioning for us to sit by the fire together. I decide to follow his lead, not without stabbing his chest with the side of my bow. "Ooof... That's for earlier, wasn't it?" He gags, grabbing his chest for air. I shrug my shoulders. "Maybe, maybe not. I could've done it for no reason." He dryly laughs at me, before listening in to Justin's conversation. He puts the phone down right as That looks at him, looking back in a judging manner.

"I can still hear you through one ear, doofus." He says, with the expression of "Are you kidding me" to support it. That puts his head down in shame, leading me to pat him on the back as a sign of pity. Justin then goes back to his call.

"Yeah... can you get here? No... I'm on the Oregon Trail. Just follow the trail of destruction and broken dreams... What do you mean 'You're already on the way?' You're not like me when it comes to planning! Yeah, I'm stuck at my current location. I thought you had satelLIGAGGHHHH-"

          A light encompassed Justin from behind, before hitting him straight on, probably knocking him senseless and hitting Esther in the process. I stand up to dodge out of the way, but That pulls me down with his weight, trying to shield me by using his own body. A valiant idiot, indeed. The light pulls around to face us, running over the campfire. Blinding me, I direct my head down to the ground, and use my hands to guide myself along the dirt. A door is heard being opened, and a voice is heard above.

"Order up! I'm finally here, Charlie!"

Esther

           I scream once more as I push Justin's body off. I already saw him die once, if it even was him, and I don't want to see it again. I scan the perimeter for the campfire, but encounter many bright, white lights. I squint my eyes to see better, and sure enough, a guiding hand comes up and grabs my shoulder, dragging me along. The lights dim, and I can see the source a light and a person's face now. The light stems from a white van, decorated with a plethora of colors on each side, and a train whistle on the left side. The person is a girl with long, orange hair, and a hat topping off her head. "Should've known better than to be on the phone while driving..." She says to herself, putting me against the van. "Can you get the fire going again, Est?" She humbly asks. "I'm going to round up the others." I slowly nod my head, trying to go with the flow. I reach around the ground for the remains of the now dead campfire. The girl returns after a short while, bringing Anna and TG back with her. She lays them beside me, before going back for Justin. I try my best to build enough materials together for a fire, but to no avail. The girl returns with a badly wounded Justin, barely hanging on. "I've... got a light... in my jacket..." He utters, feebly pointing to an inside pocket. Anna wastes no time, reaching over to find the item of interest. She gets it with ease, and also starts the fire. The girl mischievously smiles at the sight. "Didn't think you had it in you, Anna!" She blurts out, before covering her mouth with both hands. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you in any way!" Anna waves it off. "Don't sweat it. It was unintentional, anyways." The girl smiles and then takes a courteous bow.

"Emily Sola Stagiz, at your service."

         Emily walks back to the front of the van, taking a box out of the front row. "I got a distress call from three people in this area. Charlie, Tim, and now Justin." My eyes perk up at Tim's name. "Timothy called you too?" I inquire. She nods her head. "Yeah. They all wanted me here, ordering food. Knowing TTL, though, you probably needed help in some way or fashion, right?" Her question is enough to silence all of us, excluding Justin. "Three... problems, each. But what about... Tim?" Emily smiles, then walks to the back, opening the large cargo door behind. "We're good now! You feeling better?" She says, before coming back out, carrying more supplies. An assistant followed, carrying a few boxes as well. I couldn't see their face, as the stack was large enough to conceal their whole body, if necessary. "Got the food that Charlie ordered. I also came packing other goodies for Justin." That looks at her, confused. "As for Tim?"

       The stranger puts the boxes down, before wordlessly collapsing to the ground.

It was Tim.

       All three of us gather around him, with Justin slowly crawling by. "You're still alive?!" That shouts. "We all thought that you were dead!" He sniffs his nose and looks around, getting a good sense of the location. "Which of you wanted to stay?" I raise my hand, followed by Anna. Tim frowns at TG in return. "You left me for dead! I already died once, if that wasn't bad enough!" He cries, swinging his hands at an attempt to hit That. He easily sidesteps the blows. "I just wanted to get to the end faster, like Justin! Get this over with!" "Bulls**t on that defense!" Tim retorts.

Five dollars a swear, Tim.

"Does it LOOK like I care, Announcer! Mind your own f**king business while we die down here!"

That money's coming out of your bank account.

"I have Justin to pay for that anyways! F**k off! You didn't try to help me either!"

I'm the Announcer. I CAN'T. It's not in my jurisdiction to help.

       The two continue to argue, with Justin facepalming. "He still has your credit cards, Justin?" Emily curiously asks. "Yeah..." He sadly responds. "I keep canceling whenever he steals them, but every time I order for a new one, it ends up in his hands..." Emily pats him on the shoulder. "There there, it could've been worse." "Yeah. Like how I might bleed out if I don't get medical attention for my wounds." He looks directly at me while saying this, cuing me in to intervene. "Do you have any medical supplies, Emily?" I ask. She grins like a horse. "I have antibiotics, wraps, some under the counter items, and anything else you might want or need!" "Wow... that's quite the supply." Anna says, raising her bow once again. "How can we trust you exactly, being a co-conspirator of Justin's?" "Anna..." I dote, but this goes unnoticed by her, who keeps her concentration on Emily. She pays no mind to the weapon pointed at her chest, and goes on with her answer. "Well, if you were paying attention earlier, I'm a Stagiz, like Charlie." This makes Anna drop her bow in surprise, before picking it back up. Now grabbing an arrow to go with it. "The family business was originally a sub shop, but we've become a jack of all trades as time went on. I've been managing more of the new branches, and they cover almost everything you can think about." Anna rests herself easy now, putting the arrow back in her quiver.
           "Anyways, have you guys seen my brother?"

Tim
       "I haven't seen him. He went on a hunting trip, and never came back." That says. I might not have been there, but from the blasts and earthquakes, plus the morale state and Justin's condition, I can make a pretty good guess that Charlie was hunting, and died from said explosions. The others look around to each other, confused as if a murder just happened, with the exception of Esther, who is furiously tending to Justin's wounds. "Oh... He went off on his own, and disappeared again?" Emily asks. A sad tone now encompassing her voice. "Yeah. Don't think much about it." Justin replies. A bit heartless, but Emily accepts it anyways. "It's okay. He does this stuff all the time." That steps forwards, standing before Emily. "So, as a Stagiz, you're his... younger sister, I presume?" She nods her head. "Yup! Charlie Luna Stagiz is my brother! He doesn't like to acknowledge her family, though..." She hangs her head low. "Ah, it'll all be fine. He probably went backstage in the end. You know how he hates me." Justin covers. "Well, I can understand that." She seems to have bought it, lifting a big load off of everyone else, who collectively sigh in relief. "Emily." Esther gets her attention next. "How did you know about TTL? And us?" "Oh? Justin told me lots about you guys. I catered back in Season Six, but never really showed my face. You guys are celebrities, too, if you remember!" "Really?" Anna skeptically says. "Really!" Emily enthusiastically replies.

"The man who faces danger head-on, never giving up, and most of all, cheats death, Timothy Traveler!"

"I take little offense to this, as most of what she says is true." I gleefully respond.

"The man of the people, always giving them the best entertainment, drama, and laughs, That Awesome Guy!"

"Heh, I like the sound of my popularity reaching out. Want an autograph?" That cockily says, earning a punch in the gut from Anna. Emily excitedly tries to take up her offer, but Anna waves her off.

"Short, but not to be short sold, the fix-it-all farmhand, co-leader of TTL, Esther Williams!" Esther says nothing but blushes as she continues to help Justin recover.

"The chilled ranger who can do all by herself, yet her arrows don't point to love, Anna Marie Mendezoa!"

"H-hey! That's sensitive information you're dealing with t-there!" Anna tries her best to hide her guilt, but the bright red face and flustered talk speaks pages.

        "But most of all, all of you are amazing in each of your special ways. That's what makes TTL, TTL! When all of your work together, or don't, it makes for some of most entertaining things people have ever seen!"

"Yeah, with the power of friendship." I mock, poking light fun at her explanation. Emily laughs back at my bad joke.

"Anyways... You got the supplies?" Justin asks, still wincing in pain. Esther gently forces him back down to the ground, still messing around with his wounds. Emily nods in agreement, counting her fingers. "Guns, food, technology, I got everything that you wanted." He nods his head in good response.
"
"Then the show can get on the road."

Justin

"Did we get all the supplies that you ordered?"
"Yeah. Emily's hauled it out of here already. She's always at work, whether delivering or talking."
"Do you think that everything has gone well so far?"
"Me?" I don't think so at all. With Charlie dead and everything that I've had to cover."
"Well, it's not as bad as our average. One death a fourth of the way in? Fifth? How much more?"
"Maybe a good forty more chapters or so? I want to make this around fifty-five chapters."
"Seriously? How long do you plan on torturing us, anyways?!"
"As long as it takes to get a relevant plot going, expand on backstory and personalities, and keep the viewers that don't exist entertained."
"And who's to say that you've even started doing that? I feel VERY underdeveloped!"
"Well too bad, you get your backstory in Arc 2.""You're kidding. You've got to be kidding. Who's even gonna read that far?!"
"Cause... creative liberties... I do what I want..."
"You and your fourth wall, Justin..."
"Hey, we still don't have the money in the budget to repair it, so might well take advantage of it."
"This is not, and was never gonna end well..."
"Well, you'll just have to stay tuned for the next episode!"
"Who the heck are you even talking to?"
"Episodes? We're doing it by episodes now?"
"I thought it was by Arcs..."
"Shut up, you two. I'm talking to the audience!"
Justin, even I know that the audience doesn't exist.
"Well, then WE'LL have to stay tuned!"
"Tuned for what? You still haven't answered the question!"

"Justin."
"Yeah?"
"You didn't say anything at all. You just stared off into the distance with a stupid grin."
"FORGET IT ALREADY!"

???
      The trail is still hot. I can see the tracks. If I continue at the same pace that I've been going, I might catch up to them. I just need to speed up if I really want to crunch time. I turn my cautious walk to a sprint, taking long strides to preserve as much energy and cover as much ground as possible. Gotta say, though. Good for them how they didn't get caught up in the blasts, like I did. Might have screamed a little bit too much, though. I stare down at my clothes for a second, taking note of the burnt up sections so as to take caution with future dangers. I feel my side for a second to feel the burned skin, before concentrating on running, almost hitting a tree in the process.

      I find a trail of footsteps. A plausible enough lead. Anything at this point would be useful to me. I continue to stare down at my feel, following along until I reach a new discovery. A splattering of red takes over the ground. Dried blood is my guess. I watch my steps carefully, confirming my suspicions when I look up. In front of me stands a now abandoned campfire, surrounded by the remains of an overnight stay. I walk around the range, inspecting every last piece of evidence. First, the campfire. Some embers barely alive, so my trail and leads are fresh. Lots of bits are scatter around, with a very slight depression on the bigger bits of charred wood. Run over by one of the wagons, maybe? I must take further note.

       Next is the main center of my attention. A dead body. Two dead bodies. One with a gaping hole in the middle, and the other about as dead and burnt up as the campfire. I look at the one with the burns, first. See how it compares in time with the fire. I feel around the skin and skim around the clothes. Feels about as fresh as the fire. So they were around here when those explosions happened. Guess one of them didn't make it out alive. I can't recognize the body, as most of the more distinguishable features have been burned past the point of recognition. Whoever they are, it's still an unfortunate loss. Probably the guest star of the season, as I don't see any special features, like Justin's glasses, or the distinct hairstyles that they each have. Hope it wasn't someone of great importance...

       The next body, after turning on its side, reveals its identity at the blink of an eye. The crushed glasses and expression of surprise at their final demise makes it obvious of who it is.

Justin Labilles.

      The look on his face says all. A sneak attack left his shocked at his sudden downfall. Nothing he could've done but take the hit and die. The hole in his chest is enough to speak pages. A fresh grapeshot blast took his life, instantaneously, painless. That makes two out of six dead. This is easily going bad for them, in comparison to their usual standards. One dead would be fine, two is a nightmare to begin with. I myself have to step in, quick, if I want to make every one of my actions count. I steadily increase my pace, now enhanced with the new information that I have uncovered.

Whatever trouble they might be encountering, it cannot stand. I'm the only trouble that can stand in their way, and I intend to keep it that way.