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Expertly weaving through the labyrinthian complex of machinery and boxes, Heather avoided the guards and resumed her search for any salvageable piece of equipment that might give her team the win in today’s challenge.
Courtney will definitely throw a hissy fit and try to cost them the challenge, anything to get back at Gwen. And Alejandro, the pesky snake, will do everything in his power to make sure his team wins. Heather cannot take any chances; her team needs every possible advantage they can get at this rate.
She rounded the corner only to bump into someone.
“AH! STAYAWAYFROMMESIERRA!” Cody flinched in alarm. Heather glared at him, clearing her throat. “Oh. It’s just you, Heather. He he. Sorry.”
Heather rolled her eyes. “Don’t suppose you had any luck?” She queried.
“I, uh, found a cloning machine…” Cody trailed off awkwardly. “But it seems to be a one time deal only.”
“Useless, then.” Heather sneered. “Fine, whatever. This challenge is far from over, so let’s do this.” She roughly bumped him out her way as she trudged through the complex in search of anything worth of value. Even though her gestures, mood, voice (and generally everything about her personality) made abundantly clear she did not wish to be interrupted; Cody somehow thought it fitting to invite himself to tag along with her.
“Mind if I go with you? I managed to give Sierra the slip earlier, but I fear her reaction if she finds me again.” Cody chattered nervously. “And I took notice how she seems way less, well, less aggressively clingy when around others. Better be safe than sorry. I don’t want to take any chances. I mean, I like Sierra and all, but sometimes a guy just needs a break, y’know?”
Heather tuned him out, too busy finding ways to win the challenge to give the nerd any time of day. Her slate eyes zeroed in on a half-open crate and she drew closer to investigate. Inside was a heap of junk she had no idea how to operate, but most of it appeared decommissioned anyway. She leaned over the rim of the crate, rummaging through for anything worth salvaging when she stumbled upon a small cylinder compartment that appeared suspiciously like a soda can.
Having caught her interest, Heather carelessly picked up the device in her hands and turned it over sideways. It was incredibly dusty. There appeared to be no visible buttons anywhere on the steel surface and looked rusty as hell.
Something clattered loudly close by.
“What was that?” Cody exclaimed, startled as he backed up into Heather and stepped on her foot. Heather hissed and accidentally dropped the canister to the floor, cracking it open like an egg.
A green vapor of smoke hissed out and washed over the two of them, flooding the corridor.
Heather retched and coughed. “Good job, nerd!” She steepled her hands over her nose. The gas could be deadly for all she knows.
“Ew, what is this stuff?” Cody cringed away, his nose wrinkling in disgust. He bent down to pick up the broken remains of the canister, wiping away the dust. “Truth gas?” He read, eyes wide.
“That doesn’t sound good.” Heather murmured wearily. She watched as Cody swayed from side to side, woozy with no warning, and fell over. “Fuck!” She hissed, grabbing the nerd and heaving him along with her to escape the smoke; holding her breath before the gas infected her too.
She doesn’t know why she didn’t just up and leave the nerd behind and save her own skin, but in her urgency it was her first instinct. This was unlike her.
“Gwen… Gwen…” Cody moaned as Heather dragged him by the foot. “I love Gwen.”
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Heather attempted to make one last push away from the smoke’s range but her air depleted faster than she’d expected. Against her will, she took a big gulp of air and immediately went into a coughing fit. The truth gas smelled foul; like rotten eggs and fish. Her strength started to ebb away.
“Damnit, Cody!” Heather hissed as she staggered sideways, losing her hold on the nerd. Black spots danced across her vision. “This… is all your… fault!” The world faded around her as she collapsed to the floor.
Chris watched the commotion from the comfort of his private quarters, in the safety of his plane. “Oh ho ho.” He drummed his fingers together as he snickered at the screen. “This is going to be good!”
Cody found himself in a pink-hued, candy paradise filled to the brim in nothing but sugar as far as the eye can see. The trees were made of lollipops. The river was creamy chocolate rushing down the stream. Clouds and hills alike were made up of cotton candy goodness. It was like a dream! Maybe a little too much like a dream.
“Heather? Are you there?” Cody called out, turning a slow wide circle as he studied his surroundings. “Where are we? God this smells awful! Is this Chris’ doing?”
“On the contrary, nerd!” A rotund, sultry voice drawled smugly behind him.
“Hey!” Cody whipped around. His eyes widened as he found Heather of all people, leaning on a cane wearing a beautiful long, ragged white cloak lined with sapphires; completed with black boots, contoured tight trousers, white gloves and eye mask, and a sparkly black jacket - staring down at him with a grim, smug grin on her face. Cody was taken aback by her attire. Even her voice, while still its usual condescending tone as always, held a much richer tinge of amusement behind it he never associated Heather to begin with. “Why are you dressed like that? You look like a magician.”
Heather snickered, cocking her head sideways like an owl. “Because you, my precious little twink, are high as a kite!” Her voice boomed over him. She tapped her cane once on the ground, and suddenly the distance between them increased ten fold. She was several yards away, standing on a balcony, overlooking the rest of the candy kingdom.
“Oh no…” Cody mumbled with dread. Even though he was in his own personal paradise, he felt sick to his stomach. He had a bad feeling about this… “Geez! Okay, um-” He started down the path of honeycomb road towards the spot where Heather waited for him. “Listen, you’re probably not even real and I just got hit with a heavy dose of honesty, so I am definitely going to start pouring my heart out to you, intentionally or not, I don’t know - I know I am asking a lot from you but can you please hold back your judgment just a teensy bit?” The words kept stumbling out of his mouth faster than he could think. A rapid whirlwind of emotions and thoughts forced their way to the surface.
“I make no promises…” Heather drawled, voice sweet as honey. She leaned on her balcony railing, peering down at him with half-lidded eyes, her hands steepled together holding up her chin, waiting for him to begin speaking.
Cody breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t know why he was so quick to trust her. Heather had never given him any reason in the past to confide in her, and this version of Heather seemed unhinged to say the least. But he sensed a difference in Heather as of late. The other cast members were quick to dismiss her as nothing more than a greedy, mean, conniving bitch - their words, not his - however, he’d glimpsed rare moments of compassion from her. She would never fess up to it, and Cody wouldn’t exactly call her a friend - honestly, Heather would sooner bend his spine in half before he ever finished that sentence - but Heather was not as mean as she pretends to be.
Which makes him wonder, why does she pretend at all?
He clicked his tongue in annoyance and face palmed. “Thanks a lot, Heather.” He hissed under his breath. And he truly meant it. Had he breathed in the truth gas with Sierra of all people, he couldn’t imagine dealing with a hallucination version of her. But really, couldn’t he have dreamed of Gwen? Was that too much to ask? He pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Although it would be pretty hard to contain myself given how obnoxious you can be.” Heather casually jabbed. Cody froze. “You are nothing but a mere bug for me to squash out of my way. So meaningless… so insignificant… No wonder you have to resort to other means to be truly seen.”
“Hey, quit it!” Cody whined.
Heather waved him away as though she hadn’t heard him to begin with. “You want attention so bad it’s sad. You’re like a circus monkey doing tricks for scraps. Mildly entertaining at best, and pitiful. No wonder Gwen ignores you like the plague. Not even your parents know you exist half the time.”
Those words hit too close to home. “I said quit it!” Cody snarled.
“Awn, did that hurt your fweeings?” Heather sneered wickedly. “Sucks that the only meaningful attention you ever got was from an obsessed, lovesick fan. And you don’t want to admit to yourself that you secretly enjoy her attention, albeit overwhelming at times, she just eats at the palm of your hand… and truly, you are terrified of pushing her away with your bland, boring self. You know she’ll realize she’s wrong to admire you so much, and eventually you’ll fade away from her interest to become nothing more than a distant memory.”
Cody seriously doubted that. At one point, maybe he thought like that - hell, he would have been glad to be rid of Sierra. But they have been through so much together Cody was confident nothing was ever going to top Sierra’s devotion to him. Believe him, he’s tried that several times already.
“What do you hope to gain from this?” Cody demanded, turning the tables.
“Excuse me?” Heather exclaimed, outraged by his audacity.
“I mean,” Cody blurted, and he just kept marching on as his mouth went off the hinges. “Why the sharp tongue? The deceit? The lies and manipulation? All this hard work and for what? Just so you can be hated by everyone?”
The surprised look on Heather’s face slowly contorted to confusion, then quickly followed up by anger. “Fool! Don’t you see we are in a game? Unlike you, I do not get my feelings in the way of the game. It is not my fault you and the other losers take everything so personal.”
“I don’t believe you! I don’t think that’s true at all!” Cody shot back. “Even when you were voted off the show you still retained your cold, mean demeanor. You never even tried making friends! Isn’t that lonely? Honestly it just seems like extra work just so you can get nowhere in the end.”
Heather shook her head, grinding her teeth. “There’s no point. Eventually everyone goes…” Was that a hint of sorrow in her voice?
Emboldened by her dismay, Cody pressed on. “You push everyone away, and you wanna know why? It’s because you are thoughtless, and cruel, and you’ll end up alone!”
If Heather wasn’t upset before, she was very much so now. Her eyes flashed. Cody watched in terror as her face and neck began to stretch and contort in impossible angles. Her hair that once was so neatly tied around a ponytail grew longer and straighter, almost razor sharp, and Cody realized with a sinking feeling of dread that that wasn’t hair - but rather feathers. She grew rapidly in size. The once baggy sleeves of her lovely coat grew taught over the feathers and muscle beneath them to the point Cody thought they would tear. Where she was once grinning had now stretched from an angry frown to a sharp bird’s beak while still maintaining most of the likeness of her face intact. Her slate eyes grew so black he could see himself reflected in them. Razor sharp talons raked the railings of the balcony.
She looks like a crow… Was Cody’s immediate thought. Distantly he couldn’t help but find the choice somehow fitting for the greedy girl.
Cody clamped his mouth shut, afraid he overstepped a boundary. Heather towered over him, dark wings spread wide open, making her appear impossibly bigger. He was all the more grateful he hadn’t hallucinated Sierra.
“Watch it, twerp.” Her voice boomed around him with an effect Cody could only describe as Schrodinger's voice; unnaturally low whisper he had to strain to hear and yet stabbing away at his eardrums with each syllable at the same time. Before he could react, Heather caged him beneath one of her talons. “You claim to understand that which you may never know. The gall of you to lecture me as though you can relate to me… do not speak to me of matters you do not, and WILL NOT ever understand!”
Cody’s mind scrambled for words, but although Heather appeared more threatening than usual and her large impressive talons flexed menacingly over him, Cody felt as though he were under no real danger. Heather has always been more bark and no bite.
“See? There you go again - trying to hurt anyone who dares get too close to you. You may have everyone else fooled, but I can see who you are by now!” Cody snapped. And honestly, he sounds very put together. Strong, brave, righteous. He’s standing in the way a knight might when face to face with a dragon (hey he played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons with the Drama Brothers - a guy can daydream) and logically Cody knew this was all a hallucination conjured up by the truth gas, so what threat was there? “I know you pretend to act like you are the meanest, baddest girl around - the queen of mean - but it turns out you’re actually the most frail and vulnerable of all. I know you make rude remarks, belittle others, and push away anyone who is willing to put up with you, because just a little taste of genuine affection has you running for the hills - trying desperately to outrun the empty void lodged inside of you.”
The talon around him stiffened. He waits. For a long time, several drawn out heartbeats pass, and nothing happens. Heather was staring at him. Cody shifted awkwardly, feeling a bit vulnerable at this moment since he was unable to properly read her facial expressions to tell what was going through her mind right now.
Heather sighs, and visibly deflates. With a snap, she released her hold on him and reverted back to her normal self in a cloud of fluttering feathers. All bird traces gone from her visage. “You are bold. Too bold for your own good.” She mused, glaring daggers at Cody’s tooth-gaped smile. “I may yet learn to appreciate your moxie. Which begs the question… Why do you hold yourself back so much? You clearly have potential and yet you keep portraying yourself as this helpless nerd despite everything. It’s not charming. It’s annoying, frankly.”
Cody expected her words to sting but he took no offense. That’s just how Heather operates and he better get used to it. He rubbed his arm sheepishly, instantly thinking back of Greece when he knocked out Duncan with just one punch. A rush of pride swept through him at the memory. “I can be brave when I want to. But there’s more than one way to get things done, wouldn’t you agree?” He said steadily. “The candy I carried with me came pretty handy when we got stuck in the minefield. That had nothing to do with bravery. I just rely on my other assets to get me by.” He bragged.
Heather lets out a single ha of dry laughter, regarding him with a cool, appraising glance. “You are resourceful, I’ll give you that. But you need a tougher exterior if you want to win the game.” She remarked. “You really need to do something about Sierra. Be upfront already! Speak your damn mind. You weren’t shy with me just now.”
“I’m scared of her.” Cody admitted, shivering. “She’s… way too much.”
“Hmm, and you think stringing her along is any better?” Heather pointed out, lifting one eyebrow.
“... No.” Cody mumbled, nodding. “Fine. Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll… try to keep your advice to heart when this whole truth gas hallucination blows over.” He tenses. “But only if you keep in mind what I told you.”
Heather scowled. “We shall see about that.” Reluctantly, she added. “I will make an effort to be more… tolerant of your feelings. Don’t think that makes us friends though.”
“Will you help me deal with Sierra?” Cody asked.
“If she ever becomes my problem, sure, I guess.” Heather shrugged.
“Good enough for me!” Cody beamed up at her.
This wasn’t so bad, all things considered. Wonder how Heather is dealing with her own hallucination?
Heather blinked open her eyes with a groan, only to jump to her feet as she realized the severity of the situation. She was in a swamp. A dirty, putrid, mosquito infested marsh of who knows what else. Heather looked around wildly, searching for an exit. A bubble of mud popped beside her, and Heather staggered sideways to avoid the incoming blast.
A large bat swooped down at her, screeching. Heather ducked down at the last second as it flew harmlessly right past her.
Soft footfalls drew closer. Heather looked up to find Cody standing three feet away, wearing the lederhosen from the Germany challenge, with an irritated scowl on his face. For a split second his expression alarmed her. Cody was never the type of guy to get angry easily. Or look particularly intimidating for that matter. But something about this posture made Heather wary.
“Are you happy now? We only followed your orders exactly to a tee, and look where that got us. Some leader you are!” Cody sneered. “We’ve always given you the benefit of the doubt and followed your lead, even though at this point we really have no reason to keep you around, and yet somehow you always manage to screw things up for the rest of us.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Heather demanded, equally spiteful. She knew she screwed up badly back in Germany, but she has long since owned up to it and proven her worth to her teammates.
“I am simply stating the facts here.” Cody remarked smugly. “Perhaps you should consider looking beyond your own nose for once, and then maybe you can understand half the ridiculous things we have to put up with. Courtney is a far better leader than you anyways. You should just give up now with some dignity while you still can and count your losses. No one wants you around.”
Adrenaline shot through her as shadows circled and surrounded her from beyond the treeline.
“SHUT UP!” Heather snapped.
However, Cody - this version of Cody - did not relent. “It seems painfully clear to me that you don’t know what you are doing half the time, and you depend on the rest of us to get anything done at all.”
Heather bared her teeth. “I don’t need you! I don’t need ANY of you! I can easily win this fucking game by myself! Just you watch.”
She flinched and yelped loudly as a dart full of paint unexpectedly struck her shoulder. It didn’t really hurt, but the impact had startled her. “But you don’t want to do things alone, do you, Heather?” She gasped, looking up in surprise as none other than Beth loomed over her; holding a paintball gun in her hands.
Before she could think of anything to say, Heather found herself flung into the air by her foot as a rope pulled her upside down from a tree. “Gosh! She’s tried to go solo before, and it didn’t work out so well for her.” Harold manifested from the shadows to cut her down from the trap. His glasses obscured his eyes from view.
As she fell and landed flat on her back, Heather felt the wind get knocked out of her lungs and she gasped. Momentarily winded, she took her time to recover before picking herself up from the mud. A shadow towered over her and Heather lifted her head to meet a pair of angry, grief-stricken baby blue eyes staring deep into her soul. “And yet, you still shove away anyone who gets too close until they resent you for being a selfless shit, shit fuck?” Lindsay drawled. Heather tried to back away but she found herself cornered and Lindsay roughly grabbed both sides of her face to force eye contact with her.
“Get OFF me!” Heather kicked Lindsay away.
The instant she was freed she took off running into the woods. The other apparitions cackled and sneered as they gave chase. A beautiful white marble staircase appeared out of nowhere. Heather wasn’t thinking straight. She just saw something different from the gnarly trees and gunk and made a beeline for the stairs, hoping it would save her from the judgmental accusations of her fellow cast members.
She climbed the stairs in a hurry, leaving behind a trail of mud stains. She slipped and missed a step, collapsing onto the steps breathlessly, bruising her knee.
“Are you afraid to love people, chica?”
A smooth, sultry voice purred in her ear. Heather sharply lifted her head and froze. At the top of the steps, she found Alejandro draped across a golden throne, smirking down at her in all of his handsome glory. Heather’s eyes widened, face flushing. Before she could decide for herself what the next best course of action should be, she found her limbs slowly crawling up the stairs against her will; entranced by the golden light dancing across his warm, tanned skin.
“I believe your self-conscious is trying to tell you that you simply cannot fathom proper intimacy,” Cody droned on as Heather finally reached the foot of the golden throne where Alejandro silently regarded her. She got to her feet, feeling wildly inappropriate. She was bruised, and caked in mud - but that did not stop the unexpected clasp of a shackle to wrap around her neck. “But… you also crave it as well. It’s truly unfortunate, considering how you constantly mistreat those who stand by you; such as myself.”
To her mounting horror, the chain around her neck led to Alejandro. He playfully twirled the end of the chain in his hands and gently started to pull her closer. Heather gulped. She had no choice but to climb the rest of the steps, and as if that weren’t humiliating enough, he pulled her into his lap and lifted her chin with one finger. Heather bared her teeth back at him, desperately trying to hide how uncomfortable she was with their close proximity. His emerald green eyes peered intently back at her. Heather’s heart raced. He lifted one hand to pull the hair back away from her eyes.
“Are you worried I may have enough of it one day as well?” Cody spoke again, his tone so sharp and scathing it cut through Heather’s reverie.
“Stop it!” Heather flung away from Alejandro, the chains slipping from his grasp. “STOP! Stop fucking talking, all of you!” She demanded, blushing furiously as she whipped around and glared daggers at Cody and the other hallucinations sneering at her at the bottom of the stairs.
The earth shook beneath her feet with no warning. One by one, the hallucinations melted into a pile of leaves that were swept away by the roaring wind and disappeared as the storm picked up. Before her very eyes, she watched Alejandro fade away as he released a melancholic sigh - dissolving into a shower of rose petals that fluttered high into the air in a tumbling whirlwind of leaves and other flora debris.
“You’re going to die alone, Heather.”
A chorus of voices chanted together, mocking her as the leaves and flower petals whipped up against her, clinging to her skin no matter how hard she tried to get rid of them. Swiping a handful away, a hundred more took their place. She writhed, struggling to maintain herself sane as the petals blinded her and buried her alive, smothering her with love.
Heather released a blood curdling shriek.
Chris watched the footage with Chef, eating popcorn as the truth gas finally ran out and Heather and Cody gradually came to.
Sitting up, Cody rubbed his head and blinked open his eyes. His whole body was stiff. And the front of his shirt was damp with drool. Hopefully Gwen did not see that. A quiet whimper reached his ears. He looked sideways and spotted Heather sprawled on the floor behind him. “Heather? You okay?”
With a low drawn out groan, Heather lifted herself off the floor facing away from him.
Cody hesitated. “I, uh…” He cleared his throat and tried again. “You know, I get that we’re in a game to win a million dollars. And I am not going to try and pry out of you the reason why you are so nasty all the time, but… if we wanna make it to the finale we need to start relying more on each other. But that’s just what I think.”
Heather let his words sink in while she recovered from her bad trip, trying not to let it show how much it had shaken her up. She hurriedly wiped away her tears, and released a deep suffering sigh through her nose. “Look, I’ve got nothing personal against any of you. I’m only mean because I have to, alright? I am the middle child of five, for crying out loud - if I want anything done at all I need to throw my weight around and stand up for myself, otherwise I'd have been eaten alive long ago. Does that mean some feelings might get hurt? Possibly, but I cannot control the way others respond to me, nor am I responsible for their insecurities.” She said matter of factly, trying to convey indifference though her voice held more softness than usual. “If I was ever mean to you it’s because I know what you are capable of, Cody. I want to win, and I know you do, too. Just keep doing a good job. You are clever. You are capable of thinking outside the box. Resourceful, too. You can actually punch things when you feel like it, which is mildly impressive. And don’t expect any more compliments, I have reached my maximum quota for the day.”
“I understand.” Cody nodded, smiling shyly. “Thanks, Heather.”
Suddenly she whipped around faster than he could blink, and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. “If you ever mention this conversation again, or tell ANYONE else about what happened here, I will personally curb stomp your bones until they are ground into paste and you will be drinking through a straw for the rest of your life, are we clear?” Heather hissed, glaring deep into his eyes without a shred of emotion on her face. “Do not talk about it. Don’t even THINK about it. Whatever happens at area 51, stays in area 51. THIS never happened.”
Cody nodded fervently. “You got it!”
“Guys!”
At once, Heather dropped Cody and drew away from him as Sierra ran up to greet them. Well, rather, she embraced Cody and twirled him around effortlessly while Heather stood there awkwardly. “Cody, where have you been?!” She squealed with delight, giggling. “I have been looking everywhere for you, silly.”
“I was uh, just hanging around here haha.” Cody replied lamely, shooting an uneasy glance Heather’s way.
“We have to hurry!” Sierra urged with a sudden note of intensity in her voice. “The guys’ team haven’t won the challenge yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Did you find anything over here?”
Heather perked up with hope. They still have a chance to win this challenge after all! “Nothing worth noting on this side.” She said, authority effortlessly slipping into her tone. “We should spread out and try elsewhere.” Cody shot Heather a questioning look. Heather briefly returned his gaze with a silent command for him to hold his tongue. He gave her a tiny nod and looked away. “QUICKLY now! Chop chop!” She pressed urgently, glaring at the pair to get a move on.
Sierra grabbed Cody and together they hurried away deeper into the maze of shelves and boxes and machinery. “Geez, what’s gotten into her?” Sierra sassed once they were far enough away from Heather’s bossy glare. “I mean, I know she’s stressed about winning the challenge and it’s not unlike her to be mean per se, but she should really consider investing in some anger management classes.” She snorted with laughter. “Her and Courtney both! Snrk! What do you think, Cody?”
“Hm? Oh!” Cody remained pensive. “I don’t know… I don’t think it’s that big a deal.” He led her through the facility. “C’mon. Let’s win this thing already.”