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kcfya · 7 years

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Exquisite Corpse Finale

Here’s our ending to Prom: The Final Frontier. If you're looking for your mom to save you, read on!

The bodies hit the floor one by one. I’m ready to go when Tony grabs by arm and holds me back. His brow in scrunched in that way that makes me pause. Its not fear, its confusion. “Too many,” he whispers. Now its my turn for my brow to turn. “What?” “Too many bodies,” he says. I begin to count the sound of the bodies faing and realize he’s right. We were counting on maybe five or ten men, not the at least twenty that slam down. I’m about to comment before a second voice echoes across the empty barnyard. “MARIA CONSTANCE EUNACE ESPOSITO!” My blood runs cold in my veins. Only one person has every used my full name with such vigor and induced such fear with only four words. Mother. Tony’s eyes are about to bulge out of his head when I place my hand on his shoulder and shake my head. “Stay here.” “You’re going out there?” Tony asks incredulously. “DON’T MAKE ME SAY YOUR NAME AGAIN,” my mother shouts. “I mean, unless you’ve got a ticket to Barcelona in your pants, yeah I’m going out there.” When he still looks at me like I’ve grown two heads I explain further. “Its my mother.” Suddenly a look of understanding overcomes his face. Instead of fear written in his eyes, its replaced with pity. Tony lets out a heaving sigh. “If she’s anything like my mother, we might be better off making a run for it.” I laugh sheepishly. “She’d track me down before we made it a mile.” I give him a final nod before taking a long gulp and standing up behind the hay bale. My arms are raised in surrender as I slowly stalk toward the only standing figure illuminated by the moonlight. Even though it makes no sound, I can see my mother tapping her foot with her arms crossed over her chest. When she makes eye contact with me, she takes out two small earbuds from her ears. “Maria, why am I not surprised that you can’t follow directions?” I look around to see the many bodies on the floor, snoozing away. I notice a few of the faces as leaders of the six other high ranking families in the tri-state area. All in sharp suites and some with guns holstered to their sides. Next to my mother is poor Joey, with an oozing wound in his shoulder and one eye swollen shut.. She follows my eyes and gives him a slight nudge with her foot. He doesn’t react. I give a long gulp and am reminded of Tony. “What is going on here?” “I could ask you the same thing,” says my mother. “When I realized the Emojiicon was missing, I had a feeling I knew what you’d be up to.” I crane my neck, searching for any other familiar faces. Namely, my father or Tony’s. My mother catches my wondering eye and sighs. “Daddy isn’t here,” she says. “He’s too busy arranging for a limo to pick you up for the prom tonight.” I frown before remembering that I was supposed to be dancing the night away, with my only worry meant to be coming in with dorky Tony. “Daddy’s getting me a limo?” My mother is looking down at her phone, punching on the screen like her fingers are going to snap through the material. “Mommy,” I say slowly, “why are the five families here?” She scoffs and looks down at Joey with disgust. “We were supposed to be having a meeting tonight to discuss new trade routes. Then this idiot had to go and get himself caught trailing you today.” Its then that I notice Tony’s father is no where to be seen. “Where is Mr. de Luca?” “Mr. de Luca is learning a lesson in messing with things that don’t belong to him,” she says. When the color drains from my face she clarifies. “I called his wife and let her know his eyes been wandering, and not just into our pockets. I don’t think he’s going to be a problem for us any longer. And she gave me the upmost assurance our truce is as strong as ever.” “Ask her about the space ship!” Tony screams from behind the hay bale. I rub the bridge of my nose. “Come on out Tony.” His head pops up, and when he hesitates, I wave him over. My mother has one expertly plucked brow raised. “Space ship?” “The huge silver craft that is sitting in the field,” I elaborate. She lets out a long and low laugh. “Oh, that! Its just one of the toys Mr. Minciati brought. You know how he always has to make a splash when he arrives. If he wasn’t paying off half the US government, and blackmailing the other half, the man wouldn’t be able to make it a week before getting shot out of the sky.” I nod knowingly, while Tony still looks incredulous. It was strange to me that his father didn’t let him in on the family business. I was learning trade deals with my mother by the time I could walk, and negotiating with my dad by the second grade. All of the families knew me, and it was clear who was taking over the family business once I got my law degree in six years. Five, if I really tried. “Mr. de Luca,” my mother says in the way that only a mother can; sweet but sharp. “Aren’t you supposed to be taking my daughter to the prom tonight?” Tony stammers. “Uhh..yes…well…I was trying to but…” My mother holds up a hand to silence him. “No bother explaining. I know my daughter.” His shoulders relax while I cross my arms and over my chest and pout. “I don’t appreciate that tone.” “I don’t appreciate you knocking out my business partners,” my mother counters. Her phone beeps and she continues to text away. When I grow impatient, which is only seconds later, I ask, “Care to enlighten me on what’s going to happen next?” My mother’s glare is steel and fire. “Unless you change that tone, what’s going to happen next is you waiting here for the families to wake up and explain to them how you knocked them all out on neutral territory.” I clear my throat and my tone sweetens considerably. “Sorry mother.” She smiles. “That’s better.” Then, lights trail us in the distance. “It looks like my gift is finally here.” “Gift?” Tony and I ask at the same time. My mother waves around me. “I can’t very well let you go to prom looking like a mess. Daddy is going to re-route the limo to pick you up at the prom and take you to the after party. Remember, your curfew is still 1:00am.” I’m still confused until I see the massive black van pull up. The first one out is Kelly Kimporelli, my favorite hair stylist, followed by her sister Ginger who could work magic with a makeup wand. Several others trail out, one holding a deep red dress that I realize is my prom dress I picked out only days ago. “Like I said, I knew you’d come here,” says my mother, “so I made sure to have reinforcements on the way. I couldn’t very well have them here when you went around setting off the Emojiicon, or that’d defeat the point.” I don’t think I’ll ever understand the power my mother wielded, but I was sure ready to begin learning. I run forward and envelop her in a hug and plant a kiss on her cheek. Before I race past a jaw dropped Tony, I stop and ask, “How are we getting to prom?” My mother cranes her neck to look at Tony. “Would a space ship suffice?” He snaps his head in her direction. “You’re going to let us ride in that?” “Well its not like any of these lugs are going to wake up soon. I believe it works on auto pilot. Just make sure to set the coordinates so it comes back.” “Can you do that?” I ask. “I’ll sure as hell figure it out!” Tony says, jumping up and down. He looks like a kid that woke up on Christmas to a room full of presents. Again, I’m reminded that in a certain kind of light, he isn’t too hard on the eyes. “Thank you,” I whisper to my mother. She wipes away a smudge on my cheek. “Do try and stay out of trouble for the rest of the evening. I’ve got my hands full here and your poor father doesn’t need any more stress.” I make a cross over my heart “I’ll do my best.” **** By the time we arrive at Prom, I feel like a million bucks. Tony desperately wanted to land the aircraft on the football field and make an entrance, but I gently remind him of the necessity for secrecy. He’s disappointed when we have to land two blocks away, but the air was brisk and the walk was nice as we made our way up to the shimmering lights of the high school. We spend the night dancing away to music that beats heavy in my ears. For a moment, I catch myself mid laugh, and remember how desperately I didn’t want to come out tonight. How I’d rather be in my room working on new trades or streaming the latest season of Originals that just hit Netflix. Life was surprising in that way. Sometimes all takes is risking it on strange boy with a love of aliens and surviving being shot at, to see how much could pass you by if you’re too busy hiding yourself away. I don’t know what the future is going to bring, but as I laugh at one of Tony’s jokes, a sincere sort of sound that doesn’t come from me often, I know that I’m ready for it.

#exquisite corpse cyoa #kcfya #2017 yasummershowdown

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lrfya · 7 years

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If you want to find out where Benedict put the cloak...

Things calmed down a lot after that night. There were no more reports of werewolves kidnapping people. In fact, some weird stories began to surface about vigilante werewolves: showing up and saving younger kids from bullies, tackling burglars and returning stolen belongings to grateful families, that kind of thing. Maybe Dacey had turned over a new leaf. Emily didn’t seem to think so, but I didn’t see her as often now because I was spending a lot of time with Diana. Once Diana had her brother back and we had more time to actually get to know each other, she turned out to be a really incredible person. After a few months of skirting around the issue, I finally got the courage to ask her out. I took her to this wild lesbian rave. Just kidding. It was your typical high school date: dinner and a movie and home by ten. I insisted on walking her to her door when I dropped her off. “That was more fun than I expected!” she beamed. “I’m happy that I get the benefit of your low expectations.” I was trying too hard to be funny. She was smiling at me, and it felt so good to see her happy. Of course, then I managed to ruin it. I leaned in to kiss her on the forehead, but at the same time she leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. We bumped faces awkwardly and I panicked and decided to SHAKE HER HAND. What is even wrong with me? She gave me a puzzled look, but then we both laughed. “I’ll see you at school on Monday,” I said, and turned to walk back to my car. As I turned, I thought I saw her wink at me, but I wasn’t going to risk another giant awkward failure by turning back around. As I made my way down the sidewalk, I was feeling ok about the date. The handshake was … pretty awful. But then she maybe winked, right? I can recover from that. Should I text her when I get home tonight? Normally I’d text her, but maybe I shouldn’t? I was too lost in my hopeful speculation to even see it coming. I slammed into the ground and felt a rough cloth slip over my head. I was too scared to yell, but the arms holding me down were covered with coarse fur. Shit. “Look what do you want? I don’t know where the cloak is!” Was it possible Dacey was still after that stupid cloak? I felt them--at least three of them?--shove me into a car and pile in after me, still holding my arms. A few second later the motor started. “Hello?” No one answered me. None of them have said a word. I was in no position to fight back, so all I could do it wait and see where they were taking me, and try not to freak out. My shoulder was sore from where it hit the pavement, but they hadn’t really tried to hurt me. Yet. They drove for less than five minutes before we stopped. I was trying to pay attention to as many details as I could, but this stupid bag was still on my head. They pulled me out of the car. I planted my feet, hoping one more time that I might get some answers. “Look, just tell me where we’re going? I don’t have anything you want. What could Dacey possibly want with me?” Suddenly I heard a low snarl that seeped into a deep, breathless laugh. “Where have you been?” one of them finally said. “We don’t answer to Dacey anymore. I would think that’s obvious.” What the actual heck? I mean, I guess it would explain the recent spate of good deeds. But kidnapping me was most definitely NOT a good deed. None of this made sense, but just as I was about to ask another probably dumb question, one of them pushed me in the back and I stumbled forward. “Get moving. The boss demanded to see you and we’ll be in trouble if we waste any more time.” As they led me forward, I heard what sounded like a massive door swinging open. I could tell we were no longer outside when the wind stopped making the bag on my head smack into my face. Inside wherever we were, I could hear breathing from all sides of me. There must have been hundreds of them. I got scared all over again. Finally we stopped walking. “We brought her, unharmed just like you said.” One of my captors was apparently reporting to the boss, whoever that was. “Good. I may change my mind later, but right now I just want to ask her a few questions. You know how protective I can be of my family.” And whatever I expected the boss to sound like? This was NOT it. It sounded… well, it sounded a LOT like Diana. But that was impossible! I was wrestling with that quandary when I felt them yank the bag off my head. It took me a second to realize I had my eyes closed, and then another few seconds to adjust to the light once I opened them. I was in an enormous cave, and I couldn’t even count the number of werewolves but suffice it to say there were roughly a bajillion. At the front of the room, commanding everyone’s attention, was a small figure sitting on a… I mean, I guess it was a throne? It was a big chair. As my eyes began to focus, I could finally see the person sitting in that big chair. It was a boy, no more than 11 years old, wearing a bright red hooded cape. He was the only one in the room who wasn’t a werewolf. I gasped, “Benedict?”

#LOL #cliffhanger ending #sorry not sorry #2017 yasummershowdown #2017 artifact hunt #exquisite corpse cyoa #lrfya #lrfyabc #fya #forever young adult

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fyaorlandonorth · 7 years

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Exquisite Corpse Epilogue

If you're looking for a hopeful ending, read on:

Epilogue:

Diana stared up at the sky with a look of long-suffering that all older sisters make at one point or another. “Benny,” she said slowly. “If you do not tell me where you hid that stupid red cloak, I swear on all of your Star Wars action figures that I will not rest until they’ve returned to the plastic sludge from whence they came. All of them. Even Rey.” She paused. “BB-8 will be first.”

Benedict looked aghast and then promptly folded his arms into a sulk. “You’re no fun,” he muttered as he started to walk again. “Fine. It’s at home.”

My heart had finally stopped pounding, we’d rescued a little boy from the claws of a prissy werewolf diva, and I found myself loathe to leave them when we walked up to my street. Well, okay, being honest, I was loathe to leave Diana. She barely had a hair out of place, even after all that fighting, and her skin glowed fetchingly in the moonlight.

I must have hesitated too long, because she paused and looked over her shoulder at me. “Coming, Haven?”

I didn’t give my street a second glance.

Back at their house, Benedict avoided the front door and led us around to the backyard, where an impressive tree house dominated the upper-levels of a large oak tree in the corner. We filed up the ladder and breathed a collective sigh of relief as he produced the now-grubby red cloak from underneath a nest of blankets.

“What do we do with it?” I asked, leaning closer to Diana and catching a whiff of her citrusy shampoo. I didn’t see what was so special about the garment, but I suppose most magic can’t be seen by the naked eye.

“We make sure no other werewolf can use it for their own nefarious purposes,” she said emphatically.

Then, with a quirked eyebrow and a smirk, she held up the cloak and asked, “Anybody up for a bonfire?”

It was almost a week later before I saw Diana again, due to the Labor Day holiday and some mandatory city-wide curfews after an anonymous group of hoodlums went berserk and trashed a bunch of stuff on Main Street on their way out of town. I was standing on the edge of the field watching practice go on without me—Taylor had left town, sure, but I was still an uncoordinated mess with a ball—when I smelled a hint of citrus and my insides did a happy dance.

She materialized next to me, same slouchy bag on her shoulder and neat braid. “Why aren’t you out there?”

I snorted. “Let’s just say I’m quitting while I’m ahead. What are you doing here? You don’t go to this school.”

Diana shrugged. “I transferred. Felt like I needed a fresh start.”

I couldn’t stop the grin that spread across my face, and, frankly, I didn’t want to. “Oh. Well…cool.”

Diana eyed me and grinned herself. “Yeah, cool. Hey, I heard you guys have a nice gym. I was thinking of practicing some of my body flips, but I need a partner. Would you…?”

I linked my arm in hers and turned us towards the gym, leaving the game behind me. “Anytime, Diana. Anytime.”

#fyaon #exquisite corpse cyoa #2017 artifact hunt #2017 yasummershowdown

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lonfya · 7 years

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If you're interested in seeing Maria use the emotion extractor to full effect

I’ve opened the beam on the extractor and set it to full power. Maximum extraction. A sudden shock to the system should knock anyone within the beam out. Thankfully, they’ve helpfully lined up well within it. In seconds Tony and I are the only conscious people around. I even managed to knock out a couple of the cows, though I’m not 100% sure cows have emotions beyond ‘Moo’. Whatever. I do a quick check to make sure Joey is still breathing before getting Tony to help me drag him back to my car.

‘Tony, can you grab the car manual out of the glove box for me? I want to make sure Joey can’t get out if he wakes up while we’re driving.’

‘Sure thing.’ Tony seems more than happy to help. He’s holding up really well considering. So I do feel just the tiniest bit guilty when I blast him with the extractor when he’s not looking. He falls face first into the dashboard, but his make-up stays intact. Gotta hand it to the staff at Glam-a-Rama: they do good work.

‘Sorry Tony,’ I push him back into a sitting position and buckle his seat belt. ‘You seem like a nice guy, but I’ve got to keep my promise to your father and keep you out of this.’ An extraction at this level will helpfully wipe the last two hours from his memory, so as long as I get him back to the parking garage before he wakes up, I can pretend this whole thing never happened.

With my two boys safely tucked away, I do a quick check of the others. Vito and his pal are still out, but the hazmat suits are starting to stir. They were only just within range so I give each one another dose of the extractor before investigating the boxes.

Each box contains an emotion condenser unit ready to be hooked up to an extractor. The extractor will gradually extract emotion from a crowd, without all of the nasty side effects of my hand held unit. The condensers are empty, and the boxes are addressed to the Airport Ho-Jo’s my classmates and I are due to invade in a little over four hours. Since I know for a fact the supplies for tonight’s extraction have already been delivered, it looks like someone has decided to violate the yearly truce and break out on his own. At least, that’s what I tell Tony’s father when I call him from the car on the way back to the mall.

‘I’m sorry to tell you this, Sir. I know family betrayals are the worst kind. I disabled all of the surplus units. There’s no risk to the truce tonight.’

‘That’s…that’s very good Miss Esposito. I certainly wouldn’t want that.’

‘I was sure you didn’t.’ I was actually sure he was behind the whole thing. But I was equally sure he’d deny all knowledge if confronted with the evidence and use the perceived insult as an excuse to start openly feuding with my dad again. Better to blame Vito and let Tony’s dad save face. Give everyone a chance to back away gracefully. Like I said before: you have to know when to show some respect. I pulled the car back into the underground parking garage and found a spot as close to my original one as possible. Beside me, Tony started to mutter as he woke up.

‘Tony’s waking up now, Sir, I have to go.’

‘He’ll have no memory of today?’

‘Not of the last few hours anyway. I’m sorry I used the hand-held on him. It was the only thing I could think of.’ I didn’t want to tell him that Tony already knew pretty much everything and all I was erasing was some of the finer points. ‘He’s not stupid Mr de Luca. One day he’s going to figure it out.’

He sighs. ‘I know. But I want him to be happy and carefree as long as possible. You did well Maria. Consider the scales balanced.’

‘Good bye, Mr de Luca.’ Beside me, Tony stirred.

‘Were you just talking to my dad?’ he rubbed his eyes and let out a jaw cracking yawn.

‘Yeah. You conked out after the makeover. I didn’t want to wake you, but your phone was ringing so I picked up. He was just checking to see that we have everything we need for tonight. I told him we’re fine.’

‘Sorry I fell asleep.’ There was a thump from the trunk. ‘What’s that?’

‘Nothing. Let’s get out of here.’ I sped towards the exit, making sure to hit every speed bump along the way. Once I let my father know how easily Vito had taken Joey down, I wouldn’t have to worry about him harassing me anymore. I probably wouldn’t even see his precious perfect abs again, so I wanted him to have fond memories of our last day together. A concussion or ruptured spleen seem like good souvenirs.

‘Hey Maria, d’ya think you could slow down a little?’ Tony clung to the door handle as I launched us out of the garage onto the street. ‘I don’t wanna die before we get to prom.’

I eased back on the accelerator. ‘Sorry Tony. I guess I’m just excited about tonight.’

‘Me too,’ his smile faded. ‘Um…there’s a problem. A big one. I’m not sure how to tell you this. And you aren’t going to like it.’

‘Spit it out Tony.’ Did the extraction not work? Did he hear me talking to his father? Can he hear Joey swearing in the trunk? Any one of those things means I’m going to have to think of an excuse fast. Tony won’t be able to keep a secret and his father won’t be happy if he thinks I spilled family secrets.

‘I don’t actually know how to dance. Hey, why are you laughing? It’s not funny. I’m very vulnerable here. This is a real problem for me.’

‘I’m sorry Tony,’ I gasped, wiping a tear from my eye. ‘But after everything I’ve been through today, this is nothing. Let’s grab something to eat and I’ll show you some moves. Prom won’t know what hit it.’ We awkwardly high fived.

‘Prom, here we come.’

#2017 summer showdown #2017 artifact hunt #lonfya #exquisite corpse cyoa

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fyasummershowdown · 7 years

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Exquisite Corpse: Prom, The Final Frontier

This year it was actually going to happen. This year I was finally going to conquer my fear and participate in something most of my friends thought was fun. I couldn’t begin to understand how something so anxiety inducing could be fun, but then again, they didn’t have my problems, so I guess it was understandable. The thought of it actually turned my stomach, but I didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t go to prom this year, I might end up dead. Literally.

For those of you who have already read the story and want to skip ahead to the CYOA endings:

• If you’re looking for your mom to save you, read on for KCFYA's ending.

• If you’re interested in seeing Maria use the emotion extractor to full effect, read on for LONFYA's ending.

Everyone else, read on…

avlfya:

The reason I’m so opposed to prom dates back many years ago in my preadolescence. By now, living in this small town for so long has really started to get to me. It feels like the world is caving in on itself, and the bubble is about to burst. Prom is only one of the ridiculous traditions that is of the highest importance here, and my group of friends, though not exactly the most popular crew, fully expected each of us to pair off and attend the social function together. Well, at least I didn’t have to worry about finding a date.

cifya:

At least, that’s what I thought. My date-to-be, Cam, came down with the chicken pox three days before the dance, so he’ll be staying at home on Saturday night with oven mitts taped to his hands. (Side note: Who in the hell gets chicken pox at age seventeen??) Naturally, the town crier sent up the alarm: “HEAR YE, HEAR YE! MARIA ESPOSITO SEEKS HER PRINCE CHARMING FOR THE BALL!”

At least that’s what happened in my head. In reality, the town crier was my best friend Emily posting a message on Facebook that sounded a little too much like a Craigslist Casual Encounters ad. I begged her not to click “Post,” not to destroy what dignity I had left, but as with all best friends, there was no convincing her otherwise. But to my amazement, it worked. Within minutes, I had a new prom date. If only I had known that it was Tony de Luca, son of Italian mob boss, Dominic de Luca.

@cltfya you’re up!

cltfya:

With a name like Tony de Luca you’d think he would have booked a date before Christmas. But if you think that, you’ve never met Tony. He should look like a young Robert de Niro, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Not only was he the founding member of the Sunnyvale High School Dungeon and Dragons club, Tony had never outgrown his awkward puberty phase. Every day he wore one of 4 different Game of Thrones t-shirts and the same pair of pants. Though he had a decent head of curly, dark hair, he unfortunately sported a face like a pizza. On top of that, he never sprouted above 5"4’. That might not be so bad if I wasn’t 5"11’ and the tallest girl in my class. I guess I need to go shopping for flats this afternoon.

I gulped down my weary disappointment and said to myself, “Don’t be superficial. Beauty is on the inside. This guy could be a charmer with personality for days - don’t be so quick to judge. What’s the worst thing that could happen, Maria?”

@fyadallas you’re up!

fyadallas:

While I was at the mall shopping for flats (Side note: Have you ever found a pair of prom-worthy flats? Because what passes for a mall in this one-horse town didn’t have one. single. pair that were remotely okay, and I had to settle for basic black ballerina flats. SO BORING.), I realized what I had to do.

In all honesty, I’ve watched enough teen romantic comedies that it shouldn’t have taken me so long to figure out the answer. What we needed was a makeover montage. You know the kind where the homely girl’s friends put her in a dress, some makeup, and take off her glasses, and suddenly she’s the hottest ticket in town? Everyone realizes what a great person she was now that she wasn’t completely overlook-able? Yes, that should solve my problem nicely.

Except the makeover wouldn’t be for me. It would be for Tony de Luca. Would a tux and a haircut fix his problems? Would I have to fight of tons off girls once we got to the prom?

More importantly, would the mob put out a hit on me if I put some concealer on his zits?

@kcfya, show us where this leads!

kcfya:

It was surprisingly easy to talk Tony into going to the mall with me the Saturday morning of Prom. I thought there’d be more bribing involved, but Tony seemed genuinely excited. Apparently, he didn’t get out of the house much.

I’d managed to book us the last spot open at Glam-o-Rama, which of course was the 8am slot. Armed with enough coffee to wake a hibernating bear, which I’m sure I resembled in my lazily tossed up hair and last nights make up still smudged under my eyes, the morning surprisingly went fairly smooth. As I paid for a new deep red shade of lipstick called Nosferatu, Tony came sauntering out of Glam-o-Rama looking like…well…there was only so much a mall makeover could do for a guy. Still, it was an improvement, and with a pair of lifts borrowed from my uncle Sal, he was reasonable close to my height.

At least we won’t be a laughing stock, I thought to myself. Aloud I said, “Looking good Tony.”

A sheepish grin fit on his face. He didn’t look half bad when he smiled. He rubbed a hand on his cheek. “I don’t know how I’m going to keep this on all day.” I reached over and pulled his hand away from his face. “By not rubbing it off. That’d be a good start.”

We walked down the escalator and through the double doors that led to the darkened parking garage. Even at 10am, the garage was still full of cars left over from the night before when the only night club in town, Lightening Blue, had its usual Friday night half-priced drinks special for the ladies. You just have to make it ten more hours, I told myself. What could go wrong in ten hours? I quickly found the answer to that question as we approached my car and the sound of a gunshot echoed through the parking garage.

Take it away @kcmofya

kcmofya:

I grabbed Tony and ducked behind the nearest car, a hulking SUV.

“What was tha—”

“Quiet!” I shushed him as we heard voices moving steadily closer to our hiding spot. I crouched further in the shadows of the SUV, my heart pounding. I was suddenly very grateful that the green living movement hadn’t made its way to Sunnyvale yet. Tony stuck his head around the side of the SUV before I could stop him.

“What the hell are you doing? They’ll see us!” I hissed at him.

“It’s…” he leaned farther forward. “It’s my Uncle Vito and some other guy. I can’t see his face. They’re dragging something behind them. Something big.”

“Probably the body of whoever they just shot! And if they see us, we’re next!”

“Come on. It’s my uncle. He wouldn’t shoot anyone. I’ll just ask him what’s going on.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re going to just stroll out there and ask a murderer what’s up?” For the son of a mob boss, this kid was pretty clueless. Or pretty brave.

“He’s not a murderer.”

“We heard a gunshot and he’s dragging what’s obviously a body!”

As we argued over what to do, the two men and whatever they were dragging (A body. It had to be a body, right?) hopped in a car a few rows down and took off. Tony and I crawled out of our hiding spot and ran over to my car.

“We have to call the police! Where is my phone?” I scrambled through my purse. My hands were shaking and I could feel myself sweating right through the make-up I’d just spent the last of my paycheck on. So much for my cat-eye and subtle glow. I was glowing like a pig now.

“Maria, wait. We can’t call the police. Let me call my dad first, okay?”

He pulled out his phone, while I tried to calm myself down. So my prom date is the son of a mob boss and we just witnessed him probably murdering someone. No big deal right? It’ll be fine. Everything’s fine. Deep breaths.

‘Hey, uh, Maria? My dad wants to talk to you.”

Me? Why does he want to talk to me?!

@lonfya it’s all you!

lonfya:

“Miss Esposito, I trust you and my son are getting along?” Dominic de Luca’s voice was nothing like my expectations. He sounded more like a man accustomed discussing the merits of expensive wines than one suspected of drowning his rivals in buckets of the cheap stuff. Though I’d hoped I’d never have to play this game, I knew the rules: Show respect. Stick to the facts.

“Yes Sir, Mr de Luca.”

“Good. I’m not going to waste time pretending you don’t understand what’s going on. The original terms of the agreement with your family state that any involvement in our interests would be cause for immediate and…rather final discussions. However, on this one occasion I am willing to overlook your participation. Provided you do something for me.”

Tony had climbed into the front seat and had adjusted the rear-view mirror to get another look at his made-up face, the unblemished skin apparently more interesting than gunshots, a body, and his family’s involvement. I crossed pretty brave off the list of possibilities. “Let me Guess. Keep Tony out of it?”

“Correct. My son isn’t yet aware of what the family business entails. You will do whatever is necessary to keep it that way. In return, I will ensure your involvement remains a secret. Do we have an understanding?”

“Yes Sir, Mr de Luca.”

“Good. Have a nice time at prom. Such a magical evening.”

The line went dead. For years I’d lived with worst-case scenarios in my head. Threats, violence, danger. I’d run through every possible variation. Or so I thought. Protecting the oblivious son of the second most powerful mobster in the country on prom night had somehow never factored into my planning. The way I saw it, there were only two choices.

@lrfya tell us what happens next!

lrfya:

I could keep my mouth shut and have an okay time with Tony at the prom. Or I could do what I’ve trained my entire life to do.

Because the gun shot, Uncle Vito, and the body he dragged out of here? They were all adding up in my head. Someone had been following us, and they’d been taken down by Vito. I knew there was no way in hell that Carlo Esposito, my father and the most powerful mobster in the country, would let me go to prom with Dominic De Luca’s son without sending someone from his security detail to tail me.

And I knew who that someone would be.

Joseph Lucas started working for my dad when he was 12 and I was 10. His dad had been my father’s most dedicated employee until he was killed in a stand off against the De Lucas seven years ago, so Joey’d been around most of my life. He was always such a nightmare–burping in my face and yanking my ponytail. I think my dad felt sorry for him, so once he got old enough, Dad would send him on harmless little errands in exchange for pocket money. When he got older, Joey started boxing with some of the other guys, learning tricks of the trade. And since we were in high school together, Dad eventually hired him to be my own personal security detail.

Emily was the only person who knew why Joey was always hanging around, always in the background, never saying much. My other friends assumed he had a huge crush on me, and couldn’t understand why I didn’t like him back. “He’s so hot,” they’d say. “And cut. And mysterious and brooding.”

Which, objectively, yeah, sure, whatever. But I’d always resented Joey’s presence, even when my dad wanted him all up in my business and Joey kept his distance anyway. Even when we’d spar at the gym and he’d take his shirt off. Even when he was hanging around the house eating my food, and watching my TV and grinning his stupid charming grin.

I resented Joey because I didn’t need a bodyguard. And I don’t mean I didn’t need a bodyguard because I was unsafe. I didn’t need a bodyguard because I could take care of myself.

My dad didn’t trust anyone — not even Joey — to completely leave me in their hands. I’d been trained in Krav Maga, knife-throwing, and three different types of mixed martial arts, all by private trainers from a very young age. I could shoot a gun better than any of my dad’s employees. I knew how to untie 36 different kinds of knots, blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back. And I could track like a hunter.

Dominic wouldn’t have killed Joey outright. He’s too valuable, has too much intel. They most likely wounded him and are keeping him somewhere…Dominic owned commercial property — a bunch of rundown warehouses on the east side of town. It was a starting point, at least.

I buckled my seat belt and turned to Tony. “I have an errand to run. And I’m going to warn you, it’s probably not how you’d like to spend your Saturday. So I’m giving you the opportunity to get out now.”

Tony looked confused. “Get out? We’re in a parking garage! I need a ride home. I’m not getting out.”

I turned the ignition. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” As we pulled up to the street, I stopped. Left? Or right? Look for details…Vito would’ve been in a hurry…a big hurry.

I let out a snort when I saw it. “Let me guess. Your Uncle Vito drives a big, black Cadillac Escalade?”

Tony’s brow wrinkled. “Yeah, why?”

I pointed at the black marks freshly smeared across the road…headed east. “I know those tires. It’s like the official car of mobsters everywhere.” I took a deep breath. I had ten hours to find Uncle Vito, get Joey back without being seen, and get to the prom. And somehow keep Tony from figuring out what I was doing. And if I failed? Dominic would probably kill me.

I threw my car to the right and slammed on the gas. “Hold on tight, Tony.”

@fyaorlandonorth y’all take it from here!

fyaorlandonorth:

We drove in silence for half an hour until Tony finally broke it by asking, “Where are we going, Maria?”

I sucked on my lip and glanced over at him. “Your uncle, uh…he took something of mine. I need to get it back.”

Tony turned towards the window so I couldn’t see his face. “You know, I’m not as clueless as you think I am,” he said, continuing darkly. “Or my father thinks I am.”

My eyebrows lifted in surprise. “So you know about—”

“The family business? Your family business?” He cut in. “Enough. So why don’t you just tell me what is really going on?”

In the distance I can see a collection of warehouses near the water, where I’m hoping that Uncle Vito is holding Joey. We’re approaching a small dirt road that seems to meander towards the far end of the buildings, so I hit my blinker and hang a left, coming to a stop just after the turn off. Tony turns to me with a questioning look.

“Alright, I’m just going to lay it all out here. We don’t have time to mess around and I’m done being cautious.” I take a deep breath. “Our dads are some of the biggest Mafia bosses in town. They deal in drugs, but not it’s not the kind you might think.” I feel the words crowding in my mouth, impatient to get out. “There are ways to harness the energy of a large group of people and distill it into an extremely potent yet non-addictive elixir. One drop is better than any high you could imagine, and it lasts for hours. Love, happiness, fear, pain; you name it, they’ve got an elixir for it.”

Tony’s mouth was hanging open, but to his credit, he wasn’t freaking out. “So they…harness the emotions of a crowd?” he asked.

I nodded. “For certain events—like prom, for example—where emotions are heightened, hormones are running wild. Can you imagine the euphoria you would experience if someone put all that energy into a concentrated potion?

“The take is so big that our families will put aside their differences once a year just so we can both get a cut.” I sighed. “I’d finally convinced my dad to put me in charge of making sure things on our end went off without a hitch, but nowyour Uncle Vito has stolen my bodyguard and I need to know why, because from over here, it looks like your dad is planning to turn on us. And if this happens on my watch, I’m going to have to keep a close eye on both sides to make sure my head stays with my body.”

“What you’re saying sounds insane,” Tony said. “But I also feel like it all makes perfect sense.” He squeezed the armrest and swallowed what seemed like a dozen times before giving me a determined nod. “So then let’s go find out what Uncle Vito is up to.”

Run with it, @pghfya!

pghfya:

On the way to Uncle Vito’s lair, I decided on a last minute detour to Taco Bell. Hey, a girl can get hungry during a Mob chase, and also there was somethingnot on the menu that needed ordering.

“Welcome to Taco Bell, may I take your order?” the speaker blared at me.

“Yeah, can I have a Quesadilla with extra pickles?”

“And a Crunchwrap Supreme!” Tony yells before I can tell him that this isn’t a regular order.

When I pull to the window they hand me a brown paper bag. And then they give me a small plastic one with Tony’s Crunchwrap. I throw over the Crunchwrap and pull away from the window without paying. They know where to get the money for this order.

“I can’t believe you ordered pickles on your quesadilla! That’s so gross. Also, why do they have pickles at a Taco Bell? This day cannot get weirder!” Tony says around a mouthful of Mexican food.

“I 100% bet that it can.”

I pull into a parking spot and unroll the bag. I’ve never actually had to place this order before, and now that I have, I’m beginning to realize that shit is serious. I look at the Emojiicon Extractor 3000 sitting at the bottom of the bag, take a deep breath and reverse the car. This is going to be one hell of a ride.

When I pull into Vito’s hideout, I notice two things:

There are cows (dairy cows as Tony points out)

Sitting in the field behind the cows is a large, round, silver aircraft of some sort. If I didn’t know any better, I would say it looks like an alien ship.

“Dude, there are ALIENS here,” Tony says. Well then. I guess I don’t know better.

@fyavanwa What’s next??

fyavanwa:

We quickly fall to a crouch behind a large bale of hay, not ideal for cover, but it’ll do for now. I turn to see what Tony is looking at and promptly whack him upside the head with my empty hand. “Haven’t you ever seen a person in a hazmat suite before!? I thought you were supposed to be some kind of geeky kid, haven’t you ever seen a sci fi flick?” I say in a whisper-yell kind of way.

He gives me a droll look and rubs the back of his head, “It’s a common misconception that to be geeky, one needs to be a sci fi fanatic. I prefer fantasy, like Game of Thrones or DnD. Basically, any kind of RPG or anything really, involving the possibly of dragons.”

“DnD? RPG? Do you only speak in acronyms?”

“Dungeons and Dragons is a type of RPG or Role-Playing Game. But I feel like aliens in general are a big part of science fiction so my original observation wouldn’t be so far outside the realm of possibilities, using your logic of….”

“Shut up…”

I interrupt him, because suddenly I see Vito and the mysterious faced person carrying a slumped over Joey-shaped-lump between them. They are about ten paces ahead of our position and are completely engrossed in watching the hazmat suited people loading large boxes into the round aircraft.

I lean in close to Tony, “So here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to go take those guys out nice and quiet like. You follow close behind me and catch Joey before he falls and makes a big clattering noise, then we silently take him back to the car and get the hell out of here. You got it?”

“I’m not going to let you kill my Uncle” and for a second I think I see some menace behind his painted face.

“Relax, I’m not going to kill anybody. I can set this emotion extractor in such a way that it will only knock a person out for a short time. Just enough for us to get Joey and book it out of here.”

To his credit, Tony doesn’t ask questions like, “How?” or “Why?” or “What will happen if they catch us?” He just nods his head in grudging trust and acceptance. I engage the Emojiicon Extractor, make sure it’s set right, and with a here-we-go nod to Tony, I spring into action…

• If you’re looking for your mom to save you, read on for KCFYA's ending.

• If you’re interested in seeing Maria use the emotion extractor to full effect, read on for LONFYA's ending.

#2017 yasummershowdown #exquisite corpse #exquisite corpse cyoa #prom the final frontier #forever young adult

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fyasummershowdown · 7 years

Text

Exquisite Corpse: The Tryout

I’d known that this tryout was going to be hard, but I had no idea it would be impossible. I mean, basically impossible. I’d spent all summer training, focusing on my reaction speeds just like EJ warned, only to show up and find out that everything had changed. Like, CHANGED. Overnight.

For those of you who have read the whole story and just want to skip ahead to the CYOA endings:

• If you want to find out where Benedict put the cloak, read on for LRFYA's ending.

• If you're looking for a hopeful conclusion, read on for FYAON's ending.

Otherwise, read on!

fyavanwa:

My big competition for goalkeeper, Taylor, got bit this summer, the night of the Fourth of July. She and her brothers were lighting illegal fireworks out on the basketball court, late, after everyone had gone home from the city-sponsored show, and when the cops showed up she ran blindly into the woods toward the park, and that’s where it happened. I didn’t find out until I showed up at tryouts, of course, otherwise I wouldn’t have come, or I would have went out, maybe, for volleyball instead. Because if you’ve seen Teen Wolf (and who hasn’t) you know that no one can beat a werewolf on a court or a field. No one. I looked like an idiot out there.

pghfya:

I lifted myself from the field, my cheeks burning. From the center of a varsity team huddle, Taylor nodded at me as I left the field. I lifted my chin in response, even though I was daydreaming about charging across the dry grass and launching myself at her position-stealing face. In the daydream, I win, but in real life, she’d slaughter me. Quite possibly literally now. It was clear I’d be spending another season on the bench.

I decided to walk home to let the sweat my dry on my skin and the humiliation mellow. The sidewalks were dotted with fellow classmates shouldering backpacks and making their own disappointed ways home: the wannabe jock parade. I turned the corner onto my street and found myself on the heels of a blonde girl with her head bent down, looking at her phone, probably. Her wavy hair was twisted up and she wore a leather jacket over denim shorts, a slouchy bag bouncing at her side. An art kid maybe?

At the other end of the street, a car engine roared and we both looked up. I didn’t even see the other thing approach us until it had barreled into her, knocking her through Mrs. Thompson’s honeysuckle bushes. I raced through the break in the sweet-smelling flowers and greenery to find the girl on her knees, straddling the thing, with what looked like a silver letter opener at its throat.

What’s that all about, @fyaorlandonorth

fyaorlandonorth:

The girl pushed the letter opener deeper into the, well, what I can only describe as a wolf-man’s neck, and asked with murder in her voice, “Why are you following me, kibble-breath?”

“You know why,” he growled, his eyes fixed on her hand. “She’s getting tired of waiting for you to bring her what is hers.”

“Well, she can wait until she drops dead,” the girl retorted. “I’m not giving it up until I get my brother back.”

“Just give her the—” the wolf started, but she cut him off.

“This is how this is going to go. I’m going to give you a nice little reminder of our time together—” She traced a line in his skin with the blade and a well of red followed. “Then you’re going to crawl back to your den and tell your master that she can meet me tomorrow night outside the school gym at halftime, with my brother, or I’m going to take her precious and bury it in the deepest, darkest hole in the farthest part of the wood I can find and she’ll never see it again.”

“You’re such a b—”

She kneed him in the stomach, cutting off his air supply and sentence, then waved the letter opener menacingly. “You really wanna go there, fur-brain?”

He scrambled back as she jumps off him and made a rude gesture as he sprinted around the side of the house. I swear he looked a little like one of my classmates, but I couldn’t get a positive ID before I noticed those sharp green eyes focused in on me.

I sucked in a breath as she darted towards me with the blade still in her hand. “Whoa, whoa, don’t stick me!” I threw my hands up.

“How much did you hear?” she demanded.

I weighed my options: should I lie or tell the truth?

@lrfya, it’s all yours!

lrfya:

My eyes flitted down to the sharp blade in her hand, then back up to those green eyes shining with fire and intensity. The truth’s a lot less dangerous than lying. “All of it,” I said in a rush. “I’m sorry, please don’t stab me, I didn’t mean to, and I promise I’ll forget everything! I just—I saw you get attacked. I wanted to make sure you were okay.“ I was flustered, and was having trouble forming sentences. “Was that…is he…does that werewolf go to Hamilton High School?” The blonde girl eyed me appraisingly. At her gaze, my skin flushed and my heart quickened. This made me furious – it’s not like I’m some damsel in distress, swooning over a mysterious hero. Yes, she was stunning, all legs and eyes and hair, but I know how to take care of myself! I was on my way to save her. Not that I’ve killed a werewolf before, but at least I had on my silver necklaces. Plus, I had a tonic of wolfsbane oil mixed with holy water in my backpack for the direst of circumstances. Until I saw that letter opener, I was charging in like the cavalry to save the day. I stood a bit straighter, pushing my shoulders back and raising my chin. “Can I put my hands down now at least?” She nodded and dropped the letter opener. Apparently, I’d passed whatever test she’d silently been giving me. “He’s a junior there. You know about werewolves?” she asked. “I just lost my varsity spot to one,” I said glumly. She rolled her eyes. “Your varsity spot? Really? How terrible for you,” she spit at me. “I lost my brother to an entire den, or weren’t you listening?” Oof. Open mouth, insert foot. Maybe two feet. “I’m an idiot. I apologize. His name’s Matt, right? He’s in my French class. Who’s his master, that you were talking about? You said you took something of hers?” Her mouth set in a grim line. “You ask too many questions. Forget that you saw me here, or else.” She turned on her heel, grabbed her bag, and started to head back toward the road. I jogged after her, coming up beside her and matching her stride. I was not letting her get away that easily. “Why would a werewolf take your brother? It doesn’t make any sense.” I was nervous as I said it. My response to our town having become a werewolf home base has thus far been defensive as opposed to offensive. The werewolves I’d encountered up to that point had been mostly harmless, at least off the soccer field. I know in theory they’re dangerous, but here they’ve kept to themselves. I’d heard the girls in the locker room discussing that Taylor’s family had added a secure cell with chains in their rec room for the few nights of the month she changed. The girl sighed. “Because I stole something of hers. Now she’s taken my little brother hostage and she’ll turn him into one of them if I don’t give it back.”

What it do @lonfya?

lonfya:

This seemed like a no brainer, and I was sure there had to be more to it, but I wanted to keep her talking so I went ahead and opened my big mouth. “Give it back.”

She rolled her eyes so hard I felt it in my retinas.

“That guy –er –wolf? Whatever, he said she’d release your brother if you give it back. So…give it back. Problem solved.”

“Because the last thing La Lupine is going to do is keep her word.”

“La Lupine?”

“That’s what she calls herself now. Her real name’s Stacey. Or Macey, or Casey. Something like that anyway. She was some big Queen Bee before she got turned and she used her popularity to make half this stupid town think werewolves aren’t dangerous.”

I let out a little laugh. This girl’s obviously taken a knock to the head. “Dacey Jacobson isn’t a werewolf.”

“You know her?” The girl stopped walking to focus all her attention on me. It was a little scary.

“Of course I do. Her sister Emily is my best friend.”

The girl smiled. “I think we got off on the wrong foot,” she holds out a hand for me to shake. “I’m Diana. I think we’re going to be great friends.”

Take it away, @kcmofya!

kcmofya:

“Haven.” I answered, taking her hand. It was surprisingly soft for someone who apparently spent her days looting and attacking werewolves.

“So, Haven, now that we’re BFFs, I’m going to need you to tell me everything you know about Dacey Jacobson.”

I hesitated for a minute. I did want to help her find her brother, but it almost felt like a betrayal of Emily. I’d never want to do something that could put her at risk. On the other hand, there was no love lost between me and Dacey. She’s been tormenting Emily, and me by extension, since we were 8 years old. I guessed it wasn’t that much of a stretch to think she’d be some kind of evil werewolf queen.

La Lupine. That ridiculous faux French name sounds exactly like something Dacey would give herself. She could never allow herself to be just a common wolf. Besides, I really wanted to know more about Diana. She was fascinating and beautiful and could wield a letter opener like a switch blade.

“How do you feel about coffee?” I asked. “Let me buy you a cup and we’ll talk.”

@kcfya It’s all you!

kcfya:

There was nothing quite like the sting of fresh coffee permeating through the air. It was the only solace I could find as I stirred on my steaming cup of triple expresso while Diana downed hers like the fire-hot coffee didn’t burn her throat in the slightest.

I told her as much of Dacey as I could manage on the walk over to the only halfway decent cafe in town: She was the quintessential “IT” girl who peaked way too soon. After failing out her freshman year and calling it a sabbatical, she’d returned home to torment Emily, and, by proxy, me, too. Apparently looks could only get a person so far, and not showing up for class for months on end didn’t bode well with GPA. Only one of the Jacobsen girls had both beauty and brains, and I knew it killed Dacey to see Emily succeed where she had always failed.

“She’s insecure,” Emily had said after one of her infamous rants. “She doesn’t mean half of what comes out of her mouth.”

“That doesn’t mean we have to take it,” I countered. “Why don’t you lure her outside and I’ll accidentally kick a ball into her face.”

Emily snorted. “You’d have to make the shot first.”

“Touché.”

Was that only yesterday? I wondered. I shook my head. Time was moving at the speed of a bullet. I hadn’t even called Emily yet to tell her the results of the tryouts. Though by my lack of response, I was sure she had figured it out.

My information on Dacey was apparently not as enticing as Diana had expected. That, or the scowl on her face was permanently etched there. The two of us stared at each other in silence, sizing each other up. I knew couldn’t take the girl if she decided she wanted to fight. I mean, I could leave a good mark, but I saw the way she took down that wolf-man, and was no looking for a repeat performance.

“Sooooo,” I drawled out. “I’ve told you all I know. How about you tell me why my home is now infested with a bunch of slobbering dogs and how your family is in the middle of it?”

@fyadallas go for it!

fyadallas:

Diana looked surprised — like maybe she hadn’t expected me to have that kind of backbone. “I don’t think you really need to know anything more than you do.”

“Oh really?” I replied, crossing my arms. The espresso was zinging through my veins like a firetruck on fire. “I don’t think you’re in a position to make that case. Especially since I can offer you a way in to Dacey’s house — I mean, her den.”

“You can?”

“Yeah,” I said, hoping the plan that was starting to form in my brain wasn’t just the caffeine talking. Emily hated her sister enough that I knew she would help me bring her down. “So spill it. Why is our town crawling with furpeople?”

Diana pushed her empty coffee mug away and sighed. “From what I’ve gathered, Dacey was turned right around the time that she failed out of school. And she spent a year or two just, I don’t know, dealing with it. That’s probably why she was extra bitchy to you, with this secret bottled up inside just festering there. So she bit this mechanic dude.”

“I remember her banging some tattooed guy who worked on cars.“

“He’s like her second in command now,” Diana says. “She started calling herself La Lupine, and they’re just terrorizing the town now, trying to turn as many people as they can.”

“What a bitch,” I said. “Not surprised, though.”

“So my little brother, he’s this uber-nerd who thinks he’s like Sherlock Holmes or something. He started sniffing around, trying to figure out how to stop her, and he discovered this thing she had, the source of all of her so-called power. And he took it. So she took him.”

“What was it?” I asked.

Diana cocked an eyebrow and smiled. “You’re never gonna believe this shit.”

What’s the precious object, @cltfya?? How will our heroes stop the werewolves?

cltfya:

I raised my eyebrows, waiting to be surprised and, impatient with Diana’s dramatic pause for effect, I blurted out, “Okay, spill!!” Diana fiddled with her phone for a moment to pull up a picture, then passed it my way.

I tilted my head and smirked, barely holding back laughter, “…is that…a fucking red cloak? With a hood on it…? Do you mean to tell me…” I put the phone down and shook my head. I passed it her way, almost insulted at the implication from such a seeming bad-ass as Diana. Did she really think I was this gullible?

Diana said, “No, I’m telling you the truth — I didn’t believe it at first either, but the fact that my brother is now kidnapped for stealing it? So yeah…that’s Little Red Riding Hood’s cloak. That’s what giving La Lupine her power and I don’t know where he hid the damn thing. Or how we can get him back from this bitch. I think I need help. My brother was in over his head and I just want him home safe, reading his comics and dreaming the dream. Can you help me?”

So next time on Exquisite Corpse…how will Haven help Diana bring down La Lupine? Where’s this cloak? Ball’s in your court, @cifya.

cifya:

Just then, I realized something. “I think I may know where Dacey has your brother.” I hoped my hunch was right.

“Where?”

“Emily and Dacey’s grandma is traveling all summer and they’ve been taking turns house sitting. Last week Dacey told Emily that she was just going to stay there the rest of the time and that Emily should stay away. I bet that’s her headquarters and where she has your brother. What’s your brother’s name?” I realized she hadn’t said it.

For the first time, Diana almost smiled. “Benedict. Let’s make a plan.”

I texted Emily to meet me at my house. It was time to make a plan to take down Dacey — I cannot called her La Lupine without rolling my eyes. I knew Emily would be willing to help. She was really mad at Dacey when she kicked her out of her grandma’s house.

Diana and I gathered some supplies and went back to my house. Emily was already there. She thought that I’d need some support after failing at tryouts, so she was armed with ice cream and Chex Mix. We hatched a plan for Emily to lure Dacey out of the house. Emily had a key to the house, so we hoped it wouldn’t be too hard to get inside. We had no way of knowing how many creatures we were up against. This wasn’t going to be easy. Our best hope was to get Benedict out unscathed. We made a plan, got in a few hours of rest, and were standing at the back door at dawn.

All right, @ALVFYA, it’s up to you to finish this!

avlfya:

The three of us were dressed in all black as we made our way to Emily’s grandmother’s house. Unfortunately, Emily had no luck with luring Dacey out. Her calls and texts had gone unanswered, so that only left Plan B.

When we arrived, I look over at Emily and in a hushed voice said, “Okay, you know what to do. Diana and I will be waiting at the back door. Come get us when you’ve gotten rid of her."

Emily nodded confidently as she unlocked the door and stepped inside. Diana and I crouched down under the window and peered in. We located Emily as she slowly walked through the house. Then out of nowhere, La Lupine jogged into the living room and rose up on all-fours.

"What the hell are you doing here, scrub?” she asked as Emily sat her keys on the coffee table.

"Look, sis, I’m not here to fight. I just thought you could use some company tonight. I know how difficult things have been for you lately.“ Emily sounded cool and confident as she sat down on the couch.

Her sister looked at her skeptically. "I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m fine. You should really go home.” Meanwhile outside, Diana and I began to hear howling.

“Oh shit!” I whisper-yelled. “The whole pack must be here!” We looked at each other nervously and sat down in the dirt, backs to the house. Hearts beating fast, we saw shadows dancing on the lawn, coming from the upstairs bedroom. As I peered back into the house, I noticed that Emily had coaxed her sister to the sofa. She was now passed out with her werewolf form cuddled tightly in the fetal position. An almost-empty popcorn bowl lay on the coffee table next to Emily’s keys, and Pretty Little Liars was playing on the flat screen tv. Then Emily silently tip-toed to the back door to let us in.

"I think Benedict is upstairs. I’ll keep an eye on Dacey.” Diana and I silently made our way up the steps. We continued to hear howls intermittently. I about pissed myself each time the sound rang out. Diana turned the doorknob of the master bedroom, and as she pushed it open, it slammed back. I looked at her in shock as the door flung open again, and a stranger’s paws took Diana by the collar. “What the—!” she exclaimed. I followed shortly behind her, and all of a sudden the werewolves-five total-were crouched down on their haunches and growling at both of us.

I quickly scanned the room and saw Benedict sitting in a corner with tears streaming down his face. He looked to be about 10 years old, clearly afraid. Without notice, the werewolves pounced. Diana high-kicked one right in the face and punched another, sending them back to the middle of the room. I stood there, frozen and perplexed on what my next move would be. Clearly my lack of athleticism would not be beneficial here. So I ran toward Benedict. I turned my head to see Diana in mid-air as she round-house kicked another furbag in the face, and then La Lupine made her way into the room.

“I see you’ve come for this little weasel have you? Well, you’re not leaving until I get my cloak."

"You’ll never see that again.” Diana quipped.

"Oh yeah? I’m going to make you wish you were never born!“

At that, La Lupine lunged at Diana, trapping her underneath. I quickly made my way to the open door, rushing Benedict out of the room to join Emily downstairs. I whipped around to find the other two werewolves making their way toward me. I quickly reached down into my backpack that I had flung to the floor upon the initial attack. I positioned the pepper spray and aimed at both of my prey. They began wailing and retreating backward toward the window. Diana and La Lupine continued to struggle on the floor. Finally, I grabbed the secret weapon out of my backpack. The small bottle gleamed in the moonlight. By this time, Diana had La Lupine by the neck, straddling her to keep her from maneuvering.

"Come on, Haven! Now!” I gently shook the bottle of wolfsbane into La Lupine’s open mouth.

In that moment, her big wolf eyes bulged, and her fur grew back into her skin as Diana rose to her feet. Not only that but the other werewolves resumed human form.

“What the hell are you freaks doing here?” Dacey asked as she smoothed her denim skirt. I eyed Diana.

"Oh, just dropping by to say hello.“ I winced. "I guess we better go.”

Diana and I walked downstairs, and she put her arms around Benedict. “Am I glad to see you!” I gave Emily a quick hug before the three of us proceeded outside in the cold dark night. The cool air feeling good on my perspiring skin.

Once we had walked about a half a mile down the street, Diana turned to Benedict. “So kid, where’d you put the cloak?”

He looked up at her with an evil smile on his face, “That’s for me to know and you to find out…”

• If you want to find out where Benedict put the cloak, read on for LRFYA's ending.

• If you're looking for a hopeful conclusion, read on for FYAON's ending.

#2017 yasummershowdown #exquisite corpse #exquisite corpse cyoa #the tryout #forever young adult

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