Chosen- Started.

Arcadia

I can't help smiling and laughing at Stanley's strange outbursts. I give his knee a small squeeze as he leans his head against the wall. Vega looks over and waggles her eyebrows at me. I just roll my eyes. Suddenly, everything gets quiet and everyone is serious. I look to see that Dharius is back, all healed up.

"Relax, I'm not here to start anything," he snorts.

Ree stands up as though to say something to him, but Ava pulls him back down.

"Get out of here Dharius," Stanley slurs, trying to sit up. I push him back.

"Make me," Dharius grins.

"Stop! Just stop. Leave each other alone," I say quietly. "We don't need anymore fighting."

Dharius's arms flex but he turns around and sits somewhere else. Phew.

"I could've taken him," Stanley insists.

"No, you couldn't have. It's best to avoid anymore fights."

He looks at me for a minute, scrutinizing my features. A goofy smile breaks out on his face. "Ya know, I met an angel today. She looked a lot like you."

I giggle. "Oh really? What was her name?"

"I don't remember," he shakes his head. "But if you see her, tell her Stanley thinks she's beautiful and wants her number."

I nod. "Will do."

Stanley



My eyes pop open when I hear Dharius enter the room. Everyone stops what they're doing to stare at him. He looks back at us, eyes as cold and unfriendly as ever. Despite what happened only hours before, I feel a surge of relief. He didn't die. He's fine, I'm fine, Ree's fine, and I suddenly have the urge to either punch Dharius in the face again or give him a high-five. I can't decide which.

"Get out of here, Dharius!" I shout in a half-joking way. Arcadia pushes back my attempt to sit up and rush over to him.

"Make me." He grins. I have no idea what he means by that, and I don't care. I grin back.

"Stop!" Arcadia cries, still holding me back. "Just leave each other alone. We don't need any more fighting."

"I could have taken him," I grunt, thinking back to the fight. If I hadn't hit my head, I totally could have beaten him. At least until he healed himself.

"No you couldn't have," Arcadia says firmly. I frown at her. She thinks he would have beaten me up anyways?

"It's best to avoid any more fights," she continues.

I let myself search her pretty face for a minute. "You know, I met an angel today." I turn away to admire Nellie some more. (Nellie's rather gorgeous too.) "She looked like you."

"Oh really?" Arcadia giggles. "What was her name?"

"Uh, I don't remember," I lie. "But if you see her, tell her Stanley thinks she's beautiful and wants her number."

"Will do." Miss Arcadia nods, repressing a smile.

"Oh," I add. "If you see that nurse, tell her I want her number too."

"Guys," Allie calls from the cabinet. "I need all your help to lift this thing."

"Okie doke." I jump to my feet, ignoring the fact that all my blood is rushing to my head. I stride over to join her, Vega, and Leo. Inside, there is a circular pit thing, with ropes sticking out of it. A pulley system? That's weird.

"I tried pulling up whatever's down there," Allie explains. "But it's too heavy."

"I think this is going to be a job for everyone." Vega peers into the inky darkness of the hole.

"There's probably another monster in there," mutters Arcadia.

I let out a long, low whistle. "Well, whatever's down there, it'll be up soon enough."

Grabbing the rope, I give it a pretty decent tug. Not even a centimeter of give. Allie and Vega join me, then Arcadia. Even with our combined effort, the rope does nothing more than shudder forward the slightest bit.

"Ree! Ava! Dharius!" Vega shouts. "We need you all!" Ree and Ava are here in an instant, but Dharius hangs back, glowering at us in that creepy way of his. I resist the urge to glower back; if this is another teamwork exercise, we're obviously going to need the whole team. A flash of frustration threatens to elbow out the drug-induced feeling of cheerfulness I've been feeling. I just want to get this challenge over with so I can take a nap. I notice that Ree keeps wincing in pain and almost letting go of the rope, and Arcadia's arm is bleeding through the bandage. My head starts pounding as I strain against the pulley. Come on, Dharius, just suck it up and be a team with us for five minutes...

Dharius must be as sick of these tests as I am, because he finally joins us. When faced with the strength of eight people, the enormously heavy thing finally succombs. The rope begins inching along at snail-speed.

"I can see it!" Allie, who is at the front of the line, yells suddenly. "We're almost there!"

Dharius

My eyes start to open slowly. I'm in the same room where I fell unconscious, but I don't remember much... Then the events start coming back to my mind and I begin remembering. A fight. More than one fight. One with Ree, another with Stanley, who stabbed me and...

The wound! I put my hand quickly over the place in my neck where Stanley sticked the dagger, and I find out that the wound's gone. Now in the stomach; gone too. Apparently, someone saved my life.

Anyway, I must not forget why I volunteered to participate on this. The mission. The plan. It wasn't for the money, neither the state that the government promised to us. None of that. No, although we were actually chosen to negociate and mantain peace between Earth and Arkyle, there are a lot of opportunities on going to a stronger civilization..., things like allying with them.

Since I was a kid, I really started to feel hatred towards the society. Corrupted people full of hipocresy; blaming the Government, the Church, the criminals and some other groups of people and organizations, saying that they were guilty of the world's situation. But the truth is that everyone's guilty. Thousands of years ago, the mankind was already full of carelessness, hate, cheating, egoism, and a lot of more things.

But why did I care? I knew since years ago that the mankind is just crap, and we can do nothing to avoid it, so I don't have to worry about making a change. But saying that is just being like them -a human-. We really need someone to help us, some discipline, and it's definitely not obtained by soft words. Nah. We need something else... A revolution... A war. Not between us, that would be pointless and it has already happened millions of times. We really need someone else.

When I first heard of Arkyle, I had an idea. People with powers? A planet with no war on it? A planet where everything that matters is freedom and unity? Heck, that was exactly what we needed. But as always, we as cowards try to get away from things like that and now the Government asks some teenagers to help bring peace between our planets. How stupid.

But, what if someone really wanted to make a change, and searches for Arkylian help? The world wants peace, but to have peace we need something else first. If the mankind can't help itself, we need Arkyle to help us. And knowing that we won't listen just a few words to convince us, the humanity must be reprimanded in the bad way.

That's why I'm going to Arkyle... to ask for help... To change this world at all costs. Not for love, nah, I'm mostly motivated by anger. I don't care how many lives have to be lost, but we must make the best use of this opportunity and, although alone, I must ally with the Arkylian lord and start a battle with the human race to make this a better world. So that everyone finally understands.

I must not waste any time, we should get to Arkyle as fast as possible.

I get out of the room and get into a larger one, where the others are in something that seems like a romantic moment.. I can see the cat girl sitting with Stanley on a bed. I must contain the urge to take revenge; doing anything to the guy would be pointless. I see Ree standing up and Ava holding him. Then Stanley talks.

"Get out of here Dharius," he slurls.

I try to contain, but before I can stop myself from saying anything I find myself responding him. "Make me," I reply with a grin.

The cat girl says something but I just ignore her. I'm supposed not to waste anytime. I stretch and sit in a comfy chair over the corner. Then I hear a weird noise. The same noise again, plus a grunt, like someone making efforts to do something.

"Guys," calls a girl from the open cabinet. "I need all your help to lift this thing."

Everyone begins to stand up and help the girl. Seems they can't ease the load e. I would help, but that idiot, Stanley...

"Ree! Ava! Dharius!" calls the magnetic girl -Vega? That was her name, I think-.

I finally stand up and help them. Seems it's working, the thing's lifting up, but I still can't see what it is, though.

Spoiler

Sorry for monster post!

Ree

Dharius walked in, and everyone stopped talking, watching him. I stood up. I wasn't sure what I was going to say, but I didn't end up saying it anyways; Ava pulled me back down by the hand. I sat back down, and then felt myself smile. She was holding my hand. Sure, it was to restrain me, but she was holding my hand and it felt right.

Everyone was still watching Dharius. He snorted. "Relax, I'm not here to start anything," he said, and everyone relaxed just a hair.

"Get out of here, Dharius," Stanley mumbled, sitting up. I tensed - if he started another fight, he'd get really hurt.

To my surprise, Dharius just grinned. "Make me," he challenged, and sat down. Arcadia seemed to be taking care of things, telling Stanley how the last thing we needed was another fight; I agreed, but I realized what a strong urge I had to punch Dharius. The guy had treated me like a punching bag. Now he didn't even look at me twice. What, it didn't matter that he'd beat me up? We'd see about that.

Alli came out of the broken wall. "Guys," she called. "I need all your help to lift this thing."

"Do you think we should go help?..." I said hesitantly. The painkiller hadn't quite kicked in yet, and I was feeling pretty weak still.

"You're hurt," Ava said, so I waited.

"Ree! Ava! Dharius!" Vega shouted from the rope they were all trying to pull. "We need you all!"

"Right," I said, climbing to my feet, still trying to hold onto Ava's hand as long as possible. There was a rope hanging into the darkness, and everyone was grabbing it, pulling as hard as they could. Tug-of-war with stone. Sounded brilliant.

I found a spot and grabbed it, yanking with all my weight. Nothing happened; I leaned back, pulling as hard as I could. I wasn't sure how long I did it; I started to sweat; I tugged even harder, and my side decided that enough was enough. I nearly dropped the rope in pain. I looked back, and Dharius was just sitting there, watching us all nearly break our backs. My side was throbbing. Come on, now, beating me up wasn't nasty enough for you?

Finally, he sighed and came over. There was a wrenching tug, and the rope started sliding back. I staggered along, trying to keep pulling, but my side hurt more by the second.

"I can see it!" Alli cried from the front of the line. "We're almost there!"

"What is it?" I called. My voice sounded strangled between the effort of pulling and the pain in my side.

Ava

I walk over to the rope, still holding Ree’s hand. We pull and pull until the things come up. “What is that?” I ask.

“Great!” A voice screams on an intercom. “Now that you can work as a team you can go to the other planet. You will grab your bags and weapon, and then board the plain. We already have sent someone to give you a place to stay. The people of Arkyle are more like us that you think. The look like us, speak the same language. They are so much like us. If we got into a war with them, there would be no one left. You need to work together on this mission. You can not do this alone. Spies need to stay with the defenders at night. During the day you can’t be in human form. Defenders, you can not use your powers in a noticeable way. They must not know you have powers.” She says. “You will board the ship in two hours. Go get ready.” She says.

I grip Ree’s hand. I am nerves and terrified at the same time. I let out a sigh. Ree puts his arm around me and I lay my head on his shoulder. “Thanks.” I say. “I never really prepared for this moment and now it is here.” I say.

Arcadia

I watch as all of ours bags, our names neatly labeled on each one, surface. Everyone scrambles for their own, rifling through them to make sure everything is still there. With shaky hands I search both of mine and see that it's all still in the neat piles I put it in before I got here. I add my knives and bow and arrows into one of my bags, keeping the katana strapped to my back. I also throw in more bandages and antiseptic for my arm. I grab a change of clothes and a brush, running down the hall to the bathroom.

I change quickly, glad to be out of my bloody, slightly sweaty t-shirt and jeans and into something clean. I knew it wasn't very practical, but I picked the pretty blue sundress my mom bought me for my "special trip" as she prefered to call it. It is flowy and dainty, and I figure that since I'm not a defender, I should manage to keep it relatively clean. My hair is tangled and matted and the bow I always keep in my hair was crooked, hanging by a single hair. I brush my hair slowly, pretending it was my own mom brushing it out.

By the time I come back, everyone else is already ready to go.

"Are you okay?" Ava asks. "You were in there for a long time."

"Yes," I nod. "I'm a little scared, but who isn't?"

Vega

After changing into my favorite track suit, I took a quick inventory of my back and reloaded my belt with all my various knives and such. I looked at myself in the mirror. Despite my freakishly light blonde hair (which tended to draw attention away from the rest of me) I looked kind of intimidating. The track suit was snug, fitting my powerful frame with little room to spare. I was tall and strong, for a girl, the clingy outfit only emphasizing it. The knives completed the look--if I were skinnier and wore my hair down, I'd look right at home in some spy movie. Odd--wasn't this mission sort of like a spy movie?

I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked out into the hallway. Ava and Arcadia were already there, Arcadia wearing a vibrant blue sundress.

"Are you okay?" Ava asked her. "You were in there for a long time."

"Yes," Arcadia replied. "I'm a little scared, but who isn't?"

"I'm not," I piped up. "Not much, anyway. This is cool! Like a movie, or something. I can't wait to see the planet...those scientists didn't tell us anything about it, did they? Just about the people..."

Stanley


Well this is disappointing. I expected to pull up the ship itsself, the way that load fought us. The only thing we actually recieve, however, is our bags.
"Great!" The perky woman's voice rings around the cabinet. "Now that you can work together as a team you can go to the other planet. If you will please grab your bags and weapons - and clean up a bit in the bathrooms - we will be able to get you on the plane soon!" She goes on to explain how the Arkylians look and speak like humans, and how spies cannot be in human form during the day for security reasons. This makes sense, I suppose: we are, in fact, spies. All the same, I am not looking forward to being a cute little fox all day. I should give him a moniker. I think suddenly. If I am going to be Mr. Fox all the time, he at least deserves a real name. I decide to give him a piece of my own. Stan? No, that's boring. Lee? That sounds too much like Leo. Durp? Amusing, but no. Par? Of course! It doesn't sound like a human name. Mr. Par Fox. I like it.

Satisfied with my creativeness, I grab my bag and head to the bathroom. Goodness, I'm a fright! A lovely cloud of purple surrounds my swollen right eye, and my lip is busted. There are bloodstains on my shirt - some of which probably belongs to Dharius. I change into a button-down work shirt, work jeans, and work boots; I might as well be comfortable. On a whim, I add my dad's good blazer. Classy. not that I'm trying to impress anyone. Especially not any other spies. No way. After double-checking to make sure I have the letters from my parents safely tucked inside my travel Bible, I tuck Nellie in as if she were going to take a nap. I pack the vital organ goggles in case I'll have to do any sniping but leave the knife attached to my belt.

When I come out, the girls are already back, looking snazzy and ready for anything. Miss Arcadia has combed her hair and donned a bright blue sundress. She looks stunning. I force myself to look away; I don't want her to catch me staring at her.

I stroll over to Ava, Arcadia, and Vega, who is saying, "This is cool! Like a movie or something. I can't wait to see the planet. The scientists didn't describe it, only the Arkylians."

"What do you think it will be like?" Arcadia asks, looking up at the ceiling as though the planet is hanging right above us.

"Well, if humans are there, probably the same as earth." I shrug. The others look thoughtful, getting lost in their own imaginations.

Finally everyone is finished preparing. The woman's voice returns.

"All right, everyone!" She calls cheerfully. "It's time we get going! Please exit through the door on you're right, and you'll begin your mission!"

Our heads turn in synchrony to the right, where an opening has randomly appeared. A brightly-lit hallway leads to what looks another room. Gulping, I pick up my duffel bag and hoist it over my shoulder. I can't help but feel a spasm of anxiety grip me as we start walking towards the ship. Where are we going? Why are they sending a bunch of teenagers? Doesn't our government have any brains? I look at Arcadia, who is practically trembling. For the slightest of moments, I get the urge to take her hand. I resist; she probably thinks I'm a nutjob, and besides, my hands are damp with nervousness. So I simply keep walking onto the ship that will take us all away from eveything familiar. I hope we get paid for this.

Arcadia

I hate flying, so that only adds to my nervousness as we board the plane. I start to hum softly, trying to ease my nerves. What I really wish I could do right now is play the piano and belt out a song. I love to sing, and I can't helP but wonder if Arkyle will have music or any form of the arts.

I sit down next to Ava, humming John Denver's song "Leaving On A Jet Plane", partially because of the long journey and partially because it's my dad's favourite song.

"So kiss me and smile for me," Ava sings softly next to me. I look at her, a little shocked and she smiles back.

"Tell me that you'll wait for me!" we belt out together.

Ava

We get on the plane and my nerves start to take over. I remember my mom singing with me when I was afraid or worried. I start to hum “Leaving on a Jet Plane” because it was the first thing that popped into my head. I sit down next to Ree and Arcadia sat next to me. I start to sing very quietly. “So kiss me and smile for me.” I sing. Arcadia looks at me, shocked, and smiles.

We both belt out, “Tell me that you’ll wait for me!” We both laugh really hard.

Everyone looks at us and laughs. I look to Arcadia and we laugh to.

Ree

Our bags finally surfaced into view. That was a little disappointing - I'd expceted something huge and epic for all our troubles.

A voice blared to life on the speaker, announcing that we could go to the other planet now. She loudly and blandly informed us that the Arkylians were a lot like us, and if there was a war there would be no one left. So we basically had to stop a war. Oh, and we couldn't use our powers either? Great. "You will board the ship in two hours," she said. "Go get ready."

I rummaged through other people's stuff until I finally found my bag. Carrying it off to a room that looked unused, I found a mirror and a sink. It was like a little changing room - it was a changing room, actually. I just hadn't noticed the label above the door.

I winced a little at the sight of myself. I had a black eye, and my nose was still swollen. Pulling off my shirt, I cringed again. My side was riddled with nasty-looking stitches, and blanketed with bruises of all colors. It was like a rainbow of pain. Just lovely.

I changed into a fancy collared shirt my mom had gotten me, decided I didn't like it, and put on a gray hoodie instead. Much better. I started to run my fingers through my hair, since it was literally sticking straight up, and out of nowhere it hit me that these were my last two hours on earth. Would I ever see home again? Would I ever see my family?

I looked at the mirror and, on an impulse, formed the glass from it into an orb, just like I'd done at the beginning of the test. Glass from Earth - a weird keepsake, but I decided to take it with me. I wrapped it in the shirt I'd rejected and gently laid it in my backpack. I just carried my staff - I'd decided to keep it, too.

The others were already there when I returned, talking about what Arkyle would be like. I wasn't really that concerned about Arkyle right then - I suddenly didn't want to go. I wanted to stay here, on Earth, where I knew what was happening and I had a family. I didn't want to leave.

"All right, everyone!" called out the woman's voice cheerfully. Sure, she was cheerful - she wasn't the one leaving. "It's time we get going! Please exit through the door on your right, and you'll begin your mission!" She said that like we were heroes.

The wall opened on the right to reveal a brightly lit hallway that led into what looked like a room. We walked through together, silently. That music from 2001 Space Odyssey started playing in my head.

We sat in the plane, and it took off almost immediately. Behind me, Ava and Arcadia both started humming the same song, and Ava began to sing quietly. I turned around; it sounded nice. Of course I don't think it sounds nice just because she's singing it. I don't! They smiled at each other and burst out with the lyrics together. I laughed, along with everyone else.

As we calmed down a little, I sat back. Stanley was sitting beside me. "Well," I said, "this is it. Our last hours on Earth." I noticed suddenly that he had a black eye to match mine. "How are you feeling?" I asked him.

Spoiler

Excessively long post. Sorry 'bout that...

FYI: I might not get to post much until Thursday or Friday this week. You guys can have Ree do whatever until then.

Dharius

Finally I manage to see some backpacks on a platform. A woman's voice announces we're ready to go to Arkyle, which people are a lot like us, and that if there was a war, there wouldn't be anyone left. It's funny, it seems like if someone of the testers read my mind...

I pick up my backpack quickly and go to a door on the other side of the room. Unlocked. I enter and begin checking out what's on the bag. Surprisingly, the only thing I find is a medical kit. Why would I need this if I can heal myself? But, before I close it, I find out it isn't a medical kit... On the bag, there are lots of needles, cotton, alcohol and hospital hoses. Seems it's everything someone would need to transfer blood. But, why? My answer appears almost inmediatly.

On the bottom of the backpack, under everything else, there's a plastic card with something written on it.

"NOTES:
- You will only be able to recover when not moving too much.

- Every wound can be healed, even if some part of your body is cut off. When the latter happens, just put that part of your body where it belongs and the healing serum will join up the bone, the muscle, and the veins and arteries.

- With this told, you can be saved from almost every death. The only thing you can't be saved from is losing all of your blood, because the healing serum is stored there.

Since the life of every creature is its blood...
-Leviticus 17:14 "

Hmph, religious propaganda. After reading the card, I wonder to myself, how would all of my blood be drained? And why would I need all that stuff I got on my bag? I put the piece of plastic and the hospital kit again on the backpack and close it.

I return to the big room and the same girl's voice tells us to exit through the door on our right. I enter after everyone else to a narrow hallway, which took us to a room. However, I notice that room is actually some kind of spaceship, which took off when I entered and the door closed behind me.

The floor shaked under my body and I try to find a place quickly, on the back of the spaceship. On front of me, Ava and another girl start singing together, and then everyone laughs. Idiots..., I think.

I look through the window, and prepare for the trip awaiting us. This is it, the world will change soon.

Stanley


This is it. We are about to fly to a distant paralell planet. I sit down next to Ree, pushing my duffel bag into the little compartment below my seat. A door snaps closed, nearly chopping my hand off.

In front of us, Ava and Arcadia are singing some song. They sound lovely together, though I think Miss Arcadia sounds just a bit better.

"This is it," Ree says, looking at me. "Our last few hours on earth." His gaze wanders to my shiner. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a dalmatian astronaught." I gingerly touch my swollen, sore eye.

Ree grins. "Me too."

"Do you really think we're gonna have to wait two more hours?" I ask. "I don't think I can stand waiting that long." My stomach growls; apparently, it can't wait that long either.

We lapse into silence. Finished with their melody, Ava and Arcadia are now chatting quietly to each other. Ree is staring at Ava's hair as if it were made of spun gold. I elbow him and he looks up at me sheepishly.

"I couldn't help but notice that you two have become fast friends." I raise an eyebrow at him.

"You're one to talk." He grunts and twiddles his thumbs. I didn't know people actually did that.

"What do you mean?" I ask, unable to resist darting a glance at Arcadia. She was there when I woke up in the infirmary.

"Arcadia's pretty, isn't she?" Ree's face splits into a huge grin.

My grip on the armrests tightens automatically. Does Ree like Miss Arcadia? Why would he like her? He shouldn't - ... Interrupting my own train of thought, I force myself to relax. So what if he likes her? That has nothing to do with me.

"Sure she is," I shrug, faking calmness. "Isn't every girl?"

Clearly disappointed at my lack of conversation, he slides back into his seat. I prop my head up on my hand and try to think about anything but Miss Arcadia. What's the point dwelling on her anyways? Pretty soon I'll be stuck as a tiny fox all day, stopping a war and all that.

A woman enters the shuttle, pushing a tray of food. Yes! I feel a spark of disappointment when all she hands me is a glass of water and a handful of pills.

"Sedatives," she explains. "This is going to be a long, stressful journey. Take one pill as soon as soon as I leave the room, and then take another every time you wake up." She drops ten pills into my palms, and ten into Ree's. How long is this trip going to be? The lady continues on, repeating the instructions to every team member.

"I really don't want to take this." Ree is inspecting his pills with suspicion, as if one is about to leap out of the pile and bite his nose.

I hold one of the bright red ovals up to my face. "They've kept us alive so far, right?"
"I guess so." He doesn't look convinced.

I pop the first pill into my mouth and chase it down my throat with the water. All at once a wonderfully warm feeling spreads over me. I lose interest in what everyone else is doing - where am I, anyways? Everything is blurry again. In the back of my mind I hear a fuzzy voice counting down from ten. Then there is a shout of "Blast Off!". Something heavy pushes me against the seat and everything goes dark.

Vega

The scientist lady set ten little pills in my cup holder, along with a glass of water. "Take one as soon as I leave the room," she told me. "And then take another every time you wake up." She left without another word.

When she was gone, I looked at the pills, but made no move to take one. I had always wanted to go to space, ever since I was a little kid. Why would I sleep through my first rocket launch? I pocketed the pills and downed the glass of water, to make it look like I'd swallowed them. I could take one later if things got really boring.

As I settled into my seat, a voice started counting down from ten. "Ignition sequence start. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six...ignition...five, four, three, two, one...and liftoff!"

I was thrown back into my seat as the rocket jumped off the launchpad. The roar of the engines was deafening, and I clenched my jaw in an effort to block it out. The rocket shook violently, jostling me back and forth in my seat. I felt the pressure on my chest increase as we accelerated, making it harder and harder to breathe.

I managed to turn my head just far enough to look out the window. I watched in awe as the rocket punched a hole through the cloud deck and shot upward. The sky got bluer and bluer with each passing minute, finally fading to black. One by one, stars began to pop out, and the horizon started to curve, accented by the thin blue sheath of Earth's atmosphere. Suddenly, the noise died down, and as the first stage dropped off and the second stage engines kicked in, the ride got a lot smoother.

Just a few minutes later, I heard the pilot's voice over the intercom. "We have reached low Earth orbit," he announced. "Running final systems check; we should be on our way shortly."

I unbuckled my seatbelt--and floated right out of my chair. I was weightless! Grabbing my seat for leverage, I spun myself around and around until I hit the ceiling. I snapped my fingers, only then remembering the pills in my pocket. I unzipped it, and the pills came tumbling out, bouncing off the walls like balls in a pinball machine. This was so much fun! I looked around frantically, searching for anyone who was still awake.