Trapped [Spilling the Tea]

In retrospect, I should have seen that coming.

I had a response I wanted to give. It wasn't a lie, really. Bickerstaff's cult stuff had probably given me the connection to whatever kept ghosts here - I was going to mention that when I opened my mouth. But the words that came out were far from what I wanted to say.

And they were words I had never really told anyone.

"I'm not entirely sure," I admitted. "I had a lot of problems, but I've always bet on the starvation or the cold. Maybe even some hidden sickness. Hard to tell when you're-"

My hands shot up to cover my mouth, but I knew it would do nothing to stop the words from escaping.

"-living on the streets."

This realm was frustrating.

It was bad enough when Flynn could read his true emotions, but Carter could feel him just itching to search for information. There were certain recent developments in Carter's personal life that he didn't particularly want Flynn to know about. And then they had gotten the terrible luck of landing on this god forsaken polygraph machine planet.

"Carter, it wasn't your fault."

Flynn took another drink from his canteen and looked at Carter looking down guiltily at the pack of cigarettes.

"Well now I know this place must be forcing you to tell the truth because you would never admit to that in the real world."

He leaned back against a tree, struck a match on his boot heel and lit up the cigarette that had found its way between his fingertips. After exhaling the first cloud of smoke he noted, "Paul wants me to quit, but I feel like I need them whenever we're out on one of these things. If I don't find some mint before we find our way home, he'll kill me."

Flynn pursed his lips, knowing that if he opened his mouth he wouldn't be able to stop. Instead they walked along in silence with the occasional rustling in the treetops.

With all the knowledge of their combined adventures, they both knew something had to happen soon.

Hmm. Not strictly helpful - it told Enide about Skull's situation, but had nothing to do with either the cult or being a skull in a jar. Oh well; she would have other chances to pry.

"Who would like to go next?" Enide said, eyes scanning over the group before focusing on Denebola. The lionness had started sniffing in the general direction of the forest. "And is something amiss, Denebola?"

Denebola waved Enide off. "I'm not sure," the lionness said, wrinkling her face. "Something smells a little familiar. I'll figure out what it is - keep playing your game."

Nathan hesitantly raised a hand.

"...I'll go," he said. "I pick truth..."

Opening her mouth to speak, Enide was caught a little off guard when Denebola spoke up, loud enough to drown out anything that Enide would say.

"How much do you know about this place?" Denebola said. "The body you're in and this cave belong to the same being, so can you tell if anyone's heading towards us?"

Nathan mulled over the answer for a moment, but I was already heading out when he answered with a timid "no". If it was bothering Denebola enough to make it her question for Nathan, then whoever had to be out beyond the confines of the cave had to be interesting.

I could smell smoke in the air as the rain let up - not like a burning house, but like a cigarette. I hadn't smelled many thanks to when I had died, but I was certain that there wasn't a forest fire.

I finally got close enough to hear two people walking in my direction. Ducking behind a tree - I did know subtle, but I just didn't like to use it - I watched their approach with interest. Maybe I had been jumping to conclusions, but I had expected the two to be more like Denebola and Enide than like me.

I decided it was time to make my entrance.

I stepped out into the makeshift path, one hand in my pocket and the other giving a casual wave.

If she hadn't already been suspicious, the familiar smell of cigarettes that cut through the air as the rain died down made it even more obvious - someone she knew was heading in her direction. The lionness followed Skull out of the cave, keeping herself at a distance from him. If worst came to worst, and it wasn't someone she recognized, it was better to have the person who had died before be at the front.

But worst didn't come to worst; stomping over soggy leaves, brushing against slick bark, and breathing in the smell of the flowers and rain, Denebola found herself stepping onto the path, just behind Skull. Carter and Flynn - the humans she'd met in that jungle on an island - were just up ahead.

Well, at least they were people she could trust.

Spoiler

@LordWolf, hopefully this is a good setup for a post?

Carter saw the figures ahead of them on the path. They were closer to being just shadows, but it was enough to prove that they were not alone in this place.

He kept smoking his cigarette as they were walking along, glancing up every so often to the shadows. Why could they never just land in a tropical paradise? And why could the tropical paradise just never be haunted or be empty or alone? There was always going to be somebody lurking in the shadows, most definitely waiting to kill them.

Flynn kept in silence as they walked towards the people close to them on the path. He wondered why Carter was doing nothing, but assumed the deputy had some sort of plan.

Hng, they didn't look like they were stopping. Denebola waved an arm, saying, "Hey, you two! Remember me?"

So Denebola apparently knew the two of them - that forced me to reevaluate my earlier conclusion that they were from Earth. Denebola definitely wasn't from my Earth, Natty boy's or Nikko's. Maybe there was another Earth I had never heard of. If there was, it was definitely nothing like my own.

With Flynn tugging on his arm, Carter finally stopped them in the path and turned around to see a familiar creature waving at them. They had met this folk in vastly different environments and equally terrible situations, but at least they did know someone here.

Whether that made the situation better or worse...

Carter wasn't moving so Flynn took it upon himself to answer them. He waved back and said, "Yes, we do." And gesturing to Carter smoking his cigarette while gazing up at the sky, continued, "Forgive Carter. He's just being a rude and stubborn a**."

"Just like he always is," Denebola said, one side of her mouth curving up in a grin. She pointed a claw over her shoulder. "Want to head back to the cave? We were in the middle of playing a game."

Flynn had answered with a courteous yes, while his partner continued on in some sort of daze.

Carter followed Flynn up the path. He carefully felt the energy signatures as they walked along, noting the inconsistencies and half listening to the idle chatter between the others. They walked for a short ways before arriving at the cave and Carter went to take a last draw off his cigarette. He dropped it to the ground and crushed the body with his boot heel.

After letting out a stream of smoke, Carter finally spoke to Denebola.
"Of course we're up for a game," he paused and produced a bottle from the inside lining of his combat jacket. "If it's a drinking game, I came prepared."

"It's not," I said, finally butting into the conversation and making my presence a little more known. "You'll probably want that after it, though - it's truth or dare, and you can't even lie about the truths thanks to this place."