CHAPTER ELEVEN  ⨾  Coin Collecting.

PREVIOUSLY ON AFTERGLOW . . . the Armageddon clock continues to count down to morning. Our heroes solve the mystery of the pharaoh's murder, and take control of the now mummy. The Adventurer and Pin-Up Girl go into the final challenge. The Pin-Up Girl claims the first key, but not without a cost. The next exhibit is opened, and a new evil is unleashed.

જ⁀➴

"DON'T TOUCH MY DOOR! GIVE IT BACK OR I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES!"

Everyone backed away from the loud voice. It belonged to a man in a bird mask held Alex by his neck, pushing him to the couch. "Alex! Why would you open the door, you idiot!" Joey exclaimed.

"What did he say?" Colleen questioned.

DeStorm: The weird ass looking bird wants the coin. We ain't giving up the coin!

"Guys, there's a note." Joey grabbed the small paper.  Everyone listened in. "It says Garuda traded his soul for gold, and you soon will do the same."

Tana: I think all of us YouTubers are pretty familiar with trading our soul for gold, if you know what I mean.

"Gather as many coins as you can, because the two with the fewest coins at the end will be forced into the final challenge." Joey read.

"That is so messed up." Tana commented.

"It's like every man for ourselves, go find as many coins as you can." Gabbie asked.

"Yeah," Joey and Tana nod.

Rosanna: This is kinda like an Easter egg hunt, which I'm pretty good at!

"Alright I'm gonna start looking, because I don't wanna be the one with the least coins!" Colleen exclaims.

"Where's the coins though?" Vivienne asks.

Timothy: Everybody always just wants to dive into every situation without thinking about it.

"Do y'all hear that bird noise?" Vivienne heard.

"Yes." Gabbie answers.

Timothy: You guys, this can't be a good decision.

"Where is it coming from?" Mortimer looked around down the hall, everyone following him.

"Indian exhibit." Bretman read the elephant statue.

"The exhibit is out front." Calliope spoke.

"Whatever choked Alex is out there, be careful!" Tana warns.

"Oh, shit, yeah." Timothy comments.

Gabbie: Once everyone was outside, there was jewels, everywhere! I'm like, this is a challenge I could win!

"Where is it? Who stole my gold! I'll kill them!" Garuda exclaims, the group ducked as Garuda pushed things out of rage

"Why is he angry?" Joey asks. "What is he looking for?"

"Because someone stole his gold. It might be the coin we have." Vivienne replied.

"Do we go?" Bretman asks.

"Let's go. Come on." Mortimer spoke.

"Look for coins, my children." Calliope orders as everyone looked in chests.

"Wait there's a scroll!" Joey spole, by a fountain. "Listen! Over here!" Joey gathered the group. "The waters of Garuda are tainted with the blood of his victims. You must find a way to cleanse it by connecting the water to a source of pure light," he read the scroll.

"Fire? Moonlight?" Tana suggests.

Colleen: We need to correct water to a source of pure light. I don't know if we have anything to make it happen.

"Alkaline water!" Timothy suggests.

"These lamps? It's the only light we got." Alex spoke.

"Do we use these pearls?" Colleen asks.

"You guys, what if we have to connect them any way we can, so if we hold hands and reach for both..." Alex says.

"Do we use these lamps right here?" Timothy asks.

"Yes." Alex says.

Gabbie: I think yeah okay, I'll play this game!

"Are we ready?" Vivienne asks, everyone held hands.

"Touch the water." Alex ordered Gabbie as she dipped her hand into the fountain.

"Oh it says something over there!" Vivienne pointed. "Pay the one who never forgets." She read, and a light bulb dinged in her head. "Oh an elephant! An elephant never forgets!" Vivienne realizes.

"Wait where is one?" Colleen asks.

"Oh right here!" Tana found.

"Vivi that was so smart!" Rosanna smiled.

"Okay put the coin in the elephant." Vivienne instructs. "Thank you Ro."

Alex: Then coins are raining from the heavens.

Vivienne immediately bent down to grab anything she could, all she could see were golden coins.

Vivienne: It is every person for themselves. My ass is a sailor, I search for these mothertruckers. I grab, like, a lot of those coins.

Tana: I saw the coins flying from the sky and I drop to my knees.

"I feel like a stripper right now." Tana comments.

"Well don't we all now that you think of it..." Vivienne replies, focusing on the ground.

"I'm so good at this!" Bretman exclaims.

Bretman: I know money when I hear it, and sis when I heard those coins I went for the v-line.

DeStorm: Alex gives me a coin. He gonna make a great ally.

Alex: You can never have too many favors owed to you.

"Did we get them all?" Gabbie asks.

"I know I got a lot, it's going down." DeStorm says as a chest opens.

"Guys! There's a trunk with another note on it." Tana spoke. "It says sacrifice two coins by tossing them in the fountain to open. Decide carefully, those of you with the fewest coins will be forced into the final challenge."

"Okay first off, who has the least? I definitely don't." Vivienne spoke.

"I have fourteen." Tana and Gabbie count.

"Fifteen, son!" Timothy spoke.

"Twenty eight." Colleen spoke.

"Twenty-eight!?" Gabbie exclaims.

"Honey, I'm not gonna die!" Colleen replies.

"I have twenty-four." Joey spoke.

"Eighteen." Rosanna says.

"I got thirty." Vivienne spoke, earning gasps.

"I got thirty-two." Bretman adds.

"What!?" Joey exclaims.

"Catch up!" The duo retorts.

Bretman: Honey if you ain't in the thirties club, you're broke, and I don't speak broke.

"How much does DeStorm have?" Colleen asks the enforcer.

"Doesn't matter." DeStorm answered.

"What do you mean?" Colleen replied back.

"I got twelve." Alex said.

"I have thirteen." DeStorm lies.

"Let us see. You're acting shady." Colleen spoke.

"He got twelve, I got thirteen." DeStorm insists.

"Oh yeah how convenient that you have one more
than him. Let's see how much you have." Colleen retorts.

"Show your coins!" Tana says.

"I don't gotta show my coins! Alex got twelve I have thirteen!" DeStorm argues.

"So we're gonna take your word?" Tana asks.

Tana: Of course DeStorm is lying about his amount of coins. Like shut up and count, bitch!

Rosanna: Maybe he's embarrassed, maybe he couldn't grab as much as others.

"We need someone to sacrifice two." Gabbie says.

"Fine. I got y'all. It's on me. Me and Vivi now tied." Bretman stepped up.

Bretman: I always cover the bill anyways, something I'm so used to already.

Bretman tossed coins, a chest, like always, opens. "The note says...Garuda guards the next key..." Alex started to read.

Colleen: And the only way to kill him is with his own blades.

"One is in heaven, one is in hell." Alex finished.

"So we gotta split up, again?" Vivienne asks.

"Be careful, if Garuda captures you, he'll take half of your coins." Alex adds.

"Half!?" Joey gasps.

Tana: Half of us have to go to heaven, other half is hell, I'm sure you can guess where I'm about to get sent...

Vivienne: I'm with these guys again for a third time. Why?

Group one, which was DeStorm, Timothy, Gabbie, Tana, and Vivienne were sent to go to hell along with the Sorceress. The group saw Garuda around the halls. "Run! Shut the door!" Gabbie exclaims as the Sorceress does so.

"This is the Hindu goddess Kali, place one coin at my feet and chant my names five times." Gabbie read, below a statue.

"I'll do it. We can't waste time." Vivienne says. She knew no one else was going to, and DeStorm was supposedly lying about his amount. She places a coin under Kali's feet.

"Thank you." Tana says.

"Okay chant her name five times." Gabbie said.

"What's her name?" Timothy asks.

"Kali." Everyone answers.

"Kali? I like that west side, alright." Timothy comments.

"Kali. Kali, Kali, Kali, Kali!" The group chants.

"Oh shit is that her?" Vivienne backed away.

DeStorm: And in comes this beautiful blue thing, she has a skirt made of dead body parts.

"Someone is going to die tonight. Or maybe all of you." Kali spoke.

"What do you want from us?" Gabbie asks.

"What can a lonely demon do to help your depraved cause?" Kali asks.

"We need a blade." Gabbie spoke.

"Yes, a blade. How do we acquire one?" Vivienne asked, as kindly as she could.

"You want me to give you, the mightiest weapon of India!?" Kali asks.

"Yes." The group answered.

"No small favor. I will make you an offer." Kali says.

"Don't toy with us, demon whore." The Sorceress stepped close to Kali's face, Calliope stood back with the group.

"They will hurt each other." Calliope warned.

"Oo, Sorceress said whore!" Tana comments.

"This bitch is not like the others." Kali pushed the Sorceress from her face. "Solve the blood riddle, by placing the objects on the shelf from top to bottom in proper order. Then I will give you your blade." Kali offers. "Fail, give me twenty coins. No other offers accepted. Two coins to begin."

DeStorm: Kali tells us we have to give her two more coins just to start the game!

"I can't wait to see some blood." Kali comments.

"My gosh, I gotta give more??" Vivienne scowled and hands the demon two coins.

Vivienne: People here are really broke! Then she gives us this riddle written in blood—on a severed arm. Oh the sarcasm I would've heard from My Mat.

"The horrors of the world appear so small when high up." Vivienne read.

Vivienne: There's six different lines of riddles and six shelves.

"What is on it?" Calliope stood by Vivienne, looking at the arm.

"Each of these lines are clues. So one riddle is one shelf, then onwards." Vivienne told her, and the group. "Collect items first, guys!" Vivienne orders.

"Okay there's a heart inside a dinosaur skull." Tana grabbed.

"There's one." DeStorm spoke.

"That looks like my instagram." Tana comments, seeing the Sorceress bantering with Kali. Luckily Calliope was much more calming.

Tana: I mean if the sorceress rolls like this, I'm definitely willing to wife her up to get out of here.

"Okay now we have three of the objects!" Gabbie says.

"Bro that's not fair, they're distracting us right now!" Timothy points to the women.

DeStorm: They were flirting with each other, which is taking my attention away because I wanna get in the middle of that sandwich!

Timothy: That's hot. There's just something sexy about being with a woman who you know could chop your off your head!

Vivienne: Time is ticking, and if we get this wrong, we have to pay twenty coins. And this time I'm not paying it all.

"Hurry up! Time is running!" DeStorm says.

"One more item!" Vivienne says.

"Oh I found this!" Timothy held something with a star.

"Okay that's perfect! The first one, the horrors of the world appear so small when high up." Gabbie read.

"Bird!" Vivienne answers.

"When you look so closely you see how large they are. One would think only the light of God could cast them away. But the evil of the souls are deep within a man." Gabbie read.

"Is that a heart?" Vivienne asks.

Gabbie: Me and Vivienne are matching every riddle to every object, we are crushing this.

"Mankind would only ever gaze to the eye of their creators. Meet the gaze of their creators..." Gabbie read as Vivienne placed an eye on the shelf, a chest opening.

"Okay good we did well." Vivienne read the note. "Making deals with demons is unwise, there's always a catch. You will receive the weapon once one of you is dead."

"Aw, come on! You played us, girl!" DeStorm exclaims as Kali laughs.

DeStorm: I got played, by a blue bitch!

"I said it was a blood riddle!" Kali exclaims.

Gabbie: I'm gonna take one of those hands off her damn belt, and smack her in the face!

"I'm waiting for the blood!" Kali exclaims, then calms, "I have one more proposal, the one with the lowest amount of gold coins, I will give you this scroll for two coins." Kali speaks.

"I have the lowest. I got seven." DeStorm confessed, making Vivienne laugh.

"About time you confess," she said. "Nice job."

"I knew you were lying!" Tana says.

"Give her one!" Gabbie says.

"Can I give you one?" DeStorm asks Kali.

"Two! My patience is running low!" Kali exclaims.

"Well bitch so is our time!" Gabbie retorts as Kali gave DeStorm a scroll.

"To be read at the circle of the fallen. I'll see you in 2019." DeStorm spoke as the group walks out, empty handed.

"Let's go, my childs." Calliope guided out the group.

"We're coming." Tana said as the group followed.

Timothy: DeStorm gets the scroll. You never knew sometimes with these sexy demon women.

The group walks to the Circle of the Fallen. "Oh my god is this where somebody's gonna die?" Gabbie asks.

"You guys get a blade?" Mortimer asks the other group.

"No." Calliope answered.

"That demon tricked us." Tana says.

Colleen: So we're working hard, we got one of the blades. The other group, nothing?

"We went to hell, it's not like heaven, obviously." Vivienne spoke. "There's a sinister demon there."

"Y'all there's symbols on the floor." Timothy spoke.

Joey: We notice that there's these weird symbols on the ground, and we realize we each have to stand on one of them.

"I'm not standing on the red one." DeStorm comments.

"Oop me neither, I'm not standing on that red one either." Alex replied.

Vivienne stood in between Joey and Rosanna. "Tana, looks like you gotta step on the red one." Alex said as Tana sighed.

"That could be a special one! Like immunity!" Rosanna suggests.

Tana: Of course, my slow ass gets put on the red symbol. What does that mean? Am I gonna be the first on the fallen?

A small box flew down from the circle's core, Mortimer picked up the cover for it and saw. "There's something on the back!" He says, and passed it onto Joey.

"Reach into the box and claim one scroll, start with the person on the red symbol and go around the circle. Once everyone has drawn, open and read the scrolls in the opposite order." Joey read. "Okay so let's have a recap! Who are our current bottoms?" Secretly it is DeStorm and Timothy.

"Give two coins to anyone." Alex read his scroll.

"I'll take them! I volunteer." Colleen spoke

"My bag is open." Joey held out his bag.

Alex: Looking around I realize, my best bet is to get the strongest guy on my side.

"Hurry up and choose DeStorm, Alex! We know you're gonna ally with him." Vivienne said.

"Shit, you got me all figured out. Alright, here." Alex said.

"Wait what!?" Joey exclaims. "Vivi how did you find out, what the hell!"

Alex: So I slid DeStorm a couple coins. We're also gonna pretend Vivienne didn't call out my scheme.

"You mother—" Timothy cursed.

"You don't even like DeStorm!" Bretman exclaims.

"Oh yes he does." DeStorm grinned.

Joey: It becomes very clear from the first scroll that stuff's about to go down.

"Make someone give away half their coins. None of them can go to you. Damn!" Timothy then read his.

"You should pick the person with the most..." Tana suggested.

"I think that makes the most sense." Timothy agreed, "Was that you?" He pointed to Colleen.

"Hey...what about Vivi?" Colleen tried to say.

"Nah Vivi did all the work for us and pay 3 coins, she has 27." Tana spoke.

"Thank you." Vivienne whispered.

Colleen mentally cursed, and evenly distributed the coins to players. "Okay on the outside of my scroll says name someone you hate." Colleen said, Vivienne and Rosanna gasp.

"Well, I don't hate anybody, but I have strong negative feelings towards a couple of people here. One would be Joey, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for you." Colleen explained.

"Shame on you, Joey." DeStorm comments.

"Okay but who's the other person though?" Timothy asks.

"DeStorm." Colleen replied.

"We have no history?..." DeStorm replied, a sense of confusion.

"He hasn't been helpful at all, he's been rude, shady, you just stand and let us figure everything out!" Colleen replied.

"What does the rest of your scroll say?" Alex asks.

"Give three coins to the person you named." Colleen read, rolling her eyes.

The group was all like, "Oo." Vivienne was entertained.

Timothy: Damn, he's the devil!

"Take three coins from anyone." DeStorm then read his scroll.

Colleen: Oh my god please don't choose me!

"Joey." DeStorm spoke.

"That's fine, I have enough! Here's one, two—" Joey handed his coins.

"Okay, no, just wanted two. I'll take the third one from you." DeStorm got a coin from Colleen, again.

"Trade coin bags with the person to your right." Bretman then read his scroll, the person to his right was DeStorm.

"Oh my gosh!" Rosanna comments.

Bretman: I'm just middle class now.

"Trade coin bags with the person to your left." Gabbie read her scroll, the person on her left being Joey who yelled, "Are you kidding me!"

Gabbie: I know Joey has a lot of coins, not as much as Vivienne, does, but I made it out, hell yeah!

"You have like, zero coins!" Joey groans.

Joey: I absolutely do not want to go into this challenge, so I am hoping that Rosanna, Tana, or Vivi has something in their scroll that can help me.

"No!" Joey yelled, seeing his scroll. "Give away half your coins to whoever you choose!" Joey threw his scroll.

"Bags open, y'all!" Vivienne shouted.

Joey: Loosing half my coins when I already had Gabby's crusty coins, leaves me in a tough spot.

"I'm going to give these coins to someone who hasn't trust me since the moment I got here. It's someone who I really care about and someone that I hurt a lot and....it's Colleen." Joey confirmed.

Colleen: Maybe now I can trust Joey. I don't know, I thought he was a murderer, but maybe he's my friend?

"Thanks." Colleen spoke, Rosanna cooed at the wholesome moment.

"That was the fakest shit I've seen." Bretman spoke, Vivienne snickered.

""Bitch, please!" Joey retorts.

"Trade your coin bag with the person to your left." Vivienne read her scroll, her coin bag being with Rosanna. So she had 27, now twenty. "At least my coins are going into good use," she muttered.

"Name your best friend." Rosanna read her scroll, "Vivi!" She smiles.

"Ro, I love you but this better be some good things!" Vivienne replies.

"Oh my gosh, this is a mind game!" Rosanna exclaims.

"What does it say, woman!" Timothy says.

"Give them three coins." Rosanna says.

"Oh okay good." Vivienne sighed, she now had 23, Rosanna 24.

"Damnit why couldn't that be me!" Joey whined.

"Take two coins from anyone." Tana read her scroll, taking two from Gabbie.

"That's all the scrolls, right?" Alex asks.

"Nah, I got this one from that demon bitch." DeStorm held out his.

"And I have this." Colleen held.

"Name your best frenemy, out loud, then open." DeStorm read his scroll.

"Alex, what's up my guy?" DeStorm grinned, pointing to the Aviator. "You can give the person you named half your coins." DeStorm read as Alex hummed in delight. "Or!" He adds.

"Oh shit." Alex mutters.

"You can steal half of theirs." DeStorm read.

"Decisions, decisions..." Alex grinned.

"This ain't no decision, give me half your coins boy!" DeStorm says, making the group laugh.

"Did you think he was gonna give you half his coins?" Tana spoke.

"Well, what'd you do?" DeStorm asks Alex.

"I don't know, I gave you coins! Here you go." Alex replies.

"Is that half?" DeStorm asks.

"That's half!" Alex replies.

"You got it all figured out, huh?" DeStorm asks, "Nah I'm just joking, here you go." DeStorm gave Alex his newly found coins.

"Steal all of your coins from someone and give it to someone else." Colleen read her scroll, holding her hand out for DeStorm's bag, giving it to Joey, who was beamed in gratitude.

"Okay, who has the lowest?" Vivienne asks.

"That's you and me." Timothy said to DeStorm.

DeStorm: Timothy the homie, but he a slickster, but I'm ready to take him down.

Timothy: I don't know which way this could go. I'm either gonna take out the villain, or end up in hell with my blue boo.

"You guys have to come with us." Mortimer spoke.

"See y'all soon, good luck." Vivienne said.

"You got this, Tim." Colleen spoke.

Colleen: I really hope I don't see DeStorm again, he has been so unhelpful and rude. Tim, he's been kinda nothing, he can come back, we'll kill him later.

"We will now go back to the lounge." The Sorceress spoke, the group follows.

"Okay why was Vivienne's and Rosanna's scrolls the most simplest! Like they were probably the ones with the most non conflicting and Rosanna's was a nice one!" Gabbie complains.

"Cause we're better." Vivienne smiled.

"Yes, she's my best friend!" Rosanna nods.

The group was back in the lounge, chattering about their predictions for the next exhibit. "DeStorm is a bad influence on you, Alex!" Joey complained. "You used to be sweet, kind, nice..." He added, then the door opens.

"DeStorm!" The group exclaims seeing the survivor.

"What happened?" Rosanna asks.

"I don't lose." DeStorm and Alex shake hands.

Colleen: Well here comes DeStorm. The man I just told I hated, is back. He's gonna probably try to kill me next, awesome.

"Alas, Garuda killed Tim. But don't worry I avenged him, I got a key." DeStorm explained.

Joey: I can't believe this is happening again. This was supposed to be a rescue mission but now I'm loosing my friends, left and right.

"Listen. I know we had some beef. But, can you be a team player now that you're still alive..." Colleen spoke.

"Come on, DeStorm. I've been on your team thrice." Vivienne encouraged.

DeStorm sighs, "Alright, I'm down. You go turn the key." DeStorm gave the key to Vivienne.

DeStorm: I agree, but I don't believe Colleen not hating me anymore. So I give Vivi the key, she's gonna turn the lock.

Vivienne stood up, key held in her hand, and pushed it in. The doors open. "The hell?" She asks, turning around.

"We're about to die." Tana comments.