"Well, this went a lot better than I expected..."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gear's POV:

Well, it's not fair, is it?!" Zach screams.

"She didn't have a chance to prove herself!"

Yep, that's what I'm hearing right now. You're probably wondering how we got in this situation.

Allow me to explain:

So, I had that cute moment with Lana after I defeated the Sword Swallower. And, for a change of scenery, we- as a group- decided to go to the main room of the arcade.

Then, whilst we were discussing how to find the next artifact, Lia somehow got brought into the conversation and Zach started arguing with me for no reason.

Confusing, I know.

"Well, yes, it was my idea to take my shirt off," I confess, causing Val to facepalm.

"But Lia could've easily ignored me and continued with the challenge."

"OK, guys, enough." Oli chimes in, trying to calm the situation down.

"If we don't start working together, nobody's going anywhere."

Oli: 'So, on one hand, we have Val who is narrowly keeping us together by being an absolute bad-ass. Then we have Gear and Lana and yes, they are pretty cute, but at least they are still useful. Then there's Zach, a shady bitch. And then there's me and Lizzie; we just want to go home!'

"OK, I know you probably hate me... which you should do..." Zach trailed off, approaching us.

Val starts shaking and I get a little bit nervous as Lana steps in.

"Zach, it's not like we don't like you as a person; we just don't like this side of you that's come out after Megan died." Lana doubts, just trying to make sure nobody got hurt.

"Yeah, I have to agree. Ever since Megan died, you've become darker, more competitive. You've honestly just been weighing the group down and it's getting worse." Lizzie whimpers.

Valentina: 'I can see both sides of the argument, but I definitely understand where Lizzie and Lana are coming from. There's no shame in being a survivor and fighting for the loved ones and friends you've lost, but then there's also a chance to be like Zach, turn on the group, and smile when your friends die.'

"Something has changed on the map." Heidi reminds, laying it down on the arcade machines.

There's  three new locations on it in three different places.

There's the gas station from earlier- which apparently wasn't important until now- and a bridge to the cemetery.

So, everybody's confused.

But, you can hear the gears in Val's brain working.

No, that wasn't a joke on my own name, I'm being honest.

"I mean, the best bet is the gas station? Just my assumption because it literally says 'Ritual Sacrifice' next to it. So, we gotta save a bitch." She muses.

We all agree and book it to the gas station.

 When we get there, there's this girl with a hood on her head in what looked to be a cowgirl outfit tied to two of the pumps.

"OK, what kind of kinky shit is this?!" Zach screams, jumping back and causing Lana to elbow him to shut him up.

"Oh, thank God. Guys, you need to help me! She'll be back soon to burn me!" The hooded girl wails, fighting against what looked to be handcuffs on her wrists.

I wouldn't say this is kinky- I would never use handcuffs when I'm fucking Lana, that just sounds painful as hell- but this is more...disturbing than anything else.

"Who's going to burn you?" I ask, hoping we can get some information.

"One of the demons. Hurry; find the key and get me out of here!" The girl frets.

OK, first acrobats, then a Dog Woman, then a bandit with no name, then a man who looked like a stoner and had a stone arm, then Steampunk Twins, then a Sword Swallower and now demons?!

What next, a fucking Cyclops?!

But, anyway, we all race into the pump station behind us, hoping that this key is easy to find.

Zach's just standing around, as per usual, and doing absolutely nothing.

"Should we just let her burn? Well, we don't know her first, and everybody we've met so far in this town- except Victor and Heidi- is evil!" Zach shouts, putting us off. 

"We can only keep pushing forward," Lizzie reassures, still looking.

"Wait, guys, I got something! There's a note here!" Val calls out, coming out with a scroll in the mouth of a skull.

She opens up the little scroll and it reads:

'A woman shoots her husband, then holds him underwater for five minutes. Next, she hangs him. Right after, they enjoy a lovely dinner. Explain. The answer is hidden somewhere in the station.'

Um... what?

Lizzie: 'I guess these demons want to test us by seeing if we can solve a violent riddle.'

"OK, look for a picture of a guy on it. The answer must be she took a picture of him or something." I state, looking around.

Being an artist, my guess was that she took one of those pictures that you hold up in a dark room.
I can't tell you the exact name, but it's the kind of shit they do in crime shows.

After a few minutes of hunting with no luck, Lana finds the picture that has a code on the back.

"Oh, yeah; the answer was a picture. Look for a lock-box or something." Lana says. 

We go looking again and this time, Zach gets lucky, finding a toolbox in his little corner that needed a number code to be opened.

"This could be something," Zach grunts, putting the seemingly heavy toolbox on the ground.

Val puts the code in and the box pops open.

Inside, there's two sets of keys; one is labelled handcuffs, and the other is labelled safe.

"Wait, so use the keys on the safe in a second; we gotta save this Southern girl. I'm assuming that lady, it's just you sound like it." Zach confers.

We use the keys on the handcuffs, and they open.

"Finally..." The lady sighs, taking off her hood.

Much to our surprise, she's just a normal person.

She puts her cowgirl hat back on, causing relief to set in amongst us.

Lana: 'She seems like she could help, but she isn't gonna be around forever. So, we gotta get moving before somebody attacks us.'

"Open the safe!" Val calls to Zach and Lizzie.

 Zach uses the key and cracks the safe open.

But then something... grabs him?

"OK, what the hell was that?!" Zach shrieks, looking at his wrist. 

There's this mark on it. 

But we need go back to focusing on the safe.

Inside is a ram's skull and a note.

The note reads:

'The demons have been using the Ram's Skull to curse the people of Delamont. But before they could do that, they competed in the Demon's Games to become the servants of the Delamont Mistress. To win these games, they cheated on each of the three stages.

To cleanse the Ram's Skull, you will need to discover what they did to cheat and reverse it.

But be wary, the demons are hunting you and their touch has grave consequences, especially if it happens to four of you.'

"So, if four of us get touched, my assumption is they're going onto the final death challenge." Oli ponders, confusion on his face.

"Wait," The southern lady chimes in, looking worried.

"That's what happened to him." She pointed to Zach.
"They've cursed you. But you're fine for now; it takes time to manifest. But, you're at risk, suga'."

Wait, Zach's in the final death challenge now? 

"OK, listen, sweetie; I'm invincible, anyway, and we don't even know your name. So, if you can help us, great. If not, go away." Zach snarls.

Please don't be rude to her; she seems nice and like she wants to help! So, be nice back, you dumb bitch!

"Oh, my name's Loretta. And I can help you. If one of you get that Ram's Skull over there, I'll show you what I have." Loretta informs. 

I go and and grab the Ram's Skull, Loretta rummaging through her bag and taking out a book and a rolled-up piece of parchment.

However, after we all meet up with Loretta again, we hear a whoosh and loud footsteps.

We turn around and see...