Chapter Text
Ellie Parker dragged herself home after another shift. She reached the front door, reached into her pocket, and pulled out her key. It took her three tries to get the key into the lock, and she turned it, opening the door. Resisting the urge to fall to the floor and not get up for the next few minutes, Ellie stepped inside, closed the door behind her, and made her way to her bed, where she collapsed exhausted.
"Ellie," came the cheerful voice of her girlfriend, Gabrysia "Gabby" Nowak.
"Not now, Gabs," Parker groaned, somehow rolling over onto her back, "I've had a hard day, and I just need to rest."
"How bad is it?" Gabby asked curiously.
"Long story short? Very," Ellie sighed, "In details?" here she began to bend her fingers, "First, a bunch of hard-headed clients, some of whom were incredibly stupid. Second, the coworkers who decided that today was the day when they needed to make noise as if their lives depended on it. Three, the responsibilities that rained down on me like from a cornucopia today. Four, an absolute dumbass of a boss who threatened to cut my salary for something that wasn't my fault. As a result?" she gave a thumbs down.
"Well, don't worry so much, Ellie," Gabby decided to cheer her up, "Okay, I admit, today wasn't a very good day for you. But there's no need to be upset. After all, life is like a zebra. First the black stripe, then the white one."
"I'm afraid in my case it's not a zebra, but a panda, and from behind," Ellie chuckled sadly, "But thanks for trying."
"Anything for the best girlfriend in the world," Gabby sat down next to Parker and stroked her head, making her smile a little. They sat in silence and peace for a while. Finally, Ellie asked a question.
"Gabs, do you remember if we have any food left in the fridge?" suddenly, her girlfriend turned away, trying hard to pretend that the pattern on the sheet was of much more interest to her than the question, "Gabs?"
"Yeah, about that..." the Explosive Girl really wanted to become invisible, "I wanted to cook dinner for you and me, and I decided to experiment a little..." Parker groaned at this. Nowak was generally a good cook, but sometimes she got into experiments, which nine times out of ten led to them losing their food supplies, or at least most of them.
"What did you wanted to cook this time?" Ellie asked.
"Vegetable pie," Gabby admitted sheepishly, "I found a cool recipe online and decided to try it."
"Okay," Ellie sighed, "We had to go to the store anyway."
"There's still some food left for today," Gabby reassured her.
"Well, tomorrow, then."
True to her word, the Minimum Wage Worker went to the store the next day, taking Gabby with her. She glanced quickly at her wallet and examined the money inside, then frowned. It looked like they'd have to tighten their belts this time. Then again, they were used to it.
"Remind me what we need to buy, please?" Nowak asked.
"Bread, milk, cheese, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, sugar," Parker studied the list she pulled out of her pants pocket, "Payday isn't for another week, so we need to be frugal and not just dump everything in the cart."
"Okay," Gabby nodded.
The couple first stopped at the produce section. After picking up some carrots, they ran into a bit of a problem with the tomatoes, not being sure how many they needed. Finally deciding on the amount, they put the tomatoes away and moved on to the cucumbers, which they did the same.
The next stop was the dairy section, where Ellie picked up a carton of milk, carefully examining the expiration date. Before she could put the bag in the cart, Gabby snatched it from her hands, studied the ingredients, and then spit on her finger and rubbed the expiration date.
"Gabs, what are you doing?" Ellie raised an eyebrow.
"Checking the expiration date to make sure it's not counterfeit," the Explosive Girl replied with a straight face, "I heard they can get counterfeit sometimes."
"That was the last time I let you visit conspiracy theory sites."
After picking up a bag of Gouda, they moved to the bakery section, where they picked up two bags of bread. Now all they had to do was grab some sugar, and then they could head to the checkout. However, due to the layout of the store, their path led them through the cereal section, where one particular bag caught Gabby's eye.
"'Frankie's Fruit Flakes'?" she read the brand name, examining the bunny with spring-like limbs on the box. Honestly, it looked pretty cute. She glanced quickly at Ellie, who was studying the sugar in the next section, and then at the box, and made her decision.
"Ellie, can we get something else?" Gabby asked, walking up to her girlfriend.
"Like what?" Ellie turned away from the sugar aisle.
"This," Gabby held up the cereal.
"How much did it cost?" Parker asked, examining the box.
"I don't know, I'll check it out," the girl walked away and glanced at the price tag, "$3.99."
Ellie thought about it. On the one hand, the price wasn't high, and they had enough money for the cereal anyway. On the other hand, they weren't sure they wouldn't need that $3.99 in the next few days.
"Ellie," Nowak noticed how deep her girlfriend was in her thoughts, and decided to bring out the big guns.
"What?" the Minimum Wage Worker asked before she realized, "Oh, no, no, no, don't even think about it."
"Ellie, please," Gabby made puppy eyes.
"Oh, no, not puppy eyes!" Ellie turned away from her and even closed her eyes, but Gabby was adamant, walking around her girlfriend and forcing her to open her eyes. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Okay, I'll take the damn cereal," she sighed.
"Yes!" Gabby pumped her fist in joy.
"Now we'll grab some sugar and head to the checkout."
The pair made it to the checkout without stopping. After quickly scanning in all their purchases and paying for them, they left the store and headed home, fortunately they lived just a five-minute walk away.
"What are we going to make?" Gabby asked as soon as Ellie locked the door.
"Well, we could try that mushroom soup we made two months ago," Ellie shrugged, putting the bag down, "Or some kind of vegetable salad."
"Let's have the mushroom soup," Gabby decided, picking up the bag and carrying it to the kitchen. However, as she was taking out the cereal, she accidentally shook the box, causing her to hear some strange noise, as if there was something else inside.
"Gabby, what are you waiting for?" Ellie asked.
"Huh?" She turned to face her girlfriend, "Oh, nothing. It was just my imagination," she said, putting the cereal on the shelf.
After their shopping trip, the pair completely forgot about the cereal for the next few days. Ellie forgot because she had more pressing issues to deal with, and Gabby wanted to remind them several times, but it kept slipping her mind.
They finally remembered it on Saturday, when Ellie had a day shift. Thinking about what to make for breakfast, Gabby's eyes found the package on the shelf and remembered it.
"Ellie, I know what we're having for breakfast," she announced to her girlfriend as she walked into the kitchen.
"Is this the cereal you asked me to get from the store?" Ellie was just finishing brushing out her red hair.
"Yes, they are," Gabby nodded, putting the box on the table and opening the refrigerator to get milk, "I wanted to remind you about it for some time, but kept forgetting," taking out the bag and putting it on the table, she quickly took two bowls out of the cupboard, which she put on the table, washed the spoons, putting them next to the bowls, and opened the box, getting ready to pour out the ready-made breakfast.
Imagine her (and Ellie's) surprise when a black VHS with the words "Play me" and a picture of a rabbit on the label fell out of the box along with the cereal.
"What is this?" Ellie quickly snatched the tape and began to examine it.
"So that's what else was in there," Gabby muttered thoughtfully, immediately attracting her girlfriend's full attention, "When I was taking out the cereal that time, I accidentally shook the box. And the sound made me think there was something else in there."
"Okay," Ellie sighed, "We still have time before work, you go to the living room, and I'll look for the VCR," Gabby nodded, took the tape and ran into the living room. Ellie, meanwhile, went to the pantry, where she began to sort through things in the hopes of finding what she needed.
Finally, after a couple of minutes of searching, luck smiled on her and she was able to find the VCR in one of the boxes. Blowing off the dust and quickly examining it, the Minimum Wage Worker left the pantry and went to Gabby.
"I still can't believe you have a VCR," Gabby commented.
"I got it from my parents," Ellie answered, running her fingers through the bangs, "Plus, I've never had a reason to talk about it," Gabby shrugged, acknowledging the logic in her girlfriend's words. Finally, Ellie turned on the VCR and inserted the tape, intending to find out what the big deal was.
"If you're watching this video," the announcer began, over the sounds of festive horns, "It's your lucky day!"
"Why?" asked Gabby.
"Four lucky people from around the world get the invitation to the world's largest indoor trampoline, water and parkour park!" the announcer answered, showing first Frankie with his hands around the Earth, and then the inside of a building that was apparently the park.
"Parkour park?" Ellie chuckled skeptically.
"With over three stories of action packed parkour obstacle courses, this is going to be a game show you won't even forget!"
"That sounds interesting, but why would I want to participate?" asked Ellie.
"Did I also mention there's a little prize for our lucky winner?" the announcer asked in response, after which information about the prize appeared on the screen.
Five million dollars in cash.
If this were a cartoon, Ellie's eyes would probably turn into dollar signs with a distinctive sound.
After that came the information about the phone number to call, but Parker hadn't paid much attention to it, smiling at the screen.
"Ellie?" Gabby shook her girlfriend's shoulder to snap her out of her trance.
"Huh?" Ellie snapped out of her fantasy of winning and what she would do with it.
"You're going to be on this game show, aren't you?" Gabrysia guessed.
"Of course I am," she nodded in agreement, "Think about it: if I win, I'll get five million dollars. That'll be more than enough to cover my rent problems and improve our financial situation. I promise I'll split the money with you."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Nowak asked, "After all, you can be pretty... mean when it comes to competitions," Ellie grimaced, but didn't argue, admitting her girlfriend was right.
"I know," she sighed, "But you heard that there will only be four people in the competition, and I don't think I can do anything to them."
"Because you might get disqualified?"
"Well, that's possible," Ellie nodded, "But that's not the point, it's that I probably won't be able to sabotage them, because it's more important to me to get through all the obstacles and to the finish line first."
Gabby thought about it. Her girlfriend's arguments sounded reasonable enough.
"Just promise to be careful, okay?" she asked.
"I promise," Ellie hugged her, then played the tape again to write down a phone number.
"Hello?" dialing the number, she waited for someone to answer, "I'm calling about being on the game show. Yeah, I found the tape in my cereal box and I'm willing to go. When? Hang on a minute," she ran over to the calendar hanging on the wall and glanced at it, "It's okay, I just wanted to check on a few things," she replied, "I have tomorrow off, so I should be able to come on the show without any problem. Where should I be and what time should I be there?" quickly jotting down the address and time, she put the notepad aside, "Okay, I see. Goodbye," with that she ended the call.
"Are you going tomorrow?" Gabby asked. "Well, I didn't pick the time," Ellie sighed, "Besides, hey, I have tomorrow off, so it'll be fine." "What time are you leaving?"
"The game show starts at 12:00, and it'll take me about an hour and a half to get to this park, give or take a few minutes," Parker mused, "I think my best time to leave is around 10:00, maybe even a little earlier."
"Are you sure about that?" Gabby asked.
"Are you talking about the time, or the participation?" Ellie decided to clarify.
"Participation."
"Don't worry, Gabs," Ellie hugged her girlfriend and patted her back, "It might be hard, but I can do it. And I promise I won't go too far in order to win."
Still, Ellie couldn't shake the dark thought that things weren't going to be as easy as she claimed. Not in the sense that she wouldn't be able to win, or that she'd snap and relapse, but that there was something wrong with this place. That it had some dark secret, like that pizza place from the well-known horror game series. However, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind, writing it off as unjustified paranoia.
At the time, she had no idea how right she was.
The next day, Ellie left the house at 9:57. After saying goodbye to Gabby, who wished her luck and promised to root for her, she got into the car and drove to the address indicated. Having reached the building somewhere in an hour and a half, she parked the car and, noticing the absence of other cars, became wary. However, about ten seconds later, a dark yellow Honda HR-V pulled up, from which a young man about her age got out, dispelled her fears.
"You came to participate in this game show too?" he asked, straightening out a crease in his blue T-shirt.
"Yeah," she nodded, a little bored.
"You know, I think I've seen you somewhere before," he gave her a thoughtful look before a glimmer of realization crossed his eyes, "Oh, I remembered. You're Ellie from Disventure Camp, right?"
"You got it," the Minimum Wage Worker checked the time on her phone, "Sorry, I'm not signing autographs. And don't worry, I'm not cheating," she said, turning away from the stranger and heading toward the building.
After walking through the door and filling out a few forms, she walked out into one of the hallways that ended in a roll-up gate with a TV hanging above it.
After watching the video from the tape repeat, it ended with a warning that Frankie didn't like cheaters (another reason to play by the rules), and instructions to grab the suit and mask hanging in the next hallway and change in the locker room. Taking one last look at the TV, she noticed that it was live and that 19,492 people were currently watching the show.
"Gabs, if you're watching this, wish me good luck," Ellie waved at the screen and walked out into the hallway where she grabbed some clothes, then into the locker room where she got a better look at her costume.
It was a white and grey jumpsuit with red gloves and sneakers, and a red bowtie printed on the chest, and a plastic Frankie mask. The video claimed it was to prevent cheating by the contestants, but for some reason Ellie saw it as a red flag. Sighing and shaking her head, she changed and left the room.
After quickly studying the building diagram hanging on the side and trying to memorize the layout, she flipped the circuit breaker, opening the gate blocking her way and walking through it.
Looking around the room, Ellie noticed, somewhat bored, the three other contestants standing to her left. After rolling her shoulders and shuffling her feet a bit, she got into position as the light came on above her.
Numbers gradually began to light up on the sides of the room, counting down. Finally, when "Go!" lit up, the contestant on the far left sprinted forward. Ellie was a little late, and it saved her life.
As the first contestant reached the raised gate, Frankie jumped out. But it wasn't the cute cartoon rabbit. It was a huge, hyper-realistic monster with tiny beady eyes, a mouth full of sharp fangs, and spindly arms. Grabbing the contestant who ran up to him, he bit into him and tore his head off. Parker froze in shock. Meanwhile, the monster turned its attention to her and tried to eat her too. Letting out a squeal that was much more high-pitched than she would like to admit, she dashed past Frankie and ran through the gate, which closed behind her.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" she screamed, running as fast as she could, "THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED!! I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!!" As she ran, Ellie tripped and fell to the floor. Groaning, she finally realized that no one was following her. On one hand, it was a relief, because she had managed to escape from the monstrous rabbit. On the other hand, it was scary, because there were two other players on the show besides her. Mentally praying that they were okay, Ellie stood up and looked around.
It turned out that while running, she had tripped over a carpet, on which she landed. Brushing off her costume, she noticed the words "The Parent Pad" written on the wall, as well as a sofa and folding chairs standing there. Shifting her gaze slightly to the left, she noticed two doors.
"Bathrooms?" Honestly, the fact that she didn't wet herself from fear while running away from Frankie was a real miracle. However, Ellie decided not to tempt fate any further and went into the girls' bathroom.
After doing all the necessary things and washing her hands, she left the room before thinking about what to do next. On the one hand, she could try to go back the way she came and try to find a way out, but this was associated with the risk of running into Frankie. On the other hand, she could move forward and hope to find a way out of this building, which had all the same risks. After thinking for a while and weighing all the pros and cons, she chose the second option.
Walking forward, Ellie came across a door, which, according to the sign above it, led to the Parkour Training Course. Opening the door and going inside, Ellie quickly reached the training ground, where there was a TV playing instructions.
"Yeah, I got it," she shrugged, having studied the first instruction, after which she ran forward, jumping over obstacles and trying not to pay attention to the blood on one of them.
The next instructions were also very simple: all you had to do was slide under the obstacle to get past it. Again, nothing too complicated, but Ellie decided to practice a little before moving on.
The third part was a little more difficult and involved jumping over the obstacle while swinging on the bar. The first attempt was a failure and resulted in the redhead falling down, just short of reaching the bar. Using the trampolines to jump back up, she tried again, this time with much greater success.
The next obstacle consisted of four surfaces that you had to bounce off to move on. Taking a running start, she jumped to one surface and tried to bounce off it to the other, but missed and fell down.
"Damn, these cereals are definitely coming back to haunt me," Parker sighed before using the trampolines to get back up and repeat the previous obstacle.
"Okay, take two," this time the attempt was a little more successful: she successfully jumped off the first two surfaces, but did not reach the third and fell down, "Fine, let's try again."
On the third try, she managed to jump over the obstacles, causing her to sigh in relief. Shifting her gaze to the left, she noticed a grind rail, causing her to silently raise an eyebrow, not quite understanding how she was supposed to get through. Deciding to look around, she found a TV hanging on the wall.
"That’s it? I just jump on rail and slide forward?" she asked herself in disbelief, looking at the instructions. As if in response to her question, a text appeared on the screen that the boots of her costume were designed in such a way as to ensure sliding, regardless of the rail's direction, "Okay, guess, I'm gonna find out whether it's true or not."
Taking a couple of steps back and a deep sigh, Ellie ran forward and jumped onto the rails. To her surprise and relief, the instructions did not lie, and she slid forward, easily reaching the other end, where there was a sign informing that the training was completed.
"Actually, it’s right not Saftey, but Safety," she sighed, noticing a grammatical error, "So, what's next?"
As soon as she asked that question, the second sign appeared and informed her that she had to return to the main lobby.
"So, let me get this straight. You want me to make my way through an obstacle course while a monstrous rabbit will pursue me?" asked Ellie, "I'm so screwed ..."
Nevertheless, having no other choice, she slowly went to the exit from the room.