Round Robin October 2020

23 October 2020

"Retrace our steps?" Greg asked more than stated. "Maybe we were sent to the place where we were supposed to find our task when we first arrived."

Em nodded. "I don't have very clear memories of that time since I was unconscious for most of it, so the two of you will have to lead the way."

Em glanced at Samantha who was sitting on the ground, not participating in the conversation. Greg followed her gaze. The young woman seemed truly traumatized this time. He sighed.

"Then again, maybe that's our first step."

Em nodded and the two went over to kneel by Samantha's side.

"What can we do, Samantha?" Em's gentle voice could have calmed an angry gorilla in Greg's opinion.

Samantha looked up at the two professors. "I quit."

Greg exchanged confused glances with Em. "What?"

"I said," Samantha repeated a bit louder, "I quit. This freakin' thing's gone TOO far now, and I ain't dealin' with it no more! KYLE of all people! An' now we're back in FRIGGIN' AFRICA! An' what're we ta do 'ere? FIGURE IT OUT?!" Her frantic shouting calmed down at the end. "I quit."

"Samantha," Em placed a hesitant hand on the young woman's shoulder. "I get it. This is all too much, but none of us has the option to quit here. Let's prove those horrible people don't know anything by surviving and making it back home."

Greg nodded. "Yeah, and if that fails we can find our way back to this dimension's university and have Em smack them a new one with her tentacles." Though he said that, he really didn't want to do so. He hoped his hesitance didn't come through in his words though, for Samantha and Em's sakes.

"What's this, then." Samantha laughed - a strained laugh, but a laugh. "Good cop, sarcastic cop?" She stood up and pulled her hot pink buck knife out of her pocket. "Alrighty, then, let's go."

It took a while, but eventually the group reached the cabin where they had taken shelter upon first arriving in Africa. It was just as dilapidated as Gregory remembered it. Still, this was the best clue they had about what they needed to do to get back to their dimension, so the group decided to search the cabin for anything they might have missed the first time they were here.
After thoroughly searching inside and out twice, Gregory was almost ready to give up, and he guessed from Em's depressed look and Samantha's increasing agitated muttering that they were not any more optimistic than he was that they would find something. He was about to call a strategy meeting when he noticed something peculiar.

"Em" he called "could you take two steps back?"

"Uh, sure." She looked puzzled, but complied.

"And two steps forward?"

"Okay..."

"Again."

"Why shoul-"

"Please?"

"Fine."

Yup. He was sure of it.

"So, are you going to tell me why I'm walking back and forth?"

"Maybe he finds it amusing." Samantha cut in.

"The mark glows." Em and Samantha looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Yeah, we know."

"No, I mean, ugh. Look." Gregory grabbed Em and pulled her back and forth a few times while Samantha watched.

"Oh."

"Uh, guys? Can't see my own forehead."

"Sorry." Gregory stopped pulling her back and forth. "It glows a little bit when you move here and fades when you move back."

"And you think it might be indicating something." Em said slowly.

"So yer sayin' Professor Dlaun's mark is acting like a metal detector." Samantha did not look amused. "Except it's telling us where to go instead of where pennies got stuck in the sand."