Teardrop's Adventure

*~ Chapter 1 ~*

Thud. "Ouch", she thought as she landed on the hard cardboard beneath the recovery center. She looked around, trying to piece things together. And then she remembered. The zombies. Running away from them. Barf. Then, blackness.

And now she had been recovered.

"Teardrop... I'm sorry to say that you are eliminated," said the green algebralien.

Teardrop turned her gaze to Two and slowly nodded. She knew she was eliminated. She had agreed to sacrifice herself and her place in the game to save the other contestants from the zombie apocalypse. At least they were safe now. That was what mattered most. She had wanted to win the power of Two, but at least she had placed third back in Four's show and survived this far in TPOT all on her own, without any teammate's help.

She knew she could have done better, but sometimes you just have to be happy with what you have. She had to accept her fate of being eliminated.

On the bright side, she could finally rest from the intense challenges. And maybe, just maybe, she could meet the other eliminated contestants. She could reunite with her old teammate Saw, listen to more of Eggy's stories... maybe even make some new friends...

She shook away her thoughts and opened her mouth to take a deep breath. Everyone around her gasped. Did they seriously expect her to say something? She waved her arm as if to say that she had accepted being eliminated. What else could she do?

"Hey, TD—" she turned to see Eraser. They had been rivals for as long as she could remember, but lately, their rivalry had grown into a friendship. They had teamed up to save themselves from the zombies, but unfortunately, Eraser had been infected right after they joined forces.

"I know we've had our ups and downs, but I really appreciate you trying to save me back there. And honestly, do you even need to win the power of Two? Look at all the amazing things you've pulled off this season. You played a great game, TD."

Eraser was right. Two's power was great and all, but did she really need it? She was just happy to have competed in TPOT and made it this far. And more than that, she was glad she and Eraser were on good terms. 

"And the best man won!" Eraser laughed, stretching out his hand for a handshake. But instead, Teardrop took his hand and playfully flipped him over. 

"Get out of here!" he said, laughing as he got back on his feet. 

She smiled, but before she could do anything else, she saw Two's hand stretched out toward her—and then, she was gone.