Subjects

10- Subjects To The Rescue

"You got it, Eva, come on! Just keep pedaling!" Ben shouts as he holds the camera in front of his face.

The rocky roads of the island make a challenging practice area but Eva handles it well so far. The trees are providing some sort of shade as she rides the bike through the small forest of the island.

Eva turns her head to look back and realizes Ben is filming, "what are you doing?" At that moment Eva's bikes start turning in the direction of Ben.

"Eva! Focus!" Ben moves back quickly, still filming.

Eva straightens the handlebar and puts her leg on the ground to brake. She jumps off the bike and reaches out for the camera, "Give me that!"

Ben is moving away but keeps the camera pointed at Eva, "you'll thank me later, you'll see." He holds the camera high in the air as she is getting closer.

"I'll thank you never. Now, give!" Eva grabs his arm and tries to pull it down so she can reach the camera.

Ben shakes his head from side to side. Despite her clear efforts, Ben is not having any trouble keeping the camera away from her. And then you tell us that it's better to be short, I always knew it was a lie. Eva is not even that short, it's only that Ben is too tall for his own good.

"Why don't you let it go and we can both go back to what we were doing?" Ben suggests calmly.

At this point, Ben is standing with one hand holding the camera up in the air and Eva seems to be trying to defy the laws of physics and jump all the way up to get it. A quiet snort is the only sign that she actually heard what Ben said.

"You're only wasting your time and mine, Eva," Ben says. "And I don't get paid by the hour."

Eva stops jumping up and down. She puts her hands on her knees and breaths heavily. Ben lowers the camera a bit and watches Eva with concern. Before he can say anything she snatches the camera away and starts running.

"Hey!" Ben takes after her.

Here we can see another example of the disadvantages of being short. Within no more than ten seconds Ben reaches her and wraps his arms around her, lifting her from the ground.

"Put me down!" Eva elbows Ben while looking for the right buttons to erase the video. Now that is a true talent.

"Eva! Ben!" Emily's voice is heard from afar. "Where are you?"

They both freeze. "Over here!" shouts Eva.

They hear the sound of leaves crunching as Emily walks in their direction. Ben puts Eva down on the ground and she gives him back the camera. Now that they realize how this looks, they are both slightly embarrassed. Emily reaches them and stops. They are both standing in the forest, still breathless from chasing one another.

"I have some bad news," the expression on Emily's face makes it clear that it's not 'I lost my phone' kind of bad news but more of an 'aliens taking over the world' kind of bad. Maybe not that bad, but not too great either. You know what she's going to say, I'm not going to waste my time telling you how bad it is. "They took Leo's daughter. They must be trying to draw us out. We can't let them hurt her, we have to help him get her back."

"But how can we help him?" asks Eva. "We don't have any special skills, we're even more vulnerable than other people because we don't really know how to make sure they can't control us."

"We have to try," says Ben.

"I agree," says Emily. "We cannot let Angie get hurt."

Ben and Emily look over at Eva. "Of course I'm in too," she says. "But do any of you know where is Roger?"

Good question, Eva. Roger is currently strolling down the beach, taking photos. What? You thought Ben has a monopoly on cameras? Roger is, in fact, a great photographer. For some unclear reason he prefers to keep this hobby to himself, not everyone knows how to appreciate a good photo.

That is why Roger had to wait until he has some time by himself to take out his camera and go snap some pictures. I wish I could show you those amazing things he photographs but as you all know, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I really don't think we have time for this right now. Come back in say... After the apocalypse?

Ben, Eva, and Emily have been looking for Roger for hours, but to no avail. Eventually, they decide to wait for him to come back. Roger is obviously very surprised to walk into his room and see the three of them sitting and staring right at him.

"Took you long enough," Eva says.

Roger closes the door hesitantly, "did I do something wrong?"

"She's just joking," says Ben and nudges her shoulder. "Right, Eva?"

Right now Eva is way too hungry for humor.

"We just didn't know where you were," explains Emily. There you have a reasonable person, they'd be doomed without her. "We have something important to tell you."

Roger sits down as well, "go ahead."