The theme song started. This time it was a bouncy ska tune.

Nate walked out and looked directly at the reader.

“Well, it looks like this might be the last episode. I don’t see how I’m going to get out of this one. I thought I should say my final goodbye now, while I have the chance. Once the story starts back up I’m going to get disqualified.”

The bird flew into the room and perched on Nate’s head.

“Doubtful,” The bird squawked.

“Not you again. Get the skittles out of here, I’m not in the mood for this bull-sugar today.”

“Up Yours,” the bird flew off with a final squawk.

Nate glanced over and saw that the intro was almost finished.

“Anyway, thanks for reading and sticking with me. It’s been a fun ride.”

He ran off

The book fell from the sky and opened to a blank page. A quill wrote out the latest rule.

Rule 11 - Once a decision has been reached by the judges, it can not be reversed.

The bird came and flew off with the book.

The scene changed.

Kent was standing in front of Nate, staring him down.

“No, I swear, I didn’t know.” Nate waved his arms and stammered.

Nate tried to stand up, but Kent motioned for him to remain seated.

“We usually don’t enforce it during optional contests.”

Nate’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, that’s right.” Kent noticed the change in Nate’s expression. “I could let you off with a warning.”

“But what kind of precedent would that set?” Kent stroked his chin. “Let me ask you, why did you speak up and help out the competition?”

“I can’t help it. I try to help out when I see somebody in trouble.”

“Would you have done the same if you had known about the rule ahead of time?”

“No,” Nate looked down at his shoes. “Well, maybe. But not on purpose,” he quickly added.

Kent gestured for Nate to continue.

“Well, I wouldn’t do it on purpose, but I might speak up accidentally before I can stop myself.”

“Then why help them now? Each opponent who gets disqualified is one less person for you to worry about.”

“I’d rather beat them myself than have them disqualified. How else can I say I actually beat them and deserve to be here. I’m not here to just survive, I’m here to thrive. But I’m not willing to get myself disqualified to help someone else.”

“Good answer,” Kent nodded.

“Let me tell you a secret.” Kent looked Nate in the eye. “I was not expecting anybody to win this particular contest.”

Kent held up a hand before Nate could speak.

“I am merely sifting out the people who don’t deserve to be here. We only want the best of the best.”

“This contest was completely unfair. These are inhumane conditions for a test.”

Kent laughed. “This is only the beginning my boy.”

“Back to what I was saying, three people managed to hit the accuracy requirement, and their stories are good. They should have no trouble passing.”

“How did you…” Nate’s confusion took physical shape in the form of a question mark that darted around the room.”

Kent swatted at the question mark as it flew too close to his robes. “Ah. My special ability is reading multiple stories at once. Not only can I keep them separate, but I can remember details from any story I’ve read years later. I was reading everybody’s story as they were writing them. As for the accuracy, that was calculated as soon as you hit submit.”

“All three of those winners started singing after you suggested it. None of their stories were close to done yet. None of them would have made it without you.”

“What does that mean?” Nate folded his hands in his lap.

“It means that without you, my prediction would have been right, and nobody would have passed.”

Nate still couldn’t tell where Kent was going with this and decided the direct approach would be best.

“Am I disqualified or not?”

“You realize this is a big decision. And once I reveal my verdict I’m bound by the rules to follow through with it.”

Nate nodded. His gaze was steady and his mouth tightened to a thin line. He understood how serious this was.

“You ruined my expectations, but I am letting you stay. I’m sure you will ruin many of my future plans, and I’m looking forward to it. It’s about time something genuinely interesting happened around here. There’s something special about you, Nate.”

Kent glanced at his watch. “Well, it’s time for me to be off. Can’t keep the Dungeon Master waiting.” He patted a pocket which rattled with the sound of dice and stepped into the other room.

“You may want to memorize the rules sooner than later,” Kent called over his shoulder before a section of the wall slid shut again.

“Memorize them? I haven’t even read them yet,” Nate said under his breath, then sighed with relief.

He went back to the Silver Platypus room to drop off his badge and met up with everyone else.

“Hey Nate, how did it go?” Alice skipped across the room with a paper plate. “Do you want a slice of pizza?” She held the plate out to Nate. Two slices of pepperoni pizza were on it.

Nate smiled and took the plate. “Thanks. I didn’t know they have pizza delivery here.”

“It’s not delivery, it’s D…” Nate covered Alice’s mouth before she could finish.

You’re not getting paid for these advertisements and product placements, are you? Nate’s thoughts were enraged and pointed at the writer.

“I was going to say deep dish frozen pizza,” Alice said in a huff, forcing Nate’s hand away.

“Sorry,” Nate said.

You did that on purpose! Nate’s thoughts were a full-on rage now.

Laughter echoed in Nate's head as he took a bite of pizza and found a seat at the table.

Everyone gathered around the table to listen to Nate as he went over the events of the contest.

“Damn, that’s worse than I expected.” Dave slammed his fist on the table. “We have to stop him before it’s too late.”

“Calm down,” Nate finished off the pizza on his plate and grabbed another slice. “You’re overreacting. Sure, the competition was tough, but isn’t that why we’re here?”

“This has always been a casual competition. They made it feel like they wanted as many people here as possible.”

“Is that what phase two is all about?” Jaz poked her head out from the fridge where she was trying to find a drink. “Just getting rid of as many people as possible?”

“It could be,” Alice had stopped bouncing around the room and was sitting on a chair. “But it seems pretty pathetic to get disqualified because you’re scared of the dark.”

Stan held up a sign

Right?

“I agree with you on that one,” Nate reached for another slice. “But I think we have to expect these kinds of tricks in the future.”

“Like I said, we need to get rid of him.” Dave got up and started pacing back and forth.

“How bad can it be?” Jaz asked.

“He took out a quarter of us in his first day. How bad do you want it to get?” Dave flopped down into the sofa. “Our days here are numbered.”

“They always have been,” Alice jumped on the couch with her legs spread open on either side of Dave. She sat on his knees and poked him in the chest punctuating each word. “We are not going to lose.”

“No, we’re not,” Nate came over and sat in the chair looking at Dave and Alice.

“What did you think he meant about me ruining future plans?”

“I think it’s more than just strict contests and cruel criteria. He’s got other stuff planned.” Dave started poking Alice’s sides.

She let out a giggle, “I agree.”

“Well, if I can ruin those plans, I will.”

“We’re with you 100%” Dave had lifted up the sides of Alice’s shirt and started tickling her bare skin.

Alice started laughing. “Stop it,” she cried out. Dave ignored her.

Nate stood up and took a step towards them, prepared to intervene.

“Sit back down,” Jaz had found the drinks and tossed Nate a can of cola. “She hasn’t used her safe word, she’s enjoying it.”

“What’s the safe word?” Nate was tapping the bottom of the can before he opened it.

“Pineapple,” Everybody yelled in unison, except Dave and Alice who were oblivious to the world.

Instead of sitting back down, Nate walked over to the table and opened the soda. The can was purple, and it clearly represented a particular brand.

Don’t try that. Nate thought. You just combined red and blue, the most popular cola brands.

“Is there anything we can do to prepare?” Nate looked around the table.

“We can start letting people know that the contests are rigged,” Jaz came to sit down with them.

“Great idea,” Matt was attacking a slice of pizza and paused just long enough to speak.

“I think once they actually see all those people leave, a lot of people will be on our side.” Nate gulped from the can, then burped loudly. “Excuse me.”

“Nate’s right,” Luke has finished eating and was wiping his mouth with a napkin. “As long as there aren’t any new contests before tomorrow, we should wait until after the results are posted. People will be more likely to believe us after seeing their friends leave the ship.”

“Ok. We have a plan.” Nate was starting to feel more confident about the situation.

“Hey Nate, guess what,” Matt had finally finished eating. “I’m going to ask Madame Midnight for a video chat.”

Nate spit out his soda in surprise.

“That’s funny, Luke had the same reaction,” Matt wiped the spit off with a napkin. “Maybe I am moving too quickly.”

Nate quickly nodded, not trusting his words.

“Nah, majority still says to do it,” Matt said after a moment of hesitation.

“Well, I wish you luck. I hope it works out for you,” Nate caught Luke’s eye and yawned. “It’s been a long day. I’m going to hit the hay.”

Nate said his goodnights, and the room replied in kind. Even Dave and Alice paused to tell Nate to have a good night.

Nate walked into his room, with Luke following close behind. He closed his door, pausing as he heard Alice squeal “Pineapple” through a peal of laughter. There was a slight thump, then silence. Nate shook his head and finished closing the door, making sure to lock it.

“What am I going to do!?” Luke immediately dropped to his knees as the lock clicked.

“That’s easy, just use a voice changer. There are a bunch of free ones online, and probably some apps too. You just have to say no to the video part of it.”

“Wait, those really exist?” Luke looked up at Nate with wide eyes. “I thought it was still sci-fi stuff.”

Nate nodded and helped Luke to his feet.

“You know you’ll have to come clean eventually.” Nate paused by the door.

“I know.” Luke’s head hung down.

Nate let Luke out of the room, then closed and locked the door behind him.

He stripped naked, then lay on the bed on top of the covers. Sleep overtook him immediately.

Outside the door, talk had turned to the results the next day. With the current odds, it was unlikely that the room would remain intact. They stayed up long into the night, making sure that if this was their last night, it would count.