Isabelle was ebullient to say the least. The thought of edification in the form of once unattainable wealth or edible appeasement was enough to send Isabelle on an egocentric train of thought. Gold, diamonds, pearls, objects of immense opulence now seemed an arm's reach away. Her effusion of happiness was interrupted by Edward’s unprecedented inquisition.

“I’m sure that can’t be all to it… May I inquire a few questions in brevity of your time?”

The blonde-haired hostess replied in equal eloquence “Please go ahead.”

“Are you working for the voice behind the radio?”

The bellhop kept a keen smile but didn’t utter a word.

“Do you know who put us here?”

Silence again. Edward sighed “Are you going to answer any of my questions?”

The bellhop spoke almost as if she had been begged the question “So long as it is within my scope”

Edward chuckled at the rather smart answer “Alright then. I predict that there must be a certain extent to the freedom of our exchange.”

The hostess smiled at Edwards astute question

“Indeed” the hostess replied, “There are a few restrictions as to what you may trade your Item Card in for, of which one I have already professed, you may not go back on a decision after I have submitted your Item Cards into that machine over there” she pointed to the corner of the shack, where, neatly set, was a white machine that looked like a mini cash register.

“The second” She drew back the group’s attention “You may only ask for one thing. And that must be greatly to some extent completely material.”

“So allow me the pleasure of reiterating, you can’t ask for ludicrous claims such as immortality, physical enhancements or even something as delectable as an escape from this death game?”

“Although terse, yes, you have covered some of the major non-grantable items.”

Isabelle’s stomach churned and she felt somewhat further from her lucrative needs than she imagined.

“Third, you may not ask for any object that surpasses a cubic volume of length 12 feet. In definable terms, any item that outsizes a standard truck container.”

“Umm!” Isabelle raised her hand as if representative of a middle school student stuck on a trivial problem. “Does that mean we can’t ask for precious materials such as gold, or silver in the truck load?”

“As long as it is material and follows the guideline size, we will deliver it to you. However, you are only allowed to ask for an Item that no one has requested before”

Isabelle felt reinvigorated “Then!” She slipped her Item card precariously onto the counter.

The hostess took the card and fed it into the machine as if she had done so a thousand times that very day.

“Your four-digit identification number please” the hostess asked in complementation.

Isabelle gave a wary glance behind her, and recited “4-4-0-8”

The hostess typed the four-digit number into the machine upon which it began vibrate incessantly.

“I want…a truck full of diamon—”

“Are you sure that's a good idea?” Edward broke into her lucrative train of thought.

Isabelle faltered but regained her footing.

“I’m grateful that you got me through that monstrous forest, but from here on, I won’t need your protection Mr. Dwight” she impassionately removed the blood-dried cloth around her left hand and threw it towards Edward

“We are now no more than competitors in this death game, and how I spend my Item Cards are up to me. You wasted your Item Card in the forest but I’m going to make full use of mine!”

Edward didn’t bat an eyelash but replied intuitively

“Of course! Please don’t let me influence your decision. I just found it intriguing on how you plan to carry that huge a load of that allotrope of carbon?”

Isabelle shuddered at the thought. How could she had been so blithe? Had Edward not warned her, she would have ended up in a volatile predicament. She could have asked for diamonds in a truck load, but how would she manage to transport the massive load of precious material? This dubiosity maneuvered her to her newly found confusion.

“But then…” Isabelle wondered

“What do I want…?”