After reaching that moment of the most profound peak, fortunately, the average IQ returned to a decent level that could be positioned between that of the monkeys and the communists. Disappointing eh, but even to get to the moon the first thing you try is a jump.

In any case, going beyond my fiery love for collectivism, the group remained for a few more minutes somewhat talking and somewhat listening to Mario's delicate fairy bullshit. Eventually, they even decided on the shifts in which they would go to enjoy a hot shower, as well as the distribution of the available bubble baths and shampoos. Indeed, to be as precise as possible, the bottles picked up around by the big man were more than anything else grabbed by Mario himself and Camilla in a sort of census to divide those made for sensitive skin, oily hair or other magical/beneficial effects, so as to ensure a proper distribution of the goods of war.

The order decided for the shower then became: Mario first, Camilla second, Sabrina third, Roberto fourth and, finally, Alex. The poor beast earned his place at the bottom of the class in a rock, paper and scissors defeat against the smoker. A result worthy of him.

"Cool, huh," commented dear Roberto immediately after the win, still with his trusty scissors wide open and evident. Usually, given his luck, he practically never won at that game and this was true since he was still a child. However, from his adolescence forward, he had never doubted the mystic and dickish power of the scissors, a form that obviously had an easy life when it came to making its way into the male brain.

Despite the news though, the boy didn't celebrate much and instead said with a half smile plastered on his face to the rest of the group, "I'm glad I'm not the last one but I'll pass for tonight. I'm not really in the mood," he concluded then spreading and raising his arms along his sides, sighing slightly at a second thought.

"Oh?" Alex, hearing the other's words, put an end to his whining and instead moved his gaze in the direction the cigarette smoke was coming from. Just to say, neither he nor the others had been too distracted by his brief performance to notice that Roberto had lit another cigarette, but by now his brain had tied that acrid smell to him.

"How so? What else do we have to do that's better? Or do you have some last minute news to tell us?" Alex then asked with a mixture of curiosity and awe, not wishing for any more labors for the day.

"Nah," Denied the other genie, taking his regal time for another heartfelt puff of smoke. "Nothing like that, unfortunately. If I'd discovered something new and maybe even useful I'd be in a better mood now. I simply don't have much desire to relax at the moment. We don't know anything about what might happen tomorrow, and the last thing I want is to slack off and wake up more tired than when I closed my eyes," he explained between colorful and colorless breaths, putting no particular emphasis on any of his words.

It had to be said that, perhaps due to the fact that no one would want to think about it, that little comment of his was enough to make everyone get back on their feet. Camilla in particular felt much more ridiculous than necessary after listening to him, having momentarily lost her mind on a matter of secondary importance. Even Alex, although he was doing his best not to show it, took the blow and remained silent from then on.

Indeed, now that they had somehow accepted their situation, there was no one among them who would be able to ignore or act as if they were able to ignore the stress that peeped out as soon as they stopped to think or relax...

"Showering is a fundamental step in human civilization. Waking up tired or losing concentration are honest prices to pay," Mario exclaimed instead just as the general enthusiasm had reached rock bottom. Then, having observed that the water inside the upper tub had reached temperature, he resumed saying: " Good. And now I'm going to wash myself, you do what you want. Camilla, Sabrina, if you two want to stay and keep me company, I have no problem with that. The others can hang out, I don't play a team sport anymore so I'd like to avoid having to see any more hairy asses."

What a man. Alone against the world and not even that could dent his determination. An example for all to follow.

"We agree on that," Roberto replied stifling a giggle, waving his hand at the same time and leaving the room. He was actually the only one to take that ignorant exit with a laugh while, on the other side of the barricade, Camilla was the only one to be annoyed by the big man's kind invitation and left the room holding Sabrina's hand. Like a fool, only Alex was left behind and, coming back from his torpor and realizing the danger, he followed the others with some urgency.

Finally, Mario found himself alone and could start undressing and washing. However, since I personally do not want to describe such a scene and here I decide what passes and what does not pass, I will eclipse the description of the events of the next fifteen or twenty minutes. Sue me if you want or thank me, depending on which side you walk on in life.

Very well.

After his very personal moment of tranquility and enjoyment, the big guy put on some new clothes, freshly stolen, and put aside the ones he had arrived in that new world with. Considering how dirty they had become, he could have thrown them out of the window, since there was no shortage of rooms full of clothes to take, but he found it a waste. He wasn't even planning on washing them, however, the shirt and pants were a gift from his ex specifically for him to wear for the specific outfit, so he simply put them to one side.

"Oh! I'm done! Who's next? I already put more water in the tub above!" He then shouted with renewed force after he too exited the new bathroom space, meanwhile retracing back the path that had led him there. Thanks to his tone of voice, the rest of the group heard him even before he got halfway there, bringing a smile full of anticipation to Sabrina's face.

"Oh! So, is the next one not ready yet?" He asked one more time as soon as he got back to the base, signaling Camilla to get up and go. She found herself conflicted at the moment, however. After all, was it really going to be a case of relaxing in a situation like theirs? What if something had happened the next day because she had relaxed too much? Or what if she caught a fever after the shower because of the cold and wet hair? Having only towels and no electricity carried similar risks as well.

However, while the poor soul in pain had locked herself away to decide what to do, an unexpected Alex took, for once, the reins of the situation into his own hands. "Hey," he said, grabbing her shoulder and getting her attention. "Isn't it your turn now? Come on, hurry up and go before we run out of wood for the fire or water for washing. Don't you think we all deserve a nice hot bath?"

Oh God, I wouldn't describe this as the greatest stance and work of rhetoric in the contemporary age, but I still feel like praising the boy's effort. Even Camilla, in fact, while always holding a whole ham in front of her eyes by default, managed to understand very well that he was saying it to encourage her to go. An event, by the way, that made her feel much lighter than she could have ever expected.

"Mn," she nodded a couple of times, keeping her forehead down to hide the smile that had drawn on her face. Before getting up, however, her eyes moved to Sabrina, sitting not far from her, and she almost let an amused reaction slip out. The little girl, from the half-light of her corner, seemed to be waiting with the trepidation with which a child waits for the arrival of Christmas presents. It was a change in appearance that stuck out a lot, since she usually tended to keep to her own without opening up in the slightest.

"Sabrina?" He then went to ask her after getting up and joining her. Holding out his hand to her, he then resumed saying, "Do you want to go together? I'm worried about leaving you alone in the company of these guys," then giving Roberto in particular a nasty look. The little creature's eyes lit up and she promptly lowered her head, grabbing the hand she was offered.

However, seeing the gesture of defiance, Roberto promptly commented: "Oh, a lesbian scene?" said with the same anticipation that one might have at the last penalty during a World Cup soccer match. Mario, on the other side of the room, noted with pleasure the irritation that had clearly invaded the girl's veins and, amused, added with a well-placed Panenka kick: "Those are my favorite videos. How can you turn down a double dose of pussy with the same amount of minutes?" drawing out a roughness that was no laughing matter.

Alex had to push the mistress out of the room before it got worse. I won't say anything more than.

Fortunately, once outside, the girl seemed to calm down a bit and, together with Sabrina, walked towards the bathroom. Before leaving, she took the precaution of telling Alex in all seriousness: "If anyone comes to spy on me, I'll kill them," a fact that even her boyfriend believed without a moment's hesitation.

In any case, that had always been his character and Alex would have needed more than that to move him. For that his only reaction was to wave at them with his hand raised and stand his ground, only sighing after they had gone far enough and could no longer see or hear him.

"Oh, but are you sure it's a good idea to let them go like this? Two girls alone in a strange place like this?" A wild Mario who had also just come off the base asked him sharply, tapping the palm of his hand against his back several times.

The poor suffering beast almost ended up slamming his face to the ground out of surprise, managing to stay upright only thanks to a last minute rescue by a Roberto who fortunately didn't have to decide whether to let go of the cigarette or help his comrade, since he was casually holding the cigarette in his left hand.

“Well," he commented later while still holding onto his jacket, struggling enough to make him regret not joining the gym anymore because of work schedules. Ah no, former work. Soon after, Alex was able to breathe a sigh of relief and regain his balance, thus allowing the smoker to rest his arm. However, his relief only lasted so long.

“You sure can be pretty unfair." Roberto exclaimed in fact, turning to Mario who had meanwhile leaned against the railing, then resuming before anyone else could interrupt him. "On the one hand you've just put both guilt and worry on him, but on the other you're practically throwing him into the tiger's cage. Is that appropriate? She may be a woman but that one bites better than a lot of bar morons I've met in my life," moving closer to the big guy as he spoke, until he caught up with him and set himself down comfortably on the second floor railing as well.

Mario, meanwhile, waited patiently for Alex to try to say his own and then cut him out of the conversation without mercy at the first syllable and exclaim with a fat laugh: "Eh? What are you saying never... Indeed, maybe if he finds out, it could even end well. You should call me Cupid! I don't have any arrows and I don't have a bow, but I'm confident in my ability to get others laid!" Going among other things to put increasing emphasis on the most imbecilic points of his rambling speech.

Finding himself overwhelmed by that wave of bullshit, Alex clenched his fists and took a step forward, ready and loaded to counter. Roberto, however, preceded him, turning to the giant with a derogatory remark: "To fuck others? What are you supposed to be, a perfect example of a good soul always engaged and trying to live his youth through the conquests of others or the sidekick who always remains dry mouth? I have to say I have my doubts about the first option, but I don't feel like giving you condolences in case the second is the correct one. I'm a man of principle myself, but empathizing with you would piss me off."

Need I say more? Well, actually yes. In fact, just after this gem made especially for pigs, Laurel and Hardy continued to tease each other until they forgot even their main task, which was to tease the shit out the poor Alex. He, however, after almost a good minute in which he had not been able to speak, finally managed to step over them and say angrily: "Are you done talking shit already!?"

The two, unimpressed, turned toward him for a moment then went back to looking at each other and catching their breath for round two. Once the hint was understood, and before they started again with their stupid brawl, the poor boy in pain forcefully beat his feet on the ground saying: " You sons of whores... Don't try to tell anything to Camilla, is that clear!?” Before behaving as a hero of the people risking his own life in the attempt to keep the sweet damsels safe, despite the danger came from one of them. Giving them his back to sneak off and stand on guard at the entrance to the new bathroom room.

Roberto and Mario let him go, stopping their little show as soon as Alex disappeared from their sight. From then on, the atmosphere changed a lot. A silence descended that until recently seemed impossible to spontaneously arise and even the expressions of the two runaways became harsh; almost as if their behavior had changed at the push of a button.

"Ah, I already know that this is going to be a boring discussion," Roberto said first of all calmly and with very little sympathy, relying on the smoke he inhaled to avoid slitting his wrists, ending up adding some time later: "Haven't we already said everything we needed to last night? Do I have to sit through your life story one more time? Spare me that please. I only helped you send Alex away because otherwise you would have done it yourself anyway, but I don't have anything else to add that hasn't already been said last night. I'm fine with what we agreed on, and as far as I'm concerned, you have all the freedom to fuck up your life as you see fit. It's not like I'm doing any better anyway. Just make sure I don't get my ass in hot water if, and I hope we both agree it's only IF, we find your ex. Before then I'd appreciate at least having a useful ally to help with this."