Ozrik #2
Glancing at Gale, I saw the terror in his eyes as he side-eyed Jazz. My muscles stiffened. I might not like this kink in the game, but Gale looked ready to vomit.
Before I could protest, Charles referenced a paper and announced the room assignments.
“Olivia and Maggie.” He tossed them a key card attached to a coiled red elastic lanyard. “Nineteen A, ladies. Right beside the command. The walk-through is locked, so no one can enter your room that way.”
He scanned the group, plucking another key card with a green elastic lanyard attached. “Lex and Roe.”
Lex caught the key midair before glancing at Roe.
“Eighteen B, gentlemen,” Charles said.
The producer spun a yellow coiled lanyard around a finger like this was a fun game before launching it at Jazz, who let it hit his chest and fall to the ground. “Jazz and Vern. Eighteen A.”
I cringed.
“Fuck that bullshit.” Vern spat a wad of phlegm in Jazz’s general direction. It landed at his feet.
Jazz moved to go after him, but Olivia caught his arm. “Don’t.”
I gave Vern a warning glare. “Charles, that’s a stupid idea. They’ll kill each other.”
Vern had no self-control, and Jazz seemed permanently hostile.
“Excellent. If that happens, boys, be sure you do it on camera.”
The only people who remained were Elliott, Noah, Gale, and me.
Since Olivia was paired with someone from her team, it meant two members from mine would also be paired.
Either way, if Gale didn’t end up with me, Noah and Elliott were the best alternatives.
Better than Vern or Lex, who were more outspoken.
I didn’t have a means of translating that to Gale, nor was there time. Charles dangled a blue coiled lanyard with an attached key card in Gale’s direction.
“Are you with us, Junior?”
Gale didn’t move or respond, but Charles waited him out, shaking the key card until Gale walked forward and took it.
“You’re with Noah. Seventeen B.”
On one hand, I was glad we hadn’t been paired. Sharing a room would have been dangerous. I wasn’t sure I could keep my hands off him, nor was I sure I could keep my feelings in check.
Yet, a stone of disappointment sat heavy in my belly. Sharing a room would have given us the freedom to at least talk privately. I wanted to offer a trade but couldn’t without drawing attention to myself or raising questions.
Gale glanced at Noah, who offered him an amiable smile.
“Are you disappointed, Devereaux?”
I snapped my attention to Charles, realizing too late I’d been staring forlornly at Gale. “Disappointed?”
“You look like someone stole your popsicle.”
“No.”
“All right. No need to get defensive.” He wore a smirk I couldn’t read.
“So I guess I’m with Elliott?”
“The long-lost team member. He’d better show up.”
“He will.” I accepted a key card on an orange lanyard.
“Seventeen A.”
Charles turned to the group and pointed across the street. “The diner has a decent menu. I’ve set up a tab with the owner. I reiterate. Unless you’re shitting, showering, changing, jacking off, or sleeping, you are not hanging out in your room. I want a camera on you at all times. Understand?”
No one said a word.
“You are still responsible for filming, but since I can no longer trust you, I’m also leaving my crew behind to ensure nothing is missed.
Becca, Arty, and Hugh will become your shadows.
You will not interact with them. You will pretend they aren’t here.
Don’t avoid them or ask them to leave you alone.
It’s not happening. Your life is mine until we’ve got enough coverage for eight full episodes. ”
Hugh, the only person of Charles’s crew who hadn’t gone to install car cams, grinned as he patted a fat camera bag.
No one looked impressed, but we all knew it wasn’t worth submitting a complaint. We’d signed up for this.
The rooms were functional. Two queen-size beds separated by a nightstand and dated furniture. It was clean, and my mother was hundreds of miles away, so I was happy. Dropping my backpack onto the bed nearest the bathroom, I considered unpacking since we would be there for a few days.
Before I bothered, I tried the doorway between my room and the one next door.
It belonged to Noah and Gale. Each A and B room was connected.
Charles had made a point of telling Olivia and Maggie that the one between theirs and command was locked, so it made me wonder if he’d instructed the other doors to be left unlocked.
I tried the knob, and it opened.
Noah whipped his head in my direction. “The hell?”
“Hey, neighbors. How’s it going?”
“I’m trying to remember why we signed up for this shit.” Noah returned to unpacking his bag.
“You and me both. Why aren’t you filming? Didn’t you hear Charles? We are to be on camera at all times.” I used his voice and emphasis.
Noah rolled his eyes. “Our rooms are the safe zones.”
“For now. Until he decides they aren’t.”
I noted Gale sitting with his back turned on the far bed, ignoring us as he paged through a paperback. I wanted to draw him into conversation, but I didn’t know how.
Noah noticed where my attention strayed and shrugged. I assumed Gale hadn’t said much. I wanted to tell Noah to go easy on him, but I couldn’t.
Inviting myself in, I flopped on Noah’s bed as he dug a personal video camera from its protective case. I wanted to be near Gale without making it obvious.
“So,” I said before Noah had the camera running, “what do you think we did to deserve this bullshit?”
“We edited our footage.”
“You said we wouldn’t get caught.”
“I was wrong. Our mistake was sending the last batch unedited. Dennis picked up the differences.”
“Well, if Charles wants drama, he’s going to get it. Putting Vern and Jazz together is asking for trouble.”
“He’ll be lucky if the cops aren’t called before midnight.”
Noah raised the camera, ready to film, but lowered it again as he glanced at Gale. “Hey, Gale? Are you okay if I turn on the camera? Technically, we’re in the room. I don’t have to.”
Gale stiffened at the suggestion.
“We shouldn’t be in here anyhow,” I said.
Noah and I headed to the door.
Gale didn’t turn around, and despite Charles’s adamant rules, he remained seated on his bed with a book.
The clash of personalities began while setting up the command post. We couldn’t agree on whose gear to use, and there wasn’t room for both, so we fought for space, unwilling to compromise.
Jazz and Vern wrestled over desks and outlets until it got physical enough that Noah had to step in. Olivia and Maggie fought with Lex about the tangle of cords on the floor being a tripping hazard.
After running to the store to purchase paper maps of the county, I hung them on the wall, getting in Roe’s way more than once. He was too busy flirting with Becca from the film crew to care what was going on. Jazz bitched that the map wasn’t straight before Olivia told him to shut up.
Noah surveyed Charles’s team with his arms crossed as they mounted recording devices. No matter where we turned, someone had a camera in our face.
The room was not big enough for the crowd, and tempers frayed.
Gale never showed his face. When I asked Noah what his roommate was up to, he shrugged.
I wanted to slip away and check on him, but couldn’t come up with a reasonable excuse, and the last thing I wanted was Hugh or Arty to trail me. No one seemed concerned that Gale was missing. I suspected forcing him to be present would only make things worse.
When Olivia returned from her car with another box of gear, I pulled her aside. “Where’s Gale?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know. Why?”
“Haven’t seen him in a while. Aren’t you worried?”
She shrugged. “He’s probably hiding in his room. Leave him alone. He’s not hurting anyone.”
As the afternoon rolled on, the overcast sky darkened further. Thunderstorms were expected in the area come evening as warm fronts and cold fronts collided. I sensed they would be nasty. The smell of ozone was sharp in my nose. Tornado alerts were already popping up on all the news channels.
Someone had the local weather playing on their phone, keeping us abreast of the hourly forecast. Charles had taken off at some point, but not before reminding us that we were blending our teams. “That includes chases,” he’d said.
If we didn’t diversify the occupants of our vehicles, he would be forced to do it for us.
No one seemed inclined to discuss what diversifying our cars might look like, and I feared we’d end up scrambling at the last minute. It was sure to turn into a fight.
Fucking Charles had ruined my favorite time of year. This show wasn’t worth it.
By five, tempers had simmered down. The calm before the storm, both inside and out.
Our screens were a dynamic, shifting promise of activity, anticipated to peak sometime between six and eight.
Olivia sat silently beside me, observing the Doppler and reading the NOAA updates aloud when they refreshed.
The air currents followed a familiar pattern, and I kept an eye on the wind velocity as the cool air from the north shifted toward us, mixing unpleasantly with the warmer mass from the south.
Vern and Maggie went to the restaurant to eat—Hugh on their tail.
Jazz and Roe took off to get fresh batteries for headcams—Becca went with them.
Noah announced he had a headache and was lying down for a bit.
He asked to nap in my bed since Elliott had yet to arrive and Gale hadn’t left their room.
I didn’t know where Lex had disappeared to, but I suspected he had a shadow in the form of Arty.
Since the command room was fixed with cameras, none of Charles’s crew had stayed with Olivia and me.
More than once, as Olivia sat in silence, my mind drifted to kissing Gale the previous night.
I kept touching my lips, seeking that odd buzzing sensation that blistered my skin whenever we came together.
Focusing on the screens was impossible. Gale was all I could think about, and it bugged me that I hadn’t seen him all afternoon.