Nora quickly turned around and pretended to search.
"Allan? You here?" Nora spoke in a low voice, with a smile she couldn't contain.
"Are you safe?" Allan asked, standing up in the dark. Zuv could also hear him because of the silence in the room.
"Yeah, where are you? Did you come alone?" Nora asked.
"Zuv is with me, and Crystal is on her way. We're at the isolated tent near the kitchen area," Allan said.
"Tent number 4," Zuv added, looking at the map with a flashlight.
"Number 4," Allan repeated.
"Nora, where are you? We'll get you out," Allan said.
"No, stay there. I'll sneak out to that place," Nora replied and slowly turned around as she heard footsteps approaching.
"But it's not safe," Allan tried to persuade her.
"Don't call back. I have to go," Nora said and cut the call midway, smiling at Tina.
"Someone has my bag by mistake. They're near the food area," Nora said.
"Oh, they might have just mistaken it. We can meet them together," Tina smiled.
They both went to have dinner. Nora was agitated; each smile from Tina made her anxious, and every person laughing around made her sick to the stomach, as if they were laughing at her death—or at humanity's.
"Should we find the person first?" Tina asked, looking around.
"Oh, no need. They said they'll find me. We shared a class earlier, so don't worry. Let's eat—I'm starving." Nora stood in line with a plate in her hand.
"Okay, but what if they don't give it back?" Tina asked.
"We can take management's help, right? It's their job to keep things safe." Nora smiled and moved forward.
"Yeah, it's not going anywhere," Tina smiled and joined her.
Nora tried her best to act normal and kept talking about the session.
"Tina, I'm going to the washroom. You can finish eating and wait in our room," Nora suggested as she stood up.
"I want to go too, just a minute—I'll finish up," Tina said, looking back and forth between Nora and her plate.
"No, I'm in a hurry. I'll be right back." Nora took bigger steps and ran into the crowd. With everyone wearing white, Tina couldn't make out who Nora was or where she was heading.
Nora ran toward the tents in the dark, checking every door along the outer area until she realized she had taken a detour. Still, she pushed on and finally found them.
"You're here," Nora gasped.
"Let's get moving. Crystal's on the way," Zuv said.
Without another word, they started running toward the car parked a distance away. But there were people standing in front of it now. Even though the car was parked far from the camp, it was risky to move forward.
"I'll call Crystal to pick us up," Zuv said, dialing her and giving her their location.
Nora and Allan held each other's hands tightly. Soon, the car arrived. They got in instantly. Nora's phone began ringing—it was Tina.
"What do I say?" Nora asked in panic.
"Just tell her you're still there," Zuv said.
"Yeah, it doesn't look like they know you're missing," Allan added.
"Hello?" Nora answered, as Grayson kept driving.
"Hey Nora, you got your phone?" Tina asked.
"Yeah, I found that person nearby. I'll meet you after a while—you can go to bed early, no need to wait," Nora said.
"You sure? Do you know them?" Tina asked.
"Yes, it's great learning about their experience. I'm learning a lot," Nora said.
"Then can I join in?" Tina asked.
"I've got to go. Sleep tight." Nora hung up.
"That girl is persistent as hell," Zuv muttered.
"We just spent a lot of time together," Nora replied.
"It's good that you guys are safe," Crystal said, glancing back at Nora.
"Yeah, thanks for the help. We would've been in big trouble," Nora said.
"Thanks, Grayson, for helping us out," Zuv added with relief.
"No problem, man. After all, you guys helped us first," Grayson replied while driving.
"None of this would've started if I hadn't invited you guys," Crystal said, her face falling.
Allan and Nora stayed quiet—the person who started it all, in a way, was her.
"Not everything is bad, right? Coincidences are the reason we're here together right now," Zuv said, pointing out that his existence in the current timeline wasn't supposed to happen.
"Yeah, not everything is bad," Nora said with a smile.
Allan's phone started ringing. That broke their tightly held hands as he saw his girlfriend's name on the screen.
Zuv tried to distract him by talking about what had happened with Fred, while Crystal offered snacks and showed what they had found.
They all decided to spend the night at a hotel rather than going home. They booked a homestay and locked up for the night.