ESC Story Excerpt Chap. 5

Story Excerpt Chapter 5: "Big Title-Drop"

"So, where exactly are we?". Ally glanced between the pair. They shared a conspiratory glance, before Leanne replied:
"You're not gonna believe us.". Ally's expression became annoyed.
"Come on, just tell me please."
"I don't know. You might have to figure it out on your own. I still have trouble believing it, and I've been here for three years." Joey tried to say ruefully, but looked more depressed than anything else.
"But where is 'here' and why three years?! Don't you have, you know, a family or anything? Do you not care about them enough to leave? Why not go home?". Her expressions cycled between obstinance and fear.
Joey looked at her for several moments, his expression a bit sad and confused. Then he dropped his gaze to stare at a branch that was wrapped in the flames of the fire. He watched just long enough to see the flames lick it into a blackened shell of its former self. When he looked back up, he was scowling, as though she had slapped him.
"Because I've been trapped here! We're all stuck here!" he said angrily.
"Wha-What do you mean...No way! I gotta go home! My mom's probably worried sick, and she told me that we were having a dinner party tonight! It's probably already over, and she's gonna...".
"A dinner party?! Forget about your stupid dinner party! Look at this place!". Joey gestured with his hands at the surrounding trees and darkness. "DO you not get what this means? Have you not figured out where you are yet?!". Ally flinched as his voice rose.
"N-no, I...I'm not s-".
"Ugh, you are so slow! I can't take this anymore!" Leanne broke in, rolling her eyes and moaning to emphasize her exasperation. "You're in a video game! You know, you were signing up to play a game on the computer, but when you clicked the 'log in' button you fell asleep, am I right? Well, there you go. That's why you're here.".
"Wait, what?" Ally's skepticism became a smile, and then a small, silent laugh. "You're joking. Here I was, thinking I was actually in trouble, but it looks like I just got kidnapped by a couple of lunatics.".
"Excuse me?!" Joey snarled, "Look, it may sound crazy now, but after THREE YEARS it's pretty believable! Are you not hearing me? Do you think this is something I want to joke about?! You asked me about my family, so I'll tell you. I have a family. My dad. And if I could go back to see him, I would right this second. But I don't know how to get home, and I haven't been able to get back for a really long time now. So, I don't need YOU telling me I'm crazy. I already feel like I'm gonna go crazy, anyways.". By the end of his speech, Joey no longer looked just angry. There was something in his expression that made Ally pity him, though she still didn't want to believe him. She looked to Leanne. The younger girl looked sad for once, and was looking hard at something beyond the fire's circle of light.  
"But that's not possible! You're trying to tell me I got 'sucked' into some video game? You do understand how impossible and crazy that is?". Ally, seeing she had offended Joey, tried to reason with him. But she could not hide an incredulous smile.
"I don't know, do I look like a physicist to you? All I know is I'm here, she's here (Joey thrust his thumb in Leanne's direction), and you're here, whether you like it or not.". His expression became deadly serious. "At this point, how likely is it that this is all a nightmare? Does it SEEM like a nightmare to you?"
"W-well..." Ally searched her person, almost as if she was searching out the correct piece of flesh to pinch to end the terror. She looked back up to Joey and Leanne, searching their stoic expressions for a way out, a foggy wisp of uncertainty. Searching for the hem of the cloth that she could pull to unveil the lie that they were telling her. No escape appeared. Her hand traveled, of its own accord, up to the black scar on her cheek.
"But that's not possible...I can't be in a video game. I can't be..." the scene around her rippled through tears, and the last word came out on a cracking note: "...trapped.". She sniffed and the tears oozed out. She put hands to her eyes to push them back in. Crying was admitting that she believed what they said! She would continue denying it until she was back safe with her mom and...
Ally was so preoccupied with concealing her fear that she failed to notice that pitying expression Joey and Leanne had both adopted. Joey was privately horrified. He had never, not once, made a girl cry before. Now he had made a girl that he was trying to help cry! There was a sickening, dropping sensation in his gut, and he made a face. He couldn't help but reach for the girl's arm.
Ally was taken off guard and jerked her arm away. She then noticed Joey's expression. The pieces snapped together in her mind; this guy really did believe every word he said. There was no bluff in that expression and, worst of all, he actually felt sorry for her. To deserve that look of pity, she had to be in store for some terrible fate. It was all more than enough to bring out more tears.
"Why is this happening to me? I...I want to... go home!" she gave in and sobbed, her head down, fingers raked through her hair.
Joey was doubly horrified now. He became wholly preoccupied with stopping the crying. It was unbearable for some reason.
"H-hey, come on, don't cry! It's alright!".
"No, it's NOT! You said so yourself!".
"I didn't mean to make it sound THAT bad. We'll find a way to get you back home."
"I thought there was no way. You said we're all trapped."
"I...maybe I just haven't found the way yet. We can find a way."
"You've been here three years and you haven't found a way. This really is awful, like you sa-"
"Look, just forget what I said!" Ally flinched as Joey shouted these last words, so he added a small, conciliatory "...please." to the end. Then he mumbled nervously "Just don't... you know...don't do that."
"Don't do what?" Ally was puzzled, despite her despair.
"Don't...you know, don't cry. For some reason seeing you cry makes me feel kind of sick.".
"I make you sick?". Ally cocked an eyebrow. She was now puzzled and slightly offended.
"No! You don't make me sick at all! You make me, like, the opposite of sick! Wait, that sounds weird. You make me feel...well that's not the point anyways! You don't make me sick, just you crying makes me feel sick.".
Leanne broke through in laughter. "So, what, do buggers make you sick or something?!".
"Just because you saved my life doesn't mean I won't kill you." Joey said flatly, glaring in her general direction.
"How can you joke like this?" Ally moaned, "We're all gonna die in this place!".
"Well, we have had longer than you to come to terms with it." Leanne piped in. Joey elbowed her and ran a hand over his eyes.
"No, no ones gonna die! Everything's alright!".
"No it's not!". Ally continued to cry bitterly. She gulped for the cool night air, as though choking on all the new revelations. She stared, forlorn, away from Leanne and Joey, into the night beyond.
Some inner reserve of pity burst forth once again in Joey's chest. He had done this, talking down to someone who was just scared. He had to fix it, but how exactly?
Then the words came from him, as autonomous and natural as a heartbeat.
"I'll help you find a way home. Don't be scared and don't cry! I'll stick with you and protect you, and I'll help you find a way to get home.".
Ally looked back at him now. She still looked confused and terrified, but her expression showed some signs of changing.
"W-why do you want to help me? Won't having to protect me put you in danger?".
"Well, honestly, I don't really care about the danger part. This place is dangerous no matter where you go or what you do. And... and I'm kind of lonely.". The last sentence had come out in a slightly nervous rush. He glanced away and began to roll an acorn  on the ground with his index finger.
"Lonely? Wait, when you saved me before, you said I was the first person you had talked to in three years." The tables turned as Ally gave him a pitying look. Joey continued to roll the acorn.
"Awwww..." Leanne giggled.
"That is not it AT ALL!" Joey snapped back to attention. "I just want someone to talk to. That's all!". Then an idea seemed to grab hold of him, and his expression changed. He smiled slowly.
"I got it! We can make it a deal!". He turned back to Ally. "How 'bout this: I promise to protect you and help you find a way home. In return, well, you just... you know, stick around so I have someone to talk to and stuff.".
"A deal? What kind of deal is that? It seems a little one-sided. All I have to do is hang around you and I get a free bodyguard?". A smile was trying to invade her stoic expression.
"Well yeah, if you're okay with it. We could even shake on it." Joey smirked lopsidedly and extended his hand.
In the firelight, the extended hand was lined with shadows. The shadows broke up the areas where the orange light of the fire reflected off his the skin. The shadows hid something, perhaps some catch to the deal that she should be concerned about. But the firelight shone so welcomingly off the hand. It was her only beacon in that dark night. So, she took it. Joey smiled, then wrapped her own small hand in his large hand and shook once, firmly.
Okay then, it's a deal. Hang around for a while, and I'll keep you safe as can be.".
"And you'll help me find a way to escape too?". Ally looked at him expectantly.
"Yeah, no worries. Me and you will both find a way to get out of here and get back home. We'll escape, and life will go back to normal." As he spoke, he became more and more sure of himself, until he said the last sentence confidently, and with a smile.
Ally smiled back, but with a bit more apprehension.