𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 | 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐢

𝐈𝐈. 𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

"This can't really be happening, right?" Matt questioned, looking around at the others. "Logically—"

"Logic flew out the window ages ago, Mattie," Roni interrupted. "If we ever told anyone else what we've been through, we'd be tossed into the looney bin for sure."

"So are we still trapped in the game?" Fridge asked in confusion. He'd also lowered his voice as if trying to hide the conversation from the Jumanji avatar leading them down the street.

Spencer slowly shook his head. "We were sucked into the game and became part of that world, there's no reason not to believe that the reverse could be true."

"If that's the case, then where's the guy who tells us how to end the game?" Bethany asked, failing to hide her hysterical tone.

"Nigel," Roni agreed, checking her shoulder and her surroundings in the process. "Where's Nigel?"

"Maybe he didn't make it through," Martha suggested. "The game was experiencing several glitches the second time we went in. If it's busted we have no clue if the same rules apply as before. I mean we're talking about a video game character for crying out loud."

"So then what do we do?" Fridge asked. The entire group turned their heads toward Spencer as if waiting for their "fearless leader" to give them the answer.

Spencer froze. It was clear they wouldn't be receiving an answer until he rebooted and had time to think about every angle of the problem. Roni sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose while Matt visibly paled.

"We're actually going to die this time," Matt muttered.

"We're not going to die," Roni contradicted.

"We only have one life!" Matt reminded the others and held up his wrist, flashing his pale, unblemished skin into the light. "No redos, no magical healing powers, no regeneration. One fatal blow and that's it. Finité. The end—"

"Matt," Roni warned. "Shut up."

From the front of the group, Rogue laughed under her breath, but as her volume increased, the teens stopped and looked at her in confusion. Rogue wiped away a false tear before a stoic look crossed her face. "You remind me of my own team. They always managed to find something petty to squabble about in the most dire of circumstances. The world could be ending and they'd find something insignificant to fight about."

"Your team?" Spencer asked in confusion. However, a light seemed to spark in his mind as he snapped his fingers. "Of course, your team! Where are they now?"

Rogue quieted. Her eyes drifted toward the ground with a solemn look. However, she quickly shook the sentimental look from her face and offered a nonchalant shrug. "We were separated. I washed up on the river shore and the others were nowhere to be seen."

"How'd you get here anyway?" Martha questioned.

"It's not anything you kids should be worried about," Rogue replied, dismissing her concern. "Let's just get you someplace safe."

"Okay, new plan," Roni motioned for the others to gather close as Rogue turned her back to continue walking down the street. Roni kept her voice low so that she might not be overheard. "I'll distract my avatar while the rest of you go check out the console. I assume it's still in your basement, Spence?"

Spencer sheepishly nodded his head. "Yeah, I haven't had time to get rid of it yet."

"Get rid of it?" Fridge asked incredulously. "No, no, man. You've got to destroy that thing. Obliterate it."

"So I get the part about checking on the game," Martha tried to focus on the flaws in Roni's plan before any mistakes could be made, "but where do you plan to take... well the other you?"

Matt nodded his head in agreement. "Wouldn't it make more sense to take her with us and hope the game sucks her back in?"

"And if that doesn't work?" Roni asked. She then shook her head. "Besides we've got a whole menagerie out here and Rogue's one of the few people who could actually deal with it. So I'll take her to the one other person I know who could possibly relate."

"Who else do you know that could understand better than us?" Bethany questioned. "I mean I don't know many people who could live with being eaten by say a hippo or a jaguar."

"Or a ball python," Fridge muttered under his breath.

"As far as I know, the first people exposed to the world of Jumanji weren't given extra lives," Roni explained, "so I thought that might be a good place to start."

"Alan Parrish," Matt's eyes widened as he began to connect the dots, "Your dad. You're taking Rogue to see your dad."

Roni nodded her head. "I just thought he might have some insight on this whole thing."

"You just want to see him squirm," Matt corrected.

"Tomato, Tah-mato," Roni waved away his point.

"You kids coming or what?" Rogue hollered over her shoulder. "Don't think I won't leave you for dead if you don't catch up."

"Yeah, I don't think she's joking," Fridge said with a look of concern.

"It'll be fine," Roni tried once more to reassure the others. "It's probably better to keep Rogue away from the game anyway, who knows how she'd handle an existential crisis. I mean if she's anything like me... well, the world would burn."

"Ain't that the truth," Matt quietly agreed, and Fridge subtly nodded his head.

"Just figure out what's wrong with the game while I keep her distracted," Roni retorted, ignoring the comment while also shooting the two a warning glare.

Without much prompting, the group of kids all placed their hands in the center of the circle as if making a pact before silently cheering and splitting up. Now that Roni was the only one left, she quickened her pace to catch up with Rogue and cleared her throat.

"You know—"

"You say something, kid?" Rogue interrupted, turning her head, but frowned as she noticed how small their numbers had diminished. "Where'd all your little buddies go?"

"Couldn't handle the pressure I guess." Roni shrugged. "Anyway, I know you didn't want us getting involved, but I might know someone who could help round up the zoo."

Rogue laughed and ruffled Roni's hair, which she immediately tried to fix while swatting the avatar's hand away. Rogue placed her hands on her hips, enlarging the cocky grin plastered to her face. "That's cute, kid, but I'm not looking to get any civilians killed."

"Your loss," Roni shrugged and leaned up against a mailbox that they were in the process of passing as they turned down a side street. "Although I'd hardly consider Alan Parrish a civilian."

Roni's hope was that her father's name was still known throughout Jumanji and not just a name carved in the walls of a rambled old shack, but her bluff was rewarded as Rogue stopped walking and slowly turned to face the teen.

"Alan Parrish?" Rogue skeptically asked. "You know Alan Parrish? The guy is nothing more than a legend. A pointless myth meant to protect the jungle from poachers and treasure hunters."

"Ten bucks says you're wrong," Roni contradicted, adopting a similarly smug expression. "And I know where the guy lives."

Rogue pursed her lips in thought before nodding her head. "Alright, kid. Lead the way."

That certainly didn't take as much convincing as Roni believed it would. It was a complete gamble dropping her father's name, but it seemed that just maybe there were occasional benefits to personally knowing the great and mighty shoe wizard. All she hoped now was that he wasn't too rusty on those survival skills he'd claimed to possess in the stories she'd heard before bed.

Of course she'd thought they were all make-believe, and even forgotten most of them before experiencing the effects of the game firsthand, but now they were all coming back and her expectations were certainly high... perhaps much higher than the shoemaker could achieve, but only time would tell.