Connecting the Dots (Shane Madej x OC)

29- Vulture Mine

"Is Ryan Bergara... jealous!? Is that why you asked me to get toiletries with you tonight," I joke, Ryan laughs. 

"Totally," he says sarcastically, "I'm not jealous, I'm just... invested!"

"Invested in what?" I ask, pulling a bag out of candy from my shopping bag and ripping it open. I grab a few pieces and then pass the open bag to Ryan who also has a few. 

"In... y'know... 'Sane'" He says. I practically choke on the candy as I break into laughter. 

"Shut up!" I laugh, "I'm making it illegal for you to ever use a ship name, ever again. There will be none of that!" 

"Ok! Ok!" He laughs, "Yeah it felt wrong on my end too," He jokes. "That's not the point though! I'm just invested in what happens between you and Shane, you guys mean a lot to me," his tone is more sincere now. I smile, feeling butterflies lift-off in my stomach at even the implication that anything could 'happen' between Shane and I. 

"I can see your stupid smile, Sophie! Don't think I don't know what that smile means!" Ryan says. I smirk and shake my head, 

"I dunno what you're talking about," I say, mimicking Ryan's response earlier. He smiles and shakes his head, before we can keep the conversation going we're pulling up next to my building.

"See you tomorrow Ry! Bright and early!" I wink, climbing out of the car, he waves and I head inside to finish my packing.

...

When we land in Arizona the next day we head to the hotel immediately, its going to be a long drive out to the ghost town of Vulture Mine so we rush to get ready. I'm rummaging through my suitcase on the hotel bed, Ryan is in the bathroom probably organizing all his toiletries, Devon and TJ are in the connecting room, I can hear them chatting and getting stuff ready through the open door between the rooms, and Shane is on the other bed packing a backpack for the trip. 

"Can't believe my bug spray was more than 3.4 ounces," he groans, zipping up the bag in front of him. We'd been stopped at security and Shane had to empty out his backpack and get rid of the bug spray, which was apparently .5 ounces too many. "the bottle said 4 ounces and I made a point to spray some of it into my sink before we left so it would be under!" He says, I laugh, 

"Apparently you didn't spray enough!" I shrug,

"So my apartment smells like citrus and 'deet' for nothing?" He sighs, and I nod, admittedly a little more focused on the equipment in front of me than the conversation. I don't even notice Shane get up until he's sitting himself down on the bed next to me. I look away from the camera harness I'd been fiddling with. 

"You good?" He asks, 

"Yeah!" I say, "Yeah sorry, I think I'm actually kinda stressed for this whole trip!" I admit, He looks surprised, 

"Really?" He asks, I nod, 

"Not because of ghosts or anything," I laugh, "I just wanna give everyone a good season I guess," I smile. Sure that's partially why I'm stressed, but I can also feel myself liking Shane more and more with every day we spend together, and I'm struggling to deny it the same way I usually do. 

"it's gonna be great!" Shane says, putting his hand on my shoulder, "how could it not be? We've got the best camera-op in the business," He winks and stands up, his hand gone as quickly as it had landed on my shoulder. I smile, forcing myself to stop thinking so much about... everything. 

"Well someone has to carry the show," I say cockily, Shane laughs, 

"There she is!" He laughs, "Good to have ya' back Soph," He smiles. 

...

The ghost town is definitely haunting. Our car pulls into an empty space near the mines, wheels chattering against the dirt road. We don't waste any time getting ready and starting the episode. 

"So this is Vulture Mine," Ryan says. 

"Yeah," Shane replies, looking around. 

"The shafts don't exist anymore because they're either collapsed or condemned. But, as you can see, the bones of the ghost town that surrounded the mine and were funded by it still remain," Ryan explains. 

"You've really... you've really outdone yourself this season," Shane says, shining his flashlight over some of the abandoned mining equipment. 

"Yeah, I just kinda looked into places that would make me want to die, and I think this checks that box," Ryan says anxiously. 

"Yeah, it's pretty imposing. I think you nailed it," Shane says, starting to walk towards the mines, we follow and find a spot to set up for the backstory, putting out folding chairs for the boys to sit in as they talk about the mine's past. 

The episode goes pretty smoothly, the mines and the ghost town all create a very spooky atmosphere, but the most terrifying things about the whole night are the bugs that seem intent on eating us alive, and the bats dive-bombing the boys and the crew and I. 

We're exploring the last location for the night, the bordello, when shit really hits the fan. 

"Ok, this must be..." Ryan says, shining his light around one of the rooms and trying to discern what it might have been in the past. Unfortunately he makes the mistake of shining his light on the ceiling and a bat flutters from where it had been resting. 

"Oh! there's more bats," Shane says, shining his light at the ceiling as well, which was definitely not the right move. 

"Oh wait, there's two bats," Ryan says, as another bat swoops down from the ceiling, and then another, "oh, there's three!" His voice grows frantic, it seems like wherever the light shines another bat appears, and we start having to dodge the creatures which are flying blinding around us "oh my god, there's so many bats!" Ryan yelps. I can feel my heart-beat skyrocket as a bat kamikazes right at me. I duck and when I stand again Shane and Ryan are hopping and dodging, simultaneously laughing and screaming. I see Devon and TJ turn for the door, running and gesturing for us to follow. I quickly follow behind, and soon after the boys practically tumble through the door as well. 

"That's too many bats!" Shane says, catching his breath. Ryan is laughing and trying to calm down,

"If I left a Yelp review of this place, it would say 'far too many bats," he says. 

"Far too many bats," Shane agrees, "We get it with the bats!"

"Yeah, twenty too many," Ryan says, heading away from the building. "One bat's fine, that's kinda cute," He says as we start towards the car. 

"At this point, who are you trying to impress with all the bats?" Shane says, 

"A band of bats, come on man! It's a goddamn part city in there," Ryan continues, 

"Nobody needs that many bats," Shane says and the crew starts laughing. I cut the camera. 

"Maybe the bat's were just big fans of the show!" I joke, we trek through the abandoned town back to the car. 

"Yeah the first one was like 'oh shit, is that? is that Ryan and Shane from Buzzfeed Unsolved? Guys! Guys!' and then they all just fucking swarmed," Ryan laughs. We joke around a little more as we unload our gear into the car and then we start back to the hotel. It's a long drive through the desert back to civilization and we won't be back in our beds till late tonight.