"Marshmallow, check it out!"
A sheet of paper was thrust into Marsh's hands by an exuberant Apple. Even in the dark she could tell what it was, so she made herself smile. "Wow! Another picture of us hanging out? ...That's inventive." She couldn't keep the dryness out of her voice.
Not that Apple picked up on it. She was dense.
Very dense.
"Isn't it, though! Something about you leaves me feeling inspired, whatever that means." She pulled out another sheet of paper and immediately started scribbling.
The dryness in Marsh's voice wasn't for annoyance or anything; she was glad to have Apple's company and all. They had fun together, and Apple was really nice. Marsh just didn't know what to make of this. How did Apple have so much paper, and why did she keep drawing her? As a matter of fact, there was a lot about Apple she didn't understand.
Marsh returned to drawing her picture (herself as a Sailor Scout; shut up, she could dream), trying to keep her befuddlement off her face. Being confused by Apple's antics was far preferable to being on the wrong side of her fists.
"Yo Vitamin C, Sweet Stuff!"
Lightbulb skidded to a stop nearby, her light shining bright. "You gotta join us for our team hangout! Ya can't have a bonfire without s'mores."
"You're kidding, right?" Marsh said, her eyes widening.
"Who's to say?" Lightbulb answered.
"Uh- what's bonfire mean?"
"You're about to find out," Lightbulb said, grabbing Apple's arm and dragging her.
'Casual cannibalism, my favorite,' Marsh thought disgustedly, watching them walk off together. Still, she gathered her growing collection of Random Junk Apple Had Given Her (a yellow folder full of Apple's drawings and... a stick? She was still trying to figure that one out) and followed.
Three episodes had left the Bright Lights a much smaller team than it'd been at the start. Tissues leaving was for the best (and not just because it was nearly Apple instead of him), and Marsh was OK with saying goodbye to Cherries for obvious reasons. In spite of their disadvantage, their triumphant victory in the triathlon rang true.
At worst, it meant there was ample space around the little bonfire when Marsh got there.
Lightbulb rushed to sit beside Paintbrush. "Glad you could make it," Paintbrush greeted. "Lightbulb and I agree that we have to turn our win into a win streak."
"And the best way to do that," Lightbulb added, "Is to hang out! As a team!"
Test Tube chimed in, "Assuming Team Grand Slams doesn't do a similar bonding exercise, our chance of winning goes up in the tenths of percent. The tenths!"
"Uh, we aren't camping," Apple's face scrunched in confusion.
"Tenths, not tents," Marsh corrected gently, taking a seat between her and Yin-Yang (who seemed relatively stable at the moment). "It means we have a better chance of winning if we do this- but first, I have to make sure there won't be any casual cannibalism here. Right?" She crossed her arms and glared at Lightbulb.
"There will be no marshmallow roasting, don't worry," Paintbrush assured. "We do have plenty of treats for you to enjoy- if Fan stops hogging them."
Fan looked up from his phone; his mouth was so full that he looked like a chipmunk. He looked slightly embarrassed as Paintbrush snatched the bag from him and threw it to Marsh. When she peered inside, she gasped with delight. "Jellybeans!"
She could hardly remember the last time she'd gotten to eat her favorite treat. It was definitely before the show started. Marsh only half-listened to Paintbrush as she snacked on the explosively fruity morsels. In between handfuls, she offered some to Apple, who took them.
"Marsh-amallow, may I have-a some?" Yin-Yang asked softly. Marsh shook a few beans out of the bag and into his hand. "Yay, thank you! I love jellybeans!" He slapped his own arm, sending the candies flying. "NOO! We are NOT having these dumb idiot candies. But Yang, they taste soooo good- SHUT UP! They disgust me!"
"Will you shut up?" Paintbrush snapped.
"I should have never been stuck to you," Yin-Yang yelled, standing and pointing dramatically. "I hate ALL of you! I'll kill you ALL! Noo! We can't kill our friends; it'll cause too much trouble... " "Friends? HA! S'MORES ARE WAY BETTER!"
Suddenly Marsh was hoisted in the air. Yin-Yang held her so close to the fire that she could feel its sweltering heat.
"I'm so sorry!" Yin-Yang yelled, his voice cracking.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!"
Marsh suddenly crashed to the ground so hard that the air was knocked clean out of her. She forced herself into a sitting position and watched in horror. Apple was on top of Yin-Yang, trying to restrain the bigger object. Yin-Yang bit Apple's arm hard enough to make her yelp.
"Break it up, you two!" Paintbrush yelled, marching towards them.
However, it only took a split second of Yang taking control to hoist Apple into the air. "You BET I'll break her up!"
"AGH!" There was a sickening crack.
Within seconds, apple juice splattered everywhere. Some of the sharp, sweet stuff even found its way into Marsh's mouth.
Apple had been ripped clean in half.
Yin-Yang laughed maniacally. "I'm sorry! NO I'M NOT! Murder is wrong! BUT IT FEELS SO RIGHT!" He proceeded to either fall, or throw himself into, the fire.
He melted into the flame with a sizzle. Everyone was still and silent, save for the fire, which roared as its flames licked the sky. Marsh spat out a mouthful of apple-juice. It coated the grass, the stick, even the jellybeans they'd been sharing earlier. Her stomach turned horribly; for a second, she was sure its contents would spew everywhere.
"Well that was disturbing," Fan remarked, then started hammering away at his keyboard.
"Marsh, are you OK?" Paintbrush asked. When Marsh faced them, her breath caught in her throat. With various parts of their face cast in shadow, Paintbrush looked improbably grim - it was hard to believe it was really the same Paintbrush Marsh had joked around a fire with last season. Somehow, she managed to nod. "Good. Ugh. We can hardly have a teambuilding exercise if a third of the team's dead. So let's all meet here again tomorrow, no funny business, OK?"
Paintbrush's tone invited no argument; in fact, they didn't even wait for a response before stomping off into the night. Lightbulb glanced at the remaining team-members before bounding after Paintbrush. Fan snapped a photo of Apple's corpse and typed away on his phone as always. Test Tube joked awkwardly, but sighed and walked away when nobody reacted.
Marsh was effectively alone.
'...I know Apple will be back by morning, but would it kill you guys to be a little upset about it?'
There was such a strange sense of deja-vu to be had, staring at Apple's corpse. Unsaid words that Marsh couldn't articulate remained at the back of her throat.
⁂⁂⁂
If there was one thing Marsh learned about Apple, it was that she loved to talk. About drawings, about the things she saw, about the things she wanted to do later.
Somewhere along the way, Marsh figured that it wasn't because she liked the sound of her own voice. Who would? It had to be because it reminded her that she wasn't alone, that someone was actually there to listen. Even when Marsh didn't have much to say, Apple spoke on with a vengeance.
In any case, now that the sound of Apple's chatter was gone, Marsh was surrounded by the silence that she thought she craved. This was a quiet part of the island, right on the edge of the Perilous Forest, and she was all by herself. Usually she would've enjoyed the rare peace.
There was a small but potent seed of dread in her heart that prevented that, though.
Something about Apple dying for her struck a nerve with her, but she couldn't figure out why. She could only guess she'd watched a scary movie about someone sacrificing themself at some point. She'd enjoyed enough horror films before the show that it made sense.
'Maybe it's just a bad dream I had. Although, it does feel a bit personal to be from a movie.'
Having Apple was good. At least then she could ignore the thoughts of death that coursed through her mind.
When Marsh heard Apple's voice again, she gave her a friendly wave as she ran over. "Hey! Are you OK?"
Apple did a little spin. "I feel fine!"
"Phew, that's a relief." Usually, being burned alive carried an uncomfortable after-feeling; she hoped Yin-Yang was experiencing it full-tilt. Knowing that being ripped in half wasn't like that almost made her feel less guilty about the whole thing, emphasis on 'almost.'
"Did he get you?"
"He killed himself before he could," Marsh answered, "But it's thanks to you that I survived."
"'Survived?'"
"I didn't die," Marsh clarified. "So thank you!"
She beamed. "Anytime! I'm just glad you're safe, haha." She puffed out her chest and added, "As long as I'm here, nobody'll ever hurt you - that's a promise!"
Marsh laughed lightly, then felt tight in her chest.
She didn't know why, but she felt an unshakeable, profound gratitude that her "thank you" wouldn't go unheard forever.