This choice: A week later, the group arrives in Spring Falls... • Go Back...Chapter #7Arrival in Spring Falls by: Reneg4de   “So, how come we've never heard of this Spring Falls before?”
Sat next to Alisa on the bus, Adam’s gaze was fixed on the window, his eyes following anything and everything of interest outside. Watching as an expensive looking black car with tinted windows sped past them, he glanced at Alisa, who was entertaining herself by looking up a map of Spring Falls on her phone.
“Dunno,” she answered idly, zooming in on what looked like a college campus. “It is a bit strange, considering how close our town is to it, but I guess it wasn’t really known for anything before the factory opened. I’m not surprised, honestly, the place looks completely bare. It’s got a college and its own newspaper, but not much beyond that. The factory is, like, the biggest thing to ever happen to this place”.
“It’s a bit of a weird place for a factory, or is that just me?” Adam wondered, returning his gaze to the window. He watched as a large, faded sign welcoming them to Spring Falls rapidly approached the bus, a newer golden plaque below it declaring it the proud home of Expansive Candy. “Like, why not open in a big city with a large population? It makes more sense, especially for a company that nobody has ever heard of”.
“Well, some people have heard of it, or its chairwoman at the very least,” Alisa explained, tapping on a link that led her to a Wikipedia article. “Elena Exco, see?”
Showing her phone to Adam, she sighed heavily when he shook his head, shrugging apologetically.
“You really gotta do your own research at some point, babe,” Alisa chided her boyfriend, scrolling down a little. “She’s been in Time Magazine a few times, loads of online interviews, the youngest business woman of the century…”
“Really, the century?” Adam asked incredulously. “We’re only twenty four years into the century, how’s she claimed that title so early?”
Ignoring his quip, Alisa fell silent, reaching the bottom of Elena’s article after a few minutes. Spotting a link to the Expansive Candy website, she followed it, her phone lighting up with a rather garish purple website, bold gold writing welcoming her to the site. Scoffing at it, she had a quick curious browse, but didn’t find too much information she didn’t already know. Locking her phone, she shoved it into her bag, joining Adam in staring out the window at the rapidly approaching town of Spring Falls.
- - - - -
“Tell you one thing, we’ve got a nicer bus station,” Adam commented dryly as he disembarked the bus, stepping into a rather rundown and heavily graffitied bus terminal. Alisa stepped off behind him, stretching her arms above her head, more than glad to finally be off the bus.
“Not a competition, babe,” she told him sternly, delivering a swift elbow to his side as a warning. Ignoring him as he doubled over, clutching his side, she grabbed her phone, scrolling through her emails. “Now, let’s see here… get the bus to the station and then look for the pink-skinned women…”
Looking up, she glanced around the terminal, spotting no-one that looked like a pink-skinned woman. What she did spot, rather annoyingly, was a short, petite girl stepping off the bus, her amber eyes glued to her phone.
“What the fuck is she doing here?!” Alisa hissed furiously, causing Adam to whirl around in alarm, him having started to wander off.
“Who is it?” He asked urgently, his shoulders slumping in resignation when Alisa pointed towards Amber. “Ah… fuck. W-Well, maybe she's here for something else? You said there was a college here, maybe she's here to see that?”
Alisa stared at him, blinking once, before turning away with a shake of her head. Lifting a hand to her forehead, she inhaled deeply, taking a moment to compose herself, before releasing it and forcing a smile.
“Yeah, course!” Alisa laughed a little too loudly and a little too hard. “She's just here to see the college! Why else would she be here? I mean, it's not as though she'd have found a ticket as well, huh? What would the chances of that be? Anyway, I think I see that lady the email mentioned! Come along!”
Grabbing Adam by the hand, Alisa dragged him towards the exit. She hadn't been lying, she had indeed spotted a woman with what appeared to be a light pink shade of make-up applied to her skin, thankfully in the opposite direction to Amber. Approaching the woman, Alisa’s pace faltered somewhat as the pink lady turned to look at her, a rather empty smile spreading across her face.
“Greetings, you must be Alisa Thompson and Adam Johnson, two members of tour group number four,” the woman said, her voice serene and sweet. “I am E1, one of Ms. Exco’s assistants. I am here to deliver yourselves and Miss King to the Expansive Candy main factory”.
Stopping before E1, Alisa looked her up and down, a little weirded out by her odd appearance. Her pink skin looked far too immaculate to be mere make-up, and she was dressed rather scantily for a drive down to the bus junction. Her candy-striped crop top and short skirt left little to the imagination, clinging tightly to a rather curvaceous body that not only challenged her own, but might actually have her beat. Making sure that Adam’s gaze wasn't lingering somewhere it shouldn't be, Alisa cleared her throat.
“Yeah, that's us…” Alisa nodded in confirmation. “E1, huh… a bit of a weird name, if you don't mind me saying”.
E1 merely stared blankly at her, making Alisa shuffle anxiously under her unbroken gaze.
“Hang on…”
Thankfully, Adam spoke up, attracting E1’s attention. Her pink eyes moved to meet him, his head tilted curiously.
“You mentioned a Miss King?” He asked, reaching a nod in response. “Amber King?”
Alisa inhaled sharply, her body tensing up. Sensing a little bit of tension, Adam snaked his hand into his girlfriend's, giving a slight squeeze.
“Affirmative, Amber King is a bronze ticket holder due to arrive on the same bus as yourselves,” E1 said, scanning the station. “I believe she has spotted us”.
“Do we have to wait for her?” Alisa asked suddenly, only to shrink back as E1’s unsettling gaze returned to her.
“All ticket holders must be accounted for unless they have stated otherwise,” E1 said plainly. “Miss King has stated she will be attending the tour, therefore we shall wait for her”.
They didn't have to wait long. Amber, who had been looking around the station, had spotted the trio, her eyes attracted by Alisa’s hair colour. Even from a distance, Adam and Alisa could spot the displeasure on her face as she made eye contact with Alisa, only for said displeasure to melt away as she spotted Adam. With a smile on her face, the petite girl skipped over, completely ignoring Alisa as she stood on the other side of Adam.
“Hi, Adam! Long time, no talk!” Amber grinned, holding her arms out for a hug. Alisa growled dangerously, her furious expression peeking around Adam's back, while Adam himself slowly shook his head, holding out his hand for a handshake. “Awww, not a hugger anymore?”
“Only for the right people,” Adam replied shortly, giving Amber's hand a curt shake when she grabbed it. “Anyway, now that we're all here, E1, what happens now?”
Adam and Alisa looked towards E1, somewhat used to her odd appearance by now, while poor Amber recoiled slightly in shock.
“W-Wow, you really do have pink skin, huh?” Amber chuckled, tentatively reaching towards E1. The emotionless woman pulled away, eyeing Amber's hand with something approaching disgust.
“Please, do not touch me,” E1 stated, waiting until Amber had retracted her hand and uttered a sheepish ‘Sorry’ before continuing. “Now that we are all gathered, we shall travel to the Expansive Candy main factory. There, you shall join the rest of tour group number four, and you will undertake a tour of the factory. Before we depart, do any of you have any questions?”
“Uh, yeah, just a quick one,” Alisa piped up. “Are you our tour guide, or will somebody else take over?”
“I am merely your driver,” E1 answered. “A separate tour guide will be assigned to your group upon arrival. Any further questions?”
“Just out of curiosity, is your skin really pink, or is it like a suit of some kind?” Adam asked.
“My skin is pink, and that is all I am permitted to share,” E1 replied. “Any further questions?”
The trio shook their heads, prompting E1 to turn smartly on her heel and march out of the terminal, leading them to a rather fancy black limousine. Opening the back door for them, she waited until they were all sat comfortably within before closing the door behind them, heading to the front of the limo, and getting into the driver's seat. Starting the engine, she took off, heading towards the factory. | Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author