Day One: Morning

[Bujin]

Well, Bujin, tell me when you stop, Rae sighed as Bujin maneuvered through and around a few trees. I?m done trying to decipher where you?re going.

Bujin stopped and took a moment before answering, ?I?m not lost.?

Uh-huh, Rae said sarcastically, I think you?re going in circles. We?ve passed that tree a hundred times.

?Rae, they?re trees. They all look alike,? Bujin sighed. ?They don?t do anything. What do you expect, for them to wave at you??

Do you?

The blue man frowned at the question. He had to admit that his mind hadn?t been working normally for the past twenty-four hours, but he wasn?t insane like her comment suggested. So what if he heard voices, see things that aren?t there, watch people turn into gigantic chickens, and watch imaginary pigeons carry away beer bottles. That didn?t necessarily mean that he was crazy. Insulted by the thought, he remained silent and decided to click a button on his simplistic scouter. He needed a change of direction.

When he found a landmark to approach on his map, the annoying voice of Karl?something came over the loud speakers once more. He began by telling the contestants about how the ratings were doing, and all the other irrelevant stuff. Just as Bujin was starting to lose interest, he began spouting out the danger zones.

C1
D4
E9
F2
G1
H10
I8

Taking note of the ?bad? areas, Bujin began to move toward his destination again. However, much to his dismay, the sky seemed to open up and the rain came down harder than Bujin had ever seen before. It came at the perfect time.

?Rae? Any suggestions?? Bujin asked, hoping to use his imaginary friend to his advantage. However, he was met with a not-so-familiar voice.

Uhh?she ain?t here, the male voice that Bujin had almost forgotten about replied.

?What the--?? Bujin stopped himself mid-sentence, suddenly remembering the male voice, ?Haven?t seen you for a while. Where?s Rae??

She?ll be back, dude, the man answered, To be honest, I don?t know where she goes.

Bujin shrugged, and walked out of the remainder of the forest and into a wide-open field. Taking an opportunity to rest, Bujin threw his bag on the ground and plopped down next to it. It was supposed to be a relaxing moment, but a familiar buzzing enveloped his head once again. It was dull this time, though, and not nearly as painful as the last time. The hallucinations didn?t let up, however, as Bujin looked up to see a gigantic squirrel staring at him from across the field. Under normal circumstances, Bujin would have made a few nut jokes, but confusion had reared its ugly head and left him speechless.

The former psychic, though several times smaller than the giant animal, wasn?t scared. After all, how could a cute thing like that squirrel do anything to hurt him? Fate, obviously pissed off from the last time, threw another irony in. The squirrel?s roar was more reminiscent of Godzilla than it was a cute, furry, little squirrel. It began to charge at him, the vibrations from its huge footsteps rattling the contents of his bag. Bujin closed his eyes tightly, trying to think the monstrosity out of being.

Not now?

The monster approached.

Don?t do this to me now?

The roaring sound got closer. Finally?

Bujin! The male voice intervened, causing Bujin to open his eyes and see sweet nothingness, What?s wrong?

?You mean?? Bujin paused, blinking, ?You?didn?t see that??

See what? The man inquired, confusion sounding as much in his voice as it did in Bujin?s. Dude, you?re trippin?.

?Shut up, Nancy,? the blue man teased, gathering his things as he stood up.

What the hell? Why do I get the girly-sounding name? Nancy whined.

?Because you?re a pansy. Now let?s go.?