The Lost Vacation

This is a collaborative choose your own adventure story. Click here for the chapter guide. Go back to chapter 1 by Linden Schneider here. Return to the previous chapter here.

You feel like one of those heroes under the drizzling rain, dreary and dismal. Your partner says nothing as you board the plane back home. There’s no turning back after you cancelled the vacation.

The organizers paid for your air tickets back home, which was generous of them. It’s remarkable, though, that when you originally came, they gave you first-class seats. Now that you’re leaving early, they gave you economy-class seats. It’s okay. Saving yourselves from getting killed is more important.

For a long while, you stare out the window, and your partner silently munches their dinner. At length, they pipe up and ask, “Are you okay, honey?”

You look askance at them, but their face is unreadable. “Are you mad?” you ask back.

They shrug, their eyes avoidant. “No…I’m a bit disappointed, but I get that you didn’t want to take the risk.” They sigh. “I still don’t know whether the unknown texter was scamming us, or if anything they said had any nugget of truth in it.” They stroke their chin in a pensive manner.

Silence stretches between you for another long moment.

Then you clear your throat. “Do you think Vacation Roulette will try to get us again?” Nervously, you glance about you, as if one of the flight attendants — or passengers — could be a secret agent for Vacation Roulette.

Your partner follows your gaze. They reply in a hard tone, “They won’t want to mess with us. We’re tough and wily, too.”

At that, you nod, though you doubt that you’re as tough as your partner thinks you are.

When you arrive back home, you’re tired but relieved, ready to collapse back into bed to sleep. But your partner surprises you and says, “Hey, baby, I’ve got something to confess.”

“What is it?” you ask, startled and annoyed.

For a few moments, your partner says nothing, then they continue, “Do you remember the morality quiz that Vacation Roulette gave us? I wonder what you answered on the last question…”

Your heart turns to lead. “How did you answer it?” you ask, not wanting to be the first one to disclose.

Your partner coughs as if to stall for time. They look away. “The question asked if I would cheat on you to save somebody else’s marriage. I — I said yes.” At your stunned expression, your partner lifts their hands in a pacifying gesture. “Look, I never took their damn quiz seriously. I figured that they just wanted to see if we could prioritise other people’s needs above our own, like a measure of altruism. Though it is a messed up way to ask.” They shake their head.

You breathe in hard. “But how would you cheating on me save someone else’s marriage?” You hug yourself, feeling goosebumps at the thought of your partner betraying you.

But they shake their head again. “I didn’t think that deeply about it, to be honest. I thought that most people would say no, and Vacation Roulette are looking for people who would give the unconventional answer. As for how that would save someone’s marriage, I’ve heard that some people are dissatisfied because their emotional or sexual needs aren’t met in their relationship. So when they satisfy these needs elsewhere, they ironically can carry on and keep their marriage…Not that I would actually want to render such a service to someone. I’m not a…pleasure servant or anything.” They shrug.

This conversation has you mystified. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” you ask with growing concern.

Your partner has a pinched look on their face. “Don’t be paranoid. I didn’t cheat on you, nor would I ever want to. However…” They glance at the floor.

You prod them on the shoulder and demand, “However what?”

Your partner sighs with a morose face. “There were people around me who propositioned me. I said no to them, partly because I wasn’t a cheater, and partly because I wasn’t interested in them anyway. But getting that question on the quiz made me wonder.”

Anger mounts in you, but before you can let it out, your partner asks, “And what about you? What did you answer for the last question of the quiz?” Their eyes are wide and candid, seeming more curious than worried.

You take a deep breath. “Actually, they gave me a different question. They asked…if I would be willing to kill my partner to save ten lives.”

Your partner’s jaw drops. “What. What did you reply to that?”

Now it’s your turn to avert your gaze. “Um, I answered yes. Not that I think this would ever come up, but maybe we do think alike. I thought they wanted to test how selfless and exceptional we are. Most people would save their partner, right? Perhaps I would, too, but I didn’t think that would impress them enough to get us into the vacation.” You fidget awkwardly with your thumbs.

After a moment, your partner says quietly, “I see.”

“Aren’t you angry? Freaked out?” you ask.

Your partner makes a face. “Not that I enjoy thinking of you killing me, but my answer to their cheating question wasn’t a pleasant one, either.” They continue, “Have you encountered any times where you wanted to kill me?” Their tone is jovial but their voice trembles a bit.

“Sometimes I get furious and may have murderous thoughts, yes, but I would never do it. Again, this was just a stupid quiz with absurd, hypothetical scenarios. But I do feel better now that I’ve told you, and you’re not too upset by it.”

“Yeah,” your partner says in a noncommittal tone.

Still, you don’t want to let your partner off the hook. “So what were you wondering when they asked you whether you would cheat on me?”

Your partner grimaces and shoves their hands into their pockets. “I just idly asked myself why Vacation Roulette would ask something so irrelevant to a vacation. Were they going to bring us to a brothel and tempt us to cheat on each other?” They take their hands out of their pockets and hug their arms. “But there’s no use dwelling on this, since we’ve already cancelled the vacation.”

You purse your lips. “But are you really going to just drop this big event, and forget Vacation Roulette ever happened?”

Your partner’s body tenses. They say through clenched teeth, “You make me sound like I’m being irresponsible and unserious.”

“I wasn’t trying to make you sound like anything,” you protest, raising your voice. “I’m just saying that this was a big thing that we should take time to process. We shouldn’t just leave it and move on to the next thing so quickly.”

Your partner heaves a deep sigh and flops down on the bed. “Maybe you’re right, but this is way too much to think about. It’s too tiring, so let’s talk about this tomorrow.”

You press your lips together in annoyance, since you are way too awake now. But you lie beside your partner, and let them hug you in their sleep. You don’t hug them back.

Continue.