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The chopper hovered over the pristine peak. Johnny and Rachel sat in the chopper bay, preparing their ski gear. Johnny pulled out a small box from his pocket. He then got distracted by Rachel talking to him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah...Stay right. Left is trouble-"
"Last one down springs for room service." She pulled down her goggles and jumped out. Johnny turned over to the pilot and shoved the box back in his pocket.
"That's my future wife!" He then jumped out after her. The snow started to sizzle and melt behind him.
Rachel followed every inch of the trail, slicing expertly in and out of the trees through deep powder. Johnny was a speed freak, maximizing velocity, closing the gap between them.
Ghostly flames shot off his hair. His ski cap caught fire and flew off. Jets of fire knifed through his jacket.
"You're on fire!" Rachel noticed.
"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself."
"No! You're on fire!"
Johnny saw his gloves burning and flicked them off in alarm. His body shuddered, the back of his ski suit caught on fire. A burst of flames launched his down the slope like a rocket.
Rachel lost concentration and fell. Her skis continued to slide down. No! Please stop! Rachel thought, thinking her usually lazy thoughts. But, somehow they stopped. She couldn't believe it. She looked up and saw Johnny, who was still on fire. "STOP DROP AND ROLL JOHNNY!" She yelled.
He tried to put out his flaming clothes, and accidentally veered to the left. He failed to notice the giant chasm in front of him. He faced forward and screamed.
He launched off of the cliff, legs flailing., trying to catch the ground. Flames began to trail his body as he fell forward towards the rocks below. He tried to will his body away.
Instead, his body became engulfed in flames. He was now like a human torch. For a moment, he held in the air. The fire gave him some sort of lift. He maneuvered just over the rocks, almost making a 90 degree turn.
He looked back at the rocks in disbelief. But the lift didn't last long. He quickly crashed, landing hard into the snow bank.
He opened his eyes. He tried to move but he couldn't. He was trapped under snow and ice. With all his strength, he tried to move but couldn't. Panic set in. His eyes went wide as the snow around his quickly melted. Johnny was in fire but in a matter of seconds he was sitting in a small pond, steam rising from the water.
Rachel raced towards the steam scared and panicked. She found Johnny...smiling, sitting naked in an impromptu hot tub, staring at his hands.
"Care to join me?" He asked. Instead of smiling and joining, Rachel rolled her eyes.
————————
Two dozen employees sat and ate. Others served themselves at the buffet. Ben and Sue walked into the beach nice dining hall.
"I can only stay for one drink, Ben. I've got to meet with Victor." Sue said.
"Wouldn't want to keep Vic waiting." Ben grumped. They turned the corner to see Reed entering by another door. "Hey Reed, what are you doing here? Great, why don't you join us?" Ben said, before he could answer. Ben quickly shepherded the two of them toward a quiet table. Ben's stomach growled so loud that they could hear it. "God, I'm starving. Gonna hit the buffet." His stomach growled even louder than before.
After a while, the sun was long gone and so were most of the diners. The room was darker, with more of a romantic setting. Ben finished the last shrimp on his plate, pushed it away and belched prodigiously. "Pardon me..." He said.
Sue and Reed stared at him. His stomach growled again. "Are you alright?" Reed asked.
"I think I need to lie down. Bad shrimp." This was Ben's plan, but he really wasn't feeling well, unsteady when he walked away. He looked down at his stomach. "Really bad shrimp." He left and it was Reed and Sue.
Reed just didn't know what to say to her. "Feeling better?" He asked.
"Yes, thanks." She replied.
"That's good. That's uh..good."
"You always had a way with words...I should be getting back." Sue said awkwardly. She then got up to leave. Exasperated, Reed tried to think of something to say.
"I'm really happy for you and Victor." He said.
Sue slowed down and looked at him. She was hoping for more. "You're happy for me and Victor."
"I can tell you guys are enjoying what was the best part of our relationship --"
"Which was?"
"Passion...." Sue was surprised. ".... For science."
"You are such a dork, Reed... You never got it and never will unless it's explained to you in quantum physics." Sue said frustrated. As if triggered by her emotions, the fireplace by her bent. The flames flickered in a ghostly breeze.
"What? What did I say?"
She looked more disappointed then angry. "It's never what you say. It's what you don't say. What you don't do..." she let that hang. A lot of history there. She wanted Reed to fight for her.
"I...I...I just wanted to --"
As Sue's emotions swirl, she slowly disappeared.
"It's been two years, and all you can say is you're happy for me and some other guy..." She stood up, hurt. "You know, Victor may be a lot of things, but at least he's not afraid to fight for what he wants..." Reed looked down. "And it's nice to be wanted sometimes. To be heard...seen... Reed, look at me."
Reed looked up but all that was left of her was the blush on her cheek and her bewitching eyes. He dropped his fork, shocked. " Uh, Sue...? I can't."
"What? What do you mean you --"
"Sue...look at your hands."
She raised her hands. To Reed all he saw was a medical waist band and a watch floating. Her clothes being suspended in mid-air. Sue was invisible. She shrieked and got up- knocking a glass off of the table.
Reed reached for the glass before it hit. Lucky for him, his arm stretched 2 feet out of his sleeve. Then snapped back into place. Reed stared at his arm in disbelief. Sue's eyes widened as well. The rest of her reappeared. They looked at each other: mutual alarm.
Johnny and Rachel came in the doorway. Johnny was naked except for a pink parka wrapped around his midsection.
"You guys will not believe what just happened!" Johnny exclaimed.
