After their victory over the dreaded crane game, Kaitlyn and Vinny wandered about the arcade for a while longer. The guy seemed a little more open to trying other options out now, though he remained pretty picky about which ones he'd play. Every single one of the racing games, for example, were immediately shunted into the category of "shitty knockoffs not worth my time." They did make decent progress through a few of the shooters though.

  Once Kaitlyn's card ran out, they decided it was time to head home. She'd initially planned to grab dinner somewhere while they were here, but Vinny didn't seem particularly interested. Whether that was because they had leftover orange chicken at home or because he didn't want her plushes attached to his motorcycle for a second longer than necessary, she couldn't be entirely sure. But she had her suspicions.

  They strapped the plushes haphazardly to the back of the bike. Luckily, one of the arcade staff had taken pity on Kaitlyn and offered her an oversized bag for the prizes before they left. While it didn't entirely solve the problem of transport, it certainly made things a lot easier. Still, the plastic-coated lump of fluff and fur remained rather precariously positioned.

  Vinny tossed her a helmet—an extra one she'd bought for herself—and jerked his chin toward the bike. "Alright. Let's get movin'."

  She nodded in agreement, then hesitated for a moment. "Hey, Vinny?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Thanks. This was… a lot of fun."

  She hadn't particularly expected the day to go like this. But she was certainly glad it had.

  This right here? This is exactly the kind of break I needed. A chance to really unwind and get away from it all.

  It felt like a complete breath of fresh air. As much as she'd enjoyed all of her on-campus hobbies, she had to admit that they all came with some weight of responsibility. Some kind of expectation. Whether it was to serve her customers at Kate's Kitchen or to provide enough data for Professor Adams's satisfaction in lab, just the act of engaging in them established some minimum bar that she was expected to meet—one that she often raised even higher for herself. But this? This was just fun for the sake of fun.

  It's kind of like dress shopping, though even that had a purpose to it. This… for a minute, I actually forgot about everything. The loops, endings, progress—all of it.

  Now that it was over, she could recognize that this had clearly been an important encounter. It probably even marked an important milestone for Vinny's endings. But that fact felt less important to her than how much she'd enjoyed herself.

  He gave a derisive snort. "What're you thankin' me for? You're the one who dragged me along, Lynn."

  "I guess. But you didn't have to actually come."

  "Uh-huh. So you were bluffing about the princess bed thing?"

  "...Ok, maybe you did have to." She tried to suppress a small smile. "But the arcade was different. You definitely didn't have to say yes to that one. But I appreciate that you did. I enjoyed hanging out together."

  "Hmph." He crossed his arms. "If you had so much fun, then why're you makin' that face?"

  "What face?"

  "That one. Like you're about to tell me my dog died or some shit."

  She blinked in surprise. She did feel a little wistful, didn't she?

  "I guess… I'm just a little sad that it's over. I mean, who knows when we'll get to do something like this again?"

  "You say that like it's somethin' special."

  "It kind of is, isn't it?"

  "...You know you can do shit like this whenever, right?" He gestured meaningfully toward the mall. "Not like anyone can stop you. Hell, you work off a damn laptop. You could just fuck off and go on a damn road trip if you wanted."

  The guy had a point. Her work schedule was incredibly flexible, and her prior experience with some of those projects meant that she could accomplish an incredible amount in a very short time—especially by compressing some of her old work and storing it in her Notes app. Those two factors together meant that she was pretty free to do as she pleased with her day. Even the housework and cooking she'd taken upon herself to do was an optional thing, another one of those responsibilities she couldn't help but saddle herself with. Even then, it was certainly nothing that anyone would begrudge her for missing a few days.

  It's not like I haven't thought about it. I've considered the idea of just taking a loop to go on a long vacation or something. I've just never actually followed through.

  "...I guess you're right," she admitted. "But still. Just because I'm free doesn't mean anyone else is. And it's not the same if I just go do stuff on my own."

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  "Yeah? Well, not like I've got shit to do."

  Kaitlyn stared at him in stunned silence. Vinny was looking away from her as he climbed atop the motorcycle, studiously not meeting her gaze.

  Was that… an offer?

  "So…" she prodded. "You wouldn't mind, then? Doing something like this again?"

  "Depends. You gonna strongarm me into it or somethin'?"

  "No. Not unless you lose another bet."

  He snorted. "Maybe. Only if it's not some boring shit. Don't even think about dragging me shopping again."

  Her eyebrows rose. "Was it really that bad? We only bought one thing and it took, what, fifteen minutes? Maybe twenty?"

  "Longest twenty minutes of my life…" he muttered bitterly. "Now you gettin' on? Or you gonna walk home?"

  A slow smile spread across her face. "Right! Coming!"

  Kaitlyn plopped the helmet onto her head and hurried to settle herself behind Vinny. Her arms wrapped tightly around his midsection as he kicked off, rumbling out of the parking lot and down the street. As they drove, she felt a seed of hope blossom inside her. Maybe they could do this again. Something like it, at least. She'd enjoy that.

  Maybe today went even better than I thought.

  They were about halfway home when their drive took them down a long, straight highway. A center divider filled with bushes and mulch separated them from oncoming traffic on the other side. A steady stream of cars zoomed by in the other direction as Vinny weaved between mostly open lanes before them.

  She heard the blonde swear under his breath, voice barely audible above the road noise. "Shit. One sec!"

  He suddenly pulled over to the right side of the road, positioning the bike so that it hugged the sidewalk as closely as possible. Kaitlyn popped off her helmet as he quickly dismounted. "What's wrong?"

  "Just gimme a sec! I thought I saw somethin'..."

  Rather than looking at his bike, though, Vinny was scowling at something on the center divider. A small, fluffy shape that huddled under one of the bushes. It was just hidden enough that she had no idea how he could've spotted it—especially at the speeds they were traveling.

  "Is that a cat?"

  Vinny nodded, scanning the road for incoming cars. "Looks like it. Don't see a collar on it, either. Can't tell from here though…"

  Kaitlyn set her helmet on the bike and hurried over. "Here, I'll go grab it. You figure out how we can get it home."

  Before he could protest, Kaitlyn took advantage of a break in the traffic to rush across the street. Her feet rapped against the asphalt and touched down on the concrete edge of the divider a few dozen feet away from the cat's hiding place. It lifted its head to gaze at her with suspicion, mouth opening in a quiet meow.

  "Hey, there," Kaitlyn cooed softly, gesturing toward it. "Come here, little kitty. Don't worry, I won't bite."

  She stayed where she was, speaking softly and making reassuring sounds toward the cat as it slowly lowered its guard. Its white- and black-speckled form remained where it was. It tensed up as she began to slowly approach, causing her to pause for a moment until it relaxed again. Bit by bit, she inched forward with exaggerated patience. The last thing she wanted to do was scare the thing into oncoming traffic.

  "There we go. Easy does it, little guy. It's gonna be ok."

  Her movements soon brought her within arm's length of the cat. She reached an experimental hand out toward the fluffy ball. It sniffed her fingers uncertainly, then rubbed against them with its cheek. Kaitlyn couldn't help but smile at the contact.

  At this distance, the feline's state became more abundantly clear. Its fur was frazzled and speckled with dirt and grime, suggesting that it had been either lost or living on its own for a long while. The observation made her wonder if the black spots were even part of its natural fur color. Regardless, it didn't have a collar or any other sign of being someone's lost pet.

  Maybe it's got a microchip? It's pretty friendly…

  She glanced across the street toward Vinny. The blonde stood by his bike, fiddling with the bag of plushes with a scowl on his face. He didn't seem to have made much progress on their transportation issue.

  Yeah, I have no idea how we're gonna get this guy home either. Maybe I can hold onto him while he runs back and grabs a cat carrier or something? That might be our best bet…

  Suddenly, the cat stiffened. Kaitlyn had only a fraction of a second to react before it bolted. The small white shape darted out from underneath the bushes and into the street, fur sticking up in panic from whatever had spooked it.

  "Ah!" Kaitlyn instinctively rushed after it. She managed to catch up in a few strides and grabbed the animal, picking it up before it could dart off again. "Gotcha. You can't just run into the street like that, buddy. It's dangerous…"

  She raised her head to look around as the blare of a horn filled her ears.

  Time seemed to slow down as Kaitlyn took in the scene around her. A semi truck bore down on them, its headlights staring her down like the eyes of a hungry predator. Further away, Vinny had abandoned his bike to sprint toward her, his mouth open as he shouted something she couldn't hear. It looked like he was trying to run through molasses.

  Oh. Oh, no.

  Kaitlyn willed her legs to move in an attempt to sprint forward and out of danger. Yet she found herself in much the same situation as Vinny. None of her morning jogs had prepared her to outrun a speeding truck—especially not one that was already this close.

  Still, she tried. Her feet slapped against the asphalt with agonizing slowness as the truck loomed large and filled her vision. It was all she could do. The truck was trying to stop, that much she could tell. But it wouldn't be enough.

  Oh shit. I'm going to die, aren't I?

  A cold certainty settled in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't going to make it. There was no way. She was going to get hit, and there was nothing she could do about it.

  Squeezing her eyes shut, she held the cat protectively to her chest and braced herself.

  ***

  Cycle 43 Complete!

  New Ending Unlocked!

  Ending: A Terrible Fate

  Total Endings Unlocked: 15

  Achievement Earned: Mask of Many Faces

  Achievement Earned: Trainwreck

  Unlocked: Progress Report (Advanced)