Page 73 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

“Did the power go out again?” I wonder. I tug us forward, but Daniel drops my hand and starts jogging toward the side of the villa. I run after him as he follows the perimeter of the wall.

“There,” he says, stopping at last. He points at a huge metal block with pipes running along the side and a vent in the front. The metal is dented, and even in the rain, smoke is billowing out from it.

Daniel says, “The generator. That’s what that boom was. I think it blew out.”

There’s an acrid scent in the air. A hefty tree branch is stuck through the vent, as if it had speared the generator through. I prod the branch. It sparks, and I jump back. We look down at the ground, and something black oozes from the generator. In this light, it looks like blood, and I shiver in Daniel’s arms. He tightens them around me.

“Maybe it’s oil?” Daniel wonders. He nods at the branch. “I’m guessing the storm must’ve caused the branch to jam the generator, and it sprung a leak.”

We both look up, but the nearest tree is over twenty feet away.

“But the wind wasn’t that strong when we heard the generator go,” I say slowly. Lex’s warning echoes in my mind. First the fireworks and now this? Maybe this wasn’t a freak accident caused by the storm. Maybe this was intentional.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Daniel says scanning the trees. “Let’s go inside and report it.”

We turn—and run straight into Leah.

“Shit!” Leah yelps. “You scared me.” She shines her flashlight on us. “What are you two doing out here? You should be inside!”

“We went out for a walk when the rain let up,” Daniel says. “You coming to check on the generator? I think it’s busted.”

“Damn it.” Leah goes to push her stringy, wet hair out of her face, but her face pinches in pain as soon as she lifts her arm. “Fuck,” she hisses.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“It’s fine. I’m fine. I just slipped earlier. Must’ve strained a musclewhen I caught myself.” She points her flashlight at the generator. “Well. That thing’s dead. It’s just one accident after another here.”

“When it rains, it pours,” Daniel quips.

“Save it for the cameras, Cho,” Leah snaps, but it’s half-hearted. She pulls out her phone and snaps a photo of the generator. “Come on, I don’t want you guys hanging around here.”

Leah strides away, and we hurry after her. As we near the front of Villa Paradiso, lightning strikes, a bolt of white in the night sky. In that split second, a flash of movement catches my eye—a streak of something blue and a shadow stark against the walkway for the briefest of moments. But then the darkness returns, and all I can see is the spindly outline of branches.

“Alice?” Daniel touches my arm.

“Did you see that? There’s someone else outside.” I say, squinting into the distance.

“Probably an animal,” Leah says. “Everyone’s inside, except you two.” At the villa, she holds the door open with her good arm. “At least there’s one bright spot in all this,” she says as she follows us in.

“What?” I ask.

“Our cameras are working just fine, so we can keep filming.”

With the power out, the inside of the villa is also pitch-black. Leah’s flashlight is the only light we have to guide us as we make our way through the halls. As we pass one of the tall bay windows, I see the line of trees surrounding the beach, and I’m reminded of the branch plunged into the generator. It could’ve been an accident, but I have a creeping feeling that something—or someone—happened to that generator.

EXCERPT FROM THEREAL TALK WITH EDEN AND MINPODCAST

EDEN:Ba da da da daaa! You’re here with Eden—

MIN:And Min!

EDEN:And we’re breaking down all the reality TV drama for you today.

MIN:Okay, first we havegotto talk aboutDawn Tay’s Inferno.

EDEN:I absolutely love this show. It’s giving drama, it’s giving train wreck, it’s giving ethics violations. I’m obsessed.

MIN:You aren’t alone. I think people derive a certain amount of schadenfreude from watching couples fall apart, andDawn Tay’s Infernoexploits the hell out of it. This show is killing it in the ratings game right now. Last night’s episode had more viewers thanThe Bachelorettedid at its peak. Can you believe that?

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