Read Virgo's Vice for Free Online

while he unzips the bag.
    Inside is a black Samsonite trunk with a padlock on it. Billy hauls it out and tosses the canvas bag aside.
    “You know the code?” Billy squints at me.
    “Not me,” I say. “I just take movies.” Like a dork, I hold my hands up in front of me to mimic me holding a camera.
    A few people groan and I don’t know if they’re thinking how lame I am or if they’re pissed that the trunk is locked. The redhead with no shoes, I think she’s a teacher, says, “I suppose our shoes are in the other bag. Isn’t that how Murphy’s Law works?” She’s staring into the canvas bag.
    “I guess it’s our first task. We have to figure out the combination,” Billy says.
    “It’s kind of weird that we all have to work together,” the nerdy dude with glasses who’s also shoeless, responds. I remember his name is Jared.
    “There are two of these bags, aren’t there?” the nerd says.
    Mark said there were, and everyone around us seems to agree, although they don’t really know for sure.
    “If we were in teams, I guess each team would get one and have to decipher the code.”
    “Well, we aren’t in teams,” the giant black dude says. “So we have to figure it out together.” He touches his head, where the cut is.
    “How about r-e-a-l-i-t-y,” Billy offers. He doesn’t wait for a response, just starts turning the dial. It doesn’t work.
    “Try the producer’s name, d-o-c-k-e-r-y,” offers the black dude.
    It doesn’t work either. Billy tries a few more suggestions with no luck.
    “You sure you’re doing it right?” the nerd asks. “Let me try.”
    Billy stands and we all watch while Jared re-tries the combination.
    “Hey.”
    The women who went to find water are back. They’re sweaty and hot. The pudgy, tough-looking one in khaki shorts and work boots is in front. She sinks down to the ground and wipes her sweating face on her sleeve. “You found it.”
    “One of them,” Billy says.
    “Did you find anything?” I say, licking my lips. They taste of salt. I’m really thirsty. I follow her example and sit down on the bare reddish colored earth.
    “There’s kind of a mud puddle with animal droppings around it.” The tall blonde with an accent wrinkles her nose. “It will have to be boiled if we want to drink it.”
    The nerd, Jared, fills them in about the lock and they start offering suggestions. None of them work. After a while, everyone gets quiet. This is insanely frustrating.
    It’s probably over an hour later when Andy and Trip arrive back, carrying the other bag between them, with Mark following them and still filming, the chute in his arm and the cords dangling behind him.
    We all cheer.
    They set the bag down. “Why haven’t you opened it?” Trip asks, pointing at the trunk.
    “We can’t figure out the combination for the padlock,” Billy responds.
    Trip unzips the canvas bag he’s just brought, and takes out the shoes that are lying loose inside it. He holds them up and their owners retrieve them. There’s another trunk the same as the first one, and it’s also locked.
    I step back and stand beside Mark. It’s not my place to figure out the combination. I can’t help thinking about it, though. I want to ask Mark if he has any thoughts, but he has to keep the camera rolling to record all the suggestions.
    After several tries later and what seems like ages, Andy says, “Try the name on the label of one of the bags that covered the trunk. E-m-b-r-i-l-e-s.”
    Nobody says anything and it’s so quiet I can hear the padlock clicking.
    “Yes!” Billy shouts as it springs open. “Yeehaw!” He yanks it out and lifts the lid of the trunk.
    “My camera,” I say and push through the crowd. “Let me get my camera and equipment.” It’s all packed into two labeled cardboard boxes and I drag them out and place them a little ways away and go back to try and see what else they find.
    “Our rucksacks are packed in here,” Andy says, lifting a gray canvas bag