XPLR The Paris Catacombs (Sam and Colby)

The TV flickered against the dark living room walls, filling the silence with familiar voices.

“Twenty creators... one demonic city.”

Maddy barely touched the pasta on her plate.Molly didn’t either.

Neither of them had ever missed a Sam and Colby upload for long, but somehow this one had slipped through the cracks.

Now, curled up on the couch together, they watched with the same excitement they always did.

Every investigation.

Every haunted location.

Every impossible moment.

For years, they had imagined what it would be like to stand beside them instead of watching through a screen.

Maddy glanced at Sam as he laughed at something Colby had said.

Yeah...Definitely her type.

Next to him, Colby flashed one of his effortless smiles at the camera.

Molly looked away a second too late.

“I swear,” Maddy teased without taking her eyes off the TV, “if Colby ever caught you staring like that, he’d probably call security.”

“I wasn’t staring.”

“You absolutely were.”

“I was appreciating.”

Maddy laughed.

“There’s a difference?”

“There is in my head.”

They burst into laughter before the room fell quiet again, both turning their attention back to the television.

After a few moments, Maddy spoke again.

“I wonder what it feels like.”

Molly frowned.“What?”

“Getting invited.”

She nodded toward the TV.

“Being one of the people they choose.”

Molly didn’t answer immediately.Because she’d wondered the exact same thing.

Finally, she stood, carrying both empty plates toward the kitchen.

“We could always apply.”

Maddy followed behind her.

“...What?”

“I’m serious.” Molly shrugged as she loaded the dishwasher. “They ask for application videos all the time. Worst case? They never reply.”

Silence.

The dishwasher clicked shut.

“If we don’t try,” Maddy said quietly, “we’re guaranteed to never get picked.”

That sentence hung in the air.Molly looked at her sister.

“...Okay.”

“What?”

“We’re doing it.”

Maddy blinked.“No way.”

“Way.”

Within minutes they were back in the living room.

A laptop.

A phone.

A notebook.

Way too many ideas.

“So...” Maddy uncapped a pen. “Step one. Introduce ourselves.”

Molly nodded.“Step two?”

“We tell them why they should pick us.”

“And maybe don’t sound completely insane.”

“I make no promises.”

Maddy rolled her eyes with a laugh before scribbling more notes.

“We talk about the Paris Catacombs... how much we want to go... how incredible it’d be to investigate with them...”

“And then?”Maddy looked up.

“We hit send.”

Molly smiled.

“...And hope our lives change.”

A few minutes later, the camera on Molly’s phone counted down.

Three...Two...One...

“Hi! I’m Molly—”“And I’m Maddy!”

They stumbled over sentences.

Started laughing halfway through.

Recorded it again.And again.

By the fourth attempt, everything finally clicked.

When the recording ended, neither of them spoke.Molly hovered her thumb over the send button.

“You know,” Maddy said, “this could either be the smartest thing we’ve ever done...”

“...or the most embarrassing.”

“Probably both.”Molly laughed.

“Ready?”“No.”“Same.”

She pressed send.The screen refreshed.

Application submitted.

For a long moment, neither of them moved.Then Maddy let out a shaky laugh.

“We actually did it.”“Yeah...”

Molly stared at the confirmation email.“...We actually did.”

Neither of them knew that four days later, one email would change everything.

Four days later

“I’m sorry, what did you say?!” Molly shouted over the music.

The guy across the bar laughed, clearly giving up on whatever he’d been trying to tell her.

The sisters had promised themselves they’d leave the house for once.One night.A few cocktails.No work.No responsibilities.

Just fun.

Or at least...

That had been the plan.

“Where Them Girls At” shook the walls as the dance floor filled with people.

Maddy grabbed Molly’s wrist.“Come on!”

Within seconds they were swallowed by the crowd, laughing as they danced with complete strangers. Around them, people sang at the top of their lungs, drinks sloshed onto the floor, and flashing lights painted the room in blue and purple.

For the first time in days, neither of them thought about the application video.

Until Molly’s phone buzzed.She frowned.

One email.Unknown sender.

Her heart skipped.

No...It couldn’t be.

“I’m going to the bathroom!” she yelled.

Maddy gave her a thumbs-up without stopping her questionable dancing.

Molly weaved through the crowd, her pulse somehow louder than the music.

The bass still vibrated through the bathroom walls as she locked herself inside a stall.

She stared at the notification.Her thumb hovered over the screen.

“Please...” she whispered.

She opened it.For a second...

Nothing.

Her brain refused to process the words.Then her eyes raced back to the top.

Again.

And again.

“Oh my God...”She covered her mouth.

“No freaking way...”Her hands started shaking.

“They actually...”

A laugh escaped before she could stop it.“They actually picked us.”

Still staring at the screen like it might disappear, she hurriedly opened her messages.

SOS. Bathroom. RIGHT NOW.

Back at the bar, Maddy had just sat down with her fresh cocktail when her phone buzzed.

She frowned.

Molly?

She opened the message.

SOS. Bathroom. RIGHT NOW.

“...What now?”

Setting her drink down, she hurried through the crowd.

The moment she pushed open the bathroom door, Molly was already waiting.

Eyes wide.Phone clutched tightly in both hands.

“Mads!” she squealed. “Look!”

She shoved the phone toward her.

“Slow down,” Maddy laughed. “What’s going on?”

“Just read it.”

Maddy took the phone.The smile on her face slowly disappeared.

She read the email once.

Then a second time.

Then a third.

Her eyes widened.She looked up at her sister, completely speechless.

“No...”

Molly grinned so hard her cheeks hurt.

“Mads...”“No.”“Mads.”“...No.”“MADDY!”

Silence.

Then—“WE GOT IN?!”

Her scream echoed through the bathroom.“WE GOT IN!” Molly screamed back.

The next thing either of them knew, they were laughing so hard they could barely breathe.

They threw their arms around each other, jumping up and down like little kids who’d just been told Christmas had come early.

After a minute, the excitement settled just enough for Maddy to look at her sister.

“We’re actually going to meet them...”Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Molly smiled.“We’re actually going.”

The reality of it hit them both at the same time.

Sam.Colby.Paris.The Catacombs.

Everything they’d only ever dreamed about......was suddenly real.

Molly grabbed Maddy’s hand.“Come on.”

“What?”

“We have two days to pack.”

Maddy laughed.

“No...”“Yes.”“We’re really doing this.”“Yep.”

They practically ran out of the bar.Ten frantic minutes later, they burst through the front door of their apartment.

Suitcases appeared from the closet.

Drawers flew open.

Clothes landed everywhere except inside the bags.

“Okay,” Maddy laughed. “Before we throw my entire wardrobe into a suitcase... how long are we actually going for?”

Molly opened the email again.“Five days.”

She scanned the itinerary.

“Day one we’ll meet everyone at the hotel before flying out later that night. Day two is mostly for settling in and getting over the jet lag. Filming starts on day three and will probably continue into day four. Then on day five, we fly home.”

Maddy nodded slowly.Five days.

Five days that had the potential to change their lives forever.---“It’s time.”