thought

"speech"


Sam awoke to something nudging her side. She tried to shake it off, assuming it was her mother trying to get her out of bed. I'll be up in a little while, I won't be late I promise… The nudging was accompanied by heavy breathing. The breathing increased in volume until it became the neighing of a horse. Her eyes flew open, and the creature took a step back in surprise. Bewildered, Sam sat up and looked around. Whoa, she thought, this isn't my bedroom. Suddenly, the memories came flooding back. Her step brother, the goggles, the nausea... Oh shit.

"Will?" she yelled. No response. The horse jumped at the sound of her voice. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She extended her hand to the beast, and it slowly began to come toward her. She stroked its soft fur and placed a small kiss on its nose. "Good girl." Sam knew the horse, and after scanning her surroundings, she knew exactly where she was. Something wasn't right. "Will!"

"Hmm?" came the response. It seemed to be coming from everywhere around her.

"Okay, it works, but I hope this is just the environment you're using to test it out. Plus, that 'transfer' or whatever needs to be a lot smoother."

"Nope, this is the finished product."

"What?" Sam exclaimed. "This has 'copyright lawsuit' written all over it. You know this game already exists. You didn't even try to tweak it, this is the exact same game."

"I know it is."

She looked at the ceiling in confusion. What was he thinking?

"And the transfer," he continued, "Went as planned."

"Okay whatever, I tested it, it works. How do I get out?"

"You have to beat the game."

"Will, look, I don't have time for this. I said 20 minutes; I have to get back to studying."

A sinister cackle was heard from above. Her brother sneered, "Oh, Sam. So naive. Try to take your goggles off."

She sighed and lifted her hands to her face, but nothing was there. "They're… they're not here."

"Of course not. You see Sam, my machine is different than others. You are not simply playing a game. Your entire consciousness has been transferred into your reality box. Your entire being, everything that you are and ever will be is in the virtual world. And until you win every single game, this is where you will remain. When you win, the box returns your consciousness to your body through your headset." He paused, and let out a satisfied sigh. "It's brilliant."

"William, are you crazy? What if someone keeps trying but can't win? Why the hell would you make a product that literally traps the player inside?"

"Because that is exactly what I want it to do."

Sam shivered. She didn't like where this was going at all.

"I'll let you in on a little secret, Sam. I don't intend to release this into the public. The way I've set this up, it should be impossible to beat."

"Then why the actual hell would you ask me to-"

"Because you've been in my way for too long."

She froze. "What?"

"Ever since my dad married your mom you've been a thorn in my side. All I hear is 'I wish you would be more like Samantha', 'Sam did this', 'Sam did that', 'Sam's getting a degree'. I'm SICK OF IT!" he roared. "With you out of the way, I can move on with my life without being constantly compared and belittled."

"You're fucking crazy!" she screamed, "You can't do this! They'll wonder where I am-"

"Oh don't worry, I have the perfect story planned out. All you have to do is focus on beating my virtual world. Which you won't."

Okay. Stay calm, Sam. She took several deep breaths, and looked around. Outside, the sun was beaming down on the seemingly endless terrain. A tall, thin bridge loomed over the land. If this was really happening, she wasn't going to let him get the best of her. "You said 'every single game' earlier. This looks like one game to me."

"This is only the first game."

"Explain," she growled.

Her brother laughed, a devious sound that made her hairs stand on end. "Someone's upset. I suppose it's only fair to let you know how this works. My virtual world is filled with games. When you complete one, a portal will open to take you to the next one. If you want to escape, you have to win them all."

"And if I die?"

"Depends on the game. In some, you'll spawn at the last checkpoint. In others, you have to start from the beginning. You know how games work, Sam."

So I have infinite chances. Okay, I can do this, she thought.

"Oops, I forgot one tiny detail. I figured it would be much too easy if you could just respawn all over the place, so I added a little twist while programming. You have 5 lives. Period. They don't replenish when you start a different game, and you can't earn more. Sorry," he giggled. "But when that last life vanishes, so does your consciousness… Forever."

Sam could do nothing but gaze into the air, eyes wide and mouth gaping. Sure, they didn't get along, but she never imagined that he hated her enough to want to seal her away forever. "Why… You did all of this just to torture me? We couldn't just talk about it like normal freaking people?"

"Oh no, don't flatter yourself. I have something much bigger in mind for this project. I told you I had two additional testers, remember? There are two more individuals that I need to do away with so I can acquire the fame and recognition I deserve."

Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant. "You can't be serio-"

"And to answer your second question," he interrupted, "I've always been more of a doer than a talker. That being said, I'll be on my way. Hey, at least you won't be alone in there. You'll have a couple of friends joining you very soon. Well, it sucked knowing ya, sis."

Sam heard a few buttons being pressed before he parted with, "Tell Mark and Jack I said hello!"


Cookie for anyone who can guess which game Sam is in. Alright! PD chapters are done. It's all uphill from here. Once again, if you made it this far, thanks for sticking around! Drop a review for me! The adventure begins... NEXT CHAPTER! (Also, the chapters will begin to get a little longer from here on out. Stick around! :D)