I can't take it any more. The hunger, the darkness, the despair... I just want out. Out of here. Out of Coates. Out of the FAYZ. My stomach is one continual ball of pain, and I'm painfully thin; it's been months since I've had anything sustainable to eat. And with each passing day I come to regret my choices; I honestly regret joining Caine and the others. But there is no way for me to get out of here; Caine would either kill me, or ensure that I never try to betray him again. The only good thing is that he's no Drake; we've all heard the horror stories of what he did to Sam in the power plant that day. Thank god he's dead and gone.

The sound of shuffling feet reaches my ears, and I look up to see Penny walking through the doorway, carrying a bundle of sticks. Bug appears out of nowhere as well, holding a lighter. The sticks are dumped on the floor, and quickly set alight. This is all we have for light now; the power plant incident killed all electricity within the FAYZ. And it's kind of funny how watching cartoons can take your mind off of the hunger for just a moment. But here in the cold and dark, hunger is my only friend.

"This'll maybe last an hour or so," Penny says, pointing to the slowly burning pile. "I would have gotten more, but this is all that I could carry. If only the cars still had gas..."

"And if only there was no barrier cutting us off from the adults," Bug adds, crouching in front of the flames.

"Or maybe even some food," I say hopefully. "Nothing too fancy, but something good and simple. Like pizza, you know?" They both nod longingly at the thought. Back before the FAYZ, pizza was a thing that was eaten nearly on a daily basis. Now, given the choice, I would rather have a pizza than the clothes on my back.

"Hey," Penny says. "I don't know if you'll like me or hate me for this, but..." She closes her eyes, and flexes her hands so her palms face outwards. And then, in my hands, is a slice of pizza. A genuine, honest to god slice of pizza.

"No way..." I say, staring hungrily at the food.

"It's not real," Penny explains. "So it won't give you any actual nutritional value, but it will taste and feel like pizza."

"How did you do this?" Bug asks, his hands positioned to look as if he's holding something. "Wait. Do you have the power?"

"Yeah," Penny says. "I've had it for a while now."

"And Caine never found out?" I ask.

"No," she replies. "When Diana read me, I used my power to make her see my power level as zero bars."

"And she bought it?"

"Hey, how real is that pizza to you?" she shoots back. I return my attention to the pizza in my hands. The warmth of the pizza is taking the chill from my hands, and the smell of the melted cheese... Oh my god.

I stuff the entire slice in my mouth at once, chewing on the slice of pizza, not caring that it's not real. The flavour of it explodes in my mouth, and I begin to cry as I swallow, the warmth of the food settling into my stomach.

"Oh man, Penny, you really outdid yourself." Bug says, also swallowing something. Penny lets out a wry grin, and clenches her fists. The warmth and the fullness and the taste of the pizza vanishes, as if it never happened. It didn't, but Penny's power made it feel so real.

"I know it's not actually feeding any of us, but it serves as a form of distraction," she lets out a chuckle. "Look how low we've sunken: relying on my illusions for any form of satisfaction. It's pathetic, this life we're living. If we can even call it a life."

"Hey, it's better than being dead though," Bug says. "If we survive this, then we might get back to the real world, and see our families again. We could escape this hell."

"That's one reunion I don't want to have," Penny says darkly. "My father killed himself in prison and last I heard my mother's wallowing in a cesspool of poverty, self loathing, and booze. Oh, and the reason I'm here at Coates? I poured bleach down the throat of the bitch that happens to be my sister."

"Sounds like a delightful family," Bug says flatly.

"Yeah," Penny replies dryly. "Just like those happy functional families portrayed on TV. In fact, my family's a perfect role model for aspiring parents." A mixture of a laugh and a sob comes from her lips. "And the sad thing? This, the FAYZ, has been the happiest time of my life: no parents, no older relatives, and no pathetic siblings. Moving from one circle of hell to another."

I'm not aware of it at first, but sobs are coming from my lips as I stare into the flames. I'm also shaking.

"Hey, Panda," Bug says. "You okay dude?"

"I can't do this," I say, feeling my weakened resolve crumble. "I can't do this any more. I need to get out of here."

"And go where?" Penny says. "There are only two ways out of here, Panda. The first is poofing, which I don't think you're close to. How old are you, anyway?"

"Thirteen," I reply, the knowledge deeply ingrained into my brain.

"So yeah, unless you want to wait two years, that's not an option," Penny says. "The only other way out of here is death, which I know nobody is ready for."

We remain in silence for a while after that, watching as the fire begins to die out. Inside my head, one thought persists in being there: how hard would it truly be to die? If it's quick enough, then I wouldn't even feel it. But what could do that? The answer hits me right away: the cars outside. Without meaning to, I stand up, leaving the fire behind me as I walk to the doorway.

"Panda," Bug says. "Panda, what are you doing?" He runs up to me, and places a hand on my shoulder.

"I can't take any more of this, Bug!" I yell at him, my voice trembling. "I'm done with this whole survival thing, okay? I have no other choice..."

"What's going on?" Penny asks, rushing towards us. But I ignore her, pushing Bug away from me. I break into a run, heading out into the night, sobs causing me to shake.

The first car I find is a small green one. It's out of gas, but it's perched on top of a hill; all it needs is one push, and then it'll be all over.

"Panda!" Bug's cries are frantic. "Don't do this!" I don't care any more, though; whatever will to live I had is completely gone. I open the driver's seat, and press on the side of the car, pushing forwards. It takes a lot of pushing, but it finally begins to roll down the hill. I leap inside the car, not even bothering to shut the door.

Bug and Penny are distant to me as I speed down the steep hill, the night concealing whatever is ahead of me. But if I remember, there's a sheer cliff-like drop at the bottom of the hill. The car bounces on a rock, and I shut my eyes, oddly unafraid. This is my way out.

A sudden jerking forwards, followed by the sensation of falling. I've broken the fence, and the car is plummeting to the ground. I faintly hear Penny's cry of horror before feeling a dull thud. And I've finally escaped the hell that I've been trapped in for the past few months.