Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators and writers of Julie and the Phantoms (2020). I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made.

Rating: K+

Author's Note: For those who may have lost track, Julie has been in the game for 3 weeks now but only 1 week has passed in the real world (as of the end of this chapter)

Chapter 11

The next three days in the real world pass quickly, for Julie spends more than twice the amount of time in Jumanji.

On Saturday she's in the game for a whole day in the two hours before Tía takes her and Flynn dress shopping and she's gone for three days between when they come back and when she finally goes to bed.

One Sunday she goes to mass with her family in the morning and then is gone two days in the afternoon. In the evening, she takes a much-needed break to spend time with her dad and brother, as well as to catch up on the pile of homework that has been accumulating.

On Monday, she goes to school before spending another two days in the game. It's spirit week at school, and the theme of the day is Pajama Day. She and Flynn bought matching onesies on Saturday and Julie enjoys lounging around a little too much. After suffering in the cold mountains in scratchy and heavy furs, the soft and warm footie pajamas are just too much. She falls asleep in every one of her classes. Luckily she doesn't get in trouble, for she's not the only one.

In the game, the stakes are higher than ever. Julie thinks that every stage of the mountains is the worst, yet the next one always continues to unpleasantly surprise her. She and the boys lose a day during a violent ice storm when they're stuck hovering under a frail overhang. It's too wet for them to start a fire so they huddle up close to each other for warmth.

"What do you think is going to happen when we win the game?" Alex asks, his voice nearly lost in the gales of the storm in the background.

"We'll return to our lives," Luke says.

"Yeah, but will the game spit us back out in the basement of the Orpheum? Or will we return to the world wherever the game controller is?"

"And will it spit us back out on the same day we joined the game or will we return to the present day?" Reggie asks.

A terrible thought occurs to Julie. She's almost too scared to voice it. "Will you guys have any memory of being here? Or will it all be like a bad dream?" Her voice drops to a whisper. "Will you remember me?"

All the guys object at once.

"Of course we'll remember you," Alex says.

"How could we not remember the girl who saved us?" Reggie asks.

"I could never forget you, Julie," Luke says.

Despite the icy winds swirling around them, Julie feels warm from the inside. She's come to love these three idiots she's been stuck with and she's glad they feel the same. Despite all their ups and downs, at the end of the day they're a team.

Julie has lost a lot in her life. She's lost more than most people her age. Her fear of losing even more has kept her from doing a lot in the past year. As twisted and awful as this game is, she's thankful to it for bringing her the boys.

The next day, the storm has only mostly abated. Heavy fog lies around them and their feet sink knee-high into the snowdrifts. Every step is a painful, forceful slog. Julie is thankful for the boots Willie gave them, but even they're not tall enough to keep all the snow out. She doesn't think she's felt her toes in days.

The going is slow. They all hike in silence, not having the energy to speak. The air is cold enough that it hurts her unprotected face. As all of them have lived their entire lives in California, they suffer especially hard.

At the moment they're crossing a narrow pass, with a mountain wall on one side and a steep slope on the other. It's about ten feet wide, which is just wide enough for Julie to have some semblance of safety. Still, a wrong step could send them tumbling over the side.

The mountain suddenly rumbles around them. In front of her, Luke staggers and falls to his knees. Reggie drops into a crouch and Alex falls over on his side. Julie twists her hiking stick deep into the snow and holds on tightly.

There's silence for a second and then a loud roaring sound, almost like a wave. For once, the boys catch on quicker than she does.

"Avalanche!" Alex shouts. He and the boys start crawling to the nearest overhang. With the deep snowdrifts, Julie can only see the tops of their heads.

She takes a step and another rumble shakes her precarious balance. By the time she crawls onto her knees, she sees a wave of pure white coming towards her. She glances over to the side, where the boys are pressed tightly against the wall of the mountain.

"Julie!" Alex yells.

She pushes herself up on her feet and lunges towards them. One step, two steps, the roaring growing louder…

Luke reaches out. She thrusts her hand towards him just as the wave of snow snatches her away. She's not sure if the screams she hears are theirs or her own. She tumbles over a few times, the thick snow obscuring her vision and choking off her air supply.

It's one of the slowest deaths she'd had since she started the game and the first death since she joined up with the boys. When she falls out from the sky a few minutes later and lands on the newly deposited snow, she's deeply shaken by the encounter.

The boys swarm her immediately. She pushes them away, the claustrophobia reminding her too much of being suffocated by the snow. "I'm fine," she assures them. "Now we've all lost one life."

"That was awful," Reggie says, a shiver running through his body. "I never want that to happen again."

"Here," Alex says. He digs through his backpack and brings out a coil of rope. "Let's tie ourselves together. That way we won't get lost in the low visibility and if someone falls the other three can anchor them."

It's a good plan that Julie kicks herself for not thinking of earlier. They tie the rope around their waists at one meter intervals before setting off again.

The day seems to drag on forever. After an entire week of trekking through the mountains, Julie never wants to see snow again. Her body aches from constant exertion and she's sick of the cold that seeps straight into her bones. After dying, her spirit is dampened somewhat.

The boys must sense her weariness because when they stop for the night, they spent a couple hours telling her stories from their band. Apparently they used to get into a lot of trouble because they didn't always officially book events.

"We played in the front of clubs, we played in the back of clubs, we even played book clubs," Luke says.

"Book club was the best!" Reggie exclaims. "Not so great for getting an audience, but they always had the best snacks."

"I probably wouldn't have read a single book after quitting high school if not for the book clubs," Alex admits.

"Wait - you guys actually participated in the book clubs?" Julie is incredulous.

"That was the deal," Reggie explains. "If we read the books and participated, we got to play. I don't think our music was their cup of tea, exactly, but they were very supportive."

"I think they preferred our music to Luke's unending metaphors," Alex says.

"What can I say? Once I start, I can't stop." Luke grins. "I would rock an English class if I ever took one again."

"Remember Miss Caroline's snacks?" Reggie asks. "She made that awesome french onion dip. I think I still have the recipe card in my stuff somewhere."

"Was this like, a teenage book club, or..?"

Alex shakes his head. "A bunch of older, middle-aged ladies and one guy." He looks at the guys. "Remember how Mrs. Nancy kept trying to set up Luke with her daughter?"

Reggie laughs. "Oh, yeah. But her daughter was totally obsessed with you, Alex. Poor girl."

"Wait - you went to a book club full of Karens?" Julie laughs. "That's hilarious."

"No, there was just one Karen, actually," Alex corrects.

Julie stares at him. "It's - it's not literal. It's an expression." She glances around at the other guys. "You seriously haven't heard it before? It's all over the internet."

"Yeah, uh, we don't spend a lot of time on the internet," Luke says. "Too busy with our music."

Julie already knew the guys were weird, but she adds this to the list. What kind of Gen-Z teenagers barely use the internet? It's almost like they were from a whole other world, even before they joined the game.

"So what kind of music do you guys listen to on your own?:

"We like all the good, classic rock bands," Luke says. "Led Zeppelin, Queen, Rolling Stones."

"Nirvana's pretty good, too," Reggie says. "But they're more modern."

Yeah, if "modern" means the nineties, Julie thinks to herself. Instead she just nods.

"Those are all pretty good bands. My mom was really into the rock scene when she was younger. She introduced me to all of them."

"Then your mom has great taste," Alex says. Julie doesn't have the heart or the energy to correct him.

"What about you?" Luke asks.

"I like a lot of alternative and punk rock bands. Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, Florence and the Machine, Imagine Dragons. And of course, Trevor Wilson. He's the one who got me into that genre of music."

Outside, the wind begins to pick up. The clouds in the sky are too thick for the moon to shine through and without a fire, everything is dark. Julie can hardly see the boys even though they're right next to her.

"I can't wait until we get out of these mountains," Reggie says. "They're giving me the creeps."

Julie pulls out her map. Even in the darkness, the yellow path glows faintly. She follows it with her finger. "Good news, then. I think tomorrow's our last day here."

"Earth to Julie."

Julie blinks her eyes and raises her head. Shoot. Did she fall asleep in class again?

"I'm starting to get seriously worried about you," Flynn says. They're sitting in one of the practice rooms that shoots off from the music room. Julie sits up straight and checks out Flynn's outfit. She's decked out in all red, white, and blue, which must mean that it's Tuesday and the theme is USA day.

Julie realizes with a jolt that she can't remember whether she was dreaming about being in the game or if she someone blocked out the first few hours of today from her memory. The thought terrifies her - she knew the game was messing with her mind the first time it sucked her in, but now she's worried there might be lasting effects. Maybe the longer she's in the game, the worse it gets.

She's suddenly thankful that it's almost over.

"I'm - I'm fine." Julie tucks her hair behind her ear. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

"I was running through my audition piece with you, but now I'm just concerned." Flynn slides across the piano bench to sit right in front of her. "What's going on, Julie?"

Julie shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Flynn. I don't know what's going on with me."

Flynn recoils, leaning back. "Yes, you do. But you're not telling."

When Julie needs words the most, they fail her. She sighs and drops her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry. I really am."

"I'm your best friend. Why can't you tell me?" Flynn frowns. "Does it have something to do with Nick?"

"Nick?" Julie has barely thought about him in days. She realizes that they must have had dance practice earlier today but that she can't remember it. The memory loss unsettles her even more. "No, not at all."

"Is it a family thing?"

Julie shakes her head. "No, it's not - "

"Then what is it?" Flynn's eyes sparkle. "You know you can tell me anything, right? You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course!" Julie takes a deep breath. "I do trust you, Flynn. But I can't tell you this. Not because I don't want to, but because I don't understand it myself."

Flynn's lips twist in a strange expression. "But if you do figure it out, you will tell me?"

It will never happen, but that doesn't mean the statement isn't true. "Yes. I promise." Julie reaches for her hands. "You're my best friend." She leans back. "Now, I want to hear what you've got."

After Flynn does her song and Julie gives her some tips, Flynn brings up the only other subject that Julie doesn't want to talk about.

"Your audition is tomorrow," she says. "Are you going to do anything?"

Once again, the guilt claws up in her stomach. She feels a strange calling to the music she hasn't felt in a while. For once, she feels like reaching out and playing something.

Then the urge passes as quickly as it came. Even if Julie wanted to audition, she doesn't have anything prepared. It's too late. She made her decision weeks ago, even if she hadn't made it consciously.

"No. I'm taking a break."

Flynn looks disappointed like she expected her to, but she nods. "At least we'll still have dance class. Not that we get to talk too much in it, seeing as you're spending all your time with Nick."

Julie rolls her eyes at Flynn's suggestive smile. "Ugh, not again. Seriously, we're just friends."

"Sure. And those are just platonic love looks he shoots you all class. Oh yeah, I notice. Carrie's friends have noticed, too. We've been completely blacklisted by her social circle."

"That hurts so much." Julie presses her hand to her chest in mock pain. Flynn laughs.

"Dang, Julie, when'd you become so sassy?"

Julie is about to say, "When I met Alex," but she quickly shuts her mouth. The only thing that would hurt Flynn more than she's already hurt is to learn that Julie has another whole friend group on the side. Of course Julie didn't meet them on purpose and she's not keeping it a secret to spite Flynn, but she's not sure her friend would see it that way.

As much as Julie wants to continue hanging out with the boys after they escape the game, she's going to have to come up with a really good explanation of how they met to satisfy Flynn. And now just Flynn, but her dad and Tía as well.

The bell rings, cutting through Julie's thoughts. She quickly grabs her bag and follows Flynn out of the practice room and into the hallway. Julie still can't believe that she has a giant black hole in her memory from this morning.

I'm going to finish the game tonight, she swears. No matter how long it takes.

Her classes all pass by agonizingly slow. Julie's pen scratches around her notebook absently. It's only after she really looks that she realizes she's sketched out scenes from the game, including the boys - well, their avatars, at least.

"What's that?" Nick asks, leaning over in their history class.

Julie's eyes widen. "It's, um, just from this video game I've been playing."

"It looks fun. What is it, a safari game?"

"Yeah, something like that." She quickly closes her notebook and offers him an apologetic smile.

He isn't deterred. "What's it called?"

"It's, uh, called Jumanji. But you probably won't find it anywhere," she adds quickly. "It's a really old video game. I found it in my garage, left over from the previous owners of our house. Honestly I'm surprised it still even works."

"Yeah, me too. That would have been over fifteen years ago." Nick frowns. Julie kicks herself. Why is she such a terrible liar?

"So," he says, thankfully changing the subject. "Our dance is coming along pretty well. I'm not tripping anymore, at least."

"I told you we'd work it out."

"Yeah, you did."

He smiles and Julie's heart skips a beat. How, again, did she forget an entire class period with him?

"I'm looking forward to performing at the dance on Saturday," he continues. "Are you going to be at the football game?"

If I manage to finish the game by then. "Yeah, probably," she says. "Flynn likes to go to the homecoming game every year because the team always schedules it against our weakest opponent. She likes to see our team crush whatever poor school comes over."

Nick laughs a little. "Yeah, it is fun. Our football team isn't too much better than the lacrosse team." He pauses and then adds, "Do you guys want a ride to the game? Your house, at least, is on the way from mine."

The invitation takes Julie by surprise. If she says yes, she'll be forced to commit. If anyone else was asking, it would be an automatic no. But since it's Nick, Julie finds all her senses thrown to the wind.

"Yeah, that would be great. Thank you."

"Cool." He shoves his hands in his pockets and smiles again. "I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Yeah."

The bell rings and their class ends. As soon as Nick is out of sight, Julie ducks into the nearest bathroom and rests her forehead against the cool brick wall. Her life is so crazy and out of control right now and most of it is her fault.

If it weren't for the game, Julie would be going crazy over the fact that Nick wants to hang out with her outside of school. She'd be jumping all over him. Now, though, she barely has the energy to be excited. Not to mention that she has three other teenage boys on her mind all the time and she's having to lie to her best friend and her family about why she's so stressed and absent all the time now.

It ends tonight, she reminds herself. One more day and this will all be over.