Hi again! Well, well, well! Two chapters in one day! I'm on a roll! I know you are thinking that technically it's a new day but to me it's still Monday. HAHAHA! Anyway, new chapter! Posted now! Read and enjoy!

Tammi's jaw dropped.

Was this REALLY happening to her? WHY was this happening to her?

All she did was sit in Terrance's chair and stare at his computer screen in amazement and shock while her mind tried to digest all of what happened. What was happening.

"Tammi?" she heard Terrance whisper to her, and she could feel him inching towards her. She didn't respond to any of it. All she did was stare blankly into space.

"What the hell is going on?" she managed to choke out. When she didn't get an answer right away, she said it again, but louder. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know," she heard Dylan pipe in, and realized how long it had been since he last said anything. "But it's not just the diner. Take a look at this."

Tammi was too glued to the seat to get up, so Terrance went for her. He stood next to Dylan and looked on as more and more camera views were pulled up onto Dylan's screen. Views showing the shopping mall, the fitness center, the nearby suburban neighborhood, and even the gas station. Different places with one thing in common.

ALL of the people were frozen.

Women with bags stopped as their bags hung in space. Men who were jogging stood in place. Children who had previously been running and playing just froze in place, their laughter and giggling silenced.

"Holy crap," Terrance said to himself. Dylan nodded in agreement as he continued selecting random cameras and looking at all of the frozen people. "Tammi!" Terrance called out, taking a spare moment to look up to see her still sitting in the chair looking forward. He automatically became concerned and rushed on over next to her. He shook her shoulder a few times until she finally came around and rose her head up, showing a mix of so many different emotions. He managed to whisper to her, "You better come see this," and lead her slowly towards Dylan. He kept on scrolling through the views but took one second to check up on Tammi. He felt so sorry for her. Both of the boys did.

But now wasn't the time for emotions. Now they were really dealing with a crisis.

Tammi's eyes scanned every camera view in sight. She showed no other feelings. She didn't say anything else. She just stood there, looking intently.

After they were positive that they looked through every security camera, Dylan exited the window, bringing it back to his home screen. For a while the kids didn't say or do anything. They didn't even notice when the Doctor shouted, "Well?! Is that good enough?!"

"We really are dealing with something bad, aren't we?" Tammi finally gained the courage to ask asked.

That was pretty much what they were all thinking.

"All of the signs are there," she added. "The halt in gamer registrations. The frozen people. This… madman with his companion and 'mobile phone'."

The nodded silently in total agreement.

"So… what do we do about it?" Dylan asked, craning his neck a little to catch the reaction of his two colleagues. They looked back at him, their expressions blank and empty. They had no idea what to do. Who would?

Tammi let out several deep breaths and began to assess everything all over again.

She knew right off that the decrease in registration messages and the frozen people were connected somehow. The Doctor and Clara… well, she was positive now that they weren't created by the competitors. They were just two innocent strangers who mysteriously got sucked into the game. She still didn't know how yet, but the main thing was that it happened. The problem at hand was that there were two problems to deal with. The answer had to involve getting the game back to normal and getting the Doctor and Clara out of the game.

"The answer is simple," she accidentally said out loud, getting the attention of Terrance and Dylan. They looked at her anxiously, their feet tapping impatiently as they waited for her solution. She looked from one to the other as she carefully worded her plan. Finally, she brought the boys in closer and whispered her idea. When she was done, the boys could only lean back and stare at her in amazement.

"Technically, it's our job," Tammi finished.

They took a little while longer to think it over. Both knew it wasn't a bad idea. Actually, it was the only practical thing they could do. Quite simple.

"Sounds good," Terrance was the first to say, nodding his head a little to emphasize his choice.

"Yeah," Dylan added. "Hell, what else can we do?"

Wasting no time, Tammi walked back over to Terrance's screen and said, "LISTEN, ME AND THE BOYS HAVE BEEN ANALYZING THIS FOR A WHILE. IT'S OCCURRED TO US THAT THERE MIGHT ACTUALLY BE SOMETHING WRONG. WHILE YOUR HELP IS APPRECIATED, IT IS NOT NECESSARY. WE ARE GOING TO MESSAGE MRS. RATFIELD ABOUT THIS WHOLE DILEMMA. IF ANYONE WILL KNOW WHAT TO DO REGARDING THE GAME AND PLAYERS, SHE'LL KNOW. I DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE WILL DO WITH YOU AND YOUR ASSISTANT…. BUT I'LL TRY AND PERSUADE HER TO LET YOU LIVE."

She didn't know what cam over her, but her face let loose the slightest grin when the Doctor blinked in surprise and suddenly exclaim, "Hey! Hey! HEY! THAT IS GRAND!" while jumping up in the air and putting on another face-splitting smile. Clara let out a loud sigh of relief as she joined the Doctor in his happiness. Tammi, Terrance, and Dylan chuckled and smiled along with them, glad that they were able to come to a reasonable solution that didn't involve harming anyone.

"OK!" Tammi said, winding down from the sudden high and rushing back over to her computer, saying, "I'LL TYPE UP THE MESSAGE!"

She turned her head back over her shoulder and whispered, "Dylan? Terrance? Try to… keep them busy."

The two boys gave her a slightly awkward look before drawling out in unison, "Ok…"

Tammi plastered on an enthusiastic grin and cracked her knuckles as she sat down. The feeling of being in her own seat again sent chills up her spine. "Ok," she breathed, going to her email and hitting the "Compose Message" button. Automatically, she began typing in the information.

To: Mrs. RF

Subject: EMERGENCY!

Message: Dear Mrs. Ratfield,

This is TammiTron012 emailing you about… well… it's hard to explain. But I'll try to as best as I can. See, early this morning, as we were typing in more registrations for new players, the computer system just shut down and didn't take in any more information. Then, this strange man called 'The Doctor' and his friend 'Clara' arrived. Apparently, they were on their way to Bangkok in their… 'mobile phone', when they mysteriously got sucked into our game. They have no idea how it happened or how they'll get back. They ARE innocent, though. They are. And they have brought to our attention that ALL of the people here in the game are frozen. Just frozen. I know for a fact that they couldn't possibly have anything to do with the game's technical difficulties. All I ask is that you try to help solve the game's problems while also figuring out a way to help these two strangers. There is only so much me, PterodactylTerrance14, and DI_Dylan66 can do. Thank you for taking the time to read this and please respond as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

TammiTron012

SEND.

She hit the button as soon as she finished typing in her name in the sign-off.

This was it. It was all or nothing now. She took a moment to close her eyes and take a deep breath. This was right. This was fair. She did her job. That's what mattered.

When she opened up again, she looked over to Terrance and Dylan, who seemed to be in a heated debate with the Doctor about something that was totally beyond her. She just shook her head and leaned against the edge of her desk.

Suddenly, a PING sound went off. Tammi turned back to her screen and saw that it was an email from Mrs. Ratfield. She wasted no time in opening it up and reading it with incredible speed.

To: TammiTron012

Subject: In Response to 'EMERGENCY!'

Message: Dear TammiTron012,

Thank you for bringing this unusual matter to my attention. I assure you that there is absolutely nothing wrong. I am simply adding some new, minor changes and have failed to remind you all to message the others. I take full responsibility for the game freezing up and for the halt in registration. I apologize. As for the Doctor and Clara… delete them. They are obviously lying through their teeth and are a threat to the game. Thank you again for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Ratfield

Uh oh! I wonder what's gonna happen next! Keep on following me to find out. Thank you and good night! (Or good day... whatever floats your boat.)