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CHAPTER FOUR471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjdywNiBjG
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Kirby Hayes stares right at his older brother with a growing fire, an unquenchable thrill, until Ishmael the German Shepherd woofs. They have made it off the planet. They have lost a fistfight with each other. They have stopped and survived a disastrous car wreck together. They’ve ping-ponged their first scandal, leaving Kirby banged up for the wear. And it’s just day one. But Viggo is the one who has somehow made it out on top, unscathed, above the law, and absolutely dominating Skyden. How his brother’s achieved it, Kirby has only begun to imagine. Money? Politics? Loyalty?471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRLlRHeC6a
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Iris Frisk’s wondering the same thing, seeing Viggo prowl like a bristling animal. The interns watch him toss a manila folder in a trash can and snaps a lighter. He sets the trash can on fire and says, “New curriculum.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVAe6N7G2R
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“HOLY SH--” Maverick explodes at something on his phone before glancing at Madeline’s little girl. “Cheerios...”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhaCxAs58vo
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Madeline gives him a tired thumb’s up as Dr. Fanfare hands her coffee.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLi2HCbtgb
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Simone snatches Maverick’s phone, eyes widening at the news, and screams. She grips her mouth, “You guys just came out from that wreck?! How are either of you even alive?!”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYxS1b3QK1
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Viggo raises scratched hands, “That’s a hoax.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pHlvcL9cH
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“Ooh,” Maverick shows something else to Simone. She gasps and hides a smirk.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJS152HPbqo
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“My gosh, Kirby,” Simone points at him. “Keep your pants on.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrp3zXyA5M
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Kirby makes abrupt and awkward laughter. Madeline cups Ruthie’s ears.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6dEZZ9mg3
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Simone and Maverick go seriously quiet at something else. No longer laughing. Viggo demands the phone to be handed over. They get jittery but he insists nothing would happen to it. Viggo blinks at the latest news, processing it as calmly as he could. He hands it back to Maverick and shoots Kirby a glare. He signs too casually: Nice. Playing the deaf card, you little bitch. Does it feel good making your brother look like an audist in front of the world? 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZYFf79H1Q
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Kirby sucks air through his teeth. Iris becomes concerned when she hears that.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfL2kRndhbb
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Viggo announces to the room, “I propose we ban phones from all future meetings. Saves us the trouble. What do you think, Dr. Fanfare?”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOvpmCOwT4
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July stammers for a minute, studying the interns before asking Viggo, “Oh, have a little pity, will you?” She gestures to the others with timidity. “It’s only the first meeting. Perhaps we can let them off with a warning. For now?”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnflUwShRq
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Viggo can only grunt at her wisdom.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6zJvvB7ZK
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“Here’s a pro tip. If you really want to be a successful writer,” says Viggo with rambling hands, “or actor or producer or insert job title here, there’s something else you got to be. You have got to be a business. An icon. You and your name must be a brand.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnFbBpXIqS
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Kirby imagines it. His name pops up in his mind as some kind of a summer fuchsia splash, a super fun and mini-sized invitation to a beach party at sunset. He remembers seeing Viggo’s as neon orange and black metallic with a razor sharp edge.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRiD4RXF6h
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“Branding is psychology and sociology behind marketing magic. I mean real subliminal stuff. If people can recall your image, people can recall your message. That fits the profile Pegasus Studios always looks for. This is your mission and your first assignment: look like a superstar. Today.”
The interns gab about how awesome their brands are going to be.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjdfskdVfN
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“Skulls,” Simone Chaput insists. “Tiny, tiny skulls and diamonds everywhere.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNQ5dyuZsM
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“Nice!” Maverick Clark nods. “Mine’s gonna have bricked gold.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkwdXuk2JB
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“You like teddy bears, Ruth?” Madeline Desjardins asks. “Maybe puppies.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWADUHrsHx
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“A big puppy bear!” Ruthie smashes small fists together to her mother’s delight.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmg0lwpU9pw
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Walking over to one of the globes, Viggo opens a latch. To everyone’s amazement, he presses a button. Hollow clanking roars through the walls. Kirby could sense that. The rumbling grows nearer. The interns look wildly about to see where it’s coming from. Paranoid of the superimposing compass for a domed ceiling, Madeline holds Ruthie’s hand as they huddle.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncuXN8y0pX
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A silver glossy pod rises, spiraling up from the floor, before three others do.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5xGTDFonV
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They’re humongous dragon eggs, Kirby thinks. Might have come from an Apple lab. The pods emit a spreading chilly fog and then beam a celestial white light show. The name MyHAVEN is impressed into their shells along with their barcode version indicating the latest of its kind. Ruthie, Simone and Maverick make oohing and ahhing noises. Kirby stands on his toes to peek inside them.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1h2km3PPE
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There’s roomy black chairs with gel support and wired black sunglasses that’s hooked up to the machine. Rainbow striped lights scroll down the inner walls. If they were a game console, Kirby is sure they’re the coolest he’s ever seen. Gnarly.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGmOztPj5L
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“The most effective marketing tool for the best of the best,” Viggo explains. He gazes into the wide eyes of his interns, obscuring a fox-like smile. “As you’ll come to know, nothing seems as real … as virtual reality. That is why it sells.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQxdR6nwQQ
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“Last month, Professor Taylor purchased these four MyHAVEN pods and had them installed here for your internship. Twenty grand per model, but they came in a bundle deal for seventy five k instead of eighty k. I know, I know, it’s pretty cool. Any questions?”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7OaU4mw9Y
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Iris raises a hand.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TB6BDS5XN
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“No questions I see,” Viggo rushes along.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxcpY10y22
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Iris slams her table with both palms with angry puckered lips. She addresses the room, “In fact, I do have a question!”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5kwOSYPKmS
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They burst into laughter. She asks the question but Kirby misses it in a blink. Don’t panic. He looks to his brother to see what he says. Maybe he can still figure it out. Viggo makes an obviously annoyed eyeroll. He does respond to her but not with one word in sign language. Kirby’s mouth slacks as nothing comes to mind. Is it worth the trouble?471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRB3Qku9Q3
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Iris shouts something back but it’s dismissed. She sits down.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOK7beONgy
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Kirby texts Iris: Huh? What was your question?471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFFhQk71K1
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Frustrated, she texts back: Why would Prof Taylor go thru what he did after a big investment on us? V says it’s an inappropriate topic. We’re not in a class in criminal justice. He says fame can be nasty, that it’s not all glitz and fun for everyone. Whatever.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXPoepeNHm
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Viggo claps. “You should register with MyHAVEN and when you’re done, type my first name in the search bar. Viggo. My profile and logo will pull up; you should be able to see it. Take your time. It’s a real mind trip. It’s up there at Inception level. I am going to set each pod at a two-hour tour limit. After that, the meeting is officially over and you are all free to go. So ! Are you ready to see... what real branding looks like?”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASeQDtxJwy
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“Can I do this another time? Or never?” Madeline declines as she goes through her bulky bag. She brings out a book for her daughter and a binder for herself. Viggo looks at one spot, getting peeved. “I don’t feel comfortable, I guess, going ‘under’ or going into people’s heads. And I-I’m not taking my eyes off my Ruthie here.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSv1W4dUkLg
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“Yeah,” Iris agrees. “I’m sitting this one out too.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQMAxB4iOe
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Viggo replies, “Iris.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtR6gJmBdZz
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“Miss Frisk,” she happily reminds him.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RpN1QSQhD
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“Miss Frisk, we’ll talk in a minute,” Viggo says, gritting his teeth and cringing. “Miss Desjardins, since this is the first meeting, you get a warning.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡalR0q637kS
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The room goes still and all eyes rest on Viggo and Madeline.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYVuVF6kXc
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“As cute as she is, and we all love her, you can’t bring her to the meetings.” Madeline nods painfully. “We need your focus.” She nods again, even harder. “Have you looked at daycares or babysitters? I know of quite a few.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jnYkbPtEf
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Madeline sips from her venti mocha and gulps. She stammers, “Um yes, I have, Mr. Hayes. We should find at least one that we like by today, I’m sure? Right, Ruthie?”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVco6k2j7b2
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The girl fakes a vomiting sound, to everyone’s scattered laughter.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYJ8X7ILoF
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“You can leave now,” Viggo chuckles.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0LyOrwz4M
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“Okay,” Madeline says, putting her books back into her bag. She looks put on the spot, humiliated, like a pathetic struggling single mother. Kirby feels bad. Viggo’s clearly being discriminative with her. She gets out of her seat, taking Ruthie’s hand. “Come on.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFp0DfX9gS
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The Desjardins leave apologetically before a loud coffee spill.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlGPQ6dTGM
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“Someone will clean that up,” Dr. Fanfare calls after her.
“Come on down,” Viggo tells the rest of the interns.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwP42nGvof
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Fantastic. Simone and Maverick leap from their seats and hurry down the steps while Kirby and Iris amble on. The pods hiss, spraying them with faint mist. Viggo assures them that the worst thing that could happen is falling asleep. Kirby doesn’t believe him. But what real choice does he have? Viggo decides for the group that Simone Chaput, Maverick Clark, Kirby Hayes, and Dr. Fanfare are the four participants while he and Miss Frisk will have their moment of privacy.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpzVDhdDKX
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Wonder how that will go.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbFvCuVsfe
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The four step into their egg. Kirby feels already relaxed, body-hugged by his gel recliner. Bathed in rainbow lights, his breathing turns shallow. What if something goes wrong? Something won’t, but what if it does?471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWvh9VqUSG
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His heart starts pounding. Anxiety’s back. He can just see it. The pod spirals down, the floor swallows him up, and this ends up his weird flickering coffin. Trapped under the floorboards deep; hearing nothing; not knowing when to scream. Should he just climb out now? Before it’s too late?471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIm43JVXcD
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Chills crawl down Kirby’s arms to his feet just from thinking about it.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wraok15Zx
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Viggo sets each pod’s timer at two hours except for Kirby’s. He says: I hope your bladder is okay. I’m setting yours up to four hours.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRi3Ma06DY
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What!? Kirby wheezes, tensing up.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnkaHT80di
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Relax! Viggo pushes him back down in his seat. I’ll join you after everyone has gone. Got to look like I am in charge, right little bro? I have a lot to show you. You’re going to have fun, I promise. You know how I keep my promises. 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmGtxtBPWC
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Kirby feels sick to the stomach. He checks his phone. It is roughly 9:30 AM right now. He imagines that the interns would be gone by 11:30 before he would by 1:30 PM. Somewhat late to lunch, but he won’t miss it. Four hours don’t sound that bad, he thinks it over.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFR2oKWvbKA
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He could barely shrug and nod. Good enough for Viggo who does a small wave and returns to Iris and Ishmael before the egg closes and locks. It seals shut.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr5nDfALCsk
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Kirby runs his fingers over the lines, almost not feeling them at all. He locates several vents and breathes easier. Just keep cool. Nothing will go wrong. The rainbow lights cut to a dull gray. He fits the black sunglasses over his worried, shifty eyes. All he sees is a warm fuzzy black screen with incredibly high resolution.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WJkhZOhd8
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Then with a low whine, MyHAVEN fades in with an eerie glow. It is loading.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyeTcakgGn
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He takes a few minutes to register, typing his username as Kirby-Hayes. The egg does a full body scan, firing like a child’s laser gun. As it zaps, he shouts “Whoa!”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Bo6hquwKs
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An avatar that is an exact replica of him appears before his eyes. He marvels at his twin who acts too freely to be a mirror. Kirby adjusts his avatar’s clothes to a sharp tux resembling his brother’s. Call me lazy. Instead of orange, he goes for ghostly fuchsia. That’s enough decorating, he’s decided.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FEZos8QKm
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He types in Viggo’s name which brings up at the top of the list, just above Viggo Mortensen. It’s not in alphabetical order, but ranked by popular searches. Of course, I shouldn’t be this surprised but for some reason, I am.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNO4HErvwg
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MyHAVEN cuts to the same warm black screen with a gray side menu on the right. He sees that there’s options to choose from like going to his Profile or to Exit entirely. It is loading. He sees the empty horizontal bar fill up with billowing smoke.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj32F8TFPSe
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Soon, he will enter this world of Viggo Hayes’s design.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2s1JbTw9W
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Oh god. Is this such a good idea? Kirby holds his breath, assuring himself that it’s only in his head, that it should be safe.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUXcfqzkRq
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Darkness splits, doors sliding open and revealing the vast galaxy.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6E5X6Xn5jD
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Trillions of stars, all around him and underneath, welcome him with nothing propping him up. Oh my god, it’s loud with heart-stopping howls. His legs scramble through nothing and start kicking frantically. It’s no use. He falls.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1EN6AtYE7
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He spears headfirst to the bright nearby Moon. Hundreds of craters and thick moon dust await him one mile below. Heavy layers of wind collide with his body and rise. Whoosh-slap, whoosh-slap, whoosh-slap! 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAJIjGOaBu
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When the interns skydive in formation with him, cheering and laughing, he realizes he can hear their echoing voices among the other unearthly noise. There’s a deep background of sounds, and he’s deaf to none of it.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAbuAOhed5
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Kirby clutches his head with agony. I don’t like this.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcifUjnRCTv
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He struggles with the explosive wind to lean his body in closer to the interns, preferring to be closer to them. It’s different from seeing them together in a hallway or in a rosewood study. This time, they’re skydiving.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGG47JJuK06
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Despite that they’re falling to the Moon, there is at least unlimited air. He gasps it all in and breathes out. This is okay. This is epic, this is soothing, and this comes with a youthful essence. He tells himself as outrageous as it is, it’s still a lucid dream.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CDEQ95GIw
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This is Viggo’s dream, Kirby starts to understand. This is what his mind looks like. The Moon approaches dangerously near. His heart wants to leap out of his chest right now.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuvov7Tj8d
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Kirby notices a gleaming multiplex theater smack dab in the middle of the white desert. He careens there, somersaults, and lands softly with a thump in a dune. He bounces off and hops, startled from the feeling of how the ground hit his feet. Too real, he thinks with terror, smelling the bitter gunpowder. This is too real for me. I want out.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHE0FFvK1EU
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Simone Chaput lands, showing off her dark black skin in her blue filigree dress. She wears a silver wig straight and long enough to rustle at her eyebrows and naked shoulders. Her heels stomp, sporting two diamond human skulls that cradle her toes.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpLNVDvBI0
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Maverick Clark lands, showing off the world’s tallest punk hair. He rocks his erectile crest back and forth like a pink cockatoo and riffs at his invisible wailing electric guitar. He’s dressed from head to toe in heavy black clothes and boots with pink earphones that blink eyes and grin at other people like cartoon characters.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZfkvXdOG4
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Dr. Fanfare lands and bounces besides Kirby. Her white grandma hair is tethered back in a loose bun. She dusts her same vest and blazer from before, coughing up a storm and laughing. “Now I can finally say that I’ve been to the Moon! Yahtzee!”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7v1Lv6JT7L
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But Kirby is hardly happy or can stay coherent. He gets dizzy. People are chattering and overlapping too loudly, and the multiplex theater is playing deafening music. What a migraine. Kirby’s head feels like it’s about to burst. He finds the Mute button to toggle. Sweet, sweet silence! He sighs orgasmically. The pain and nausea cease altogether.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FMDuNhlUe
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And people wonder why he doesn’t just get hearing aids or cochlear implants.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNp6L7gmFB
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English subtitles spell out for him like magic, translating every word they say. He smiles. That’s perfect. This is good. I’m liking this already.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhqCTRRAwi
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MaverickClark: Look at that! This theater’s YUGE!471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IeIEnvdKa
SimoneChaput: I’m loving the red carpet. Ready for my close-up, fellas.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxhmPnieLX
DrFanfare: You look sick, Kirby! 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkgMYZyBmN
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He smiles and assures her he’s feeling much better now.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgsdDBun0Xz
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Jyv1YD1EW
Entering the busy multiplex theater is overwhelming. First, the reflection of the lunar scape in the glass door startles him. As Kirby’s hands wrap around the cold steel bar that is surely a door handle, his dress shoes scrape against the ridges of the metal door frame. He knows he is not here. He knows he has never been here. That doesn’t matter. Here feels like a physical place, and it feels wrong.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlBDoRaYol
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The rich aroma of buttered popcorn and kettle corn hit them like a wall. Crowds of moviegoers pack the place, standing in lines for twenty-dollar tickets to virtually real Pegasus films and all kinds of candies and sodas sold.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdG5ThFLFL
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DrFanfare: All that junk food, no side effects. No upset stomach, no acid reflux, no bacne. It’s genius if you ask me. 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3LZaTN9Dd
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It registers on Simone’s face.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mYtP7e6xq
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SimoneChaput: You’re right... This is a real theater, but better. 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQGe0zP3NS
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Maverick grips Kirby’s shoulder out of morbid fascination. They hug, which seems real and kind of a pleasant tingling.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68OuHAHtVy
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MaverickClark: Sorry. Now I kinda feel perverse.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJRCB1wB2Rw
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Uz2KuNqYb
“You should be,” Kirby mouths, getting them to laugh. He tries tapping his knuckles hard against the wall. It’s solid, and damn, it kind of smarts. Actually, it does hurt. He checks his avatar’s knuckles but sees no cuts or blood.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7k4zfepCI
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They approach an enormous banner, a poster, and a cardboard cutout of Sky’s Falling! It is decked out with a square version of Skyden, bombing and falling in pieces. It is an exaggerated, horrific doomsday for those onboard hurtling towards planet Earth.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQV9IUTQExe
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DrFanfare: I’ve never actually seen the movie, Sky’s Falling, yet. I heard it’s incredible! Have you seen it? 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVuSxfPtdS
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Simone and Maverick eagerly admit they haven’t either.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktC5qhmvkc
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62OqzsNlOq
SimoneChaput: I’ve been itching for an opportunity though.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxO8mtDk25k
MaverickClark: Especially here! And now! I’m so in. 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkYiRPorbi
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NX5QJEh6s
Kirby blushes, not knowing what to say other than he hopes they’re left at least entertained. He hasn’t even begun to fathom how his screenplay would play out in virtual reality. That’s beyond 3D, that’s like 5D, isn’t it? He wonders. Huh.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbGJUxggBS
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He frowns at a camera slowly tracking him.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1z6JPknbkG
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They spend twenty dollars and two hours through Kirby’s movie. He could hide and beam the entire time, proud of his only accomplishment. Even though he didn’t touch the movie or influence the final cut in any way like his brother had, Kirby has still locked down the credit of being the sole writer. It says “Written by Kirby Hayes. Directed by Viggo Hayes.” Kirby thinks it sounds better that way instead of “Written and Directed by the Hayes Brothers”. Everyone will start believing that Viggo will have relinquished some creative control when it’s far from the truth. Though the Hayes brothers thing still may be in their near future.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NGgaG7ot5
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Kirby ignores the dread of how much heartache he’s going to get from Viggo. He focuses instead on other moviegoers. The way their faces light up and their mouths collectively gasp remind him why he’s come here. I am going to get in Pegasus Studios. Kirby makes fists. I have to.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrcpj5DXzv
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQZNybvosq
The audience screams at last at the menacing part when the satellite city rips apart. Boom, boom, boom, a succession of flying bodies and metal scraps! Spinning debris fling down to Earth. They storm through the skies exactly the way they arrived to Viggo Hayes’s moon theater. They fall towards the tumbling ocean blue.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEcYNWwrU4
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Fade to black. Credits crawl.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk392BiFU93
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DrFanfare: Good job, Kirby! I loved it. Whoop, our two hours are just about up. Byebye. See you on the other side, everyone!471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLihs2Pzqi
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESAWcTwMQg
As Simone and Maverick dote him shamelessly, they murmur dazed farewells and log out with Dr. Fanfare. Kirby stays behind and can’t stop grinning like a fool. Even Simone would want to work with him now. This is a dream come true, a dream within a dream.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcXY50fcqU
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrd63VZVHTa
He wanders through his brother’s world, the idle halls of his brother’s owned theater. Kirby can’t help but respect him. He sits back on a bench to rest his eyes for a second. Oh wait. He starts to remember. I could fall asleep right now. No wonder the others sounded so drowsy.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9of4VIwSa
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Man, I have another two hours left to wait around for Viggo. I can’t simply leave either. He’d be livid from looking for me for too long. Kirby gets back on his feet, looking around the theater for a good distraction.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuTpF96sAN
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The popcorn stand catches his eye. He gets that funny feeling.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCyJKo55yYN
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Kirby makes it behind the counter, inspecting the area for something abnormal. So far, it’s a boring and greasy workplace. He becomes irritated with crunching over kernels. They stick to the soles of his shoes. Hmph, nothing.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8as2CfDnIz
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Thought there was something secret here.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9KVirzOYr
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Another door catches Kirby’s eye. It would lead to the back of the theater. Tucking his hands into his skin-tight dress pants, he follows the empty hallway farther into what seems like a dark warehouse or a garage. The air gets colder. Moon sand is blown inside.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLiZfl57O5
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“HELLO!” Kirby shouts freely.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPyTDquzrF
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The subtitles notify him that the shout echoes a dozen times before fading to a sad droning whisper. He pauses. That is a particularly creepy detail for Viggo to add in his world. What is this place? He looks among the shadows.
A distant thud echoes. 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyjqsyC5Jy
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To his horror, Kirby looks back. Nothing stirs.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGjKmU0GYJ
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This place is still otherwise empty. His hand presses against his chest, calming his blipping heart. Okay, I think I’m getting out of here. He turns face and bumps into dangling feet.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSmSapMam7
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He scrambles back from Viggo Hayes’s body hung from a red noose. Oh shit.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBo1coCYsFa
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His brother’s psycho orange eyes bulge, jaw open and aghast. Drool drips from his perfect white teeth. There’s not a finger twitch or a muscle clench, but the body looks real. And dead. The suit blinks orange like a Halloween tree. Kirby could die himself right now from the fright. It’s just an avatar, he tells himself.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVyjaP3Rdi
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It’s just someone’s sick prank.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVJVzTjGtL
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZDPczkycr
He gasps at the sight of a single bedbug on the cement floor. Okay, now he is sure something’s terribly wrong. Viggo hates bedbugs.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBy6COReQgx
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Kirby frowns. What’s going on? He’d never put that in his world. One bedbug becomes hundreds skittering and crawling from the darkness.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmdN76lNO3
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Oh! He pulls back. Hordes of bedbugs stampede and flood toward him, becoming thousands and counting, drawn magnetically to the smell of his blood. That’s awful. He can’t get away from them. They smother his shoes, covering them completely from sight. Kirby moans and leaps back, stomping on them. But they continue to smother. He itches at his neck like a madman. Too disgusting. Too real.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKl6SOCMWs2
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsd7Nt52gjw
A bright light bursts. A video plays, projected on one wall. It is dated earlier this year. What’s this? It’s the rosewood study, Kirby recognizes. He’s still there.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy09Wyduitf
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoyMzus7CoT
Professor Taylor watches him from afar with furious, fearful eyes. He’s bearded with white hair, like a sea captain who’s now a dead one.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRavQCVZoE
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FoTVgCRap
DomTaylor: “Stop filming. I don’t trust drones.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9haJXVRjZg
ViggoHayes: “Sorry, cap’n.” 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIF6unwzWph
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsHAS9PQh4
Viggo Hayes steers the camera until it lands across Professor Taylor’s large desk. Ishmael lopes over with protruding wet nostrils and sniffs. Kirby moans again at the swarming bedbugs that now creep up his legs. It’s not real. But his gut tells him that something about this video is real, and it’s something he shouldn’t be seeing. He searches for what that is.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhL0drTlF8
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTaZrF4WU9
The bugs reach his inner thighs. This is so wrong, he whimpers, but the bugs are nothing. Nothing! He clamps down his lips, watching the video.
Professor Taylor rifles through his manila folder.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAp3YTlzoA
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87KLSR35bK
DomTaylor: “I’ve handpicked the winners by the way.” 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy89W0xAHXC
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyU73E5uarp
This makes Viggo and Kirby pause. He’s talking about the contest.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdFxzXEpNG
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ViggoHayes: “Winners? There should be only one.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXrKTNGlUO
DomTaylor: “Oh, there’s one, publicly. The other’s a runner-up; her name won’t be announced but she’ll be one of the interns.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaEpgrnhiy
ViggoHayes: “All right. Who are they?”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxeKxoPDrR
DomTaylor: “Kirby Hayes and Iris Frisk.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2mAArICPD
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This makes Viggo and Kirby freeze. But Viggo looks a touch betrayed.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSW2xCiqTwz
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DomTaylor: “What’s the matter? Thought you’d look more pleased.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONfpVlPF8L
ViggoHayes: “Why are you doing this to me?” 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1uSoRMy9R3
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ytlEu85q9
Viggo’s forgotten he’s filming himself as his face contorts into something ugly. He suddenly tackles Professor Taylor to the floor. Ishmael goes insane and hysterical, barking nonstop, but cannot break them up. The men wrestle onto the floor, banging and slamming into the furniture. The camera falls next to the floor.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjMZtSWceM
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Each man throws wild punches at their faces and unprotected areas, but Taylor’s the one who quickly makes it on top. The camera’s kicked away.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxDZaRW9nZ
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzPS3nSrSG
Kirby can’t believe his eyes. Ishmael fills the office with his mournful cries and howls. Using both hands and all of his weight, Professor Taylor chokes Viggo who digs his nails deeper into Taylor’s long gash of a cheek scar. The man screams out before a beefy fist clocks Viggo hard.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFhBWR2x62
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIeuI0A0mE
Viggo’s jaw smashes the floor. He spits out blood and a tooth.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasdU3gia29
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeaAMPxIGyw
Ishmael’s howls waver to whines.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIoEWStoSq9
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaWBuUcG6S
DomTaylor: “Enough!”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIPLmz7ScI
ViggoHayes: “You promised you wouldn’t choose them, Dom ...” 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAot1aH5ttT
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CiKyARKoN
Taylor stands to his feet, panting. He glares down at him with distaste.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDGXae4LrO
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DomTaylor: “That was before I saw their work. I would be one stupid son of a bitch to turn them away. When I look at them, I don’t see interns. I see cash cows. Golden goose eggs. You and your personal feelings have gotten in my way for the last time!”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtCurWswzr
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AQi1NW8rM
The video is put on pause. It glitches. Kirby shakes the bedbugs off his face, trying to make sense of it. That’d be inspiring and uplifting for him if it weren’t for the fact that they got violent over it. I didn’t know Viggo would get that upset. And why ... is there a video playing of it?471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbvGIJVejC
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SJ4j8aX5u
Subtitles inform him of the footsteps behind him. He slowly looks back and goes weak in the knees.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjAcxGm74Z
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbbIO50eWU
The Spook trudges out of the dark, out of the steamy home of scattering bedbugs, with a wooden sad mask. Kirby is rooted to the spot as it all comes together. It’s the same person he’s seen on the road this morning. Their near death experience, these bugs, and that video have everything to do with that weirdo.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHLSHSoUfQ
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHm5zweFvo
He flinches when the Spook points a gloved finger his way.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQ2DAKK1Wo
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“Boo.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtOF0UiTUrB
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Kirby squeezes his eyes. It’s just virtual. It’s MyHAVEN. It’s just a bad dream. I am untouchable. Seeing nothing, I’m feeling nothing. His breathing starts to regulate, calming down back to normal. Deny, deny, deny. It’s purely psychological…471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8szgsONk8
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He peeks again. The Spook points at him, this time in broad daylight.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡForr9yxpu3
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“Sorry you lived. I’ll try harder next time.” 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYZhKUdhqaW
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsHwgmc0BG
Sitting cross-legged in the middle of a railroad, Kirby feels the pebbles jump and nip at his skin. Oh no. He realizes it too late when the train rams into his spine, two hundred tons ripping through his puny body, severing him in half.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOL4GgIxvvz
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He dies.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSNJr2b5eQ
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This numb brutality snaps him awake in mid-air. The sky, the road, the grass, they all rush by in a savage whirl. Kirby’s back in the car now with Viggo’s dead body, spinning about in slow motion.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsT4md0d4px
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRNVDLZSBr
His brother flails about like a dead-eyed mannequin. There is no sense of control. Only weightlessness and the promise of weight being delivered. Only suspension and the promise of a delayed end. He lets out the longest scream in his life.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusAfefQmid
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLKLjmo3Dl
Kirby’s head slams into the ceiling when the roof of the car hits the ground. A sharp spasm jolts through his boiling neck and spine. He coughs out liters of blood, watching Viggo fly out of a window. His leg gets torn on the frayed window, being left behind a wobbling carved piece of flesh.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJRMBXcWoSQ
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Bits of glass and drops of blood rain into the deep pores and wrinkles of his face. The car tumbles across the ground, turning over and over. He wakes up again in mid-air. Viggo’s back inside the car. So is he.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22tib8nmFI
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Kirby realizes Viggo has his hand wrapped around the emergency brake.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHHDjxyVDB
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They stare at each other.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDm3vVKUQU
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The Spook means to torture him for as long as the timer on his pod keeps ticking. A two-hour night terror. He looks at his right where the side menu should have been but is missing. Somehow the Spook has blocked him. Overriding him. Viggo nods at him this time. Kirby croaks out a no… ! The car smashes through the parked police cars. The Spook watches them from behind their seats as bedbugs crawl all over them. Wait, wait, no!471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzeUI3wghZL
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The car flips.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62c7d1sI5V
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He braces himself as the car slams into a guardrail. They are showered in sparks as blunt as hail. Viggo’s torn asunder, scattering apart in all directions with glass. Strings and gobs of milky blood stretch out thinly, a strange crimson.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4IYVt9R32
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Kirby’s face is thrown forward.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicXPUyBXd0
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His skull shatters grisly upon impact, skin shuddering and splattering along the gritty asphalt. He feels his arms snap. He feels how his clavicle cracks. His neck is bent out of shape. His body is mangled all wrong, and he can feel every dislocated joint. He learns the mesh of road and bone. He tries also to become numb to it.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmX0OrSsKS
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He dies again.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3mJLhVoSt
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His eyes are squeezing shut when the engine sputters to life. His seat rattles. His skin crawls. His hair rises. Deja vu. Kirby braves opening his eyes back on the plane.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoxsYY7qCj
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His knees shake freely and out of control, no longer knocking into anyone. It is an evacuated plane, but it’s surely the same plane that blows up.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGNtTMwlN3
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KM5vcjTU7
No way. Kirby yanks at his seat belt but it does not budge. He pulls with everything he has, yelling to suppress the raw burn in his hands. The plane starts moving. No, he thinks sobbing like an useless thing. Trapped.
He sees someone familiar rush at him, fumbling with his seat belt. His jungle green eyes grow feral. Kirby is startled to see Chance again. That handsome face he hasn’t seen in forever hollers at him to snap out of it. The man brings out a long military knife and starts sawing crazily through the thick restraints.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6S3TWTECta
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When Kirby’s finally freed, they claw at their shirts, embracing so tightly that they feel each other’s heartbeats. Chance smiles at his smile.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIwhikKsWP
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Kirby grins a bigger one back at him.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYd4vVKumMY
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Anonymous: “You’re okay.” 471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQg24EzNsp
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Kirby nods. Despite the recent nightmare, he’s now convinced that this is still nothing. It’s just for two hours, even less. He can do this, now that his hero Chance Gott is really here.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqW9UhRroS
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They run out of the plane on wobbly legs. They make their way into a seemingly empty airport. They look wildly around. No passengers, no reporters, and no dead bodies. There’s no one.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFu6n2oXfA
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQT65BOp7Ed
But the Spook emerges. “Your time is coming.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKowf9g3RSS
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kmAVKNgol
Chance tenses up, seeing that sad mask for the first time. The plane smokes something terrible, setting on fire.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagoxq3e2jA
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ794mPKD8n4
Kirby grips Chance’s arm. He brings out a keyboard and clacks away, piling up strings of coding and symbols. Line after line, formulas and their functions go way over Kirby’s head but they bring immediate changes to the environment.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWdPNXunXu
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6GyGQYDt1g
Their world gets erased with a zip, turning blank. It in fact turns bright white, leaving nothing behind but three avatars.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gwTWaSlU7
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxstrC8YuA
Kirby sees the side menu light up again at his right. He’s no longer blocked. He should be able to escape now. His fingers are ready to jab at the Exit button but hesitate. However, Chance roars at him. “Go! Now!”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzhgEeXz1H
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcV9cJMqhr8
Kirby jabs at the Exit button. Like a deflating balloon, it all goes black.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7090muwxS
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBuCCpMwsG
The MyHAVEN pod unlocks, opening slightly ajar by itself.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjht8bGkOmo
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoyOLf7ciS6
Kirby pants heavily. He’s all numb and can’t keep his eyes open. His heart is pounding at its hardest, as if he’s done a triathlon. His hair and his clothes are drenched in cold sweat. His trembling fingers reach out of the egg. Doesn’t anyone see me?471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2gYw3Ax6m
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwD9x9krGuL
He can’t see either. He rests for another minute, panting. However, the silence doesn’t mean no one’s there. He knows that. Come on, Kirby begs of himself. Wake up.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsU6Wp2yfVx
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDLukn89MM
His wrist leans into the door, prying it open slightly. His shoulder presses into it. Fucking open.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamHZUHGdvs
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7lRwSoUek
The door opens to a dark room. The sun has gone down, leaving Skyden a pitch-black one-o-clock in the afternoon. How long was I under? His phone tells him that only four hours have passed, like Viggo’s said.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlykCqw49l
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8duxYeDgBM
Kirby sighs with relief, drooling on the floor. It occurs to him that Skyden orbits the earth twice in one day. Two sunrises, two sunsets. Noontime here is always as dark as nighttime.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZ3VRLz5tT
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1duQfJ6QQ
Kirby climbs out of the pod and his shoulder crashes onto the floor. He moans softly. Not so numb anymore. That hurts. The room starts spinning back and forth, leaving him dizzy and blind. He blinks as much as he can.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmud7HDtJvO
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A shadow lurks through the rosewood study.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXblFuFFXS
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His heart pounds. Please, he thinks. Not like this.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKfmbaoSpI
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The silhouette passes some windows, walking briskly for someone who’s seen Kirby. Unless he hasn’t. Kirby remains still, holding in his ragged breaths as best as he could. It is a man or a woman walking by with a familiar face. Who is it?471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiGM7xn4Bb
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A haunting face.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnsm8KXCCgn
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An impossible face, bearded white.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCMCZZStWH
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgSc1dCpJm
The ghost of Professor Taylor passes a dim lamp. His furious, fearful eyes glare. Taylor roams around his study in the darkness before slipping through the back door. Kirby squints, rubbing at his eyes.471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ULtgBldkS
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqCD1CZnCX
His brother saunters out of Taylor’s office, chasing after who left. Viggo looks terrorized as he kicks a giant hole in the wall. He screams, “Fuck!”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZ71D1dQ5f
471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5yGkXoqoJ
No, Kirby realizes. Professor Dominic Taylor is very much alive.
THE SPOOK IS SAD
Jack Steele Adams
ns3.129.217.198da2
