5 chapter 5

Aaron was about to excuse himself to the bathroom, probably to plan another escape, until he saw the hooded kid unlock the door. the new guests flooded through the room, breathing heavily. Their heads were covered in snow and one of the kids had scratches on his face. It was Miles, Ruben, and Lex. An infestation of growls followed them. If there was any chance of going outside, it was over now.

"Miles?" Heather asked, getting up from her seat.

Miles stood up as if he had just found the promised land. He went up to hug his girlfriend.

"Heather!" He turned to Aaron, beaming. "Aaron! You ok buddy?"

Aaron smiled. He wasn't ok. They all weren't gonna be ok. They had nowhere else to go so it didn't matter. They were stuck.

"Well if it isn't the Echo," said Lex, suddenly finding the strength to speak. He laughed, but he didn't get up. His legs hadn't recognized him yet.

"Don't listen to him," murmured Miles. "All that matters is that you're ok."

"How did you know that?" Heather asked.

"I do my research about a game before I jump into one," Lex said coolly.

"You don't know this game. You're a puppet boy actor who thinks he knows the game."

Lex looked at the ground, vexed.

"If you already know what's gonna happen at the end of the game, why are you still on level two?" Aaron asked.

Heather tried to look away, but he faced Aaron stone cold. "You can choose which level you want to go back to once you've completed it. All you have to do is tell the AI."

"How long have you been on this level Heather?" Aaron asked.

Heather paused. She looked like she'd just been hit on the head with a rock. A rude awakening.

"I don't know," She said briefly.

It made sense, Aaron thought to himself. It made sense why Heather had chosen this level. It was calm and peaceful. It almost made you feel like you were in a real family. However, Aaron couldn't buy into the placidness. It was too peaceful. Too creepy.

"Not trying to disturb this kumbaya meeting or whatever, but who are these people?" Ruben asked.

Mrs. Beckham, Madura, and the table guests had been staring at the new guests like owls. Some of the people at the table looked at them like they were intruders. Mrs. Beckham smiled.

"My apologies for locking you outside like that. How very savage of us. My name is Mrs. Beckham and I'd like to make it up to you with this dinner. Please, guys, have a seat."

"I'm full, thanks," said Ruben, looking at Mrs. Beckham like she was some nasty bug.

The hooded kid pointed a knife to Ruben's back. He gestured for them to sit.

"What are we having?" Miles said, holding Heather even closer to him. He swung Aaron a look. Aaron just nodded. There was no escaping this.

The turkey and pork roast was good. Freshly cooked and sizzled. It had a flavor to it, but it was indescribable. Especially the pork roast. People like Ruben and Lex only ate the cake.

"How about we spill our guts for a bit," Mrs. Beckham suggested.

"What?" hooted Ruben.

"Talk about ourselves. You guys seem like interesting people. Surely you must have a story? Heather?"

Heather fidgeted. "Before I got into the game, I was in Green Faction, and I lived with my mother and father, Marshall and Ura Greene. I worked at my workstation part-time with Miles and the other half I worked with my father in Terminal. It was terrible, seeing those eyes pleading not to be thrown into the fire. I couldn't help but feel so many innocent lives were lost."

"It wasn't your fault, you did what you had to do," said Miles.

"I lived half of my life in Green Faction, but I wasn't born there. I was born in Red Faction. The job of Red Faction is to contain all the trash, destroy any dead or unusable parts, and to kill criminals that have been banished from their faction. In a way, only the worst of the worst live in Red Faction. People there are angry and they kill each other. And the scary part is, most of them don't even feel bad about it. Once I turned thirteen, my parents and I were lucky to have left. That's it. I think I've told you enough." said Heather, darkly.

"Aaron?" Mrs. Beckham asked.

"I was born and raised in Green Faction. My father got executed when I was five years old, so I never really got to know him."

"What for?" Heather asked.

"Conspiring against the president."

Aaron paused, trying his best to hold back the tears. He felt like there was an anchor in his stomach and a bulge in his throat that he couldn't seem to cough up.

"Up until now I've lived with my mother and my little brother and we've gotten by just fine. It's just a little money that we need."

"That's it?" Ruben asked.

"Fuck you, Ruben!" Aaron shouted.

Miles began to take a second look at the pork roast that he's been eating for the past ten minutes. It really did have a distinct flavor. When he was hungry he didn't mind, but now his appetite was fading away and the meat was beginning to taste funny.

"What's in this meat, Mrs. Beckham?" Miles asked.

Mrs. Beckham laughed. "Pork of course. What else could it be silly?"

"Mother," said Madura, pointing to Mrs. Beckham.

"We have all lost people in our lives. And it's very painful. But who says we need pain? Why can't we all just be a happy family? Why can't we all just share our feelings? Share our guts?" said Mrs. Beckham zealously.

Miles got up frantically. "Guys, this isn't pork roast, it's human roast!"

"Sit down!" Mrs. Beckham shrieked. She disclosed the knife from her back and swung it at Miles. Heather screamed.

The knife hit Miles in the chest like a bullseye and he fell on the ground.

"Mother," said Madura. She too had been holding a knife. But she laid it out on the table and slid it toward Aaron. Aaron quickly grabbed it.

"Sorry to burst your Utopia." Aaron swung. He had been aiming at her throat but to his surprise, the knife pierced her forehead. Scarlet tears dripped down her nose and the lady in the black dress fell down on the ground. No sound came from her, but the house softly cried in remorse. Madura just watched. As if she was looking at her last broken toy.

Aaron turned to Heather, who was crouching on the ground holding Miles. He didn't have time. The headache would be coming soon and pretty soon he would be off to level three.

"Heather, you have to come with us. You can save Miles and you're the only one who actually knows this game."

"Our very own cheat sheet," Ruben uttered.

"I can't! I decided long ago that I wouldn't play it."

"If you won't do it for me, do it for Miles."

Silence. Aaron felt his head begin to rumble again. The other players grasped their heads as well. Aaron's vision began to get blurry and suddenly everything turned black.

Madura walked around the dinner table. The AI guests had poofed away and pretty soon she would be too. She looked at the ground. The girl was nowhere to be seen.