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CHAPTER FOUR510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKQIDdIuPR
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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?510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKYN7z6Q0X
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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.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6AZPK7JyG
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“HOLY SH--” Maverick explodes at something on his phone before glancing at Madeline’s little girl. “Cheerios...”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNR0o4kZRYO
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Madeline gives him a tired thumb’s up as Dr. Fanfare hands her coffee.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hQ7wzKtZG
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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?!”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3xfjCXbBj
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Viggo raises scratched hands, “That’s a hoax.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuZRFby4Y4
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“Ooh,” Maverick shows something else to Simone. She gasps and hides a smirk.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurEmnTX55K
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“My gosh, Kirby,” Simone points at him. “Keep your pants on.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlv6yBJMfYT
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Kirby makes abrupt and awkward laughter. Madeline cups Ruthie’s ears.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XLz1SYexA
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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? 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxx5dC7Gv1
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Kirby sucks air through his teeth. Iris becomes concerned when she hears that.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowfik2VPrJ
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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?”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSPrRKg5yN
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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?”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYF75Y68uEF
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Viggo can only grunt at her wisdom.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGZIvWJ9kD
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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.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiBUWPWpQ7
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hMAiyvk59
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHj6WyEnbPc
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“Skulls,” Simone Chaput insists. “Tiny, tiny skulls and diamonds everywhere.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTYWu7fYu2
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“Nice!” Maverick Clark nods. “Mine’s gonna have bricked gold.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vzEfuyjeI
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“You like teddy bears, Ruth?” Madeline Desjardins asks. “Maybe puppies.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRCDdG1S67
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“A big puppy bear!” Ruthie smashes small fists together to her mother’s delight.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYuetLDXrQ
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡutNNvE3AIx
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A silver glossy pod rises, spiraling up from the floor, before three others do.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOD4I6Wy8Lf
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadl7NHZZsX
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDt0VqXr0hv
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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.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vcDJygRUw
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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?”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvhD2619EA
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Iris raises a hand.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wq9nBfYl7
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“No questions I see,” Viggo rushes along.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1a9IeZbzV
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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!”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XM8ycl8uz
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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?510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdOkrPHQn0X
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Iris shouts something back but it’s dismissed. She sits down.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnozPOoA8oq
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Kirby texts Iris: Huh? What was your question?510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyJKbwV4lB
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMS4YqFdwV
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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?”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8yfzR2Zuz
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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.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWT3tW4WISd
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“Yeah,” Iris agrees. “I’m sitting this one out too.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hqWzLZFWh
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Viggo replies, “Iris.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlx81jkJNON
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“Miss Frisk,” she happily reminds him.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUoJtrzX2I
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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.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Y7B4leobC
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The room goes still and all eyes rest on Viggo and Madeline.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3pkFzHhwQ
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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.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXFpuj3qOO
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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?”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7UayDlzCH
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The girl fakes a vomiting sound, to everyone’s scattered laughter.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgbDbiZCWsV
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“You can leave now,” Viggo chuckles.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqi0qvAmFJ
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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.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51Ux5XEP95
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The Desjardins leave apologetically before a loud coffee spill.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDteLnXIcS7
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“Someone will clean that up,” Dr. Fanfare calls after her.
“Come on down,” Viggo tells the rest of the interns.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03jp3thNtE
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvmez7l0Bj
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Wonder how that will go.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecnsGBHX3a
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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?510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZmIjKU25j
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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?510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltkBS4SUDp
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Chills crawl down Kirby’s arms to his feet just from thinking about it.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7aAJIDwLw
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkXpTcP6MB
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What!? Kirby wheezes, tensing up.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vQmD2upSr
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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. 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxwwbVPCmP
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnWLrfRIhJ
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOiDT7syOV
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXuddst2NO
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Then with a low whine, MyHAVEN fades in with an eerie glow. It is loading.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJ9KbbBJu0
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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!”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHdo65quT1
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxD6CyxNe58
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSXPmAdbQG
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6rESo7YGg
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Soon, he will enter this world of Viggo Hayes’s design.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rVqAXYrKU
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VUEZ0Dn2o
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Darkness splits, doors sliding open and revealing the vast galaxy.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcmvXiAX3T
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLDC77TnwU
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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! 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ilndZmt4D
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNQda00PM4
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Kirby clutches his head with agony. I don’t like this.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38UBx1FHVo
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1V9raUEZc
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6O66Yzhf5C
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40uRQNwA7t
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZ4ojCV0vk
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTB6vgbngR2
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5iUZEokirH
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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!”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHIeTE18Z8
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNjJiaOQgh
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And people wonder why he doesn’t just get hearing aids or cochlear implants.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qgUYUnct6
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wedEdXh1l
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MaverickClark: Look at that! This theater’s YUGE!510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNOuja3Es6
SimoneChaput: I’m loving the red carpet. Ready for my close-up, fellas.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjTNhT1AwI
DrFanfare: You look sick, Kirby! 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaSg3hFfJO
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He smiles and assures her he’s feeling much better now.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKuscALVe3
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YTKbJtzNC
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcKYtspWc1
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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. 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAe3ZZotv2
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It registers on Simone’s face.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qpChqetaH
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SimoneChaput: You’re right... This is a real theater, but better. 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGem9IC3dBY
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Maverick grips Kirby’s shoulder out of morbid fascination. They hug, which seems real and kind of a pleasant tingling.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDG8xWI0z6C
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MaverickClark: Sorry. Now I kinda feel perverse.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOTyooSbbH
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“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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPxjcdosE5
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4gVNJAPyQ
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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? 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwjAqQL1ag
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Simone and Maverick eagerly admit they haven’t either.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjy0IC3nW2
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SimoneChaput: I’ve been itching for an opportunity though.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5c0dKHy61P
MaverickClark: Especially here! And now! I’m so in. 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5sNB0vaFLJ
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4QWa1Y2Ur
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He frowns at a camera slowly tracking him.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBqe0vbKpo
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Tf5f4yYWq
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqOfYQwDYF
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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHexcjFEEM
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgf99yTCC4
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Fade to black. Credits crawl.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhI67wtlzEZ
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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!510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjXhpPY9Ok
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2OAhjjBLY
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXY9wjqMRG
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniIpLsft7r
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The popcorn stand catches his eye. He gets that funny feeling.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcuRVaaddY
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTarDCqnQP1
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Thought there was something secret here.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniwi2bLdME
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdME4cCVZLn
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“HELLO!” Kirby shouts freely.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktK4WMSxOO
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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. 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaX9q9cRsO
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To his horror, Kirby looks back. Nothing stirs.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNN14XJR1xI
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZ4yEM7snB
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He scrambles back from Viggo Hayes’s body hung from a red noose. Oh shit.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNmT6Aafz2
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLMxoUamjz
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It’s just someone’s sick prank.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCVjih9B04
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwSGE2XoVj
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxWDQqPVKJ
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bLkCPVFSr
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGI16frK7Gc
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxOESpGpMZ
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DomTaylor: “Stop filming. I don’t trust drones.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc7wAE7ljcz
ViggoHayes: “Sorry, cap’n.” 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVrmjHLhY0
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpFzJzkYmj
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTCYYnkuj5
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DomTaylor: “I’ve handpicked the winners by the way.” 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLiccQ6A44t
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This makes Viggo and Kirby pause. He’s talking about the contest.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXV1ah9sWuw
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ViggoHayes: “Winners? There should be only one.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23hDUz41P3
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.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Z7Ly6hOoa
ViggoHayes: “All right. Who are they?”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDEymrwpjO
DomTaylor: “Kirby Hayes and Iris Frisk.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBKADSWNeQ
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This makes Viggo and Kirby freeze. But Viggo looks a touch betrayed.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuajed9Ow0L
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DomTaylor: “What’s the matter? Thought you’d look more pleased.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz03oPByF5q
ViggoHayes: “Why are you doing this to me?” 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMApJMrDfu
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DFDJNHEN4
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOMKhig753
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6R5LIykd8g
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RoQtjgvsm
Viggo’s jaw smashes the floor. He spits out blood and a tooth.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWeZLpHHbN
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2m6KTHUTPy
Ishmael’s howls waver to whines.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjOg122pgq
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DomTaylor: “Enough!”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFAwa6BzZr
ViggoHayes: “You promised you wouldn’t choose them, Dom ...” 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAamW0kuT1V
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Taylor stands to his feet, panting. He glares down at him with distaste.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXMfwgDLTX
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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!”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9uNKs0LXDb
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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?510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NKya0Ncj2
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Subtitles inform him of the footsteps behind him. He slowly looks back and goes weak in the knees.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJsAYYwX7d
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtu33CoFiAG
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBN59pN3ZL
He flinches when the Spook points a gloved finger his way.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ps0d59brU
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“Boo.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgXNY0G2xa
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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…510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnX9XJerTtu
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He peeks again. The Spook points at him, this time in broad daylight.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzVFHYtWTp
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“Sorry you lived. I’ll try harder next time.” 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oQgtdU5Hj
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8V0ffWjcf
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He dies.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCDvYkNq5a
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCF03PpyH56
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFho7uNid0q
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIgLx7fbfy
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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMH9VLRtlex
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehEiKMLhVm
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Kirby realizes Viggo has his hand wrapped around the emergency brake.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkiOLGUw61
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They stare at each other.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXo0RmirZuS
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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!510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkBaQR5jAN
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The car flips.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdOkrNtQGt
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb7ogFOa50M
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Kirby’s face is thrown forward.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLUXx1TsQo
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRlXudieC8
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He dies again.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUY8gZGaJtV
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5kXl7hrD2
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9x6hcDEkHJ
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAT97nFFiRL
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1HdrEkWxD
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Kirby grins a bigger one back at him.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRJjRiuEml
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Anonymous: “You’re okay.” 510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSY98HUHtq
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJh5K0MW1hs
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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvvszJS2fJo
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ174vdUZ7Yq
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SXguM3eI1
But the Spook emerges. “Your time is coming.”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfMl8U2qD0
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZlZDIA3zz
Chance tenses up, seeing that sad mask for the first time. The plane smokes something terrible, setting on fire.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XrYPLEXDQ
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKdA3m8dPN
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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZK2ZRX0rC
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwWm62Ofr3
Their world gets erased with a zip, turning blank. It in fact turns bright white, leaving nothing behind but three avatars.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0RgZLzzur
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBja4ji5bKq
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!”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOWj9G6Ps7
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYj2AgJQZFL
Kirby jabs at the Exit button. Like a deflating balloon, it all goes black.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEy1xd7Nvv
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Kol7bVONH
The MyHAVEN pod unlocks, opening slightly ajar by itself.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx93MFmMlVA
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hNvkdryjm
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?510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcMwSntsS5
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAckx0VnjPs
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmDf3Ng64d
His wrist leans into the door, prying it open slightly. His shoulder presses into it. Fucking open.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTQmr4PCZD
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFd8IJP6lH
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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TlMmXisEs
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7IqpEalyss
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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfEmFIkTiq
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9G4IwPt7d
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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSn50kmGp2
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXu5MAESeU
A shadow lurks through the rosewood study.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8tasmyfm5
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His heart pounds. Please, he thinks. Not like this.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEwX8jLwhn
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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?510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1i7vcrbuNt
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A haunting face.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VxTgn3fwV
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An impossible face, bearded white.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVAu2zOIyi
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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.510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qJqC7UmaQ
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjk6tQhxT4
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!”510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUCrr47sKX
510Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeIana8smXD
No, Kirby realizes. Professor Dominic Taylor is very much alive.
THE SPOOK IS SAD
Jack Steele Adams
ns216.73.216.176da2
