Debs and I had already been to meet Wilco, whose garden of man-eating plants was nearing completion and would be formally opened with an egg hunt event that would be the perfect setting for our story to climax. Lexie was away on some errand or other, leaving Wilco alone in the workshop with Chris, who I'd last seen being crushed into a cube of metal as Didi the Doll. The two of them had hit it off not just as working partners but romantic partners too - the chemistry between them was unmistakable as we all sat together talking.

Chris appeared to be living full time as a girl now. She wore a jersey dress, leggings and makeup and was referred to in feminine pronouns throughout our conversation. They took us on a brief tour of the jungle, noting the quicksand pits, the plants they had built so far and an imposing giant frog statue which lurched forward and snatched up Debs, who slid down into the creature's belly with a cry of "wheee!". When they released her she looked like a giddy child emerging from a helter-skelter at the fairground.

"That's Big Gulp," said Chris. "Fun, isn't he?"

The assortment of man-eating plants had been given the name The Hungry Garden. All kinds of giant carnivorous flora were represented, including a row of giant pitcher plants set into a deep pit.

"If one of the girls fell in there, could they get out?" I asked.

"They're supposed to be inescapable, that's the point," said Wilco. "But maybe if the other was able to throw a rope down, she could climb up. Especially if there was someone in there to give her a bunk-up."

We knew there and then that this had to be arranged.

At the centre of the Hungry Garden was a giant pineapple-shaped construction with writhing tentacles, long spiky leaves and a pool of liquid sitting on top.

"The Madagascan Sacrifice Tree," said Chris. "The idea is to get eggs from the pool at the top, then escape without being pulled into the big leaves. If you are, they roll up and smother you. It's very dramatic, which is why we're saving it for last."

We came away with lots of ideas for puzzles and scripted events. Debs and I decided that both our characters would meet their comeuppance, which in this setting meant getting eaten by Chris and Wilco's monsters. We wanted to leave Larkin and Adelia in peril, so thought about luring them to the quicksand pits for the final showdown, where Wilco told me they had just the thing to dispose of the despicable Elbert Makabra. I didn't want to know what it was, all I asked was that Elbert get to make a final speech before meeting his end - I wanted to be able to tie up his story and liked the image of the sinking sisters being his captive audience. Once Elbert was out of the picture, it was up to them whether to escape or perish.

As for how Amethyst Annie would meet her end - I agreed not to tell Debs exactly what would happen to her, but I'd seen the way she'd looked at the Sacrifice Tree, like she could already imagine herself being devoured by it. I decided that this could be the moment that Elbert turns on her in the final act of vengeance for what she did to George.

---

Ellen's Acting Academy was becoming quite the community, so in addition to classes with specific scheduled activities we set sessions aside just to meet, relax and talk about our afterlives, particularly those that were post-recall. As we all knew each other well enough to be honest there was no need now to skirt around the topic of our deaths, should anyone wish to share their stories. Of course these tales were tragic and harrowing, but were tempered by the continuing adventure on the post-mortal plane that had brought us all together. Though ostensibly secret, the Mortal Masquerade inevitably entered the discussions, as so many of us had shared moments there. Even those who weren't members, such as Kim, Triana and Lee, were aware of its existence.

That week Gillian brought Len along to announce that they were now openly a couple. It transpired that Gillian's wrestling lessons were part of a wider diet, fitness and self-improvement regime she was putting Len through - perhaps it was due to infatuation, but Len was completely willing to do everything she asked.

"I know I told you I'm not a masochist," he said, "but I've never loved bruises like the ones I get from her. She taught me how to fall properly, then picked me up and slammed me on the mat over and over. It's exhilarating, she has so much control - she says she wants to get me fit and show me moves so we can have a proper match. I can't wait."

Gillian smiled. "The willing loser thing was cute for a while, but I don't want to just beat him up. He's too bold and creative for that, I want to bring him out of himself and help him be what he should be. Especially when we completed recall together and remembered how we first met. Wow, talk about fate being bittersweet..."

"It was when she had me pinned down on the mat after a slam," said Len. "We looked into each other's eyes and remembered together."

Gillian began to explain.

"I worked the late evening shift at the leisure centre, so I was walking back home at around eleven pm, past the park by the river. There weren't many people about and the street was well lit, even though Ketherton has a rough reputation most of the bad stuff happens further into town. But this time I ran into a group of guys who blocked my path and started harassing me, making lewd suggestions... this wasn't just harassment, I knew from their body language that these guys were planning to attack me. I hit one with a lucky shot, enough to get away, but immediately realised they were chasing after me. We ran across into the park - since there was no-where I could get to for help I was hoping to lose them in the dark, but instead I ended up trapped on a fenced path above the river, with these assholes right behind me. It was February and the area where the river joins the canal, so I knew the water would be dangerously cold with nasty undercurrents, but I was out of options. I climbed the rail, jumped in and swam, hoping to ride the current enough to keep my head above water. I might have made it, had it not been for some idiot trying to rescue me and getting in trouble himself."

Of course she was referring to Len, who took up the story.

"I'd been running in the park... I like to run at night, there's no people in the way, just you and nature, and if there is anyone around you can hear them and avoid them. But this time I heard the commotion and saw Gillian being chased by this group of dudes who obviously meant her harm. At that point my choices were to forget I saw anything and leave, which I couldn't do, or step in and try to help, which wasn't an option either. What could I have done against them, I'm not Bruce Lee. When I saw her trapped by the river I called out, thinking maybe I could distract them or scare them off, but I was downwind so they couldn't hear me. Just as I was figuring out what to do, she climbed up and jumped... well, now I had a third option, one that didn't involve me either running like a coward or getting myself beaten up while she drowned. I ran to the river's edge and jumped in after her, much to the surprise of the guys, who hadn't known I was there. The water was absolutely freezing and I was struggling to swim fully clothed in running shoes, but I was committed now, I had to get to her. She realised I was there and started swimming towards me... I don't know who was rescuing who at that point."

"Well, that was the problem, wasn't it?" said Gillian. "By trying to be a hero he ended up in difficulty himself, so now I had to save us both. I'm a trained lifeguard and I knew it was a suicidal act of desperation jumping into that river. It was touch and go if I'd have made it, but I wasn't sticking around to be assaulted. Then here comes this muppet out of the blue, crying out that he's coming to save me... I didn't think he was one of my pursuers, but even if he was I couldn't have left him to his fate. I swam round and tried to get a hold, thinking maybe we could have ridden the current together."

"I'm guessing it didn't work out," said Hannah.

"No it bloody didn't," said Gillian. "We were both out of strength and energy at that point, our clothes were full of icy water and the currents were dragging us down. Neither of us made it that night, we went down together. I don't even know if they found our bodies, or what they think happened to us."

The next part was familiar to all of us to varying degrees, depending on how long it had taken to reach recall. They had both woken up in their homes, completely disorientated. In Gillian's case, this was her family home, but with no family around - she'd been aware of their absence as a nagging feeling, but instinctively knew that for some reason this was how it had to be. She couldn't remember anything particular about her friends and family, or what had happened to her. Eventually she found a gym to train and work at and wound up doing a bit of stunt work at Morior, which is what led her to the Mortal Masquerade.

Len had lived alone anyway, so awoke in his flat surrounded by his collection of action figures, whose names he actually remembered. But he had no idea who he was. He later compared the experience to starting an RPG video game with a fresh character profile, looking around a strange house you know is yours, making decisions as you go about who you might be.

"Actually, RPG games had done a pretty good job of preparing me for all of this," he said. "I had no idea that I was dead, only that everything was different somehow. So I went out to see where I ended up. I found a tech store that was hiring, walked in and got the job. I found Culture Collects and the LARP community, which led me on to the Mortal Masquerade. One of my hobbies was filling up a notebook with sketches of generic characters, so once I had somewhere to bring them to life - and death - I started collecting dressing up clothes and masks and, well, you know the rest."

"When did you hit recall?" asked Lee.

"It was sort of gradual... I came to realise I was dead, even though I couldn't remember what had happened. But I was enjoying myself, I had a good job and dying over and over as different characters at the Mortal Masquerade stopped me from dwelling on my actual death. It was only when Gilly and I were together on the mat that it all came flooding back."

"I remembered how I died a while back," said Gillain, "but I didn't know Len was the guy in the river with me. I never saw him without a mask until that time in Limbo, even then I didn't immediately make the link. It had all happened so fast and suddenly, it was dark and cold, I just didn't know who it was. But when Len and I started talking, when I got to know him a little better, it started to click. When I slammed him down in the gym and we lay together looking into each others' eyes, we remembered together. He may not have saved my life like he'd planned, but he is brave as fuck, really sweet and I'm very glad that we're together now."

It really was as if the universe had a plan for us all, that every tragedy was leading to something, somewhere. As I looked up at Ellen's portrait on the wall, I knew more than ever that I would see her again, that we would be together once more.