Hazel stood as Mark came into view. He had a bright shiny smile, and was humming to himself as he walked.

"Well, I see you've gotten your friend back. You might want to think twice about running away now."

As he spoke, Tom stepped forward.

"Why are we still here? What's the purpose of keeping us locked up?"

"Oh, well I'm setting up for the next group of gamers. They should be coming in soon, and when they finish you all get to game together!"

"How do you know we won't just refuse to play?"

"Simple. If you lose the game, you get the same treatment. If you refuse to play, the game will kill you and you'll come back here for your special treatment! Either way, you don't want to lose."

"I have a question to ask you," Hazel said, standing and walking towards the bars. As she did so, she nudged Kayla who narrowed her eyes. "So, I'm curious. How exactly did you get this whole thing to work? I mean, it must have taken some crazy technology to get us to respawn like video game characters!" She did her best to look enthusiastic as Mark stroked his chin.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to show one of you the wonders of my creation!"

He tapped something beside the gate and it opened. Hazel stepped out, and she watched Mark out of the corner of her eye, go to a keypadand type 2 6 7. Then, the gate slammed shut again.

Hazel started walking, and then made to fake-trip, landing on the floor.

"Whoops! Sorry, I'm still a bit clumsy in heels." She said, turning and pretending to adjust her shoes. As she did so, she used her fingers to show Kayla the code numbers. Then, she stood up, praying that this would work.

After walking down a few long hallways, all of them still white, she came to a room full of whirring motors and generators. Mark began to explain what everything did, but she was focused on the wall behind. It was slanted, made of glass, and had swirling white fog behind it.

"What's that?" Hazel asked curiously, wondering if this was he answer.

"Why, that? That's the wall. A barrier that keeps this whole thing contained. Without that, none of this would be possible!"

"Interesting," Hazel said, turning to look at other things. "So, what about this?"