Chapter 25 - This is the End

The four of us are standing in the woods staring each other down. Nia played me good and I can't help but be impressed. But something still doesn't seem right. The game has messed with me so much that it's hard not to believe that I'm still being messed with. I don't remember a time when Nia wasn't my sister. She can't just be a random stranger, can she?

"So what happens now?" I ask to everyone.

"In a few minutes the game will declare the winner and we'll all wake up." Nia explains.

"So we just wait here then?" I ask.

"Yeah. Pretty much." She explains.

"Okay." I say. I am getting kind of scared because nothing is happening.

"We have to declare a winner." Jake insists, “Nia, you won the game."

"I hate to lose but I also declare Nia the winner." The Doctor says.

"Nia, how could you do this to me?" I say as I start crying.

"Nice try." Nia says, "But nobodies buying it."

"Okay" I say, "Nia is the winner." Once those words leave my lips my surroundings change. I am sitting in a chair in my room. I have a bodysuit on which has little spikes sticking out all over it. I get up. I should feel stiff but I don't. I check the game time and I've only been playing for twenty minutes. It seems like I've lived an entire lifetime. I walk into the living room. I look out the window. We live in a normal house on a normal street. There's no high rise buildings.

"So how was your game?" I hear a voice and turn around. It's an older woman who must be my mother.

"It's was really weird." I tell her. How can I not remember my own mother? “My mother in the game cooks way better than you do." I offer.

"Really?" she laughs, "Well, she can cook your next meal then."

"I had a sister in the game too. It was really nice." I tell her.

"You know I can't have any more children." She explains. I didn't remember that.

"Yeah, I know." I reply. I feel kind of empty. I've put so much emotion into playing the game that I don't know what to feel now. I feel like I've known Nia my whole life. It's hard to accept that she's not really my sister.

The next few days are really hard. The game really wiped me out. I think once is enough.

I don't think I will ever play it again. It actually takes several months for me to feel like myself again.

One day I'm just hanging out in my room listening to music when my mom says someone is here to visit me. I walk out into the living room and Nia is sitting on the sofa.

"Nia!?" I exclaim. When she hears my voice she gets up. It looks just like her.

"Hey there squirt." She says. She gets up and I run to her a give her a big hug.

"How did you know?" I ask her.

"I just had a feeling you needed a big sister." She answers, "I want you to meet somebody." We walk outside and there's a boy that I instantly recognize as Jake.

"Jake? You're here too!" I exclaim.

"I hope there's no hard feelings about the game." Jake says, "We wanted to make sure you were alright. The game can really mess with your mind."

"Thank you,” I answer “I feel much better now.".