The Adaptive Game

"FRIENDS FOR LIFE"

- Conner

Coming back to Emilia, Jarred, and Stallguy, it seems that Emilia isn't feeling great.

"What? What happened?"

"We lost."

"HUH?!"

"I knocked down 4. We were THIS close, Conner, I can't even believe it."

"It-It's okay, Ema. Listen, just, come with me. We're gonna figure something out."

"HEY, bastard. Where's the shangais?"

"Both of us are screwed. Just take the shangais on the planter over there and leave us alone."

"Yeah, get the fuck outta here. Sick of your face."

I hold Emilia with both my arms around her tightly as we walk away from the two in defeat.

"It's okay. Don't cry, no, we're okay."

We're walking on a trail to despair, to death, to impending doom.

But nevermind, we aren't.

We're far away from Jarred and Stallguy, making it opportune to take all four bags of shangais out of my pockets.

"I got them all."

"You pulled it off..."

That's right, the plan was pulled off by both of us. While doing our amazing final "life or death" throw, I'd taken every shangai up for deal on the table.

It's a really dirty trick to play.

But we won.

Emilia wipes her fake tears away and puts her entire face in my chest like a pillow.

"Hey, come on. Can we get out of the arena first?"

Giving the guard 20 marbles each, I faintly hear Jarred's voice cursing everything. Cursing everything on this earth.

Two shots ring out and the cursing stops.

We survived.

Going back to the living quarters, Shaun and David are still alive. Tim beat his partner. Jean beat his partner. Gavin... beat his actual real-life partner.

It killed his kid as well, in the process.

I walk over to comfort him, but David stops me before I can.

"Don't. He's probably unstable."

"Everyone is shaken up, man."

"He's SERIOUSLY out of it. He'll blow up if you get close to him. What do YOU know about rolling down in the deep?"

"I don't know anything about it. I don't know what you can call the feeling of your brain going numb."

"Mental freeze."

"When your brain goes numb, you can call that mental freeze, got it, got it."

"Also, how did Emilia make it out? Wasn't she your partner?"

"We decided to play Jarred and Stallguy in a 2v2, and we won. Actually, we stole their shangais when we lost."

"Well, that's what Shaun and I did. Couldn't take the risk of losing and getting put out like that."

"Woah, woah, Shaun I can understand, but you would stoop down to that level?"

"Of course. Cause I won."

"I can't understand anyone these days. Come on, Emilia."

"What's gonna happen next?"

"We're gonna keep winning."

"Right... we're doing this together."

"Of course. Friends for life."