Possibilities

Alica

I clicked 'close session' on my computer screen. I had had enough school for one day. The virtual teacher had gone on and on about the pythagorean theorem that morning and I was tired of going over easy math concepts.

Focusing in on my Google Contact, I noticed that three of my friends were online. I hopped into my gaming console and clapped my hands. Instantly, the machine launched into action, placing the proper wires all over my arms, legs, face, and torso. I was used to this by now, of course. With my Google ear chip, I was able to communicate with my friends. We set up a simulated reality. We made a game of 'last man standing', with swords.

After a few seconds of loading, we were in. Chase and I were locked into battle from almost the moment the game started, while Morgan and Tyler waited for one of us to kill the other, so they could swoop in like vultures and finish off the weakened enemy.

"You'll never take me alive," Chase yelled. I stabbed him in the gut with my weapon. He made exaggerated death sounds as his avatar's body fell to the ground. I noticed something strange about the corpse. It wasn't disappearing like dead things normally do in simulations. It laid on the ground, becoming more and more grotesque.

I called Morgan and Tyler over to check it out. They were as bewildered as I was. Wait, I thought, Why isn't Chase saying anything about this?

Tyler seemed to have the same idea, "Chase? Hello?"

No answer.

A message popped up on the screen next to the corpse, 'Player has died, out of game.'

Moran whispered, "Oh my god" Her eyes widened with shock.

I tried to calm Tyler and Morgan down, telling them that it was probably just an error. Chase was fine and his system had just crashed, but how could I convince them when I didn't believe it myself? I could already feel sweat beading into little droplets on my neck, "Everybody just shut down and we can go over to his house and check."

I commanded the device to 'power down' and noting happened. The others were having similar troubles. " What if we're trapped here forever," I began to panic, "What if the simulations became real and I really killed Chase? What if... What if..."

Tyler sounded just as worried as me, "I don't know, Alica. I just don't know."

We all tried and tried to get our simulators to release us back to the real world. During my desperate attempts, I found that I could actually feel the rocks beneath me and the wind in my hair. Everything around me was gradually becoming sharper and clearer, less artificial, including Chase's corpse, which I tried to keep out of my line of sight. I could even taste the salty air.

As all this began to happen, I realized that there was no way out, no escape from our new prison. After sharing this with Tyler and Morgan I lost all hope, for they agreed with me. Mostly, I felt numb. If we were trapped, and simulations had become real, that meant that I had killed one of my best friends.

One nagging voice in my head rang out loud and clear, more defined than the whisps of everything else swirling about in my mind,

You're a murdurer, Alica.

The worst part was, I knew that this was no mere dillusional accusation, not my brain playing tricks on me. The thing that nearly drove me to the brink of insanity was that, it was true.