Young Writers Society

"Good question," Daniel said, getting to his feet. And he was grateful he had them again now—he hated being in his first form. It was too inconvenient.

Just as the words left his lips, the doors to their room opened.

Daniel paused.

"That's ominous," he said. When he glanced back at Benji, Benji was giving him a deadpan look. Daniel turned to Morri instead. "I only just woke up, so I'm not entirely sure. I think we were in some kind of simulation. Maybe magical, maybe not."

Benji suddenly spoke.

"...I don't think we were the only ones in the simulation," he said. He was listening to their surroundings in a way Daniel never would be able to; Daniel recognized that look. "I can hear other people."

The last set of doors slid open, revealing Benji, Daniel, and Morri... who was in a pirate hat. Bo didn't have much time to question it - not that he was going to - because at the other end of the hall, the big double doors slid open with a haunting, dissonant ding. Somehow, the ringing bell sound didn't quite sound like it was coming from hidden speakers. It just... carried through the air from an indeterminable source.

Bo stepped forward as lights flickered on in the room that was revealed.

It was a large, rounded room. Open. Tall ceilings. The curved wall was made of what looked to be thick, glass windows that looked out over a dark, empty expanse.

Space. It looked like there were in space.

Distant stars twinkled in the distance, but if anything else was near, it wasn't in view.

Bo found himself being drawn into the room with slow, steady steps as he looked around. Aside from the almost daunting and overwhelming view, there were several doorless doorways that stood in an arch, following the curve of the room. It was weird that the first thing they reminded him of were the doors in Monsters' Inc. Except there was no door to open. They were just generic, metal frames.

He had a feeling they were meant to walk through them at some point.

Maybe to go home?

That could mean they were portals or something. That would make sense.

In the middle of the arch created by the doors, there were a few padded benches, and it looked like their metal legs were mounted to the floor. Clearly, their captor didn't want them rearranging furniture.

Bo hummed, looking up at the ceiling.

Just normal-looking lights, too far to reach.

"All clear," Bo said.

Benji and Daniel followed Bo into the room at the end of the hallway. Some part of Benji had known Daniel was right when he guessed other people would be there, but part of him had hoped he had been wrong. Being right meant that they had people they needed to act normal around, and being right meant Benji had to desperately hope that Morri didn't slip and admit that Benji and Daniel were nowhere as human as they appeared.

He fiddled with his necklace.

Benji looked at the arches. They had to be portals. They weren't like Daniel's, but they didn't need to be. Every magic user had their own unique twists to spells. Daniel's portals not needing frames was one of his.

"...That's ominous," Daniel commented. He was staring at the portals next to Benji now, twisting his ring even though he appeared calm otherwise. Benji watched as Daniel glanced over at Bo—presumably to see what he was thinking—and then pause. It took a moment for Benji to realize why.

"...This is going to sound rude," Daniel said, "but you, uh, look a little older than I expected."

Benji and Daniel both looked older, too, but it wasn't in the same kind of way. Their human forms were more timeless; it was harder pinpointing an age to them. Bo, on the other hand, was a different story.

"That's because I'm 32," Bo said, looking down at Daniel, being pulled out of his own head. He was grateful for it though. It was grounding.

"The person I was in the simulation was aged down. Probably so I'd be college-aged and fit in since I guess I'm not quite old enough to be a professor. I don't know. That's me coming up with reasons why," Bo said with a shrug. "Some of you guys look a little different too. Guess that's the effects of the simulation."

Daniel crossed his arms as he mulled the answer over. It made sense, except for the fact that he was even older than Bo and had been a student, too. Benji and him should have been professors.

But Benji and Daniel also looked younger than they actually were, so it wasn't like he could bring that up now without raising some eyebrows.

"Guess so," Daniel agreed. And then, not wanting to fully bring up what he had been mulling over but still wanting to at least partially address it, he added, "This whole thing is weird."

He thought for another moment, then turned to Benji.

"I was right," Daniel said.

Benji looked bewildered. "About other people being here?"

"That too," Daniel said, "but about who would be here. I knew it was weird that we kept having classes together!"

Benji sighed. He seemed tense, but a little less than when Daniel had woken up. "I'm not sure you should be proud of that."

"I need to celebrate the little victories right now," Daniel said, giving Benji a smile. Benji rolled his eyes, but Daniel saw an amused smile dancing on his lips.

There was too much going on. And sometimes, if too much was going on, you can't process any of it.

Evaline was stunned. She thought she had mentally prepared to see everyone else from the simulation, but she wasn't sure anything could have truly prepared her.

She didn't even know what this really meant. Was there any expectation? Was there an expectation to talk to everyone? Why were they all here? Where even were they?

Evaline barely had time to even think through her questions when the last door opened up, revealing a big open room with door frames and glass walls looking into what looked like space.

It really was too much. This was too overwhelming, but it wasn't like she could just retreat and run away from it all. She was trapped here, and she didn't even know where here was. She could only make the best of it.

And she wasn't going to let her guard down and cause a scene. Not when there was so much uncertainty.

Evaline pushed down the burning feelings of anxiety and fear down her throat, knowing she was staring too long at Elias, who was leaning against the wall, seemingly detached, but also mesmerized by his surroundings. Mel had already gone on to explore the new room, walking in after the others and squishing her face against the glass wall.

"WhoOoOoa! We're in SPACE!" Mel exclaimed.

Evaline took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind. This was beyond her control. It was beyond anyone's control. There was no need to lose her cool, and no need to treat this anymore than a thought experiment.

She will try her best to collect herself and stay calm. She didn't know how long it would last, but at least she would try.

Evaline took a step forward to follow the others, but then stopped and looked over her shoulder.

It was different when she first woke up here with James. Part of her regretted even telling him anything, but another part of her was glad for some closure if this truly was the end of them.

Of course she knew it was best to keep her distance from him, and of course she knew that who he was now was not the person she really knew... but that didn't mean she didn't trust him. She didn't care if he lost his trust of her, but she wasn't sure she could ever fully lose her trust of him.

And here, now, with all the uncertainty... it would be nice to have an ally.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

James thought he'd been mentally prepared to see the others, but the moment he saw Carter, it was like the whole world around him came to a startling halt, and his feet were glued to the floor.

He hadn’t seen Carter in five years. Almost six, soon. They’d parted ways on a sour note when Carter tried to kill him and James barely got away.

Seeing Carter enclosed in the pod in the room across from them, looking deceivingly peaceful, was unsettling.

Sure, he’d seen Carter in the simulation, but this… this was the real him. The Carter with all his real memories intact. Or at least, that was the case for everyone else.

Except Carter was still asleep.

Was it possible… if he died in the simulation, that he’d die in real life?

Or did it make him comatose?

James didn’t get any answers by staring, but Evaline’s voice pulled him out of his head just enough to ground him.

He blinked and nodded slightly.

“Sure,” he said faintly, and he turned to join the others in the main room, alongside Evaline.

Bo noted as the others slowly entered the room and poked their heads in, but he kept looking around the room expectantly.

He couldn’t explain why, but all of this felt weirdly familiar. Maybe it was all the weird experiences he’d already had before, but he felt in his gut that this wasn’t all there was. Someone or something had brought them all here for a purpose - even if that purpose sucked.

Did he want to believe he was living in a horror film? Of course not. But he sure felt like it already. Some weird sci-fi one with psychological thriller vibes.

Except it wasn’t psychologically thrilling.

He found one of the little stools and sat down, letting out a deep sigh. He couldn’t bring himself to stare out the window, because for all good reasons, staring into deep space failed to fill him with wonder or even dread.

He was just there.

Just as he decided he was emotionally done with everything - because of course - the lights flickered in the room.

“Cheap trick,” he mumbled, and then the room went pitch black.

“Overdone,” he continued to mutter.



The voice was loud and permeating, and it felt like it was coming from everywhere at once. The voice was extremely low and sounded like several bass-filled echoey voices overlapping with slightly imperfect synchronization all at once.

Bo would’ve believed it to be some kind of vocal filter from a mic if he didn’t feel like the voice was simultaneously right in front of him and far away and also speaking into his ears.



At that announcement, suddenly each door lit up - all at once - as portals opened. He’d been right to think they were portals, because, just like in movies, the doorways displayed different scenes that looked so real and tangible you could walk into them.

Bo recognized his bedroom.

It was so close that he could touch it, but he hesitated.

They didn’t know what the invitation was yet.

He scanned the other doorways, seeing a variation of indoor and outdoor scenes, but none of them looked too crazy.

At least, not until he saw the last door.

The portal led back into… into HPU. It was like staring into the simulation, but this time it looked like a real world. Students walking around the plaza, around the building almost all of them once lived in.



And then the lights in the room flicked on, and the doors remained lit, and the strange, invasive presence the voice filled receded.

Bo stared at his bedroom through the door.

Well, he didn’t have to question where he was going. This should be easy… right?

Unless there was a catch?

The room reeked of magic. Daniel should have realized that earlier, but hearing the voice speaking directly into his ear and the rest of the room at the same time made it finally click.

"This doesn't feel right," Benji muttered.

Daniel nodded.

"It feels like a convoluted demon deal," Daniel agreed. Gabriel would have certainly had thoughts on the whole thing if he was here. Daniel frowned at the thought. He couldn't believe that the simulation had made him think Rob of all people was one of his closer hunting friends. "Like we're being forced into making a decision. Why bring us all here after putting us through the simulation, only to let us go back to our homes afterwards? I feel like we're missing something."

He glanced at the others in the room. It would be weird not seeing them after all of that time spent together in the simulation. Maybe that was the catch here. The moment they all returned to their worlds, they'd never be able to see each other again.

Daniel already knew what door he'd step through. He knew what one Benji would step through, too. They had a mission they needed to finish, and Daniel wasn't going to give up on it so soon after finally making progress. The others like them that were out there and alone needed Benji and Daniel to at least try to look for them.

...but it would hurt, not getting to see his friends again.

"So," Daniel said, softly, "it looks we're from different worlds. Do you think there's a way for us to..."

He faltered.

Benji gave him a knowing look.

"Not have to say goodbye for good?" Benji guessed.

Bo let out a small sigh and ran his hand over his peach-fuzz buzzed head, resting it on the back of his neck.

"Gonna be real with you, Daniel," he said. "As much as you guys have been fun and it's been great getting to know you, I have a life to return to back home. A fiance. A family. Friends who've been with me through the ups and downs. You know. Life."

Looking up at Benji and Daniel, he offered a small smile.

"I'm sure you guys have people you love and care about back home, too. You don't have to turn that down for all of us. Like, that's nice and all, but... I don't know about you guys, but I want to go home."

He could feel his throat start to tighten a little bit, but he swallowed it down, steeling himself.

An hour. He just had an hour to wait, and it would be over.

He didn't know how "forever" his stay on earth would be with his luck, but he really hoped the voice meant it. And he really hoped the voice wasn't lying.

If only Bo knew how wrong his assumption about Daniel's life was.

Daniel had friends. Friends being just two people: Benji and Gabriel. And Benji was more than a friend at this point—though Daniel had somehow forgotten that during the simulation—so it wasn't even like he really had all that many friends. The friends he had made here were some of the first people he actually considered to be friends in a long time.

"That's not what I meant," Daniel said. "What if there's...another way to see each other after this? We all go back to our worlds, but can meet again afterwards? There has to be a spell."

He wanted to say that last part with certainty, but it only came out as desperate. He hadn't ever tried looking for ways to go between worlds. Before now, he hadn't had a reason to. But there had to be one out there, right? Daniel didn't want to say goodbye and leave it at that.

Benji grabbed onto his hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

"There probably is," Bo said wearily, resting his chin in his hand as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "I know there are ways - or I know people who know the ways. I don't know how final the whole 'going into our worlds' thing actually is. Disembodied-voice-guy said it was forever. Who knows what forever actually means."

Okay, so they were in space. Mel was still trying to wrap her head around that. And they were wearing these ugly jumpsuits. Awoke from some pod. Have fake and real memories.

And now... there was some omnipresent dude speaking to them?

She knew it. She knew it, she knew it. They were brought here by someone.

Mel wanted to yell at the voice and threaten him, but the voice didn't really come around them. It seemed to reverberate in her head, and from the looks of everyone else, they all heard it too.

One door... One world.

Mel gawked at the doorways that opened up like portals. She almost couldn't believe it, but considering they were somehow in space after waking up from some kind of simulation, this seemed less impossible.

Plus... worlds. Worlds. What was that supposed to mean? That they all came from different... worlds?

...

Eh. This was space. That sounds about right.

There were eight portals total, possibly meaning there were eight worlds total. She was able to see a few of them from her current position near the windows, but she was able to see a dusty desert and a quaint bedroom the best. She could just make out another portal to her left that she immediately recognized to be HPU with the main campus in the background and students walking to classes.

But what drew her attention the most was a different portal to the right. She found herself gravitating towards it, like it called to her.

Because this was her world. She was sure of it.

It wasn't like there were any defining features. The portal only showed a thick willowy tree pushed by the breeze. Mel was sure she had passed this tree before in the ungoverned lands, because she once had the thought that this looked exactly like the tree in the edge of her hometown where she and her friends would meet up at.

Since Elias and Evaline were here... maybe they would recognize it too. Or maybe they had also passed by it individually in the past and had the same fleeting thought. Considering they were all in different part of their life right now, maybe their assailant picked this place to represent their version of Earth because it was a neutral ground. Mel didn't know.

Mel stood next to the portal, reaching her hand out. It seemed to be covered by some invisible glass, so she was only able to place her palm against it.

So they had an hour to "choose," huh... Meaning they could go to any other portal. Have a fresh start.

"I don't think I want to test this guy's version of forever," Mel said, inserting herself into Bo and Daniel's conversation. She dropped her hand and started to pace around the portals. "I mean, sure, maybe there's another way. But we don't know that. What we do know is that there are eight portals here and we have an hour to choose."

Mel stood proudly where they could all see her, one hand on her hip and another gesturing to the other portals.

"So? Who has which portal?" She pointed at the one with the tree. "That one is ours. Me, Evaline, and Elias."

Bo pointed to the portal that led into his bedroom. Simple furniture, with a bed under a window that faced the wall of the too-close building next door. Pictures of family and friends were pinned up on the walls, and if anyone took a closer look, they’d see he was in some of them.

“That’s mine,” Bo said.

Benji glanced at the portals.

Still holding onto Daniel's hand, he used his other hand to point at their portal. It showed a forest that was seemingly untouched by any humans. The only hint that it had actual people in it was a long, long driveway just barely in view on the side, and the faint outline of a ridiculously big building in the distance.

"That's ours," Benji said.