©2025 SammyC

“Avoid playing games of chance for money, young lady.” His eyes twinkled. “Yes. You have a question. So, ask it.”

A group of people wake up in video game world and are forced to work together to survive and find out how to escape.

Trapped in a trap within a trap.

Heart Won and Lost
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I was born in 1922 on a farm in Kansas. I wish I could tell stories of the time when our farm was green, productive and profitable but those were just things I heard. The first big drought came in 1930, and after that the dust storms destroyed all that we had. The end finally came in April 1935, on the day they called “Black Sunday” when the dark dust from the west blocked out the sun.

A group of people wake up in video game world and are forced to work together to survive and find out how to escape.

Here we go…

The Interview (2)
by
Angharad.
I spoke to the principal about our upcoming event and to be prepared. He was busy so told me to organise it and provided I stuck to college policies, which included diversity and variety, to just get on with it. He'd see the student involved in a couple of weeks. I told him what I'd done and that we were on fieldwork all next week and Fiona was one of the field workers. He told me to do what I could and any dissenters could be warned that they agreed to the policy about Difference and Diversity before we accepted them.

Chapter 17: The Harassment continues

Yuqi walked into school the following day, bracing herself for what would come. The weight of yesterday’s events still lingered heavily in her chest, but she tried to push through it, her shoulders squared and her head held high. She didn’t want to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing how much the incident had hurt her.

The morning started quietly enough, with students milling about the hallways as usual, but as soon as the PA system crackled to life, the memory of the previous day came rushing back.

Acidalia XIX
By Amanda D.

Saturday Sept 15th 10:15am pdt:

The Sisters Compound:

The clearing had been unnaturally quiet since Father's extended absence. Even Remi's growing sensitivity to earth-vibrations could not trace his movements beyond their usual territory. The mother dragon's restlessness manifested in constant, agitated movements—her massive tail carving fresh furrows into the ground as she maintained her vigilant watch over the clutch.

A group of people wake up in a video game world and are forced to work together to survive and find out how to escape.

The festival.

Chapter 36.

After a bit, the plates are empty, and the table is covered in nothing but scraps and empty glasses. The food was undeniably good, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I feel full in a way that doesn’t come with the weight of stress or exhaustion.

From the San Gabriels to the Mexican Border, Southern California is people. Anglos and Chicanos, Asians, Blacks, Slavs, Armenians – heaps of Armenians! – you name it. They come from everywhere, and they bring their languages, their foods, their feuds and their passions with them. It’s wild and dynamic and scary, and I love it.

It’s home.

A group of people wake up in a video game world and are forced to work together to survive and find out how to escape.
Chapter 35.

After what feels like a year of waiting at the inn—Kaida fussing with her hair every five minutes and me trying not to pace a hole in the floor—she finally looks up from the mirror and announces, “Alright, it’s time to meet them!”

I freeze, my stomach doing an unhelpful little flip. “Already?”

After not talking to her sister in years, 18 year old trans girl Jenny gets a call about a transgender child who has come into the orphanage that her sister works at. Despite barely being out of high school, she decides to adopt the child.

The morning after the intense memory exchange with the mother dragon left Remi's mind buzzing with lingering sensations. Her bare feet tingled against the cool stone of the clearing, the rough texture grounding her as she processed the overwhelming input from the previous day. "It's like having a brain freeze without the ice cream," she muttered to herself, rubbing her temples.

“Jasmine, Jim, you’re safe now. We’re taking you home.”