Michael got seasick.

  I hoped it had something to do with the computer programming because his skin changed from a rich black to swamp green. The boat was barely the size of a sedan, but the slightest nudge drew a heave from him.

  I sat next to him and rubbed his back as he hung his head over the side. Mei was starting to perk up, but she was still weak and couldn’t stand on her own.

  “You have family in the game too?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” Johnnie half smiled then held up his hands. “I mean, they’re family and all, but not like brothers or sisters.” He tried to give me an empathetic look, “Nothing close like that.”

  “Oh.” My next question was interrupted by a small piece of driftwood. The boat started rocking, and Michael leaned further out of the boat.

  “How safe are we?” Mei asked.

  “Nobody but family knows about the island,” Johnnie waved his arms. “This whole zone is nothing but islands.” He smiled, “No one is going to be able to find us unless they know where to look.”

  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

  “Your family isn’t going to sell us out?” Mei let the undertone hang in the air.

  “Family is family,” Johnnie crossed his arms. “You don’t sell out family.”

  Mei nodded, satisfied with the answer.

  We traveled in relative silence for a few minutes. The only sounds were the songs of a few birds, the chatter of some small animals, the lapping of water on the boat, and an occasional heave. The moonlight lit the way quite well, though I had no idea where we were going or how to get back from where we had cast off.

  “Times like these you forget about the game,” Johnnie remarked.

  I knew what he meant. The details were everything that I could’ve imagined a camping trip to a scenic park to be. If I hadn’t known that I was locked in a game with a lot of death row inmates that wanted to kill me, than I would’ve thought I was on the best vacation ever.

  I could understand how some of the players had wanted to just enjoy the game. This was probably the most peaceful their lives had been in a while.

  I remembered the story of the first town. The players had been content to enjoy the game instead of spreading out to test it. That town had been destroyed by dragons. Everything in the game had been designed to push its players.

  There was another bump on the boat.

  “Johnnie…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Are there monsters in the water?”

  Rating, Review, Follow, Favorite, or Comment does wonders to boost my morale. If you want to help support my writing or check out advanced chapters, head over to my .

  Immersive Ink

  RR Writer's Guild