The engine of my cherry-red mustang rumbles low and slow as we drive through the gate and down the long, straight driveway to the house. The top’s down on the brand new ride, the sun’s high in the sky, and the most beautiful woman in the world is riding shotgun beside me with a big, red bow in her hair that matches her lipstick.

She smiles at me and touches my arm in excitement—large, designer sunglasses resting on her face, a white summer dress with red polka dots layering her perfect skin, and her long, blonde hair blowing in the breeze.

I run my hand up her thigh, and she smacks it away in play.

Trees line the driveway as it makes an easy bend to the right, then it opens up to the largest, most well-kept yard I’ve ever seen. In the distance, at least two football fields ahead, lies the mansion.

Jenny gasps. “Oh, my God. John…”

I laugh, feeling the same incredible emotion that she does. “Welcome home, baby.”

“I can’t believe this. It feels like we’re at the Biltmore.”

A smile at least a mile wide rests comfortably on my face, knowing that I, John Crussell, have provided this for her. I’ve finally made my own way through sheer determination, and have shaped the stars in my universe. Knowing that fact in this very moment is one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. I have vindicated myself, and what I’ve always wanted—to break free from the oppression of society and the shackles it puts upon my life—is finally mine. I’m no longer just another brick in the wall. No longer a puppet on a string.

I turn the music off as we approach the residence.

A large fountain is in front of the house, and the paved driveway circles around it. The drive also extends between the house and a large garage, beneath a second-floor walkway that attaches the two parts.

The realtor pulls her Jaguar around to the front steps and puts it in park.

I stop the car behind her and can’t help but marvel at the size of the house.

We get out and the realtor meets us. “Welcome to your new home, Mr. and Mrs. Crussel,” she says with a smile.

Jenny jumps up and down with excitement and throws herself into my arms, nearly knocking me over.

I hold her tight and cherish the moment.

The realtor walks up the stairs and we follow her lead.

“I love the lion statues,” I say, pointing to both sides of the steps.

Standing at the front door, the realtor hands over the keys. “Would you like to go inside?” she asks, a hint of humor in her rhetoric.

“Would we? Brenda, we’ve been waiting a lifetime for this,” I reply.

She unlocks the door, then hands me the keys. “Since you’ve already paid the down payment in full, and without even seeing it in person, I’m sure that you would like to experience it for yourselves. I will take my leave, and I wish you both a long and happy life together in your new home,” Brenda says.

Jenny and I shake her hand. “Thank you very much. If anyone is looking for a house, I’ll refer them straight to you,” I tell her.

She smiles, inclines a polite nod, gets back in her car, and leaves.

We watch her go until she’s out of sight, and when she’s gone, Jenny runs into the house like a kid. I follow her inside, and a long-lost feeling of youth rekindles in my soul. It’s like we’re both on the playground again and I’m chasing after her, both of us laughing and giggling in the moment, enjoying life to the fullest.

Inside the foyer, we stop and stare in awe. There’s a grand staircase that wraps around both sides of the room, and large tiles made of marble that make up the floor. There’s striking woodwork trim all around, a grand piano and two chairs against the wall beneath the stairs, and a small table on the opposing side. A chandelier hangs over the room, extending from the third floor.

“The realtor said it’s worth fifty thousand dollars,” I note, referring to the fixture.

“Oh, John. This is wonderful. No, wonderful doesn’t even begin to describe it.” She looks around the room in awe, raising her eyes all the way to the third story. “This is all so beautiful.”

I can’t help but stare at her. “Yes, it is.”

She turns to me, still a kid. “You wanna check out the rest of the house?”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I take her in my arms. “Jenny, I wanna check out every room of the house with you. Every nook. Every cranny.”

Jenny breaks away with a coy grin. She softly slaps my arm and runs away. I chase after her.

Two hours later, we walk back outside.

Both of us sit on the steps and stare out across our kingdom.

Jenny points to the five-car garage. “You think you’ll be able to fill that up?”

She knows I’ve always had a thing for cars, especially the classics.

“Oh, I don’t think that’ll be a problem. How about that pool in the back, huh? And the pool house…”

“Mmm, it’s dream status,” she says, throwing her head back, imagining warm, summer months. She then stares back across our land with a look of pure ecstacy. “Oh, John. Tell me this is real. Tell me this isn’t some sort of dream that we’ll wake from.”

“It’s real, Jenny. As real as anything could be. And I won’t let anyone take it away.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

She turns to me. “What if Alterlife ends? What if the virus returns?”

I take her hand. “Don’t think like that. We can’t think like that. Nothing bad is going to happen, alright?” I say to comfort and reassure her. But the statement is also meant for me. “You think our good fortune’s going to abandon us now? After everything that’s happened? No way.” I lean into her, knocking her over in play. “So let’s just enjoy the ride, okay?”

Jenny giggles and rips my tickling hands away from her side. “Okay, okay.” She dives on top of me and drives my back to the marble patio, tickling me back. We wrestle for a moment, sit back up, and pause as we both catch our breath.

“Oh, John, this just feels so unreal—like the sweetest fantasy imaginable. I don’t ever want it to end.”

Tell me about it. Four months ago, before I found Alterlife, if someone would have tried to tell me where I would be now, I would have laughed in their face and called them crazy.

Jenny sighs. “I just feel like it’s too good to be true. Like something is going to happen and it’ll all be gone.”

“It’s not going to end, baby. That’s why we’ve started our brewery business. It will cover our tracks with the IRS, so they won’t be asking any questions as my income continues to roll in from Alterlife. With you keeping the records, there’s no way they’ll be able to pinpoint how much money we actually make.” I run my fingers through her hair. “And we used the seventy thousand dollars of legit money I made in the game before the virus hack to pay for the startup and the down payment on the house.”

She stands, and I stand beside her.

“You think it’s illegal to be doing what you’re doing in the game? To use the ‘hack’ or whatever it is?” She looks to me for an honest answer.

I stare into the distance. “I don’t know. But I sure don’t want to find out.”

It is illegal. I know it is. Some of the most powerful people in the world play Alterlife. Corporate presidents, politicians, actors, musicians. Drug cartels and mafias. Probably even the Illuminati and the Bilderbergs. Am I really the only one who possesses the hack? What would those people do if they found out?

“Aren’t you afraid you’ll get caught? You could do to spend a little less time in the game, you know? We have enough money.” She rubs my arm. “And it would be nice to see you around home a little more. And look at this house! I’ll feel so alone now that I don’t work anymore.”

“It should keep you busy cleaning then,” I tease and slap her on the behind.

She gives me a gentle shove. “Oh, so I’m a little rich housewife now, am I? Shall I rub your feet when you get home and cook you a three-course meal every night?”

“You do whatever you want to do,” I tell her. “After putting up with me for all these years, you’ve earned it.” I pull her close and together, in silence, we stare over our piece of western North Carolina, taking it all in.

“This is a far cry from where we came from, isn’t it? What would our little town say if they saw us now?”

“It doesn’t matter what they would think, Jenny. It’s just you and me. I don’t care about our past, or where we came from. We’ve built this thing together, you and I, and that’s all that matters.” I stare into her eyes. “You and the kids are all that matter to me in this world.”

“I love you.” She gives me a long, slow kiss, and falls into my arms again.

I tuck my face into her head and take in the smell of her hair.

“At least there haven’t been any other strange reports about people dying from playing that game like there were months ago. Maybe the worst is behind us,” she says and nuzzles her face against my chest. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you. Money or no money, I can’t live without you, John Crussel.”

The fact that there haven’t been any more deaths due to the virus still surprises me. I figured once I released it into the game by killing Deakins, that it would be widespread before the end of the week, the outbreak killing millions. But only a few hundred died from the virus and, since then, there hasn’t been any further news concerning game-related deaths.

It doesn’t slip my mind that there was a master design behind all of this. The mysterious man in the woods who gave me the cloak, who was then aged in the cell and gave me the mark, who then told me to kill Deakins, a Gamemaster, knowing that it would spread the virus throughout Alterlife. Was our meeting in the cell by chance? Or was it arranged? If the Guildmaster of the Black Knights did poison me for my items, then he surely didn’t bet on me breaking out and killing him. That makes me wonder how many others could be connected to this plot?

But the biggest question of all—the one that won’t go away—is this: out of the nearly five hundred million people that play Alterlife, why me?

Why am I the one to have such good fortune? The one to be cursed at the same time? The one to spread death?

The love of my life breaks my reverie. “Since we were sidetracked with each other the first time, you want to check out the rest of the house now, for real?”

She’s so beautiful. I grab her tight, spinning her to face me. “Like I said, I want to check out every room with you. Every inch. Every nook and cranny.”

“You’ll have to catch me first!” she says and takes off running.

I chase her into the house, and we’re like a couple of teenagers all over again.

For the next couple of hours, we get lost with one another, again.