The piercing echo of my scream permeated the very essence of my being. I doubted even a banshee could have released something so extravagant.

After a while, my throat became raw, and I stopped my shrieks. Air didn't brush against my skin as I moved my arms. It was so dark I could only see the light blue glow of the sword in my hand. In fact, that was the only thing that let me know I was still alive.

I wasn’t breathing, so the silence of the area was complete.

Zix? I asked. Even my thoughts seemed to reverberate in the void.

The Zix sword pulsed. Ms. Azerail, the spider, it stripped me. Took my… my…

Took your what? I asked.

My…

The sword dimmed, and the blue runes disappeared.

What if the light vanished, and I couldn’t see anymore? Could I die here? What happened to my body in the real world?

Panic set in. My feet were no longer in contact with any surface, so when I flailed, my body launched into an uncontrolled spin.

I didn’t know how I could tell I was moving. There was no outside reference to measure the motion. Dark Offerings must have a built-in equilibrium system.

What if I was stuck like this forever? I felt like I wanted to throw up, but my body wouldn't even dry heave. Being undead was probably the reason for that. I also couldn't feel my heartbeat.

Why didn't it bother me when I was in AR?

The spinning suddenly stopped and I fell. Out of nowhere, the sky lit up. It was similar to when I created worlds with Zix or Stephanie.

First came the sky, then came the—

Shit!

Two seconds later the ground appeared and I didn’t have time to prepare for a decent landing. My arm hit first and it failed to handle the weight of my body. I heard a crunch and pain shot through my body as I rolled on the grass.

Once the spinning stopped, I sat up and felt my chest. Luckily, it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. A single bone in my shoulder was out of place. It was partially numb so I used that to my advantage and pushed it. It felt weird at first but as it clicked into place the numbness faded.

One by one each person who participated in the tests reappeared. They didn’t have animations which didn’t help me calm down.

Jason and the others scanned the area.

Mom was the first to see me and rushed over grabbing me into a hug. “Baby I'm so sorry, they said if we shut the server off you would wake up.”

I noticed my hands shaking as I held her. “W-where, where…” My body trembled so badly I couldn’t properly respond.

Doctor Stevens kneeled next to me. “We’re trying to get you to wake up.”

A rush of anger passed through me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“What happened to you in here when we turned off the test server?” Florence asked.

I stood up dragging my mother up with me. In my fall I had dropped Zix, otherwise, I would have swung him at them right there and then. “If you ever do that to me again, I’ll—”

With my mom holding on to me I couldn’t threaten them. Autumn was strict about being proper around others and I didn’t want to get her angry.

“Just don’t do it again,” I said.

Kevin made his way over to us but said nothing.

Doctor Stevens stood up and put a hand on my shoulder. “You didn’t wake up when they shut off the server.”

An expanse of pitch black flashed before my vision for a split second as I remembered the void. “W-why didn’t I wake up?”

“We don’t know why yet,” Florence said.

Ellen cleared her throat. “There is some good news.”

“What?” I asked.

She inched a step closer to me. “My Zix found the link to you and your body and should be able to bring up more options on your interface.”

“I thought you didn’t use AI code in your system,” I said.

Jason swiped his hand through the air a few times as Jonathan and Euslin came closer so that we were grouped again.

“Technically, Ellen’s Zix has access to our code but is not allowed to change it. We only allow that type of thing in emergencies,” Jason said.

Autumn let go of me. “They are going to get you home as soon as they can baby.” She briefly put a hand on my face. She always did this, it was comforting even though she didn’t look like herself.

“If we swap to the live servers that’ll put me partially on the city's AR system too, right? Would that help me recover my menu’s options?” I asked.

Mom backed up, giving me some space.

Florence scratched her face, and a bit of her skin came loose. “We can only give you access to the in-game functions. Outside functions are usually handled by a user's Zix.”

“Can’t we transfer my link to another place?” I asked.

Florence shrugged. “Like I said, your Zix normally—”

“My Zix is right here,” I said, leaning over to pick him up.

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Ellen moved closer to me. “Do you think it was her Zix that was transferred over to the system?”

I took a step toward Florence and held the sword in front of them.

They tapped the sword, and I suddenly felt warm. “There's something in there but it looks similar to the big program that was transferred to the system. Maybe…”

“Zix said Kumori took something from him,” I said.

“Why does that name sound so familiar?” Doctor Stevens asked.

Mom turned to him. “It means spider in Japanese.”

“No, that's not it,” Doctor Stevens said.

Zix pulsed in my hands. “What if Kumo stripped Zix of his programming somehow?”

“That big file could be Kumori with her Zix’s files,” Kevin suggested.

Florence interjected, “I've seen a Zix’s file structure before. The big program is similar but about twice the size.” They turned to me. “I did check on your Zix, and he looks stripped down.”

“Can we take his last backup and restore him?” I asked.

Florence turned to Jonathan. “Those are in the city's database.”

“We'll help in any way we can. They're your Zix’s files. We need your permission,” Jonathan said.

“If it will get her out of here, do it,” Autumn said.

Jonathan pinched his fingers and slashed his hands through the air a few times. “We're probably going to have to move her to the hospital where there are hard lines to the city's data center.”

“Tell Greg to set it up,” Autumn said.

Doctor Stevens raised a hand. “I'll get transportation set up and prep her body for the drive.”

Doctor Stevens pinched his fingers, and his shambler sunk into the ground until it was completely gone.

“Can we merge this Zix with his backup files?” I asked, holding up the sword.

Florence glanced at Jason.

Jason shook his head. “That Zix is on our servers, and I don't want some AI running around messing things up. I'm tempted to delete it right now.”

“I want to transfer him back into my implant. Can you please save him?” I asked.

Florence stopped their swiping. “He can't harm anything in the state he's in right now.”

“It's Kumo that you need to worry about,” Kevin said.

Euslin was very quiet throughout the conversation. He watched us, but as I made eye contact, knowing eyes stared back at me.

Jason put a hand to his temple and rubbed.

“What are we going to do about the big file?” Ellen asked.

Jason shook his head. “Alec already tried deleting it, and it's coming up as read-only for some reason.”

I was out of my depth when it came to file structures and whatever else they talked about. We were required to take classes on old technology, but it was so long ago almost everything they said went over my head. All I knew was I wanted my Zix back.

“As long as it stays quarantined in the test server, everything should be fine,” Florence said.

Jason and Ellen shared a glance.

Florence shook their head. “Jinxed it, didn't I?”

“I have a meeting with The Remnant this afternoon,” I said.

Autumn swung an arm around my waist. “I don't think you're going to be able to make that, honey.

“But my grades!” I said.

Ellen put a hand on my shoulder. “You have to be there physically to talk to it.”

“You don't think the doctors will be able to fix my implant today?” I asked.

She put her hands up. “I didn't say that, but you could be too exhausted to go today or, depending on the age of the backup—”

“Wait, how often do the Zix create a backup?” I asked.

Jason reached a hand out toward my Zix. “Let me see?”

“You won't hurt him, will you?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No.”

I quickly added Zix to my inventory and removed him. The sword had gone through a change, and I didn't know if the system recognized it as mine still. Hopefully, the quick insertion would make sure it registered as my property. I held it out to Jason, and he touched it. Just like earlier, my body warmed up.

The only explanation I could come up with was that Zix was still linked to me in some way. “That feels weird when you do that.”

“When I do what?” Jason asked.

I replied, “Touch the sword.”

Florence stood still for a moment. “What did you feel?”

“Heat. It happened when Ellen touched him, too,” I said.

Ellen hummed. “If you're getting feedback from the sword, it might mean there's still an active connection.”

“Does that mean her Zix might still be in her implant?” Autumn asked.

Jason shrugged. “Doctor Stevens will let us know, I'm sure.”

I separated myself from my mom. She was being a bit too clingy. “What do I do?”

“What do you mean?” Autumn asked.

“I mean, what if I'm stuck here?” I asked.

Jason shook his head. “There are other people out there who are forced to use AR and VR to explore the real world. I'm sure there's tech that can help you if there are complications.”

It was still pretty scary. Not being able to taste my Nainai's cooking ever again would be torture in itself.

“How long do you think it’ll take for them to—” A thought distracted me. “Is Jennifer going with Doctor Stevens?”

Autumn nodded. “Yes, and I’m going to stay with you until you wake up.”

I was looking forward to telling Stephanie this week's story. She never showed me any emotion while she observed, but she warned me she needed to remain impartial. Despite her lackluster response to my creations, she graded me quite highly.

“Did your download finish, Kevin?” I asked.

Kevin pinched his fingers together, and a piercing pain wracked my skull, causing me to close my eyes and press my fingers to my temples. It was much more painful than usual.

Please stop, please stop.

As I was coming out of the wave of suffering, I stumbled.

Autumn caught me and Kevin steadied me from the other side.

“Huge spike in neural activity,” Jason said.

Florence swiped a few times scrolling through their menu. “Relaying that to Doctor Stevens.” Florence paused, and a faint image of a turtle appeared next to her. The turtle was one of the Zix that scared off Kumo.

I blinked a few times. “Florence, why are you sharing your Zix with me?”

“I’m not,” they said.

However, the turtle turned and stared at me.

Our eyes locked for a moment, and when I didn’t look away, it tilted its head.

“Are you okay?” Autumn asked. She held on to my arm, which had been directed away from my body.

Zix was still in my hand, so I put him in my inventory. “I’m fine.”

“Oh, baby, we have to get you out of here,” Mom said.

It was weird seeing my mom as a zombie. She looked nothing like how she normally did. Kevin's skeleton form was a little weird too.

“Can you change their avatars to look normal?” I asked.

Jason turned, and a keyboard with a window spun with him. “We don’t have scans of them.”

It was only then I noticed a translucent snake coiled around his arm.

Another Zix.

I turned, and Kevin and my mom backed up, giving me room.

Ellen was on the ground leaning against a large bear sprawled out in the grass. Its huge tongue lolled from its mouth, with little droplets of saliva dripping into the dirt.

When I checked on the turtle, it was still staring at me.

Zix? I asked.

The other two Zix’s heads swiveled in my direction.

A deep gravely voice came from the bear. She can see us?

I think she can, the turtle Zix said.

That’sss not posssible, the snake hissed.

Kevin pinched the air again, and the last thing I remembered was the ground coming at me as I crumpled in pain.

***