Booker paced back and forth across the living room, periodically grabbing his phone from his pocket. Still no signal. He cursed under his breath.

His parents were on vacation in Hawaii. They had no idea what was happening back home. Were they even still...? No, he couldn't think like that.

But with planes grounded and phones dead, how would he ever know if they were okay? How could he warn them not to come home until...until when? When would this nightmare end?

"You alright, man?"

Booker turned to see Astor watching him, concern furrowing the smaller boy's brow. He realized his pacing was probably unnerving the others.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to reach my parents," Booker sighed. "They're in Hawaii and have no clue about any of this."

Astor nodded. "I hope they're okay."

"Me too." Booker slumped down on the couch, head in hands. He doubted his mom and dad were staring obliviously at the sun and palm trees right now. They must have realized something was wrong back home. They'd be worried sick trying to contact him.

Ms. Minx rested a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure your parents are fine, Booker. As soon as the phones are working, we'll try calling them again."

Her voice was comforting, but Booker could hear the hint of doubt beneath her words. She was just as powerless and afraid as the rest of them. But she was trying to keep it together for their sake.

Booker took a deep breath, pushing down the panic rising in his chest. He had to keep it together too. The others were counting on him, especially with Mitch still unconscious.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"You're right, we'll reach them soon," he said, trying to sound more hopeful than he felt. "In the meantime, let's start thinking about how we can find other survivors...and how to defend ourselves if we run into those things again."

Ms. Minx gave him an approving nod. "Now that's the right attitude. Why don't you and Astor take stock of what we can use for weapons and barricades while Mei and I look at getting some food together."

The four of them had to work together to get through this. And the first step was making it through this night. Booker stood up and began searching the house, pushing his fretting aside to focus on their survival.

Ms. Minx leaned against the kitchen counter, watching as Mei rummaged through the cabinets looking for anything edible. Her broken leg throbbed, but she tried to ignore the pain. There were more pressing matters at hand.

Like figuring out just what was going on with these children and their strange new abilities.

After hearing Astor explain how he'd controlled the wolf's mind on the stairs, a suspicion began to form in Ms. Minx's mind. She limped into the living room where the boys were gathering makeshift weapons.

"Astor, Booker, I need you both to be honest with me," she said. "When you got your powers, did you hear a voice mentioning different 'pools'?"

The boys shared a startled glance before Astor nodded.

"Yeah, it said I had something called the Psi pool," he admitted.

"And I got the Mana pool," Booker added. "How did you know?"

Ms. Minx sighed. As a hardcore gamer, she recognized the terminology. Each pool represented a different type of ability.

"I think you've all been given RPG powers, like a video game," she explained. "Astor, your Psi pool is for psychic and mind manipulation abilities. Booker, your Mana powers seem to be energy and elemental-based."

Mei spoke up shyly from the kitchen doorway. "When I turned invisible earlier, the voice said I had an Odds pool."

"Right, that must be for unusual or random skills," Ms. Minx mused. She turned to the still-unconscious Mitch. "And his Aura pool evidently provides physical boosts."

She was piecing together how the different pools interacted too. Astor's Psi powers had easily controlled the wolf, a creature of physical Aura. But when Mei later tried pass through a magical barrier, her concealment had fizzled uselessly.

Their abilities clearly had strengths and weaknesses relative to each other.

Just like in a strategic RPG...

"Why is this happening to us?" Astor asked fearfully. "Are we stuck in some kind of video game?"

"I don't know yet, but we'll figure it out," Ms. Minx assured him. As scary as it was, understanding the rules and mechanics of their new reality seemed key to surviving it.

Her gamer mind was already theorizing on combinations and strategies they could employ. But first, they needed rest and a solid plan.

"For now, let's focus on barricading the doors and windows. Then we'll see if we can wake Mitch up to get his input. Stay close together, stay alert, and we'll get through this first crisis. I promise."

Together, they would unravel the mysteries behind this madness.

Ms. Minx just prayed her gamer logic could keep them alive long enough to do so.