Acidalia XIX
By Amanda D.

Saturday Sept 15th 10:15am pdt:

The Sisters Compound:

The lecture hall buzzed with the low hum of students typing on laptops, punctuated by the professor's droning voice explaining object-oriented programming principles. Nathan sat rigidly in his seat, his enhanced senses picking up every tiny sound and movement around him. The once-familiar concepts now seemed trivial, almost laughably simple compared to the complex systems he'd interfaced with during his time away.

Celeste Rawlins pulled her jacket tighter against the evening chill, grateful she'd thought to bring an extra layer. October nights in Millridge were unpredictable—sometimes clinging to late summer warmth, other times plunging into winter's preview. Tonight was definitely leaning toward the latter.

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.