I wake up slowly the next morning, alone in my room. I wonder where Justin is until I remember the day before.

His father, the Spine world. The flight I should’ve gotten on, but couldn’t.

I stare up at the ceiling. It’s nearly six in the morning and I don’t know why I’m up so early. I don’t have long to wonder, though, when a sharp knock comes at my door.

I frown. Who the heck is knocking this early?

They knock again and again. “Go away!” I yell, not ready to get up.

The knocking keeps coming. I groan and slowly roll out of bed. I throw on some clothes and stumble toward the banging.

“Okay, okay, I get it,” I yell, “I’m coming.”

I pull open the door only to feel all of my annoyance melt away into mild terror.

Two enormous men stare back at me wearing black suits, sunglasses, and earpieces. They’re at least as big as Justin, and rippling with muscle. They’re both bald and they must be brothers or cousins because I can hardly tell them apart.

“You must come with us,” the man standing slightly closer to me says.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Please, Miss Brooks. Blair requests your presence.”

I frown, blinking bleary and tired eyes.

“Don’t bother fighting, Rem.” Justin’s voice comes from nearby, and I crane my neck around the goons. He’s leaning against a wall, looking annoyed, hair mussed up in a bedhead nest. “They’re very persistent.”

The guys don’t react. “Come with us,” the man repeats.

“Can I have a second?”

“Two minutes,” he says, checking his watch. “Starting now.”

“He means literally two minutes,” Justin calls out as I slip back into the room. I grab a bra, some underwear, and clean clothes, throwing it all on. I straighten myself up and manage some deodorant when one of the black-suited freaks pushes into my room.

“Time is up,” he says. “Come with me.”

I slip my feet into sandals and step out into the hall. Justin gives me a little smile.

“I think we’re about to be killed,” he jokes.

“Not funny.”

“What do you think Blair wants?”

“Results, I guess.”

He shrugs a little. We fall into step behind the two goons as we move down the hall, back toward the labyrinth.

“I’d say this isn’t like her,” I say softly, “but I don’t think I really know her that well.”

“I doubt anyone does. I mean, look at this place. It’s a shrine to escapism.”

That catches me off guard. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you know, all the weird rooms? The Viking room, Ikea, that weird shrine, the science room. Plus, I’m sure there are a bunch more places just like those. They’re all escapes from reality.”

“I thought they were parts of her past.”

“That was my guess at first, but when we went into Spine, I realized… well, she created a VR company, right?” He’s heating up to his topic, starting to talk faster. The goons don’t seem to hear him as we leave the residential area.

“Yeah, true.”

“VR is all about escaping into another world. This whole building is like escaping into another universe. I think… that’s what this is all about. Escaping reality, not embracing the chaos. It’s building a new orderly existence somewhere else.”

“Huh,” I say, blinking. I hadn’t even considered that.

Up until now, I was assuming that this compound was a reflection of Blair’s personality, a big hodgepodge mix of her memories, things she likes, stuff like that. But it makes just as much sense to assume that it’s all just one big game for her, an enormous escapist fantasy, just like the Spine VR games are.

“Maybe we’ve been coming at this the wrong way,” I muse, and I feel him nudge against me.

“Are you starting to actually listen to my ideas?”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t get excited.”

“It’s a big step, you know.”

“Hardly. You’re still an asshole.”

He grins at me. “But an asshole with great ideas.”

“For now.” I smile back a little bit, unable to help myself.

We pass through a few twists and turns and end up outside of two enormous wooden doors. The goons push them open and I swear, they open with a groan, just like out of some fantasy movie. Justin raises his eyebrows a little bit, clearly excited for this.

We step into an enormous, almost cavernous room. Pillars line either side of an avenue that leads directly up to what I can only describe as a throne.

It’s a huge chair, all made of black iron, sitting on a raised platform accessible by four steps. Sitting on the throne is Blair, staring down at us with bored and lazy-looking eyes, like she was just asleep.

It’s barely after six in the morning, after all.

“Holy shit,” Justin whispers.

“I know.” We follow the goons closer to the throne before they stop abruptly and drop to one knee. They put their right hand on their heart and their left on the floor, heads bowed.

I stand there and stare before laughing out loud. “What the heck?” I say, addressing Blair. “Is this some new game?”

“Silence.” Her voice cuts through the room, echoing and booming. She must be using some kind of microphone system to get it so loud. “You are in the presence of the Queen of this place.”

I glance at Justin and he looks amused, like he’s trying hard not to laugh. He suddenly drops down to one knee and mimics the gesture the goons are making.

I hesitate a second as Blair stares at me before sighing.

“This is so stupid,” I say, getting into position.

“Just play along,” Justin whispers. “Escapism, games, remember?”

“Rise,” she calls, and the goons rise instantly. We slowly get back up to our feet.

The two goons walk off to the side, leaving Justin and I standing alone in front of the Queen. She gestures for us to approach. We get as close as the first step before she holds one hand up, palm out, and we stop.

“You have been summoned before me this morning to answer for your crimes.” Her voice is crystal clear and smooth, lacking any of the strange lilting and halting tones from every other time we’ve met her. She’s sitting straighter, looking down her nose at us, almost haughty on her throne. It’s totally unlike the Blair we’ve seen previously.

Acting. She’s acting, playing a part.

“What crimes did we commit, Great Resplendent One?” Justin says, and winks at me.

“The crime of running away.” Blair’s eyes move to mine. “Specifically, the crime of trying to leave before your job is finished.”

I bite my lip, watching her silently. Justin nudges me. “Play along,” he whispers.

“Oh, Great Queen, I apologize,” I say to her. “I was… uh… tricked. Yeah, I was tricked.”

She frowns slightly. “Tricked? What charlatan tricked you, pray tell?”

“This man’s father,” I say, gesturing at Justin. “He is a wicked, wicked man, a warlock of considerable power and… uh… he’s a big asshole. So yeah.”

“Smooth,” Justin whispers, grinning huge.

Blair strokes her chin. “A wicked Warlock, you say…” She trails off and shakes her head. “Very well. That means you had no control over your own actions.”

“That is correct,” I say. “Justin came after me and broke the spell, allowing me to return, and we banished the evil man from your… court.”

Justin nods approvingly, and Blair seems like she’s buying it.

“So you have done me a favor, then,” she says.

“We only live to serve,” Justin adds with a flourish.

I keep myself from rolling my eyes again.

“Very well,” Blair says. “Serve me now. You have been here for a few days, and I have seen nothing of your work. I wish to see something this instant.”

I bite my lip and look at Justin, a little panic in my eyes. He takes a sharp breath and looks back at me, equally uncertain.

We stand there together, and we both know that we don’t have jack shit.

We haven’t been working. We’ve been spending our time here either having sex or fighting or just exploring this weird space. We haven’t come up with any slogans, any branding ideas, anything at all. So far, it’s been a total waste.

Justin’s face slowly falls. I can tell he’s about to apologize and admit that we don’t have anything for her…

When I reach out and put a hand on his arm. He stops, cocks his head, looks at me.

“Oh, Queen Blair,” I say. “We don’t have drawings or words for you, but just an idea that we wish to build our work around.”

She strokes her chin. “Very well, proceed.”

I clear my throat. I have this half-baked plan in my mind… but I have to stall for time while I work it out.

“You extended your hospitality,” I say loudly, gesturing around me. “You showed us many wondrous things. Your palace is as grand as it is varied.”

Blair nods. “Yes, that is true.”

“We believe that variation is key to your brand. All these worlds, existing in a single place. It’s… magical.”

She looks thoughtful. “We worry about fragmentation.”

“Forget fragmentation. People aren’t stupid. They can put it all together and let it all live in the same space. People pretend to want boxes when they really crave action.”

Blair frowns at that. “Action,” she says.

“But your world isn’t just action. It’s memory and it’s worship and it’s life. Our idea isn’t based on you and your beliefs and your life, but on games, on escape, on play.” I take a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“Spine,” I say loudly. “Find Your Better World.”

I gesture like I’m panting the words in the air before dropping my arms. Justin gives me a surprised look but nods his head slowly, turning to Blair.

“We’ll base it on the idea that people get into VR to escape their lives,” he says, picking up where I left off. “That’s what you offer, with all these different places. Nobody plugs in to be exactly who they are. They plug in to be a better version of themselves in a more exciting version of our world. That’s what you have to offer. That’s what we’re selling.”

He finishes and I nod at him. I can feel a sense of pride welling up in my chest. His words slowly echo through the large space and as they die down, Blair claps twice.

“Very good,” she says. “I am pleased.”

Relief floods through me. That was as last minute as it gets and partially bullshit, but I can feel there’s a kernel of something real in there. Blair can clearly see it too.

“We’re happy we’ve pleased you, Queen Blair,” Justin says, bowing his head.

“Go now. Go back whence you came and create for me.”

Justin frowns, looking up. “You’re banishing us?”

“Not banishing.” A rare smile from her as she peers down from under her black bangs. “I’m just sending you home. Hope you have a good flight.”

With that, she stands and leaves, walking behind the throne and disappearing. I don’t know where she goes, but I guess there’s some kind of door or something. I crane my neck to see it, but there’s nothing.

“Huh,” Justin says softly. “That’s disappointing.”

“What is?”

“We have to leave,” he says. “I mean, we haven’t even seen half this place yet.”

“We’ve seen enough. Don’t you want to get back to reality?”

I turn to him and he looks at me, a slow smirk spreading across his face. “I think I do,” he says. “Reality can be just as good as fantasy, especially when you’re involved.”

I smile at that. He grabs my hand and leads me away from the throne. The two goons appear again and lead us wordlessly back to our rooms.

Justin nods at me, letting my hand go as we part ways. I go inside and pack, tossing clothes back into my bag. When I’m done, I let out a sigh.

I’m going to miss this insane place, but as with any game, eventually you have to log out.