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chinrichsA4

I yelped as the fire came too close for comfort. This dragon clearly hated visitors.
           “Lexi are you okay?” I heard someone yell over the dragon’s bellows. I turned to see a brown haired boy in a black and blue racing suit staring at me with worry in his eyes.
           “I’m fine Justin,” I called back to him as I fired another round of arrows at the large winged beast. “Thankfully my hair is unscathed; I mean I just got it re-colored for heaven’s sake!” I brushed away my newly silvered ponytail as the dragon screeched out in pain.
           “Could you stop worrying about your hair for two seconds?” the request came from my right, a blonde girl could be seen fighting to stay on a wing of the monster. “We’re kind of in the middle of a battle!”
           “Sorry Camille,” Justin and I replied in unison. Suddenly I was forced onto the ground by a massive claw pinning me down. The shock made me drop my bow, and I could hardly breathe with the dragon pushing hard on my back.      “A little help?” I wheezed, but my plea was drowned out by the cry of the monster holding me captive. I could only watch as my collogues were thrown down repeatedly.
No! I thought my mind racing. We’ve worked so hard to get here and now we’re… losing. Thoughts swam in and out of my mind as I was forced to

spectate the struggle of my friends. We can’t die. Not now! Not when we’re so close to our goal! My thinking was desperate; if we lost we would never have this chance again for years.
           It was then that I suddenly caught hold of an idea. My lack of oxygen would make it even more difficult, but it was worth a shot.
           I raised my arm, lifting it up and behind my head. Feeling around for what I wanted, I could sense something fuzzy. I grabbed it and pulled it into my field of vision. Just what I needed; an arrow. I got a better grip on the weapon before forcing my arm back up and lodging the arrow into the dragon’s hand.
           There was a loud roar, as if the ancient beast were a bass opera singer warming up while being strangled. The pressure was lifted off my back and I was finally able to take a deep, welcoming gasp of air. I turned back to see the lizard-like animal scream toward the sky before freezing and silencing. 
I layed there in disbelief as the creature suddenly burst into ashes that rained down gently. We had done it. We had killed the dragon. Then I heard Justin start cheering.

spectate the struggle of my friends. We can’t die. Not now! Not when we’re so close to our goal! My thinking was desperate; if we lost we would never have this chance again for years.
           It was then that I suddenly caught hold of an idea. My lack of oxygen would make it even more difficult, but it was worth a shot.
           I raised my arm, lifting it up and behind my head. Feeling around for what I wanted, I could sense something fuzzy. I grabbed it and pulled it into my field of vision. Just what I needed; an arrow. I got a better grip on the weapon before forcing my arm back up and lodging the arrow into the dragon’s hand.
           There was a loud roar, as if the ancient beast were a bass opera singer warming up while being strangled. The pressure was lifted off my back and I was finally able to take a deep, welcoming gasp of air. I turned back to see the lizard-like animal scream toward the sky before freezing and silencing. 
I layed there in disbelief as the creature suddenly burst into ashes that rained down gently. We had done it. We had killed the dragon. Then I heard Justin start cheering.

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Pretty soon, Camille and I joined in as well.
           “We did it!” Camille exclaimed. “We beat the dragon! That was so cool!”
           “Cool? That was awesome!” Justin shouted.
           “Yeah!” I chimed in, “I mean for a minute there I thought we were going to die. But we didn’t! We won the fight!”
           We all sat there for a while, talking and laughing as we reenacted parts of the scene. When we finally calmed down, we all sighed.
           “I can’t believe it. That was amazing.” Justin said as he looked over at the now setting sun. The orange and red hues bled across the sky. We all watched as the sun sank over the horizon into the realms beyond.      For that moment, everything was perfect. In that moment, nothing was wrong. But then, that moment passed, and everything changed forever.
           I sighed as I looked back at my two best friends. The ones who had been there for me my whole life. I smiled as I remembered all the adventures we’d been on.
           “Um, Lexi?” Camille asked as she looked at me with a peculiar expression.
           “What?” I answered as I cocked my head,

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confused. Justin gasped from beside me.
           “Oh my gosh, Lexi are you okay?” He inquired, worried.
           “I’m fine. What are you two talking about?” I questioned. They sat there speechless for a few moments, before Camille scrambled to pull out a palm sized glass shard that we used as a mirror. She gave it to me, and I lifted it up, still confused about what they were gawking at.
           One glance was enough to make me gasp as I dropped the makeshift mirror. I breathed heavily and knelt down to pick up the glass again.
           My reflection was like nothing I’d ever seen before. I had a large gash across my face. But instead of blood, there were numbers and twitches of strange colors oozing out. I reached up and touched the wound, which made the numbers and colors spaz out, switching back and forth extremely quickly.
           Scared, I pulled my hand back. Only to reveal that it had turned into colors and numbers, and that my gash had grown. I started breathing quicker as the numbers and colors appeared in my sight.
           “What is happening to me?!” I cried out as I

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confused. Justin gasped from beside me.
           “Oh my gosh, Lexi are you okay?” He inquired, worried.
           “I’m fine. What are you two talking about?” I questioned. They sat there speechless for a few moments, before Camille scrambled to pull out a palm sized glass shard that we used as a mirror. She gave it to me, and I lifted it up, still confused about what they were gawking at.
           One glance was enough to make me gasp as I dropped the makeshift mirror. I breathed heavily and knelt down to pick up the glass again.
           My reflection was like nothing I’d ever seen before. I had a large gash across my face. But instead of blood, there were numbers and twitches of strange colors oozing out. I reached up and touched the wound, which made the numbers and colors spaz out, switching back and forth extremely quickly.
           Scared, I pulled my hand back. Only to reveal that it had turned into colors and numbers, and that my gash had grown. I started breathing quicker as the numbers and colors appeared in my sight.
           “What is happening to me?!” I cried out as I

looked around frantically, searching for something that made sense.
           “Lexi!” Both my friends shouted. Only, their voices were distorted and strange. The colors and numbers started to spread, clouding my vision. I tried so desperately to call out, but my voice was gone. All the sounds were replaced with a fuzzy noise along with a constant high pitched squeal.
I wanted it all to go away. I wanted it to end. There was nothing pleasant anymore. Everything was either numb or filled with pain. I wanted it to be calm again. I didn’t want this.
That’s when everything stopped. All I could see was black. All I could hear was silence. All I could feel was cold. Everything just stopped.
Then I opened my eyes.

           I was staring up into the sky. There were stars, the moon, and darkness. As I breathed, puffs of what looked like smoke rose up into the night. Why am I breathing smoke? I thought as I started looking around.
           It looked like any old land. Hardly any trees, grass overgrown basically everywhere. The only things that weren’t normal were the people.

There were people on the ground, asleep.
           These people were wearing odd clothing. Long sleeve shirts and blueish pants. They all had the same four colors of hair, only slightly different in shade. They all had either blonde, brown, black, or grey hair. Their skin was either dark, light, or somewhere in between. I couldn’t see any of their faces because there were black boxes strapped to them.
           Looking down closer to me, I found that I was wearing the same clothes as everyone else. I was then suddenly aware of a new sensation. I felt the cloth pressing against my skin, closing in around me. I had never felt claustrophobic before, but I did now. As I kept my face down, my hair fell like a curtain around it. I gasped to see that it was black instead of silver.
           I took a section of the jet black strands in my fingers. My hair felt course and tangled, like it hadn’t been brushed before. I started sliding the hair through my fingers, enjoying the feeling of the little strings of hair straightening out in my hands.
           “Wow,” I practically breathed as I smiled for the first time since I had experienced this strange

There were people on the ground, asleep.
           These people were wearing odd clothing. Long sleeve shirts and blueish pants. They all had the same four colors of hair, only slightly different in shade. They all had either blonde, brown, black, or grey hair. Their skin was either dark, light, or somewhere in between. I couldn’t see any of their faces because there were black boxes strapped to them.
           Looking down closer to me, I found that I was wearing the same clothes as everyone else. I was then suddenly aware of a new sensation. I felt the cloth pressing against my skin, closing in around me. I had never felt claustrophobic before, but I did now. As I kept my face down, my hair fell like a curtain around it. I gasped to see that it was black instead of silver.
           I took a section of the jet black strands in my fingers. My hair felt course and tangled, like it hadn’t been brushed before. I started sliding the hair through my fingers, enjoying the feeling of the little strings of hair straightening out in my hands.
           “Wow,” I practically breathed as I smiled for the first time since I had experienced this strange

world.
           “It’s always interesting to see how they react when they first wake up,” a man’s voice said from behind me. I jumped as I turned around to see a man with blonde hair, and a short beard. His clothes were different than everyone else’s. He wore a red long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up, along with a complimenting black vest and pants. I was speechless as he smiled at me and giggled a little.
           “Wh-who are you?” I asked when I had finally found my voice.
           “I’m so sorry if I startled you,” he told me. “My name is Robert.” As he said this, he held out his hand. I only stuttered. Completely confused about what I was supposed to do. Robert only laughed again.
           “Sorry. I forgot that you’re new.” He apologized as he pulled his hand back. “So, what’s your name?”
           “Lexi. Uh, can you tell me what is going on and, where I am?”
           “Well Lexi, you are in what we call ‘the physical world’. Everything that you’re used to, and what you know as real, we call that

‘the virtual world’. Those headsets you see everyone wearing are what cause the virtual world to look so real.”
           “Wait, but I could feel the dragon on me. It nearly made me suffocate!”
           “Everything that you feel in the virtual world is only caused by your mind.”
           I paused for a moment, taking this all in. It wasn’t long before my mind was filled with questions. I wanted to understand this physical world.
           “Why are you wearing different clothes? And, how many people live here? What is life like in the physical world?”
           Robert looked at me like I was a child asking all the simplest questions. Which, in his mind at least, I was.
           “There’s a seamstress back in town that makes clothes. That’s where I got these.” Robert explained. “There are thousands of people that live consciously in the physical world. There are jobs that you are given, and that’s what you do all day.”
           Pretty soon, I had learned all about the physical world. Some of the cool jobs that there

‘the virtual world’. Those headsets you see everyone wearing are what cause the virtual world to look so real.”
           “Wait, but I could feel the dragon on me. It nearly made me suffocate!”
           “Everything that you feel in the virtual world is only caused by your mind.”
           I paused for a moment, taking this all in. It wasn’t long before my mind was filled with questions. I wanted to understand this physical world.
           “Why are you wearing different clothes? And, how many people live here? What is life like in the physical world?”
           Robert looked at me like I was a child asking all the simplest questions. Which, in his mind at least, I was.
           “There’s a seamstress back in town that makes clothes. That’s where I got these.” Robert explained. “There are thousands of people that live consciously in the physical world. There are jobs that you are given, and that’s what you do all day.”
           Pretty soon, I had learned all about the physical world. Some of the cool jobs that there

were back in town, how the town worked, how the virtual world worked, and even that the numbers and colors I had seen were glitches in my headset. I knew that the world I grew up in wasn’t real, and that the things I could see in the physical world were.
           “So,” Robert announced. “Anything else you want to ask me?”
           “Well,” I pondered for a moment, trying to come up with anything else. “Just one thing.” I finally told him. “What now?”
           Robert looked puzzled. “What do you mean?” He asked.
           “What do I do now? Now that I know about the physical world.”
           “Now,” He hesitated a moment, as if what he was about to say was difficult. “Well now you… you have a choice.”
           I cocked my head. “What’s the choice?”
           “Your choice is what world you want to be in.” Robert told me. His tone was different. Earlier he was cheerful and happy, now it had dropped and become more serious.
           “Where I want to go,” I interpreted.
           “Yes. So, what do you choose?”
 

      I sat there for a while, lost in thought. There were pros and cons for both options. Friends and familiarity on one side, and opportunities and learning on the other. After too long, I finally sighed.
           “I know what I want.

           I looked at my surroundings. They were what I had come to know and love. Only, they didn’t seem as familiar as they should’ve. I saw two people up ahead. It took me a moment, but I’d recognize them anywhere.
           “Justin! Camille!” I called out. They both turned at their names and stopped, astonished at seeing me.
           “Lexi?” Camille said, barely loud enough for me to hear.
           “Lexi!” Justin shouted. They both started running towards me. I just smiled and let them come and squeeze me with their hugs.
           “How in the world?” Camille started to say as she got choked up in her own emotions.
           “We saw you disappear!” Justin told me.
           “How are you back?” Camille pressed on me.