The mall was large; it was a mall. We had entered by the food court, briefly gazing at the restaurants along the walls and the countless chairs and tables scattered throughout the area. We decided to come back for food later, after we finished looking for my new shirt. I felt uncomfortable about the whole thing. I didn't like that my shirt was ripped and I was self conscious about showing off my flabby belly.

There were more shades here than I had seen anywhere else in the game. Shadowy outlines were moving everywhere, it almost seemed like one massive shadowed blob slumping around the mall. It was creepy and I was ready to leave but my partner was on a mission.

Anne led me away from the food court and into one of the main stores to check out their clothing section so we could replace my ruined shirt. We were cautious about any chills but when none came, we relaxed a bit. The store was large and packed mainly with clothing, gathered neatly in sections or on mannequins. Jewelry was set near one of the registers and perfume sat on a small shelf in the center of the aisle to our left. I was eager to get something that wasn't ripped and wanted to be fast so I picked up the first thing that I saw that was in my size. Taking my ripped shirt off, I put the new one on and sighed in relief.

"Aah... really?" Anne said, giving me an odd look.

"What?"

"That color, with those pants. Not to mention it's a bit baggy on you."

My jaw dropped, "Do we really have time to be picky?"

"If it means you won't look ridiculous, yes, we have time."

I returned the shirt where I found it and, shirtlessly, followed Anne around the store. I'm pretty sure it took much longer than necessary; okay, it was only like five minutes, but I didn't want to do this. Every so often, she would linger on a shirt, that looked like every other shirt, and hold it up at me for a moment, then shake her head and throw it to the ground. I'll be the first to admit that I have no eye for fashion, but if it takes this long, I don't need to look that good. Every time that I tried to protest, Anne would shush me and keep rummaging through the clothes, claiming that the more I complained, the longer it would take.

"Try this on," Anne instructed and I put on an orange shirt that I didn't think was practical; I didn't want to be easier to see and with this, I would look like a giant target. Anne shook her head again, "Nevermind, take it off."

I sighed, "What about something like camouflage?" I offered.

"That would look stupid," Anne stated, then lingered on a pile of black tees, "Hmm." She looked at me, "Uhh..." she took the shirt and held it up, "put it on." I did as instructed and she evaluated my new look. "Not bad. You actually look pretty good in black. Most guys don't, even though they think they do."

"Thanks," I felt tired. Shopping was never really my thing. I found it to be mentally exhausting and it felt like we had been here for hours, although, it probably hadn't even been ten minutes. "Ready to go?"

"Well, we could. But we could also get some other things while we're here."

I rubbed at my face, preparing myself for another long shopping spree, "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, food for one thing."

When she said it, my stomach growled, "Yeah, let's do that."

"But we could also use some watches," She continued. "And I wouldn't mind looking for something else to wear too."

Of course. I sighed, "If you think we have time for that, okay. But how about you look on your own, I'm gonna check for any texts."

"Deal."

I followed Anne to the woman's section and sat down on the floor, near the wall, turning on my phone. The first message I checked was from Sidra. She said:

I know I can still talk to you about normal stuff. Your stuff just seems so crazy, it's all I can think about. It's not every day that your brother gets sucked into a Live Die Repeat situation. I can't even talk to my friends about it because there's no way they'd believe me. But I get it. I'll try to think of other things to talk about.

Trying to think about what to say, I wrote:

Thanks! And you can talk to my friends about this if it helps. We have a group chat, I can add you to it if you want.

Speaking of my group text with Tommy and Michael, they had an update too. Tommy wrote:

Hey! Another girl. Gettin' lots of dates, aren't ya?

Michael replied:

You know he's not like that.

Just when I was feeling good about Michael defending me, he added:

He doesn't have any game.

My face flattened and I wrote my response:

For your information, we're at the mall. Why, you might ask?... Well, it's because my shirt got ripped. So how's that!? I got plenty of game!

I got a response within seconds. It was from Tommy:

HAHAHAHA

A moment later, he added a GIF of a cat looking like he was holding his stomach, laughing too hard. Then he wrote::

What makes you think a rip in your shirt gives you game? That's soooo stupid!

Michael responded after I finished reading:

How'd you rip your shirt? Get it caught on a tree? If the game you're thinking of is 'Climb A Tree', it's not the right kind of game.

I sighed. There was no winning in this conversation. They would make fun of me and... they weren't wrong. Still, I had to make it seem like I was putting up a fight, so I added:

It was much more buff. It got ripped because a guy cut it with his sword. I almost got cut in half protecting the girl.

Sidra had responded and I looked at her message:

I'd feel weird including your friends in our convos. I might talk with them one on one a bit, but I'd like to keep our thing, ya know?

I told her that I agreed and that I really was fine, even mentioning Anne's healing power. She didn't have to worry so much. I set my phone on my leg, trying to think of some way to convince her to stop worrying about me when I got another buzz from Tommy:

Man. Sometimes it's easy to forget what you're doing. That's scary stuff. I'd say that's oversharing but...what the heck. Michael! Tell me about your butt boil!

My friends and I had a fun text-chat for a while and I had nearly forgotten about why I was here, in this game. It felt more like I was at home and we were talking about normal, weird things that didn't matter. I smiled and chuckled to myself while I connected with them. Our friendship was strengthening despite this time of separation. I hadn't received another text from Sidra, but I think she just needed more time to get used to my situation before things would get back to normal with her. It didn't take long for Tommy and Michael. Tommy has always been a believer in supernatural things like ghosts and magic. It was easy to win him over. Michael's more down-to-earth but Tommy could convince him of almost anything. Sidra was much more of a realist and much more of an adult than me or my friends. It was hard for her to accept what was happening to me and harder for her to accept that she couldn't do anything about it. But over time, she would.

I realized that I had missed a text message. It was from the number Anne gave me, her father's number.

Sorry. I think you have the wrong number. Don't know an Anne.

Just then, Anne came back in a dark green shirt with frills near the top and a darker, almost black, swirly pattern going from the arms down to her waist. She had also changed into blue jeans. I thought the new outfit was suitable. It wasn't too easy to notice in a crowd and might blend into the forest areas. She stopped a few feet from me and posed, turning slightly and holding out her hands as if showcasing her new look.

"Very nice," I said cooly, thinking over Tommy and Michael's conversation. I had game.

"Great, thanks," she offered me her hand and helped me stand up.

"By the way. I got a reply from the number we used to text your dad, but I got a response saying it was the wrong number." I held up the phone to Anne so she could double-check that we didn't message the wrong person.

"Of course," she said, sounding more irritated than disappointed. "He probably changed his number; he does it a lot. Maybe we can try someone else later. I'll try to think of other people whose number I can remember. Oh. Here." She dug into her pocket and handed me a small watch. It was a plastic, yellow watch with a cartoony mouse in the center. Its hands were pointing at the small numbers, telling me that it was almost one o'clock. "I thought you'd like it. It's Zelda," Anne said cheerfully.

"Umm. This isn't Zelda. It's Pikachu from Pokemon," I corrected.

Anne put her hands in the air, "I don't know the difference. Come on, I'm starving. Let's go and find the pretzel place."

We left the clothing store and went into the central part of the mall that connected all of the stores. The place was still packed with shades and I concentrated on following Anne, instead of trying to avoid every shade I came across. We looked at the mall's map and found an Auntie Anne's Pretzels just around the corner. Anne rushed up and found us some that were already made.

"What do you want?" She asked from behind the counter.

"I dunno. Anything I guess."

She browsed for a moment, then took two. She handed me one that was covered with pepperoni and cheese, "You gotta tell me how this is." The one she chose for herself was a cinnamon-covered pretzel.

We found a small table with a couple of chairs and munched on our food. I was delighted to tell her that I loved the one with pepperoni. My love for pizza demanded that I loved everything with the spicy, round meat. "We should get some healthier food too."

"Yeah. The food court was this way, right?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

After taking about two steps, I felt chills run down my spine and Anne and I both froze. We looked around but didn't see anyone. "Maybe they're on the second floor," Anne suggested and we snuck away so we wouldn't be seen from up above.

"I think it's time to go," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder and moving us towards the exit. The sudden clang of metal on metal signaled a fight starting above us. Good. Maybe they wouldn't notice us and we'd be able to leave without any trouble. But Anne started to move forward again, trying to see what was making the fighting sounds. "What are you doing?" I hissed.

"What if it's May?"

I stared at her angrily. I didn't want to be seen and ended up forced into a fight between two teams. But before I could protest, Anne left and got on the escalator, crouching low on one of the steps. I quietly swore and followed her, mimicking her crouch on a lower step and willing my sword and shield to appear.

The upper floor to the mall looked almost identical to the lower floor, just with different stores. The sounds we heard were getting louder, they were heading our way. Anne and I moved as silently as we could, moving into the entrance of one of the stores and peering around the corner, waiting for someone to appear. Five people slowly came into view, some of them familiar.

The archer that we had encountered earlier had found a new team. He was with the giant guy that had helped Zack betray my team in the last cycle. He didn't seem as tall as I had remembered but I'd recognize his battleaxe anywhere. It was easily the largest axe that I had ever seen and the blade was darker than normal metal, blackening more as it reached the sharp tip. Last time, he had worn a hood, but this time he was only wearing a large, loose-fitting tee shirt with an unfamiliar metal band pictured on the front. The other member of their team was a thin woman carrying two shortswords, about the same length as mine, but unlike mine, her blades were curved. She also had blue hair.

I turned to Anne but she shook her head, "It's not her," she whispered.

How many girls with hair dyed blue were here? I found it odd, but then, I didn't really have a good idea of how many people were a part of this game. Saris had once told me that he estimated the number of people in the game to be between one and five hundred people. I didn't know if those were good odds to find blue tops or not. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

I turned my attention back to the trio and took note of who they were fighting. I recognized the one with the mace. The main thing I remember about him was his ability. He could create a sort of energy wave with his weapon so even if his attack was dodged, he'd likely still hit his target. The closer they were, the stronger the attack would be. In the last cycle, I had been able to block the energy blow with my shield, but Demi had been fighting him first and it took a toll on her. She had a hard time moving and was at a huge disadvantage until we could heal her fully.

The man fighting beside Mace Guy was tall and thin and I saw his ability in action as he fought. He was able to stretch his body to avoid attacks. He was basically like Mr. Fantastic from Marvel's Fantastic Four and I wondered why he chose that ability. It seemed odd to me, but I wasn't really a fan of the character so maybe he knew something I didn't. He carried a metal pole, which he twirled around easily but I was also criticizing him for his weapon choice. It didn't have a blade or even come to a point.

We watched the two teams fight. Neither of us moved to get involved since May was not a part of their grouping. We also didn't run away, they might see us and start attacking, dragging us into the fight. I considered slinking back into the store we were peering out from but I couldn't take my eyes off of the fight. Even though they were outnumbered, Stretchy and Mace Guy were putting up a great fight.

Mace Guy was able to keep them at a decent distance, this wasn't a problem for the archer, but Stretchy was keeping him busy by throwing his staff at him before he could get off a shot, throwing his aim off or making him dodge before he readied his arrow. The few shots that the archer did manage to try were dodged with ease and I assumed that he wasn't having the arrows detonate in order to keep his allies safe; they were too close to Stretchy and Mace Guy to not get caught up in the explosion, though I wasn't sure about the blast radius.

It didn't take long for the larger team to change gears and switch their focus from the mace wielder to the rubber man. The large man took a step back and I saw him grow several feet, to the size I remembered him being from my last cycle. His power was to grow big and, I assume, get stronger too. The other's almost looked like children compared to him.

"That's the guy that impaled me and hung me on that wall," Anne whispered. "He's really strong."

I nodded, thinking that he looked strong before he grew almost five feet. "That's not good for the other two." 'And us if we stick around,' I thought to myself.

The giant man abandoned Blue Bangs, having her deal with Mace Guy on her own, while he went straight for the rubber man. Stretchy saw the giant arrive, how could he not, and he fell to the floor. I thought he was a goner, but he seemed to stretch himself out to become a sort of blob on the ground when the huge man's axe crashed downward, on top of the flattened man. He didn't vanish like I thought he would. Instead, when the axe came up again, Stretchy sort of rolled from the ground and popped back up, behind the large man, running straight at the archer. He didn't have a scratch on him! The archer let loose a shot, which was dodged by the tall, thin man but the arrow exploded before it went too far, propelling Stretchy forward several feet and he tackled the bowman, summoning his staff and striking it deep in the skull of the archer.

I almost yipped in glee as the rubber man ended the bowman. He had really surprised me and for a moment I thought we could join their team, but the giant man had grabbed him by his leg just as the archer disappeared. Holding him up by his ankle, he dropped his battleaxe and grabbed Stretchy's arm with his free hand and pulled. When the rubber man's ability kicked in, the giant stepped on Stretchy's back and pulled on the man harder. I could see the panic in the rubber man's eyes as he reached his limit for how much he could stretch and after a short scream, he was ripped in two and vanished.

For a moment, I stared in stunned silence. Stretchy had such an interesting ability and at first, I had taken it for granted, but it had been really amazing in action. He was mesmerizing to watch and managed to take the archer down quickly and efficiently. Not only that, but he seemed unharmed by the huge man's axe when he was attacked. It made me look at the rubber man with admiration for his creative choices in this game. But even with his skill, the Goliath had so much raw power that he easily defeated Stretchyand it made me look at the giant man with a bit more fear.

I looked back at the blue-haired girl and Mace Guy, but he was gone. Had she beaten him on her own so easily? I had been so transfixed on the rubber man that I completely missed what had happened to his partner. Then I realized something; the goosebumps were still on my skin, which meant that they would realize that they were not alone. I made my sword and shield vanish and grabbed Anne by the arm, pulling her in, deeper into the store as quietly as I could.

Just because they knew we were around, didn't mean they knew where we were. The terrifying thought of being ripped in half by the giant entered my mind and I decided that it would be a mistake to fight him, so I searched for somewhere to hide instead. We were in a toy store. Frantically looking around, I found a bin full of large stuffed animals and told Anne to get in and I followed. Then we both moved the animals around us, hoping that we wouldn't be seen. We stopped abruptly when we saw the couple walk in. Anne and I were crouched together and I was pretty sure that we were mostly concealed, but there were several cracks in our hiding place and we could see the two approach in between the clutter of fluff.

Anne covered her mouth and I did the same, peering through the peepholes and hoping that we wouldn't be visible to them. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was nearly convinced that they'd be able to hear it and that at any moment, they would cut the stuffed animals to shreds, along with the two of us.

"Doesn't look like anyone's here," the giant man grumbled.

"Hmm," Blue Hair mumbled something I couldn't hear, then said, "maybe I was wrong."

"Probably downstairs somewhere."

"You want to have a look?" The big man agreed and I watched them leave.

We didn't leave the toy bin until the chills left. It took a long time and we were stiff and tired when we finally left the store. I checked my watch, it was after four. The giant and his teammate must have searched the entire mall; or just camped here for a while.

Although we were both hungry, neither of us wanted to stay and eat for fear that those two would come back and find us. Instead, we left and tried to sneak away as far from the mall as we could; and as silently as we could. When we were far enough away from the building, we started to calm down.

"You know we might have to fight them at some point, right?" Anne asked.

"I know. I just..." I looked up, "I wasn't sure we could win." Anne didn't say anything and I took that moment to change the subject. "Well, where to?"

"Hmm," Anne thought. "Just because she wasn't May doesn't mean May's not around. I say we keep heading towards the school."

"You're sure it's this way?"

She put her nose in the air and walked faster, "I have a great sense of direction." And even though it didn't answer the question, it made me feel better.

We walked for a long while. Realizing that we must have passed most of the restaurants, I regretted not taking some food at the mall when we had the chance. I heard Anne's stomach growl in agreement. We were getting into a more residential area again and businesses became less frequent. There had to be a gas station or something somewhere around here. Anne spotted one before I did and we rushed in.

"Food!" I said, taking a chicken sandwich from one of the heated food holders and scarfing it down while I looked in the isles for more to eat. We ate greedily for several minutes and took some drinks. When we had our fill, we slumped down and laid on the floor, ready to keel over. I belched loudly and moaned, "Aww. I ate too much."

"That was disgusting," Anne stated, but then burped louder than I did.

"You're one to talk." She didn't respond. Wearily, I looked over at her and saw her staring at the corner of the room, jaw tight. "You okay? You're not usually this quiet."

"Didn't you realize?" She breathed. "I talk a lot. It's because I hate being here."

"I don't get it."

Anne sat up, leaning against the wall. "I just...I talk a lot when I'm nervous or like...when I'm in a position that's uncomfortable." I said nothing and she continued, "I'm scared. That big guy..." she paused. There were tears in her eyes, "I don't ever want to hang on a wall like that again. Like I'm the equivalent to a deer head or something. I just...I thought that maybe you weren't scared of him and when you were...I dunno. It freaks me out."

"You know, I'm afraid of pretty much everyone here."

"Oh, pfft," she huffed.

"It's true," I moved to sit next to her. "I don't want to fight anyone here. It's really scary and I never know if I'm going to come out alive or not. But I've learned that I can't run away from every enemy and I've become a not so bad fighter."

"That's not true," Anne punched my arm lightly. "You're a great fighter. I've seen you."

I smiled, "Well, the big guy does scare me. But when the time comes, I will fight him. Hopefully by then, I'll have a better idea on how to go about it. I'd rather have a plan of attack than just wing it. If they had found us, I would have fought and maybe I would have won, but I'd rather stack the odds in my favor before picking a fight with a guy like that."

Anne sighed, "I know you're right. I guess I feel a bit better."

Talking about the giant man made me curious about his ally. "Hey, did you see how the blue haired girl won her fight?"

Anne shook her head, "I was too focused on the big guy."

"Me too. I wonder what her power is."

Goosebumps covered my arms and I berated myself for jinxing them to find us. I summoned my sword and shield and peeked out a window, looking for the giant man and his ally. To my relief, it wasn't them. It was a thin, middle-aged man dressed mostly in white. Bags under his eyes made him look tired and yet his dark hair was unkempt, as if he had just rolled out of bed. He didn't seem on edge or nervous about having the chills, so I took a chance and stepped outside to greet him. He looked at us and smiled, moving his square glasses with his left hand.

"Well now," he said in a throaty, tenor voice, "You might just be what I'm looking for. Would you accompany me?"