THE END

[mayfield_mods]

You've walked for what feels like ages down the highway as a group- all those who chose uncertain freedom over certain death. Within an hour, Mayfield became a distant speck on the horizon before ultimately fading into the hills and trees. The only sign of the place you've escaped is the sky, which remains an eerie brown even after night falls and you've put Mayfield hours behind you.

Try as you might, it's impossible not to imagine that you've been led into a trap. What if this is all part of some new sick game of Johnson's- or even Zemekis'? It certainly wouldn't be the first time. What if the events of the past few months- saving Annie, Gray's "ghost", Zemekis' apparent death -what if it's all been nothing but the latest in a long tradition of Mayfield's-

These thoughts fade when you see the first sunbeam.

This road isn't like the ones before: the roads that looped endlessly into themselves, inevitably leading back to where they began. This road has an end.

Keep walking forward and you'll find yourself in a new town, both similar to Mayfield and utterly unlike it. The buildings here are crude and unfinished- the streets little better than paved paths of dirt. There are no drones here, no hazmats, no one in sight other than you and your companions. But all of these things are nothing more than trivial details, when compared to what you feel the moment you enter its boundaries.

There's power here- you can feel it in your fingertips. Each and every one of you can, from the most godlike seraph to the most ordinary human: power, faint but unmistakable. The power to build a world, and to destroy it. The same power that's been lorded over you for four years... but now, it's yours to command.

You can create a new life here. It isn't the home you remember- the home you remember, after all, was never yours to begin with. For some of you, that's a blessing. For others, it's a hard truth you'll have to live with. But even though you can't go home, with the power you've been given, it might just be possible to bring home to you. Bits and pieces of it- locations you remember, small creatures from your world- no people, though. That's one power Annie decided not to give you.

The place you've found isn't perfect- there will be work, hard work, and pain. The place you've found is your own: there are no overseers here, no Zemekis, no Johnson. The place you've found may not be paradise- but it's the nearest thing you're going to get.

You've found, at last, a better place to live.

Comments

[notyetageneral]

Everything going to hell seems...Seemed to be be the status quo in that place. [ There's a bit of a frown on her face now. ] Are we twiddling our thumbs for them to make another move in this new place now? [ There's a pause. ]

Or will we finally be able to go home now?

[ Welp. ]

[kettchmeifyoucan]

We... can't leave. But we're in control here, now. To make it what we can.

[notyetageneral]

[ There's the raised eyebrow of confusion. ] That's all well and good. I know there are people who don't want to leave for their own reasons..

But, I left and came back. That means there's some way to get out of this place. I'm sure whatever mechanisms have broken or were damaged can be fixed eventually once they're found. [ She sounds so hopeful. After all, it's probably just something broken, right? ] I need to go home eventually.

[kettchmeifyoucan]

You'll want to sit down for this next bit.

[He's certainly not trying to avoid having to break this news for a moment longer or anything]

[notyetageneral]

[ Uh oh. Usually phrases like that result in some sort of bad news. Tyve crosses her arms. She's on to you, Wes. ]

With all due respect, I am also quite capable of hearing news of any sort while standing.

[kettchmeifyoucan]

[He tried]

Remember the talk that Mayfield might be a simulation?

[notyetageneral]

That was one of the last things I do recall, yes.

[ Welp. There's a sinking feeling now. Tyve has a feeling she's not going to like the answer... ]

Why?

[kettchmeifyoucan]

Well, it is.

[He grimaces. THere's really no good way to put this.]

And we're all part of it.

[notyetageneral]

[ There's a long pause. ]

I can accept that the town was. It would at least explain many of the things that happened.. But is this really the time to be joking about the second part?

[kettchmeifyoucan]

[He actually looks serious. A rare look, but a distinctive one]

I wouldn't even have thought to joke about this.

[notyetageneral]

[ Any and all existing skepticism is pretty much wiped from her mind when she sees the expression on Wes's face. There's another long pause before she speaks, faltering a bit as she tries to process it. ]

I.. That.. But you have your memories from your world. I have my memories. I can remember things from back home. Didn't we receive packages from our home world? It.. Just seems impossible.

[ Being a copy. This is a pretty hard concept for her for wrap her mind around right now. ]