The walk back to our villa was wonderful. The warm, gentle breeze blowing off the ocean was tinged with salt and welcome. It pushed the hair back from my face and caressed my skin.

We could have chosen to use one of the golf carts that waited by the front of the restaurant, which would have gotten us back quicker, but we’d silently agreed to walk.

I was glad. We were walking in silence, partially because of the constant fear that someone would be eavesdropping but also because it was comfortable. I didn’t mind it at all.

It felt a little strange though. The silence wasn’t strained or filled with anxiety like it was when I was with my mom, it was just… nice. The soft whisper of the water somewhere nearby filled the air, disturbed only by the occasional buzz of the golf carts and susurration of the trees that had been planted around the resort.

Reluctantly, I blinked back into reality, focusing for just long enough to look around. The roads were still windy and surrounded by greenery which was enough for me to realise we were getting closer to my grandparent’s house but still had a little while to go.

With a smile, I blinked back into Mitch’s world, time barely passing since I’d been there last.

That was one thing I noticed. Time moved weirdly in my fantasies. Sometimes, it seemed to rush by. A whole day in the fantasy could be gone in an hour but other times, it moved so slowly. I didn’t mind it, not really. I wasn’t missing anything good, but it was still weird.

“How was your dinner?” Mitch asked after a while, his tone a little too enthusiastic.

I wasn’t sure but it felt like he was still being the person he’d been pretending to be before which meant I needed to pretend to be Alice.

“Fine,” I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket and staring down at it blankly.

“Oh yeah? Did you enjoy dessert? That was real good, right?” he asked in a hopeful tone.

“I said it was fine,” I said sharply. “How long is this walk anyway? I thought it was meant to be short.”

Mitch looked around as if he were trying to work out where we were.

“I think…” He trailed off before pointing at a sign and exclaiming, “Ah, ha! Right there! Just down this path and we’ll be at our house!”

“Villa,” I muttered under my breath as if it mattered.

Mitch resolutely ignored me but I noticed that he sped up.

Guilt spiked within me and I fought not to wince. Was he trying to get back to our villa quicker so that I’d stop acting like such a brat because, honestly? I understood that.

But at the same time, I felt bad. I had to keep acting that way, people might be listening in. Mitch had said that Sterlings people were everywhere so… I needed to keep up the facade, no matter how much I hated it.

Even so, I was relieved when we got back into our rooms. I waited silently whilst Mitch checked the security cameras and devices he’d hidden throughout the room before he turned and gave me a thumbs up.

My shoulders sagged slightly with relief.

“So, kid. What do you want to do now? Are you tired? Do you want to study more or prep for tomorrow?” he asked.

I started to open my mouth to reply without having made up my mind when something wrenched me back into reality.

“Are you listening, Grace?” my mom’s voice demanded.

“Yes, of course,” I lied, blinking the brightness out of my vision so that I could see the service station car park around us.

I wanted to cling to my fantasy and refuse to come back but I knew I had to stay in reality even as Mitch asked me what movie I wanted to watch.

I felt myself answer him, the voice barely an echo in my mind, not quite real but not quite fake, before my mom started speaking again.

“Fine. Hurry up and put all the rubbish around you in this bag.”

I took the bag she thrust at me and started to load up our half-empty drinks and snack packets.

“What do you want me to do with the stuff we haven’t eaten?” I asked, holding up a full bag of Twix bites.

Mom hesitated, looking at the chocolate with longing.

“Bin it,” she said after a moment before correcting herself. “No, pass them here. I’ll put it in my suitcase. That way, we can have some snacks in case Mom makes that horrible pasta dish again.”

She gave me a tight smile before taking the chocolate and exiting the car.

The corners of my lips ticked up slightly before falling again.

I knew exactly what pasta dish my mom was referring to. It was burnt into my memories. My grandmother had assured me that the cream-based dish was vegetarian but I was pretty certain that the sour, orange chunks were fish.

I wasn’t sure though. The only thing I was sure about was that every ingredient was well past the use by date.

Both her and my grandad viewed them as more of a suggestion. Something to be ignored, put in place only to trick those who are gullible enough to follow them and sure, sometimes they’re probably not completely accurate but still.

I wasn’t sure how she and my grandad were so okay with eating gone off food all the time. I could only assume that years of smoking, drinking and poor diet meant that their tastebuds were pretty much dead. It was the only thing that made sense to me.

The boot opened and I heard Mom wrestling with the suitcases before she started talking again.

“Grace, pass all the unopened food back through to me,” she ordered.

I unhooked my seatbelt so that I could turn around more and started passing her the crisps and snacks we’d bought along the way.

“Do you want to run into the shop and get some more? Make sure you get some stuff that doesn’t need to go in the fridge,” she said, even though I knew that already.

We did the same thing every year.

Despite my generally strained relationship with her, she was always better around her parents. I think it was because we had a common enemy, you know? Her parents were terrible to her which I think made her want to be closer to me. She tried that at home sometimes too, when she and Dad fought, but it never really worked.

I think I liked him too much, it made it harder for my mom to make me side with her. That was less of a problem with my grandparents though. It’s not that I didn’t like them, of course, I loved them. I just didn’t really know them.

Plus, my mom had been telling me horror stories about them and the way that they treated her and her siblings pretty much since I was born so… that made things difficult. It was hard to want to be close to them when I knew how they acted towards her when she was a kid.

It wasn’t just when she was younger, it still happened now.

“Do you want anything specific?” I asked as I climbed out of the car, my legs stiff.

I stretched, wincing at the slight burn and tightness in my calves.

“Take my card and get some more Twix bites. Some crisps too, anything salt and vinegar but not Pringles. And some bread!”

I nodded, reaching back into the car to grab it from her purse, before starting across the car park towards the service station and pausing to let a car pass.

The service station was surprisingly busy and I edged past people, trying to make sure I grabbed enough food whilst also not getting too much. If I got too much and it didn’t all fit in the bags, she would get annoyed.

It had happened before. More than once.

I knew I shouldn’t have been comparing it but it felt so different from when I was shopping for snacks for the journey with Mitch. I hadn’t known what to get then either but, no matter what, Mitch had responded positively. I should have known what to get now, I knew what I liked and what Mom liked but she changed her mind a lot.

Nothing was safe.

I blinked, reaching out towards a bag of Maltesers, and suddenly I was sitting on the couch in Crete. Mitch was slumped next to me, a drink barely clutched in his hand as he dozed lightly. A snore slipped out of his open mouth.

I smiled, debating reaching out and taking his water from him before looking at the screen. I didn’t need to look for long to know that we were watching my favourite movie.

A contented sigh slipped out of my mouth before—

“Excuse me, darling. Are you in the queue?” a friendly Scottish voice asked.

I stared blankly at the older woman for a moment before making myself smile.

“Yes, sorry. Just zoned out for a moment,” I said, trying hard not to let myself sway as dizziness threatened to make me stumble.

“Ah, not a problem. Just didn’t want to be cutting in front of you!” she said with an easy laugh.

“Thanks.”

I smiled at them slightly before glancing out the window at the car. My mom was leaning against it, a cigarette in her hand as she stared intently at her phone. I wasn’t sure if she hadn’t seen me or was ignoring me but she didn’t look up.

I looked away from her before looking back at the person in front of me just as they finished buying the items and stepped out of the way.

I smiled at the cashier politely as they started scanning my items.

“Anything else?” the cashier asked.

“No, thank you.”

“Do you want a bag for that?”

“It’s alright, thanks.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, looking down at the pile of snacks and bread that I’d dropped on the counter.

I didn’t quite remember grabbing the big bottles of water but I was glad that I had. I wasn’t sure what it was about the water at my grandparent’s place but it always just tasted a little off.

I must have just picked them up instinctively.

“No, it’s okay. I’ve got a bag in the car,” I explained.

“Ah, good. Alright, that’ll be seventeen sixty,” the cashier read from the till.

I tapped my mom’s card on the reader before slipping it into my pocket and bundling the snacks and drinks into my arms.

“Thanks,” I said before starting to walk away, the bag of bread swinging precariously.

It bumped into my body with every step and I could feel it starting to slip from my grasp but I managed to reach the car without dropping it. I was glad. The car park ground was definitely not clean.

It smelt deliciously of petrol and the ground shimmered ever so slightly but even so, I would not want to eat bread that I’d dropped there. It was in a bag so it probably would have been protected from most of it but I still wouldn’t trust it.

“Start loading it into the suitcases. Make sure it’s not too obvious though, I don’t want to answer any questions from my mom about why we need so many snacks when she cooks us such perfectly good meals,” my mom instructed, still staring at her phone.

I did as she ordered, shoving the food into the bags wherever I could before slamming the boot shut as Mom finished her cigarette and slipped her phone back into her pocket.

“We’re about five minutes away,” she said as we got back into the car and I slipped my seatbelt back into place.

“Okay,” I replied, not sure quite what else to say.

We weren’t, it was closer to ten but with Mom’s driving, it would be even longer.

I wanted to slip back into my fantasy with Mitch but I knew that I’d still be there watching Tangled on the sofa. I loved that movie but I wanted more.

Fear started to nibble at my stomach as I thought hard. I wanted to just let my mind wander and slip into any other fantasy but I was worried. What if it was another scary one, like the one with Anna or that horrible monster thing?

No, I could control it. I could go somewhere fun, somewhere completely new and interesting and good.

I didn’t quite believe that but I forced myself to close my eyes and let out a slow, steady breath.

“Okay,” a clear voice with an accent unlike any I’d ever heard before started. “It’s very simple. I’m just going to turn down the gravity and then you need to make your way through this obstacle course.”

I opened my eyes, immediately fascinated, and what I saw didn’t disappoint.

The space I was in was huge and littered with obstacles. Directly in front of me was what I could only describe as a car wash. Spinning pillars were covered with multicoloured ribbons and placed perilously close together meaning that we’d need to squeeze through them. I couldn’t see anything beyond it other than the climbing wall that stretched up along the back wall but it didn’t even look like the course ended there.

“And remember, whoever gets to the end of the course first will get free drinks for them and their team for the rest of the evening!” the person went on to say causing cheers to erupt from the people around me.

I joined in, my heart pounding with excitement even though I had no clue what was going on.

“Delph, are you ready?” a cute guy asked, his hand touching my arm gently.

“Yes,” I answered uncertainly as the person at the front of the crowd walked back and forth slowly.

“Good,” he said, his lips spreading up into a smile. “Because if Gem and her crew win, I will be so annoyed.”

I ripped my gaze away from his face to look at the small but powerfully built brown-haired girl that he’d glanced at.

“Oh?” I asked uncertainly.

“Yeah. I’m still not over her beating me at Zero-G last week! If they beat us here too, I will never recover,” he said dramatically.

Gem turned, as if having heard what the boy had said, and stuck her tongue out at him.

I felt a flare of jealously shoot through me even though I didn’t know any of these people. It felt wrong, the boy was mine. I knew that somehow.

“We need to take them down,” he muttered to me, bringing his head closer. “Run through the washers, try not to get hit by any of them. Get there as fast as you can, once one person goes down it’ll be carnage.”

The smile on his face told me that he welcomed the struggle.

“Got it,” I muttered, glancing once more at the people around me.

There was just a handful of us, maybe fifteen, and I wasn’t sure how many were on my crew or how many crews there were. I wasn’t even sure what the boy had meant when he said crew but the sleek, black jumpsuits that everyone around me was wearing made them look like they’d come straight out of a sci-fi film, and not a particularly good one. That made me think we must have been part of some kind of spaceship crew, maybe, despite how young we were.

Some of the people surrounding Gem, including the boy whose hand she was holding, were shooting us surreptitious looks which made me assume they were all on a different crew to us.

They didn’t look particularly impressive but there was a strange intensity about them all. Even the small blonde girl at the front seemed to be radiating that strength and focus. It was weird.

“Crew Eight Nine Six will be victorious,” the boy behind me whispered not particularly quietly before sending me a cheeky grin that made my stomach flop.

“Alright, crews, are you ready?” the man at the front cried.

Cheers erupted around me and I joined in without even thinking. It just felt natural. The excitement was palatable and I was already swept up in it. I could feel my heart pounding, my muscles screaming to rush forwards and throw myself into the fray without any regard for injury or pain. It didn’t matter, I just wanted to have fun and to win.

Over the cheers, I heard a shout from one of Gem’s friends, “No retreat!”

“No surrender!” came the answering cry from the rest of them.

It sent a wave of fear through me.

They seemed so much more prepared, more ready, than the rest of us. Even though it seemed like this race or obstacle course was just for fun, I could tell that they were more experienced. I wasn’t sure if they’d done it before or if they were just better but there was something there that I couldn’t quite identify.

I glanced down uncertainly. I was wearing the same black jumpsuit but mine definitely looked more worn. It felt bulky, like there was padding or armour sewn in, whereas theirs was much nicer and newer looking. I’d thought we were all wearing the same thing before but I was wrong.

There were minuscule differences and I almost wanted to ask them where they’d gotten theirs from but I knew it wasn’t the time. I needed to focus. I needed to beat them.

“Final huddle, you have three minutes. Go!”

I whirled around as my crew gathered in a circle, shooting suspicious glances at the other two groups.

“Okay,” one person, a girl, said. “Try and go in a single file through the washers, Delph at the front followed by Vela, Leus, Aust and I’ll take the back. This course is weapon free this time so at least we don’t have that to worry about because Gem and Cory are definitely better gunners than the rest of us. Once we get to the falling floor, Leus, you take the lead and get us across as quickly as possible. The lower gravity will be a challenge but don’t let it lull you into a false sense of security, this is still going to be hard and the floor will be a problem. The next two obstacles are a surprise so we’ll plan when we get there. Delph, get to the front, don’t let go of Leus’ hand and let’s go!”

The rest of my crew let out a strange barking cheer before stepping back and looking at me.

I stared back uncertainly, my head still reeling from the rapid briefing filled with so many words I didn’t understand before the boy who’d been talking to me before nudged me.

“Come on, Delph, let’s destroy the other teams,” he said with a slightly concerning smile.

I nodded at him, taking my place at the front of the line and looking back at the boy I belatedly realised must be called Leus.

I must be Delph. That was weird. It was the first time I hadn’t been called my own name in the fantasy.

Or at least, I thought it was. I could have had a different name in the one with the monster but I’ll never know.

“We got this. It’s just like on the base but much more fun,” he promised me before slipping his hand into mine. “And then we can get hammered and head back to our room.”

My heart stuttered slightly at the flirtatious smile he send me and I smile back at him but inside, my mind was racing. I had no idea what this world was like or where I was or even if I was still on earth because the idea of being able to turn gravity down felt so alien, but I wanted to know more. I wanted to know who that boy was and what he’d meant by ‘our room’.

Were we sharing a room? That felt… so adult and wrong but at the same time, I want to know more.

“Okay, gravity is being lowered, prepare yourself for the countdown,” the presenter or whoever they were said into the microphone.

My breath caught in my chest as I felt myself straighten slightly without even meaning to.

It was a weird sensation. It felt a little like I was no longer tethered to the ground quite so strongly. My hair, which had been tied back in a ponytail, no longer fell straight down or rested on my back, it felt like it stuck straight out behind me. I turned my head from side to side slightly, trying not to draw attention to myself whilst also trying to suppress a giggle.

I bounced on the balls of my feet, feeling them lift from the ground far too easily.

“Okay, crews. Three, two, one…” the presenter started as he shifted back out of our path and threw his hands up in the air.

A buzzer sounded and I plunged forwards, excited screams echoing around me.

“I’ll get out and open the gate, I guess,” my mom sighed as we jerked to a stop.

I looked around at the familiar estate around us, my heart still fluttering with excitement.