He just stood there, trying to restart his brain and make sense of what he was seeing.

There, in front of him, stood a floating golden screen. It was simple and elegant in design. Quite charming, even.

He closed his eyes and took a looooong breath. He knew he would need it in the next moments, he felt the beginnings of a panic attack.

Supposing he wasn't getting insane, his idea that this was a game was right on the money. Were there any other windows?

"Inventory! Character! Skills!" he said out loud. Jack looked at him, while raising an eyebrow. At the least word, a new window appeared to him

1.

error

2.

error

3.

error

4.

error

5.

error

6.

error

7.

error

What the fuck? Was that thing bugged? No wonder they needed test subjects.

"Jack." he said. "Say 'Status'"

"what?" he asked? "why do I need to say it?"

"Something appears." Ethan Said. "Just try it."

Jack furrowed his eyebrows, but complied anyway, to Ethan's surprise. It seemed that Ethan's little bloody show had gained him Jack's respect.

Jack spit out his cigar. "Oh, what the fuck!" He said "You got to be fucking kidding me!" he said, while looking at Ethan's.

"You!" He said "How did you fucking knew it?" he said, while walking towards Ethan and grabbing him by the collar. "Do you have anything to do with this? You little bastard!" He screamed, his breath smelling heavily of smoke.

What the fuck? Ethan was trying to help him! He felt anger rising inside himself and gave Jack a strong push in the chest, almost making him fall. "What the hell? Where did you get this idea?" he said, seething.

Jack scowled. "You knew about this 'status' shit, didn't you?".He said "You are with them..."

Ethan sighed. "This is a standard in fantasy themed games. Stop this idiocy." Ethan said. "Every fucking RPG has a status window or something similar. As long as you associate this situation with the word 'RPG' you will eventually end up thinking 'status' at some point" he sat down again.

Jack kept himself from hitting Ethan and also sat down on a boulder. "So, is this something like a game?" he said.

Ethan looked at the empty air and sighed again. Since this situation started, he couldn't stop sighing at all. He felt like this was what he have been doing his whole life. "I have a hypothesis, but it is so very absurd I think you will laugh."

Jack smiled. "Make me laugh them. We kinda need a good laugh" he said, while looking at José's body. It made for a very macabre company.

"We need to head back." Ethan said, while getting up and stamping his jeans. Gods...he needed a good bath and a change of clothes. He was dirty with mud, blood and sweat and there was a uncomfortable chaffing between his legs.

Everything would be perfect if his pc was also here...but nothing can ever be perfect.

"Well, tell me what you think when we head back." he said, while looking at José's body. They needed to leave him there. He was too big to carry and they couldn't waste time burying him. It left a sour taste in the mouth. Maybe they could come back with more people afterward to give José a proper burial.

"I just hope the little fucks don't make an habit of eating human meat." Jack grinned. An uncomfortable prospect. He moved and went to inspect one of the creatures bodies. He hauled it up and...

"What are you bringing it for?" Ethan asked. The thing was honestly disgusting, and it was still bleeding.

"I will show them." he said, grimly. "This will help the little idiots face reality. That we are fucked. Specially that fucking cunt of a Teacher."

They went all the way back without talking to each other. Ethan had used paper balls he made with his notebook to mark the way, like in John and Mary's tale. He felt like an idiot, but it was better than stupidly getting lost in the cave. The white paper was easily visible in the fluorescent blue light of the mushrooms.

At least, after some minutes of walk, they started to hear the gabble of the students...they seemed...happy? Ethan clenched his fist in anger. How could they sound happy? How dare they? Now he really wanted to poke someone's eye out. For gods sake!

They arrived at the room they were earlier. Ethan stood there wide eyes. There was a group of four people playing cards on a corner, The teacher was sitting in another corner, seemingly giving advices to a female student, a group of girls was talking and giggling in another corner.

The entire room seem more illuminated than before. The teacher must have ordered students to take mushrooms from nearby places. The entire place shined in fluorescent blue and felt almost like a rave party.

"What the fuck?!!" Jack beat him to it. He eyes looked lost. "What the fucking fuck is this?!"

The entire room became quiet. Ethan couldn't take anymore, The body, the fight and the partying...

He went to the side and threw up.

Jack looked at him and he thought he saw a sliver of sympathy there.

"What the hell man?" Lawson, one of jack's friends came. Rudy was following just behind him. "Calm down eh..." he said. "We were just waiting for you, we had nothing to do, it's not like we enjoy it here..."

"Ah, Jack!" the teacher said, unconcerned. "And Ethan!" he scratched his ear "I know you guys are pissed because I...wait, where's José?"

Jack's face was impassive, as if carved from stone. He didn't answer. He simple threw the volume he was shouldering and left to sit on a corner, away from everyone. Almost as if saying 'Deal with it, Ethan'.

"What is this?" the teacher said, while approaching his cell phone light to the thing. Ethan was still in his knees, trying to recompose himself.

"Oh my god!!" the teacher exclaimed. "You found one of that creatures!" he said. Ethan heard Jack's cackling madly.

"Hey Ethan." a girl said to him, she looked quite pissed. "Where is José?"

"This is fantastic guys!" the teacher said "It's a groundbreaking discovery."

"Ethan, Where. Is. My. Boyfriend!?"

Another girl appeared. "He isn't your boyfriend yet, you've been just going out for two months!"

"C'mon... Ethan, Jack." The teacher was grinning. "Where did you find this?"

"Hey! Get Up!"

"SHUT UP!" Ethan screamed. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

He had enough "DEAD! JOSÉ IS FUCKING DEAD, TRANSPASSED BY A FUCKING SPEAR IN THE LUNG!" he screamed at the girl's face.

The temperature in the room descended to negative Celsius. Yelps and gasps were heard. Eyes were widened. Joy gave place to terror.

"He was trespassed by a fucking spear when we were battling a mob of these things." Ethan said, pointing to the creature's body on his feet. Some eyes wandered to the blood and dirt in his shirt. He saw Katharine gasp with her hand on her mouth. He also saw Reene's friend falling in her knees and starting bawling.

"Lies" said the supposed girlfriend. "How can José die and you be alive?" she said, panic and denial in her voice "You and Jack are both trash! how can you be alive while my José is dead?" she spat on Ethan's face. "Get real! Where is he? What did you do to him?!"

"Follow the paper ball path" This time was Jack who answered. "His body is there, we just hope the little bastards don't come back and make a stew with it..."

"How can you be alive, and him dead?" this time it was the teacher who asked. What a bastard...he had basically stated that he wanted them dead instead of José.

Jack shrugged. "Maybe he had less points in luck?"

The teacher looked at him for some seconds before saying. "I think you are hiding something." he said.

"He might still be alive." Ethan said, suddenly. The girlfriend looked at him hopefully, the teacher had suspicion in his eyes. "Maybe this is a game..." Ethan said, grimly. "And he still is alive in the real world. It is a big 'maybe' though..."

Kathy looked at him like he was an idiot. The teacher just shook his head. "You are crazy, boy." Jack laughed again.

"Say 'Status' " Ethan said. "Just say it, 'Status', It will answer your questions."

The teacher complied, even when he had no trust in Ethan. He probably saw no harm in simply uttering a word.

"Wha...W...What is this..." the teacher said, clearly mesmerized by the glowing gold screen in front of him.

"That, you fucking bastard." scowled Jack . "Is a character screen."