Page 23 of Anti-Player

Fawn twitches, looks off camera, and everything flashes. A static image of her character appears on a Be Back Soon logo.

I blink.

Scrunching my brow, I begin reading the chatroom. It's still flying fast, but I can make out some of the messages because they're being repeated by thousands of people.

:

WTF WTF???

WTF???

WHERE DID SHE GO

FAWN!!

FAWN COME BACK

FAWN!!

WHO IS MIKEL? WHO WAS THAT?

????????

FAWN WTF FAWN

WHO TIPPED THAT MONEY

WHO IS MIKEL

????????

????????????

MIKEL??

MIKEL WHO ARE YOU??

MIKEL MIKEL MIKEL WTF WTF WTF

:

Reaching for my beer, I take a sip, discover it's empty and frown. There's a sticky sweat working its way up my ribs and armpits. Did I just fuck up? I wonder uneasily. Wiping my palms on my pants I stand, pacing my living area. I cross from one side to the next, following the straight path along my huge window view of the ocean.

On the sixth trip back I make a decision. Grabbing my phone, I type a message and send it to Paige.

:

Me: Are you okay?

:

I assume it will takeher a bit to answer.

Fifteen minutes later, with my sickly sweat growing, I realize she isn't going to.

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