“Good idea,” Tera said. “Could get messy.”
Abenayo nodded in agreement. “And God knows they’ll send us in to clean it up,” she said.
Scoreboard
Ethan could hear the sounds of children laughing and screaming in the distance, toward the roller coaster and other rides. A medley of arcade noises, carnival music, clunking machinery, and ringing bells washed in with the sound of the waves. Some seagulls would sing out their shrill honks, but the wind carried most of the commotion away.
“Man, I wonder how many other kids have beat the Ghoul King,” Sharpe said. He reached out and touched each baluster of the boardwalk’s railing as they walked.
“Not many, I think,” Ethan replied. “Otherwise, we’d start hearing of strategies on how to do it. I mean, it took us nearly nineteen years to pull it off.”
“Yeah, but I mean, we weren’t trying to fight the Ghoul King when we were babies,” Sharpe argued. “We’ve had maybe ten good years of practice. Man, I wonder what we’d be able to do if we could stay in the simulation forever.”
They passed one of the major intersections of the boardwalk map they were loaded into. Couples carried cotton candy past carnies who were trying to egg someone on to play their rigged carnival games.
“Want to go into the market?” Ethan asked.
Sharpe followed his gaze with uncertain eyes. “I dunno,” he replied. “What would we do? I don’t have many credits to spend. I put almost everything I got from the Ghoul King into my home base. Added some Weeping Angels to the great hall. Should really creep out my next guests.”
“I was thinking of maybe going to the strongman show,” Ethan said, gazing down the wooden road.
Sharpe smirked. “Trying to pump up that score before the big day, eh?” he asked.
“I’m only at 13,029 points,” Ethan said, a bit of concern in his tone. “I have to do something. My nineteenth birthday is only a week away.”
“Yeah, I guess you don’t wanna be stuck with something boring like software sales because of a shitty score,” Sharpe said. “Not when you could do something like space exploration.”
“‘Ethan the Martian,’ ” Ethan said in a joking manner. “I like the sound of it.”
“No one would call you that because you wouldn’t be the first one there,” Sharpe said. “And it’s not like you were born there, so no one would call you a Martian if you, like, weren’t on Mars —”
“Alright, I get it,” Ethan interrupted. “Some other planet then.”
“Don’t worry, man,” Sharpe said. “Even with your score, you’ll still be going into a utopia. The worst-case scenario would still look like an island vacation to the people of the past. They’d shit themselves if they knew.”
“That’s what they say,” Ethan said.
Sharpe picked up on the restless air in his friend’s voice.
“Hey, I’ll help you raise your score before your graduation if you want,” he said. “We could get you up to like 15,000 if we really grind.”
“Maybe later,” Ethan said. “Come on, let’s see what’s going on down at the beach.”
He didn’t know what he wanted to do. He wasn’t even sure if he was worried about his score or something else. Maybe it was just the anxiety of the impending birthday.
Nineteen. The age when everyone leaves the simulation. They called it a graduation, but to Ethan, it seemed more like a birth. He would be entering a whole new world. The real world.
They approached the end of the boardwalk where a path began to lead to the beach. There were several torches lining the way, evenly spaced out to provide a clear snake of illumination.
“You know what I wanna do when I get unplugged?” Sharpe asked as they leisurely made their way to the beach. “I wanna run my own video game simulation universe. You know, like the sim here, but for everyone. With even more content, too. It would be amazing, I tell you.”
“I just wish we knew more about what we’re getting into,” Ethan said. “I know they teach us a lot, but it’s all academic stuff. None of that’s going to matter when we see it firsthand. I want to know what it’s going to feel like. What I will do with my days. All the stuff you can’t learn by reading about it and watching videos.”
“That’s an answer you’re just going to have to find out,” Sharpe replied. “Nadia knows already. Lucky chick.”
“I miss her,” Ethan said, recalling their older friend. She had been the one to show them the Ghoul King adventure in the first place. “I can’t believe it’s only been six months since her graduation.”
“I know,” Sharpe replied. “It feels like so much longer.”
“I wonder what she’s up to.”
“Oh, I bet she’s a hotshot C.E.O. of some racing company or something,” Sharpe said. “You know her. She’s fierce. No matter where she is or what she’s doing, I’m sure she’s kicking ass at it.”
“I just wish she could come back,” Ethan started, “for a visit, you know. So she could tell us what it’s like out there. Or even just to play some adventures together.”
“Yeah, it would be nice to know what we’ve got in store for us,” Sharpe said. “A heads up.”
They walked through the artificial sand and looked at the ocean. The waves crashed against the beach in metered succession. A few of the birds that made up part of the background noise flew off into the darkening sky.
“Speaking of Nadia,” Sharpe started after a long quiet, “what do you say to some hoverbike racing? That was always one of her favorites. I could always load up the Rainbow Road track.”
Ethan didn’t say anything. Instead, he just stared at the waves.
“Or we could go catch an old flick at the theater,” Sharpe continued. “I heard they got some Mel Brooks comedies playing.”
“Nah,” Ethan said after a moment. “I think I’m just going to call it a night. Get some rest, you know.”
“You gonna get some dinner, too?” Sharpe joked. As residents of
