Authors: Andrew Klavan
Game Over (28 page)
In seconds, the fire consumed the monster and the King of the Dead rained down out of the air in a black storm of ashes. Even before those ashes settled to the rock circle of the arena, the night around them began to quake.
Rick knew what would happen before it happened and then he saw it begin. The graveyard in the distance and the Golden City beyond it began to accordion together, collapsing in on themselves and all of it rushing toward him, toward the blackness that was going to consume it all.
The MindWar Realm was dying, all of it, falling into the emptiness that surrounded it, becoming nothing as Kurodar died.
Rick looked at Mariel, who hung silver in the air above him. He looked at Favian, who floated just above the arena. The three of them exchanged glances as the Realm collapsed around them, knowing the falling world would take them with it into the darkness, that they had only a minute left to live, if that.
Then, as they gazed their good-byes at one another, the portal opened in the middle of them: a floating diamond of purple light.
Rick was surprised by the depth of his sadness at the sight of it. He knew he had to go throughâhis life lay that way. But the thought of leaving Mariel behind here, losing her forever, made him hesitate even so.
Mariel inclined her head toward him. “Go on,” she said.
Favian cried out in a simple anguish of sorrow: “Mariel! You said you'd come.”
She shook her head. She gave a small, sad smile. “I said that Rick and I will be together and we will be. Don't be afraid. Nothing that truly lives in me will ever die. Go home and you'll find me there.”
The Golden City crumbled and the ruins of it rushed toward them where they stood surrounded by blackness. A great wind of destruction began to wash over them.
Rick stepped toward the portal.
“Favian,” he said.
Favian shook his head no, but all the same, he began moving too.
They both stepped to the portal. They both kept their eyes on Mariel hovering above them. The MindWar Realm came collapsing in on them. The blackness folded over them.
The last sight Rick had of Mariel was her smiling at him: a sad smile of good-bye.
Then he stepped through the portal as the world came tumbling down around him.
WHEN RICK OPENED
his eyes, he was alone in his bedroom. He blinked up at the ceiling, confused.
Was it just another dream?
he wondered.
Was it all a dream from the beginning?
He swung his legs off the bed to the floor, and the ache that went through them reminded him: No, some of it was real, at least. Some of it was all too real.
He moved to the window. He pulled back the curtains. He looked out.
A heavy snow was falling on the MindWar compound. The ground and the rooftops were already carpeted with white and so was the forest beyond the fence. It almost managed to make the place look pleasant.
Almost Christmas
, Rick thought.
Through the swirling flakes, Rick could see the guards clustered around the gate. He could see the fence was damaged from where Molly's truck had hit it when she tried to escape. He could see the tower where the Boar had broken through the Breach and killed the guard. The thought made him touch the side of his forehead. He checked his mind. The portal inside him was gone. Kurodar was gone.
It wasn't a dream. It all happened
, he thought.
It was all real.
His mind flashed back to the end of it: the stone arena in the midst of space, the gigantic King of the Dead, the cloud wall collapsing at the sound of his voice, Favian, Mariel . . .
The sadness he had felt at the end came back to him. Mariel. She had died with the MindWar Realm. And Victor One. Lost in the battle outside the gate.
Rick stood at the window watching the snow. He felt very much alone.
There was a rapid knock at the door. Running his fingers up through his hair, Rick moved toward it. But before he reached it, the door sprang open and there was his little brother, Raider, too full of energy to wait for him.
“Aren't you coming? You've been asleep for hours! You gonna sleep forever? Everyone's here! Everyone's waiting for you!”
The eager pie-plate face beamed up at him and Rick smiled, heavyhearted. Whatever the kid was drinking, he needed a glass. Probably everyone needed a glass.
“Come on, Rick!” the kid said, grabbing him by the hand and pulling.
“All right, all right,” said Rick. “Take it easy. My legs.”
But Raider did not take it easy. He kept pulling and Rick stumbled after him, out the door, down the hall.
They were waiting in the living room, all of them, arrayed in various places beneath the Christmas tree. The
tree's colored lights played over them and so did the lights strung along the mantelpiece. The small manger scene on the coffee table seemed almost alive in the moving light from the flames in the fireplace.
His mom and dad were standing by the fire together. Molly was in the wing chair by the tree.
“There he is: the man of the hour, awake at last,” Rick's father said.
His mother applauded comically. Molly laughed.
Miss Ferris was sitting on the sofa with her back to Rick. She turned to look at him over her shoulder when Raider pulled him in, and she almost smiled.
A man was sitting beside her. He stood up to greet Rickâa small but sturdy-looking black guy with worried eyes: Fabian Child. Favian. He came up around the sofa, his hand extended. Rick grabbed his hand and shook it and then pulled him into a rough hug.
When Fabian drew back, there were tears in his eyes. He shook Rick's hand again. “You did it, man. You did it!”
“Well,” said Rick, “we all did it. I could never have beaten that thing alone.”
“Yeah, but you're the one who brought us back. I should have known you would never leave her behind. I'm sorry I doubted you.”
Rick opened his mouth to answer, but he wasn't sure what to say. Fabian saw his uncertainty and gestured across the room at Molly.
“She made it, man. She made it through.”
Molly stood up and moved across the room to Rick. Rick didn't understand what Fabian was saying, and then Molly came closer and he looked into her eyes and he sort of did understand, though he couldn't have explained it.
Nothing that truly lives in me will ever die.
That's what Mariel had said in the end. And Rick knew that that's what Victor One would have said, too, if he were here. And he was here. And so was Mariel. Rick didn't understand it, but he knew it was so.
And he knew that Molly was with him, and he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, and the sadness in his heart was somehow gone. He looked past her at where his father and mother stood next to the tree, smiling at them both. He remembered how, before all this started, he had thought he had lost everything. He had thought his life was over. How wrong he had been. How little he had understood.
Nothing that truly lives in me will ever die.
Molly drew back a little in his arms and looked up at him. He said her name and kissed her.
The MindWar was over. They had won.
1. Were you surprised by the reveal of the traitor? Do you think their reasons were justified? Would you have made the same choice? Why or why not?
2. Ivan Doshenko grew up filled with hate and bitterness. His anger built into obsessional rage, which turned him into Kurodar. His father never taught him love, just humiliation. Have you ever allowed hate to take over your life? How did you eliminate it?
3. Throughout the novel, Kurodar is set on vengeance against America. Why do you believe so many people dislike America? What was Kurodar's reason? Do you find it to be valid?
4. Kurodar's father believed that killing others could create equality and paradise. Who else in history has believed this?
5. Sadly, Kurodar felt he deserved his father's abuse. Many victims of abuse feel this way. How is this line of thinking flawed? Do you think Kurodar was justified in his beliefs?
6. Rick has a poignant moment where he realizes his dad never abandoned him, as he once thought. How does his dad's sacrificial love compare to God's love for us? What are some differences and similarities?
7. Rick's mother tells him, “You'll never go anywhere alone. I promise.” What did she mean by that statement? How does that knowledge help Rick in the Realm? Can this reminder help you in
your
daily life?
8. Commander Mars was an intelligent and powerful man, yet he was not immune to corruption. How did his pride ultimately lead to his downfall?
9. Favian is a worrier by nature, but he could be a warrior when needed. How is it possible to be both? What can we do to overcome our worries?
10. Rick comes to realize the impact that God had on his dad and how, without his love, the Traveler could have become like Kurodar's dad. How can God's love change a person, such as it did in this story?
11. Rick tells Molly, “Let not your heart be troubled,” as the Bible states. It brought him comfort as he prepared for the battle of his life in the Realm. How can this verse be a comfort to you?
12. Molly states in the story, “In a video game, you can die one hundred times, but you only have to get it right once. In the Realm you can get it right one hundred times, but if you die once, it's game over.” Chuck agrees, saying it's just like real life. What
are some ways Rick and Molly make the most of their one life? What can you do to make the most of yours?
13. Mariel gives Rick armor in the Realm to increase his power. She tells him, “It won't make you invulnerable. Everyone is vulnerable to injury and death. But as long as your faith stays strong, it will give you more power than you ever knew you had.” What are some examples from the story of Rick's faith staying strong? What are some examples from your own life?
14. Did you find this story to be a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy? If not, what would you have done differently?
ANDREW KLAVAN
IS a bestselling, award-winning thriller novelist whose books have been made into major motion pictures. He broke into the YA scene with the bestselling Homelanders series, starting with
The Last Thing I Remember.
He is also a screenwriter and scripted the innovative movie-in-an-app
Haunting Melissa
.
