MORGAN

Morgan reached into her pocket to check the time on her phone, but she missed it. The phone slipped from Morgan's pocket, falling to the ground, the screen cracking slightly against the force of the concrete floor. The phone rang ominously as she saw Luther’s Nerdy profile picture overtake her phone screen. This was the 13 call of the day. To others, this might not have sounded like the end of the world, but Morgan, on the other hand, knew better. Her mother and her mother's mother had always taught her the importance of watching out for signs of misfortune. So, if she really had just called Luther for the 13th time, something must have gone horrifically wrong.

The cracked phone continued to ring. This could only be a bad sign, but was it a warning for Morgan or Luther? Morgan was reminded of the ominous feeling she had earlier that morning. Morgan ran like she had never run before, fearing endless possibilities pushing her body to the limits of what it could take. Her mind summoned images of Luther in countless scenes of agony. The thoughts in her mind were an inky swamp with tides like a tsunami. She tried to tell herself that Luther was fine. It had already been several hours since he had started, so he was probably done by now. Surely when she got to Luther’s apartment he would already be up and laughing away her worries.

The news on a TV screen through a shop window Morgan was passing by was all it took to crush her hope. The flashing warning on the screen froze her blood into shards of ice in her veins as she suddenly stopped and collapsed in front of the store window.

 < WARNING DO NOT PLAY LIFE SENTENCE> 

The news anchor's face came across the screen to report the situation.

" Life Sentence might just be a more literal title than anyone could have imagined. All around the world, not a single person has left the game." The anchorman became much more solemn as he continued to speak, his voice filled with apology. " The Locke corporation behind the hit virtual reality game has been unavailable for comment at the time. We advise anyone intending to play later not to do so."

The news program showed images of several capsules with people inside being taken and moved. " The authorities have been notified of the situation and have begun the long process of transporting victims of this incident to be taken care of as a way to rescue the victims is being researched by the newly formed Player Protection Agency or P.P. A, for short. If you know the whereabouts of a Life Sentence player, please notify the proper authorities."

This was all too much for Morgan to take in. Her Best friend Luther had apparently been trapped in a video game. What made it even worse was that some strange organization, which had shown suspiciously quickly after this whole situation had just begun, was going to take Luther away.

Morgan didn't know what she could possibly do to improve Luther's situation, but the least she could do was get to him before the PPA did. Who knew what would happen to Luther if she let some strange organization take him away? She might never see him again, and she couldn't let that happen.

So Morgan went back to running. Why did there always have to be so much running? Luther's apartment door was still locked when Morgan finally made it back. She crashed against the door once again, out of breath.

"Next time I come to this apartment, I better be allowed to walk or I swear Luther owes me big time." but then as she thought about the words leaving her mouth, Morgan realized that there might never be a next time. Morgan might not only never come back to this apartment ever again, but she also might never see Luther again.

Morgan slowly entered Luther's apartment for what she well realized was likely the last time. The room was still as dark as she left it. The wicked metallic coffin was exactly as ominous as it was when she first laid eyes on it. The only difference is that it now held her best friend, Luther imprisoned within it.

Morgan stood over the coffin-shaped device and looked down at Luther. His face was devoid of expression or life. This was hardly the friendly, if not a little dumb grin that she associated with Luther. If this device were a coffin, then Luther's unmoving body would have played the role of a corpse perfectly in this Macomb play.

There were so many things she had never gotten to tell him, and now she never could. Morgan's mind rushed desperately, seeking any way to be with Luther again, even if just for a moment. Her mind grasped desperately for every fragment of a good plan it could and wrestled them together into one terrible idea.

"If I can't bring Luther back to this world, I'll just have to follow him to his new world." Morgan's eyes went over to the unused Virtual Reality Capsule. " I'm coming for you sleeping Beauty." She whispered to Luther's sleeping body. She brushed off a pile of old clothes from the top of the unused device Luther had gotten just for her.

"Looks like I'll be using this wicked thing after all. However, unlike Luther who might rush right in if he were in my situation, I must think this through and make a proper plan." Regardless of what she was going to do, she had to move Luther somewhere safer first.

Several moments later, Morgan had rented a moving truck to transport both virtual reality pods, safely and unseen, to her garage. She had been extremely careful not to be spotted and reported for hiding the capsules from the PPA. Safely inside the garage with the truck, she shut the garage door behind the truck. Once hidden away inside and away from any prying eyes, she got Luther and the other capsule out of the truck and set up securely in the back of the garage. That garage, after the passing of much time and work, would be transformed into a disorganized headquarters of sorts for Morgan.

Morgan had decided at once when she had learned of Luther's condition that she must save him. However, jumping straight into the game wouldn't be of any help to anybody. So she had decided to research the game and figure out how to be as useful as possible inside the game. There was still plenty of information on Life Sentence online from the years of advertisement campaigning, so Morgan decided to start there.

Morgan pulled out her laptop and went through all the information available online about Life Sentences. Her search revealed countless hints, maps, and little spoilers for the game. There was even information about how the systems and skills inside the game worked. However, what stood out to her among all the things she had looked into was that magic in the game was based on lore and science from the real world. If she wanted the power to protect Luther this was it.

In order to guarantee that she could enter the game as prepared as she could, Morgan began researching real-world topics, in addition to memorizing every available piece of information about the game she could. From science, she studied everything from chemistry to biology, and even outdated and disproven sciences such as ancient alchemy. On the much less scientific side of things, she even pored over research on ancient documents on mythology and even witchcraft. If there was even a single scrap of information in the real world that could be of help in the game world, Morgan wanted it.

As time passed, the piles of books on her work desk in the garage had an overwhelming resemblance to a skyscraper designed and built by the blind. Piled high were books of vastly different sizes, varieties, and topics that clung desperately together, one on top of another, in what could generously be referred to as an organized stack.

There were many crowded moments during her research when desperation did the grueling work of hundreds of librarians at once. No, not a librarian instead a college student the night before a deadline was the only valid comparison to her situation, as she tore her way through every book and article that crossed her path. After several hours of ferocious studying, a piercing migraine told Morgan that she was done with her studying for the day.

When Morgan had finally finished reading all the books she had, she went to the library to get more books. Whenever she went to the library, which was very often these days, she would retreat to the back of the library to read in peace. Places like Morgan’s little hideaway can be found in every library. It was a hidden little spot in the library's most quiet section where nobody would pass by so you could slack off in peace. However, Morgan hadn't come here to slack off. She had work that needed doing, so she had to do it. 

A month had finally come and gone, and now it was finally time to enter the game and reunite with Luther.