Blake needs a date to his enemy's destination wedding. And not just anyone-a professional. The billionaire genius behind 215 Tech doesn't have time to nurture a real relationship. He hires Lucy to be his fake girlfriend, but things become real when...
Thirty employees are gathered in the conference room attached to my office. The blackout curtains have been drawn across the picture window, blocking views of the city and the late morning sun. It's Friday, and I've told the creative team they can take the remainder of the afternoon off. It'll be the last break they have for a while. I can sense it in my bones.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I sit at the head of the long table, tapping my finger against the proposal before me. I've memorized the lengthy document authored by Lilian, which breaks this game down into its key components. A partition on the back wall slides open, revealing a large flatscreen, currently powered off. Lilian rises from her seat, remote in hand, and the screen comes to life.
A little girl limps through a dead forest, something white and furry in her hands. The girl's pale face is covered in scratches, and welts wrap around her legs. Her seaweed-like hair is wet, sticking to her throat and cheeks. The dress she wears is tattered and soiled, revealing the emaciated figure beneath. Her feet are bare, leaving streaks of blood on the jagged rocks she stumbles over.
There is no sound, but I can already imagine what my sister, Grace, will do with this project—screeching violins to convey terror, a melancholy piano to showcase the loss of humanity, a looping melody for character travel.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The little girl breaks free of the forest, crossing a rotted meadow to reach a large weeping willow, its bark blackened, the earth surrounding it covered in ash. Instead of leaves on its limbs, Voodoo dolls and small animals are attached to it by nooses. The girl kneels at the base of the horrific tree, using her ragged nails to dig. She places the bundle inside the hole, revealing the creature to be a bunny, its fur glowing silver in the moonlight. The girl looks at her dead pet, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain of loss. Tears spill down her dirty cheeks, falling onto the ground. Where they land, small flowers erupt, they're green stems and white petals vibrant against the ashen soil. And at the center of each flower is a yellow pop of color.
They're daisies.
The girl uses her tiny hands to shovel dirt onto the bunny, burying him in the land. She rises on shaky legs, wipes the wetness from her face, and continues onward.
