Aminata’s fingers turned into drifting letters of light before my eyes.I dropped to my knees on the white marble floor, the silver pen shaking in my hand as I stared at the space where she had just been standing. Director Jade stood by the stone podium, holding the crushed remains of the master manuscript page in his fist with a cold, triumphant smile."She was just a security glitch, Kofi," Director Jade said, his voice echoing through the silent chamber. "Characters don't get to choose their own endings. The board writes the rules, and the board clears the board."Beside me, Marcus grabbed his rifle, his face twisted in pure rage. "You son of a bitch."Marcus raised his weapon and pulled the trigger, firing a heavy blast straight toward the podium. Director Jade

The white glass balcony shattered into a million pieces under our feet, sending us tumbling down into the deep, dark abyss below.I fell fast through the roaring wind, the red numbers of the system wipe blinking angrily overhead at eight minutes remaining. The heavy pressure that had pinned me against the railing vanished the second the floor broke, freeing my arms and legs, but the rushing air made it impossible to breathe.Above me, Aminata swung her crystal gun toward a protruding steel beam jutting out from a lower floating island. She fired a blinding beam of light that wrapped around the beam like a glowing rope, catching her weight just in time. Using the momentum, she kicked off the side of a digital billboard and lunged downward, grabbing the collar of my jacket with one hand and pulling me into a narrow maintenance alcove carved into the side of the floating platform.We slammed hard onto the metal grating floor, coughing and gasping for air."A