Back to the present...
Outside, the army and Polly's men were engaged in a fierce war. A loud siren blared. "What happened?" Sharleen cried, trying to go see. But Jane grabbed her arm. "Stop! What are you doing?"
"It's our chance!" Jane exclaimed. "We can do our work!"
"Oh! Yes!" Sharleen's eyes widened. "Okay, come, hurry up!" They ran through the hallway, past panicked people scrambling everywhere.
Then, Polly appeared, fighting her way through the chaos. Jane saw her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, astonished.
"It was A.D.'s plan!" Polly replied, breathing heavily. "He gave me the route from the last time they ran. And I came here!"
"Okay, this is awesome!" Sharleen exclaimed. "But now listen, you go... I'll go to save A.D."
"No!" Polly countered. "You know the place and people better. You can easily reach the machine. Tell me where A.D. is, I'll go there."
"Yes, Sharleen, you go!" Jane urged. "I'll go with Polly."
Polly then gave Jane a pistol. "No, you have to be with Sharleen and be sure to stop this." She looked at Jane with fierce determination. "It's more important, and I also want that. Now go, it's our last chance!"
"Okay!" Jane agreed, then left with Sharleen.
Polly fought her way towards A.D.'s cell, a barrage of gunfire erupting around her. Finally, she reached David and A.D.'s cells, unlocking them. David immediately ran to A.D. A.D. was barely clinging to life. "Don't die!" David pleaded, tears in his eyes. "What will I say to Jane? Oh my God! When will this game end?"
Just then, James appeared behind Polly and shot her. Polly fell to the floor. "No!" David cried, rage flooding him. He stood, grabbed Polly's gun, and shot James. A.D., despite his fading consciousness, saw Polly falling, tears blurring his vision.
On the other side of the base, Jane and Sharleen reached the machine. "Hurry up, load it!" Jane yelled.
Sharleen frantically loaded the antidote. "I'm doing it! Oh! It's done!" she cried out. "Here we go!" She put the gear into place.
A brilliant light spread from the machine, a wave of energy that swept through the base, then out into the world. The virus stopped.
Suddenly, a message appeared on the right hand of all the players: "GAME OVER. YOU WIN. MAKE YOUR WISH."
Jane and Sharleen, overwhelmed with joy and relief, hugged each other. "Okay, now make our wish," Jane said.
"But A.D.!" Jane remembered, concern instantly returning.
"Don't worry," Sharleen reassured her. "Polly is going there. He'll be okay. Now, make your wish."
At A.D.'s side, David cradled his friend. "We won! Wait a little more, now make a wish to get alive from here!"
A.D., still barely conscious, made a wish in his mind. Then, David looked at Polly, who was now miraculously cured and okay. He then looked back at A.D., still lying on the floor. "What did you do?" David exclaimed. "You saved Polly instead of yourself! She's not even a player!"
"I don't want that anyone would be hurt because of me," A.D. whispered, a faint smile on his lips. "Don't worry, you make a wish for yourself. I know Jane will wish for me, so don't worry."
"Okay," David said, and made his wish. Jane and Sharleen also made theirs.
The game ended. They all came back to the real world, appearing together in a single place: Jane, Sharleen, David, and A.D. David immediately saw A.D. and hugged him. "You're okay!"
A.D. gently pushed him away. "Stop talking so close to my ears!" he chuckled, then looked at Jane. "I told you that nothing bad would happen to me." Jane hugged A.D. tightly. "I missed you so much," she whispered, then kissed him.
Sharleen, seeing this, cleared her throat. "Hum!"
Jane released A.D., then turned and hugged Sharleen, thanking her for her help. David whispered in A.D.'s ear, "Why aren't you hurt?"
A.D. secretly whispered back, "Stop talking. That was a game. When it's over, our physical condition will return to what we were in this world, but the memories don't go." He then thought of the child girl who had died, the promise he couldn't fulfill. That regret remained.
To Be Continued..... (Run into the Shark Way)