I fell through a black void, air rushing by as I screamed and flailed about, preparing for my eminent death. There was nothing to grab onto, and last I checked, I didn’t suddenly gain the ability to fly. The fall lasted for almost a full ten seconds before the blackness below opened into a perfect circle, and I found myself falling from the ceiling of a wide tiled room. Just before I splattered against the floor, my descent slowed until my feet gently settled on the ground.


    Taking deep breaths, I bent over and grabbed my knees for support as I tried to calm my pounding heart. Freaking Alfie and his magic paw-waving. He should have at least given me some warning.


    “Mads!” a friendly voice called out.


    I stood up all the way, still catching my breath and smiling in relief as my little brother, Peter ran up towards me. He was a gangly eighteen year old, towering a full seven inches above me to be almost six feet tall exactly. We both shared the typical Howard-brown hair and hazel eyes, and I was a bit proud of myself as I noticed that my skin was a tad tanner than his–though in his defense, I lived in a much warmer climate so it was easier for me to get outside early in the year.


    “Hi, Peter.” I wrapped my arms around his skinny torso. “It’s good to see you. I guess you’ve already been through the tutorial if you’re here.”


    “Yep. That’s the requirement to get into the waiting room. When do you think Beth will get in?” he asked.


    I shrugged. “She said she was close to being on her way when I called, but that was a while ago, and you know how Bethany is.”


    “She’s not bringing Andrea, is she?”


    “No. She told me she was leaving the baby home with Ethan for the day,” I said. I glanced around the room, avoiding too much eye contact with the plethora of cousins near me.


    The walls, floor, and ceiling were all tiled, but it was a conglomeration of all the tile types ever found in Grandma Marks’ house, ranging from the old cream ones on her kitchen floor to the mint green ones that were in the guest shower to the brown and black ones that made up the entryway floor. It was honestly super ugly to see all the tile varieties mixed together with no discernable pattern, and staring at it added to my stress-induced headache.


    “That’s good. I don’t know if great-grandkids are included in the competition, and I’m not sure if the System is a good babysitter,” Peter said.


    “I wouldn’t trust that freaky version of Alfie with anything I valued, much less a toddler,” I agreed. “How long have you just been sitting around here? Is there anything for us to do or is it really just waiting?” I noted with disappointment that this waiting room didn’t even offer the courtesy of chairs.


    “Daisy and Landon were the first ones here, but I got in third. Darlene took a couple tries to best the tutorial, so she showed up late. Everyone has trickled in over the past hour or so.” Peter gestured to all our cousins stuck in the room with us.


    A brief count revealed that ten out of the twelve grandkids were here. We were just waiting on Bethany–mine and Peter’s older sister–and Fern, the youngest of all the cousins.


    “Hey Madi! You’re here finally.” Landon walked up to me and Peter. He was of average height and build with platinum blond hair.


    “Good to see you, Landon,” I said. Landon and I were the same age and had graduated high school together three years prior. “I heard you were among the first ones here.”


    He grinned. “Yeah. Daisy and I walked in together, but I finished the tutorial before her. Pretty crazy how this all happened, isn’t it?”


    I blew out a long breath. “Yeah. I definitely never would have expected that Grandma was a User.”


    “I did say that she must have had some kind of superpower to get rid of those garden squirrels,” Peter reminded us.


    “Yeah, but you were also eleven at the time.” I rolled my eyes. “Honestly, I just want to get through this and get back to the real world. Do you think time is frozen or something? I mean, I don’t want to be stuck in here for weeks.”


    Landon chuckled. “That eager to get back to college, Mads?”


    “It’s summer break. I have an internship that starts next month, and it’s kind of important I’m there for it.”


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    “Psh. Your desk job can wait. We’re talking about the chance to become a User.” Peter’s hazel eyes burned with excitement and desire.


    “Who cares about that? Being a User probably sucks,” I said.


    “Come on, Madi. Even you don’t believe that. Users get epic powers and all the money and fame they could ever want. It’s a dream come true for anyone,” Landon argued.


    I crossed my arms. “That’s only if you go fight in Dungeons, which is rather risky. It’s only the Users who survive who become celebrities. The rest are just dead.”


    “I guess we know who won’t be getting the System-Integration.” Landon looked at Peter with a smile.


    Before I could continue the argument, a scream tore through the room. We all looked up to the ceiling where a hole opened, and a small girl tumbled out.


    Fern, a ten year old with jet black hair pulled back into two pigtails. She was screaming and crying all the way to the floor, and even once she was safe, she continued to shout. Her older sister, Blossom, was the first at her side, quickly consoling her.


    “Two more we can cross off the list of real competitors.” Peter nodded at the pair.


    “That’s not fair.” I crossed my arms. “I mean, okay, probably Fern won’t do well. But Blossom is a cheerleader which means she’s athletic enough to keep up with you.”


    Peter and Landon both laughed.


    “Yeah, sure…” Peter’s voice trailed off.


    “I still can’t believe Grandma Marks wanted this. She hated when anyone argued about anything in her house, but apparently her final wish was that all the grandkids compete in some stupid Dungeon for a meaningless title,” I said.


    “Someone has to get the System-Integration. This is the fairest way of deciding who.” Landon patted my shoulder. “It’s okay that you might lose at something, Madi. That’s part of life.”


    “This is Ms. Stanford you’re talking to, Landon. You should waste your breath elsewhere,” Peter said.


    I shoved his hand off me. “You two are such jerks.”


    “Oo, sounds like we hit a nerve.” Peter gave a fake grimace.


    I could have hit my brother, and I very well might have if we weren’t interrupted by another hole in the ceiling. This time it was Bethany, who dropped out gracefully, as if she didn’t mind at all magically falling through a void.


    My older sister landed on her feet and immediately made her way to our circle with a soft smile. Her pony hair was in one long braid with a couple of curled strands pulled out to really sell the farm-girl aesthetic.


    “Hi Beth.” I grabbed her in a hug.


    “Hi guys. I guess I’m the last one. Some secret Grandma was keeping, huh?” she said.


    “No kidding,” I muttered.


    “Madi is upset because she doesn’t want to compete for the title. She just thinks it should be given to her because she’s the most ‘successful’ grandkid,” Peter said in a mocking tone.


    Bethany smirked. “Sounds like someone’s projecting.”


    Alfie’s voice sounded throughout the whole room, drawing everyone’s attention to the large, floating hologram against the far wall of the dog-man.


    “The last participant has arrived. The competition will begin in one minute. Please use this time for any final preparations,” he said.


    His image was then replaced by a countdown in that same type of floating text as the rest of the System stuff.


    [1:00]


    [0:59]


    I rubbed my sweaty hands against my jeans. My earlier nerves returned in full force. Even though I had my siblings and cousins around me to join me in this excursion, I still felt very alone and overwhelmed.


    Bethany put an arm around my shoulder. “Relax, Madi. We’re in this thing together. Right, Peter? Right, Landon?” She glared at the other two.


    “Sorry. I already promised to team up with Daisy and Darlene. Samuel is going with Norris and CJ, though. Those three seem to think their Minecraft addiction will make them pros at this thing,” Landon said.


    “Do I have to be on your team just because I’m your brother?” Peter asked.


    Bethany smiled at him with fake innocence. “No, Peter. You get to be on our team just because you''re our brother.”


    “I guess Blossom will take Fern with her, and then that just leaves Colby. Think he’ll go with his sisters?” I asked.


    Landon scoffed. “I doubt that. I guarantee he’ll go off on his own even if he even participates. He’s still pissed that Grandma wouldn’t give Grandpa’s Ford to him for free.”


    “Can’t we join you and your sisters, Landon?” Bethany asked, voicing my exact thoughts.


    He made a face. “This is a competition, Beth, so…”


    “Right. You want the jackpot for yourself,” I filled in for him.


    Landon nodded. “Sorry. But I’ll try to help out when I can.” With that, he abandoned our circle to join his older and younger sister who waited a few yards away.


    “Just us three then. The Howard kids unite.” Bethany put her hand in the center.


    “Howard kids,” I agreed, adding my hand.


    I nudged Peter who sighed and grudgingly joined our cheer. We chanted “Howard kids” and raised our hands up just as the countdown hit [0:00].


    The wall it had been projected against disappeared, creating an entrance to Gram-Gram’s Dungeon.