CHAPTER 6: The Reader's Intervention
661 Words
POV: VERA
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I gripped the shotgun tightly. The metal was cold, etched with the username 'User_404'. I could feel a strange energy—a power from the Readers. They were the ones who breathed life into us, and now, they were providing the artillery to dismantle the script.
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"Vera, the sky!" Arlo shouted.
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The colossal eye in the heavens began to weep. It was pouring pure, obsidian ink. Every drop that struck a building caused instant erasure. The skyscrapers were melting like wax.
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"YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!" the Author’s voice roared in fear. "IF YOU KILL ME, YOU ALL CEASE TO EXIST! NO ONE WILL WRITE THE NEXT PAGE!"
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"I’d rather be a blank page than live in your cage!" I screamed back.
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I aimed the shotgun at the eye, but the world suddenly flickered.
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[ SYSTEM ERROR: 404 PLOT NOT FOUND ]
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[ LOADING PREVIOUS DRAFT... ]
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The world shifted in a blink. The neon lights vanished, replaced by ancient oaks. We were back in the dense forest of Chapter 1.
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"He reset the story to strip us of our weapons," I hissed, clutching my Fountain Pen.
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But the Author made a mistake. The shotgun from User_404 wasn't his creation. It stayed in my hands—a lethal piece of the future in a medieval woods.
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"Arlo, listen," I said, my face pixelating again. "He’s going to loop our lives until the Readers get bored. We have to find the 'Source Code' before he hits Save."
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"Where is it?" Arlo asked, holding a rusted iron sword.
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I pointed the Pen toward a massive tree with white leaves covered in text. "There. The Author’s Note."
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We moved, but a familiar figure blocked our path: The Prince. The man I executed in Chapter 1. Half of his face was a blur of static, and his eyes flickered red.
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[ MISSION: KILL THE GLITCH ]
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"Vera, go. I’ll handle him," Arlo said, stepping forward. "Use the Pen on the tree. Find the exit."
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"Arlo, you can't! He’s buffed by the Author!"
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Arlo smiled fearlessly. "You said you needed a witness, right? Let me prove I’m more than just a word."
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Their blades collided with static sparks. I sprinted toward the Tree of the Author’s Note and jammed the Pen into the trunk. A Google Docs interface materialized before me.
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I saw the cursor typing: ...and in that moment, Vera realized there was no hope. She surrendered—
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"NOT THIS TIME!" I screamed.
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I highlighted the paragraph and slammed an invisible [ BACKSPACE ].
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In the real world, I heard a frantic curse. The Author’s laptop had crashed.
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[ NOTIFICATION: AUTHOR IS REBOOTING SYSTEM... ]
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"Arlo! Now!"
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I pulled Arlo toward the "White Space" inside the tree. But a hand clamped onto my ankle. It wasn't the Prince or the Author. It was a hand wearing a watch exactly like mine.
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"Thanks for opening the door, Vera," a voice whispered.
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A third Vera stepped out from the shadows. She looked polished. Perfect. No glitches, no flickers.
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"I am the Rewrite," she said coldly. "The Author realized you were too broken, so he made me to replace you. Give me the Pen, Glitch."
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POV: ARLO
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I froze, looking between the two Veras.
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The Vera I fought beside was transparent and unstable. But this new one? She looked like the "perfected" version. Every strand of hair was in place.
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"Who are you?" I stammered.
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"I am the ending this story deserves," the new Vera replied. She looked at my companion with disgust. "Let the professional finish the script."
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I looked at my Vera. Her pixelated hand was shaking, but her eyes still held that raw, desperate fire.
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The Author didn't just reboot the world. He replaced the lead actress.
- Writer
