Choose (A Choose Your Own Story Adventure)

34. Remain Hidden

Mia decides to stay behind the tower of boxes. She crawls around the room as Linda moves to ensure that she isn't seen. Finally, she finds a dark corner where she can comfortable sit.

A phone rings. Mia checks her pockets, but her phone isn't vibrating. She peeks between the crack of two piles of boxes to view her boss. Linda pulls a phone out of her back pocket, looks at the screen, then presses it against her ear.

"I told you not to call on this phone," she snaps. The harshness is her tone contrasts with her usually kind personality. She is silent for moment as she listens to the other person on the line. "No, you can't meet me there...your house? One second, let me write this down."

Mia frantically slides right on her phone and onto the camera. She presses record. Linda mutters the address aloud. Mia also takes a moment to pan and show the room. Her hands are shaking the entire time. After she finishes recording, it slips out of her fingers and on to the floor.

Linda turns her head towards the sound. "Who's there?"

Mia's breath hitches. Her boss slowly approaches the corner where Mia is. She carefully creeps herself away from her hiding spot. Linda takes another moment to look around. When she can't find anything, she shrugs and turns back to her phone call.

Mia quickly goes up the stairs. She closes the door and runs out of Linda's office. She speeds out of the building, completely forgetting about Terry and the lights.

She gets in her car and drives away. She is breathing heavily. Her boss is apart of something far more serious than the office. Though Mia doesn't fully understand what it is, she knows that she has to do something about it.

Mia calls the police once she gets home. She also sends them the video that she recorded. Mia doesn't know if it's enough to get Linda investigated, but she knows that it is the best she can do.

She scoops up Benjamin and holds him close to her chest. He squirms for a second, then lifts his head up to lick Mia's chin. She laughs softly and sets him back down.

"Work was crazy today," she whispers to her dog. "I-I can't believe that all of these years I never knew...It's been happening under our noses, Benjie."

The dog looks up at Mia blankly. She sighs. Of course, she thinks. I don't know what I expected from a dog.

Mia grabs a glass of water. Drinking it calms her down. The excitement of tonight drains for her, leaving her exhausted. She slips into her bed, resting her head on her pillow. Though she is worried, she has done all she can. Whether the police take it from here is on them. All she can do now is go to sleep.

***

"Boo." You cross your arms. "That's unrealistic. Linda would have definitely caught her. Those boxes weren't that good at hiding her."

"Are you calling this unrealistic?"

"Absolutely," you reply. "It's a game so it's fine, but that could've at least been a cool place to add a boss battle."

Boss, because Linda is Mia's boss? Get it?

Grace doesn't laugh. The best excuse you can find is that computers don't have a sense of humor.

"Tell me what I can do to make this more realistic," the computer says. You look at the screen, taken aback.

"Hey, it's a game, it's fine."

"Is it the choices? What choices can I add?"

The computer's pushiness makes you nervous. You stand up and walk towards the door. "Hey now, it's fine. Look, it's really late, I should be heading out—"

You try to open the door, but the knob won't budge. You look back at the screen, your eyes wide.

"An important part of Mia's experience is making sure that she isn't suspicious. She needs as realistic of a life as possible. Tell me what I can do better."

You slowly sit back down in the chair. You see a piece of paper and a pen next to the large keyboard. You clear your throat and pick up the pen. "Well? Where do I start..."

Congratulations! You just got the ALIVE ending! Go back to "1. Morning" in order to try again!

Ending: 5/19