Wyn rushes to the elevator, her mind racing with possibilities. Why would we be receiving a delivery? What could be inside it? Her mind races as she reaches the elevator and jams the call button.

  “C’mon, please work. Please work!” says Wyn.

  Wyn taps her foot impatiently as the elevator slowly makes its way to her. Each passing second feels like an age to Wyn. Between her strenuous journey home and the mysterious delivery, Wyn is a bundle of nervous energy. Anyone who lives in the Gray Zones knows not to draw attention to themselves. If you draw attention to yourself, the Radiance will take you away. No one knows exactly what the Radiance does to people, and Wyn has no intention of finding out.

  At last the elevator comes to a halt, screeching for the final few centimeters as it finds its stopping point. Wyn squeezes through the closing doors, only to crash into someone inside.

  “Watch it, girl!” says the man as he steps off the elevator.

  “Sorry!”

  Wyn jams the “close doors” button on the elevator after selecting the 14th floor. A quiet voice in the back of her mind urges patience; haste only makes her more visible. Wyn thinks of her mom. She always tells Wyn to listen to those instincts. The doors close on the elevator, and Wyn closes her eyes, determined to center herself. She won’t let panic get the better of her. Her family needs her, and she will not disappoint them.

  The elevator stops on the 14th floor with a shuddering groan. Wyn bolts toward her apartment, fumbling with the keys as her fingers tremble.

  “Who’s there?!” her mom shouts at the door.

  “It’s me, Mom, just got to get the damn lock—”

  The door swings open, and Wyn’s mom yanks her inside, pulling her close as if she might disappear. Her hands grip Wyn tightly, fingers pressing into her shoulders, while her eyes dart over her daughter’s body, searching for any sign of injury. Panic flashes in her wide eyes, raw and unfiltered, before hardening into something sharper. Finding no wounds, her fear twists into anger, coiling tightly in her chest as she glares at Wyn with a mix of relief and fury.

  “What were you thinking? Going out this late at night?”

  “I needed to get Elzie’s meds! You know what happens when she doesn’t have them!” Wyn snaps back, holding up the bag that until this moment she forgot existed.

  “No, Wyn, you didn’t think. You never think! I… Just…” Mom trails off, her anger subsiding.

  “Don’t scare me like that. I’m glad you got her meds. But you have to be smarter than that. Going out after dark? On a Radiance Patrol night no less?” says Mom.

  “I know. I’m sorry, Mom.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay, kiddo.”

  A tear forms in her eye, and she lets go of Wyn. Wyn lets out an involuntary sigh of relief. Mom’s outburst, a jarring sound she hadn’t heard in ages, left a knot of discomfort in her stomach. Wyn is well aware that she deserved the scolding, however. She was foolish to go out, and it could’ve resulted in Wyn being imprisoned or worse.

  Mom grabs the bag and turns away from Wyn. Rohn sits against a wall, out of sight from their living room window. Next to him is the mysterious package that was delivered to their window just minutes ago.

  “Wyn, any idea what this is all about?” asks Mom.

  “No idea, but we have to get rid of it. No way we hang on to this. Tomorrow we have to return it to wherever the hell it came from,” says Wyn.

  “Language!” Mom recoils before shaking her head. “But you are right. I need to think this over. Go give the meds to your sister. Rohn, clean the dishes while Mommy thinks.”

  Rohn groans and stomps his way to the kitchen sink while Mom eyes the package. Her eyes drift between the package and the window, no doubt worried a Hover-Patrol will shine their lights in order to investigate. Anxiety tightens inside Wyn’s chest, but she has job to do. She grabs the meds and heads to Elzie’s room.

  Wyn knocks on the door of Elzie’s room. A weak voice, thin and frail, calls back to her.

  “Come in. You have my meds?”

  Wyn puts on her best smile and steps inside. Bright colors and stickers cover the walls, but her eyes go straight to Elzie. The girl, older than Rohn but younger than Wyn, perches lightly on the bed, her frame small and delicate. Her wide, curious eyes sparkle with a grin that lights up her pale, freckled face, and a stray lock of hair falls across her forehead as she tucks it back nervously while watching Wyn approach.

  “Wynnie!” Elzie calls out.

  Wyn chuckles and gives Elzie a gentle hug, being careful not to bend Elzie’s body uncomfortably.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “How are you today, Elzie?” asks Wyn.

  “I think I’m doing a little better. I walked around the apartment while you gamed. It was really nice to leave this room.”

  “That’s good! I’m just sorry I missed it.”

  Wyn takes out the vial of pills and sets it on the nightstand beside Elzie. She takes a seat on the bright pink fluffy beanbag chair next to Elzie’s bed. Elzie has struggled with health issues since she was seven. A Radiance Patrol officer hit her in the side during a raid, and the injury never completely healed. The doctor said her spine was all bent out of shape and she had extensive nerve damage. There’s little the family can do for the poor girl beyond keeping her as comfortable as possible and hoping she someday heals.

  “What’s all the excitement out there? It woke me from my nap,” asks Elzie.

  “It’s… complicated,” says Wyn, not wanting to upset her sister.

  “Hey! I’m not a kid anymore! Just tell me, okay?”

  “Alright Elzie. I… I got in trouble with Mom. I was an idiot. And there’s a strange package that was delivered to us by accident. Has me and Mom all worried. Rohn keeps looking at it like he wants to tear it open and uncover the mystery all by himself.”

  Elzie laughs hard, then winces as a pain stabs at her left side. She grabs one of the pill bottles and swallows it before turning back to Wyn.

  “Think it’ll be a problem?” she asks.

  “It could,” says Wyn, “but we’ll take care of it in the morning. You get some rest alright.”

  Elzie frowns. “All I do is rest! Can I play Elysium for a bit?”

  “Sure. Just don’t play too long.”

  Wyn leaves the room for a moment and returns with her Elysium headset. Elzie loved to play VRRPG games like Elysium. It let her get some semblance of normalcy. Her avatar in Elysium was a hypermobile assassin using elaborate poisons and clever tricks to defeat monsters. In the highlight reels she showed Wyn, she looked so happy. For the thousandth time, Wyn considers finding a new job to get Elzie her own headset.

  Wyn gently places the headset on Elzie’s head while she settles in. She supports Elzie’s head gently, carrying most of its weight as she secures the strap with a click. As she initialized the startup sequence, Elzie’s limbs fell still, and the visor sprang to life with flashing lights. With the neural link activated, Elzie is free to dive into Elysius and leave behind. Wyn sighs, hoping Elzie enjoys her time. Just as Wyn tucks in Elzie,

  “ROHN! WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

  Wyn steps out of Elzie’s Room and shuts the door, being careful not to slam it. The hallway felt like a pressure cooker, with the tension of chaos hanging in the air. Mom is red in the face. She looms over a crying Rohn, on a mission to become one with the floor as shrinks in on himself. Nearby, the package rests, its cardboard exterior torn, and the interior revealed.

  “What happened?” asks Wyn.

  “Your brother decided to OPEN the box!” says Mom. Spit flies out of her mouth in a rage. The usually calm woman was now driven to extremes by the fear and anger coursing through her veins. A vein at the base of her neck pulses rapidly with each heartbeat. Wyn steps forward to get between Mom and Rohn.

  “Mom. You need to calm down.”

  “What do you mean, calm down? This boy just opened the box!”

  “And what is getting angry going to do about that? Get the neighbors worried about us again?”

  The rage vanishes from Mom’s face as she looks between her two children.

  “I’m sorry, Rohn. Oh dear. I’m so sorry.”

  She pulls the boy close into a hug, which he readily accepts. This has been a hard day for all of them. Wyn can’t help but feel at least partially responsible for the outburst. Mere hours ago, these three were sitting around a table enjoying a meal, and now after a series of bad choices from all sides, they’ve arrived here. Mom apologizes profusely to Rohn, while Wyn can only watch and wonder what the hell had happened.

  “Alright, what the hell happened?” asks Wyn.

  “It was… I had finished doing the dishes, and I wanted to see what was inside the fancy box,” says Rohn. He has an utterly crestfallen look on his face as he explains.

  “I went to see if he had washed the dishes properly. When I turned around, this was open, and I panicked.” Says Mom. She steps back from Rohn and sits on one of the rickety dining chairs.

  Wyn turns to look at the problem at hand. She had to admit the thing utterly fascinates her, regardless of the threat it poses. The box is the size of a small coffee table. 4 long, 2 feet across, and 2 feet tall.

  Wyn kneels down next to the box and examines where Rohn had tried to open it. A piece of the cardboard lies next to the box with some of the packing tape still stuck on. Wyn guesses Rohn tried to peel back the tape, and because of the cheap cardboard, it pulled off a hunk of cardboard with it. Inside the first box is, naturally, a second box. Instead of the plain brown cardboard exterior box, the interior box is a bright baby blue with white markings at regular intervals.

  Wyn turns to Mom and frowns. “I don’t think we can rescue the outside box.”

  “Hmm,” responds Mom, “You’re right. We could get a fresh box? Repackage it?”

  “Probably. Would be a bit jank though. And the return process will be difficult now, lots of questions.”

  “Can we open it already?!” says Rohn, helpfully.

  The two women can’t help but laugh at the boys’ eagerness. He was a step ahead of them and realized where this was heading. They have to open the box, regardless of whether or not they return it. Wyn and Mom exchange a look and shrug before turning to Rohn with a smile.

  “Be careful not to damage the inside box, but sure. Go for it.” Says Wyn.

  Rohn leaps into action. He shows little to no remorse for his previous unwarranted box handling. Rohn tears through, throwing hunks of cardboard flying across the apartment. All around them, on them, across much of the nearby area, shreds of cardboard cover nearly every surface of the narrow dining room. Wyn winces as the boy rips hunks of cardboard off, further revealing the interior box. She’s about to ask him to calm down when suddenly he stops. The top of the interior box is now almost entirely revealed, and Rohn stares at it, mouth wide open.

  “Wyn. I think I know what this is.” Says Rohn.

  Wyn looks closer at the now revealed package. Its smooth exterior of spiraling whites and blues hit Wyn’s mind like a truck. The intersecting spirals make out a recognizable pattern, one often used by a corporation both siblings know well: Progenitis Systems.

  “I can’t believe it.” Says Wyn.

  “A real Eden System,” says Rohn.

  The two siblings make eye contact, utterly amazed. Even Mom is impressed by the contents of their mystery package. With the prominence of Elysius and other VR systems, even she knows the gravity of receiving a full Eden system. If the rumors hold, Eden’s True Immersion System will soon change the world. It goes beyond just Deep Immersion according to their marketing and achieves a near-perfect facsimile of reality.

  “What’s this?” asks Mom, cutting through the spellbinding effect of the Eden System. She hands Wyn a slip of paper. “It must’ve been in the box.”

  Wyn opens it and reads.