"Someone will come after us. And they'll have real, possibly military-grade equipment. We can't escape in a dinky wooden airship."

"We're not limited to wood," I argued, "We can also absorb stone. And plants. We can try other materials, too."

Addy casually bent low and plucked a weed from the grassless soil, "So let me get this straight. You want to build an airship. From plants. And use it to escape the island?"

"You know that's not what I meant," I said, letting some annoyance seep out, "But escape has always been my goal. Always. And you agreed with me back on the space station."

"Not true," Addy said, folding his arms, "You may have brought the idea up, but that was it. Escaping is a dumb plan. Rule of thumb: don't piss off the all-powerful organization that can make clones, give us magic tools, and teleport us to and from space."

Ok, fair.

Rather than charge forward, I breathed, considering his perspective. Everything he had said was true. Well, most of it was true; I still strongly disagreed about the existence of Addy clones.

Still, our captors were dangerous.

If we could make it to a police station, or a military base, or certain government agencies, we stood a chance at receiving protection. Hell, if we could make it to the media, we could fast-track a story about what we'd been through. Our captors would face investigation and possible retaliation. Even if we managed to insert ourselves into a highly populated center - like a mall - we'd have the protection of the crowd.

What were the odds of realizing one of those goals?

I at least wanted to try.

But my confidence waned, the more I thought about it. Addy was right about our captors. All the luck and skill in the world might not be enough to escape them.

If we give up hope, we surrender whatever's left of our humanity. I refuse to become subservient. Sub-human. A pawn.

I needed some level of commitment from Addy. So I asked, "If we don't escape today, what if they try to kill us in the future? Can we at least agree to escape then?"

Addy touched his game stone to the dirt a few times. Then he scooped a handful of dirt into his hand and touched it to the stone. Only after being separated from the earth was the dirt absorbed.

He didn't meet my eyes when he said, "I'm not agreeing to anything right now."

"But Addy, it's your life!" I reasoned.

Addy spit into his hand and touched the spit to the stone. The stone came away covered in bubbly drool. Frowning, he said, "Whoever is in charge, I respect their power. You would be smart to as well. And I'm not gonna go on record saying I plan to escape from them. That is what gets you killed."

Better to try while we still have a chance. There's no way we walk away after they're done running their simulations. What if this is the final one?

I doubted Addy would budge on the issue; he saw escape as too improbable. So I tried another approach, "What if I get the other two on board? Will you stay behind while we fly out of here?"

Addy finally turned his attention my way. Patches of light filtered through the jungle canopy, spotting his otherwise shaded body. His expression was cryptic as he asked, "Is that your plan?"

He'll betray me if I say yes. Break our truce and eliminate me so that I can't try.

I could start running. But he was faster and more agile.

Throwing a wooden wall up could buy me some time and maneuverability. But it would be impossible to find and talk to the others with Addy giving chase.

I sighed, "Fine. I won't try to escape..."

I had to stop myself from saying the rest.

...Unless a really good opportunity presents itself, at which point I'm gunning it.

Addy nodded, and the smug look he gave made me want to take it all back, purely out of spite.

"So, if you're ready to play the game now," he started, tossing his stone high into the air, "I have a..." Addy paused to catch the stone, "...few ideas for how we should proceed."

♠

We laid out a plan. Five simple goals to guide us to victory. Then, we set to work, galvanized by our list of objectives.

Priority one: Shelter.

There were a number of reasons why we focused on this one first. Poor weather, tidal waves, surprise attacks, and any other curve-balls the game might throw at us. Constructing a defensible base meant we could let our guard down while we made our other preparations.

We started by choosing a location.

A towering mass of jagged rock occupied the center of the island and had enough girth to take up half of the island's land mass. Which wasn't a lot, given the island's size. I figured it would take twenty minutes to walk the circumference of the beach.

The island was small. All the more reason to start claiming territory before the others could.

Addy used the wand to carve a one-story section from the base of the rock formation. When the yellow lines turned red, severing a large rectangular chunk, I tapped it with my game stone. The resultant hole was just over a meter in depth. Shallow.

I was hit with a pang of curiosity. What rules decided how much mass the wand could carve out? Was it based on total volume, density? It carved 2D holes in a 3D world. Was there an arbitrary limit to the length of the third and unspecified dimension?

Not now. Focus.

I tucked it away for whenever we decided to take a break.

We repeated the process eight times, expanding our rectangular cave until it was room-sized. My game stone wouldn't accept any more rock after that, hinting at another underlying rule. It was full. But why?

Addy began severing and absorbing all of the trees surrounding the cave. He cut them at ground level, because the game stone only captured materials that were disconnected from the earth.

I set to shaping the cave's interior, using the rock I had stored to create walls. Per Addy's request, I used walls to create a short labyrinth at the entrance to the gave, complete with several dead ends. The goal was to slow down the enemy. We could take the correct path the first time, whereas they most likely wouldn't.

Beyond the maze was an open space, slightly bigger than my apartment bedroom. I cast a spray of dirt out of the game stone, giving us a softer floor.

When we were done, Addy released all of his gathered wood into a uniform mound and I absorbed it into my own stone. Transferring materials from inventory to another. He could have just given me his game stone, but we were still unsure whether that would mark him for elimination.

Priority two: Traps.

I expanded the labyrinth on the exterior of the labyrinth, using wooden walls and ceilings, while Addy set up traps within the labyrinth. Sure, we could collapse any portion of our base on the fly using the game stone, but Addy wanted to give us an extra kick.

Addy created squares of green plant fiber and mounted them to the ceiling at several points inside of the labyrinth. They drooped down in the middle, and Addy placed a pile of short black twigs in each of the hanging tarps.

He called the black twigs 'boomsticks'. During the business simulation, he had created an item using 4 fun and 6 practicality. It looked like an all-black lighter and pushing the trigger dispensed a three-centimeter-long stick. The boomsticks were seemingly infinite and would explode on impact.

The size of the explosion depended on the distance traveled, and they were positively correlated. Flick them a few meters and they would create a small, human-sized explosion. Chuck them the length of a football field and they could blow up a house.

Apparently, while Addy had been bored and alone on the space station, he had devised the brilliant idea of tossing a handful of boomsticks towards the earth. Oxygen deprivation had taken him before he could see the result. I hoped like hell that the sticks had burned up or detonated in the atmosphere.

Priority Three: Food.

We weren't sure how much time had passed since having lunch in the eerie cafeteria. We also didn't know how long we would be on this island, and whether we would be treated to another free meal. Neither of us was hungry - Addy had eaten two of the packaged meals on the space station, and I just wasn't - but eating would still serve to keep our energy levels up.

Besides birds, crabs, and insects, there wasn't much life on the island. Addy used the wand to carve a shallow hole in the earth. He collected worms from the exposed layers of dirt and deposited them in a stone jar, which he then sealed.

"You aren't going to... eat those, are you?" I asked, trying not to visualize Addy with a worm hanging out of his mouth, slurping-

Damnit.

"Of course not. They're for us to share," Addy explained, gleefully.

"You can't be serious. Are you sure that's even safe?"

"Hey, you put me on food-duty. This is what we're eating."

"I'll find my own food," I decided, "Better food than that."

Addy smiled from cheek to cheek, sunlight reflecting off of his glasses. He was comfortable here. In his element. And something was amusing him.

"Alec... You're so easy to fuck with." he said, dangling the stone jar in front of my face, " You always take the bait!"

"Bait? What do you mean?" I asked, not following.

"A play on words. I'm off to go fishing, honey," he said, giving me the wand, "Remember to recite the Delainy family motto before putting the kids to bed. 'Pride, honor, truth, and big money. Dominance is everything. When in doubt, beat one out.'"

I shivered involuntarily at the thought of Addy raising kids, "When will you be back?"

"Whenever I catch a fucking fish! Oh, and take one of these." His thumb clicked against the dispenser, producing a boomstick. He delicately placed it in my open palm, "Use it to signal if something happens."

"Smart," I said. I used the game stone to wrap the twig in a coil of plant fiber, and then stuck it in my pocket.

Addy sauntered off towards the beach.

Priority Four: Water.

The game stone didn't work on liquids, so Addy had filled a stone vase with ocean water and given it to me. It was my duty to boil it.

Inside the cave, I pointed the wand at the ceiling and carved a small circular hole. The light from the wand's outlines was dim but offered marginally more visibility in the already dark abode. Before pressing the red button, I backed away and ducked inside of the labyrinth.

A column of stone smashed against the floor, but instead of coming to pieces, most of the energy was dispelled in the form of noise. The echoing thump reverberated against the cave walls, loud enough that most of the island would probably hear.

Hopefully, Addy doesn't take that as a signal.

Next, I left my cover and touched the game stone to the pillar. I was surprised when light poured out of the shaft in the ceiling. The wand had apparently carved through to the top of the rock formation.

So it's based on either mass or volume.

I arranged wood into a cone shape under the chimney, then I produced smaller pieces of kindling and sprinkled them throughout the bonfire.

Now to light it.

But how?

All of my momentum ground to a halt.

Dumb. I was a fool. Why hadn't I thought ahead?

You can't get down on yourself for not having perfect insight. You're not a god, you're thoroughly out of your element, and you've had a shitty week.

I also didn't know how to start a fire. I wasn't even sure if rubbing rocks together would work, and I had no clue what flint looked like and where to find it.

The simplest solution was to use a boomstick. But I only had one, and I needed it in case Blaine or Brad attacked me. Unless I took apart one of Addy's traps...

But even if I got more boomsticks, Addy would come running to my aid if he heard one go off.

The size of the explosion is correlated to the distance traveled.

How big of an explosion would result from ten or so centimeters?

I committed to the idea. If I needed to signal Addy, I would trip one of his traps. In the meantime, my hands unwrapped the boomstick from my pocket, and I gingerly tossed it into the stack of wood.

The fireball was so small, I worried it wouldn't be enough. I quickly summoned more kindling.

It took some effort, but I eventually got the entire stack engulfed in flame. Smoke swirled through the room, masking some of the sunlight, and funneling out the chimney. I balanced the vase of saltwater on a flat piece of wood on the edge of the fire.

While the water boiled, I resumed constructing the outer section of our base. I felt like an artist, flourishing the wand and game stone, commanding wood and rock to take different shapes. There was no method to what I was actually constructing. Twisting wooden hallways that curved up and down and overlapped like strands of DNA. Underground tunnels lined in dirt and rock. A three-dimensional maze of pure chaos.

Addy would appreciate it. I returned inside to check on the water.

After giving the water some time to stop bubbling and to cool, I took a swig. It was unpleasant to drink, but it tasted safe.

Priority Five: Fire.

Unlike the first four, the last idea was mine. The art on the game stone seemed to imply that fire could be absorbed and stored, just like the trees and what I assumed were pebbles. If that was true, I had to know.

Unfortunately, the stone didn't absorb things unless I was making contact with it. I held the game stone up to the bonfire, and my confidence wavered.

If this didn't work, I would literally be putting my hand in contact with flame. Even from a pace away, the heat was enough to make me uncomfortable.

Even if it does work, I might still get burned. This is going to suck.

I would force myself. I steeled my nerves, and prepared to go against all of my primal instincts, which were shouting, "No! Fire hot!" I flinched the first time, and then jabbed an arm into the flame, discarding any hope of being precise.

"Fuck!" I gasped, recoiling and dropping the stone.

Shit!

I tossed my hand madly through the air, then punched it into the vase of water, letting it soak. The burning sensation didn't subside but eased.

Shit.

I grit my teeth.

And the game stone sat atop a pile of charred wood. All of the flames had been absorbed.

When the sting from the burn was mostly gone, I removed my arm from the drinking water and picked up the stone.

Okay, now how does this work?

My breath caught then, and I held it, freezing in place. Going silent. Far away, I heard the rumble of a motor.

My first thought was that a boat might be approaching the island. But then I parsed a second sound. The clipping of a machine gun? No, those were rotors. A helicopter.

The sound was crescendoing, getting louder as the helicopter drew nearer to the island, and-

I exploded into motion, throwing myself into the labyrinth, and cursing at myself for making it so extensive.

Can't let the helicopter fly past us. Need to alert the pilot that we're here. This is the exact kind of escape opportunity we need!

I emerged from the wooden walls of our headquarters. Stone and timber blurred and snaked around me, taking the shape of something I could sit and fly in without the worry of losing balance and falling to my death.

Hurry!

I would take to the air. Fly straight up and intercept the craft. I hoped I would make it in time. If-

The swirl of construction froze. I stopped assembling the aircraft, realizing too late that I wouldn't need it. There was no longer any point.

Displaced air rustled the trees and buffeted my clothing as a heavily equipped osprey touched down on the beach. Grey, loaded up with artillery, the likes I had never seen up close. Enough firepower to level multiple city blocks.

There was no point intercepting it.

Because they were here for us.