-5 minutes after leaving-

The players are teleported back to where they were before they left. Blake and Rachel teleport back to their classrooms, Carly teleports back to her room, Lexi teleports to her classroom, and Chase is back in his office.

Blake puts his hand on his head and groans, "Ugh, I don't feel so good..."

Everyone in the class turns their heads, shock overtaking them.

The teacher's eyes widen, "Blake?? Is that you?"

"Yeah, of course it is, stop acting so weird. Anyways, can I go to the nurse?"

The teacher runs to the classroom phone to call administration, "Stay right there, Blake. Don't move like last time."

The teacher is on the phone with the principal, "Principal Smith, It's Blake. Blake is in my class! He's appeared out of nowhere! If he's back, then Rachel must be too. Check her class and send someone down here as well."

All the kids crowd around him, they keep asking questions.

"YOO, dude what happened to you?" one of the boys blurted out.

"We thought you were dead!" says one of the girls.

"Dead? What the hell are you guys on about?" says Blake.

The vice principal walks in. She goes directly to Blake.

"Blake, do you know what happened to you?"

"What are you talking about? It's September 10th, isn't it? You know, the same day Ms. Davids sent me out for sleeping in her class?"

The whole class widens their eyes, including the vice principal.

The vice principal softens her voice, "Blake... I need you to listen to me very carefully, ok?"

Blake looks even more confused, "Um... ok? What's going on?"

"It's November 17th. You have been missing for two months, along with six other people."

Blake pauses, trying to find the words he wants to say, "W-what? Excuse me?? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I can understand that you're confused, follow me, one of the people that went missing also attends this school. I'm gonna take you to her class, maybe seeing her will have your memories return."

Blake is defiant but still follows after her, "I don't know what you're talking about. I never went missing. When I see that girl that supposedly went 'missing' for two months, I won't know who she is."

"That may be true, but you never know."

Blake and the vice principal walk to the honors building to see the girl. They walk into her class. The principal is in her class as well.

"Hello principal Smith, I've brought Blake," says the vice principal.

"Good. Introduce him to Rachel."

The vice principal turns to Blake, "Blake, this is Rachel, do you recognize her?"

Blake and Rachel lock eyes for what seems to be the first time for them.

"Why do you look so familiar..?" says Rachel.

"I was thinking the same thing... you look so familiar, but I know that I've never seen you before."

"Exactly! Just who the hell are you?"

"Apparently we're two of the people that went missing at the same time. From what I've heard, there are five others but they aren't from our school."

"That's stupid," says Rachel, "Principal Smith, where are the other five people? Maybe if we gather everyone else and we all meet at the same time, it'll spark something and cause us to remember."

The principal nods his head and begins to leave the classroom, "I'll let you and Blake know."

-2 weeks after leaving-

"Will Blake Williams and Rachel Nguyen please report to the front office?" says Principal Smith.

As they both leave their classes they run into each other.

"Do you think they finally have info on the rest of the people that went missing at the same time as us?" says Blake.

"I'd hope so, it's been two weeks after us coming back and we haven't had any contact with them at all," says Rachel.

As they walk into the front office, the principal sits them down.

Principal Smith lets out a sigh, "We've found three more of the missing people. We assume that the other two are dead. The missing people that escaped alive will be coming over to the school in an hour. You'll get to talk to them then. You can wait here until they arrive."

"I see. Well, I'm excited to meet them," says Rachel.

"Me too, I wonder if the rest of them will look familiar," says Blake.

"If they do, that means something has to have happened to our memories, this can't be a coincidence," says Rachel.

"I agree."

They sit in the front office talking back and forth waiting for the other three people.

The principal comes back in, "Blake and Rachel, they're here. Stand up, please."

Rachel and Blake stand up straight, with nerves consuming their whole body. The three people walk through the doorway, one of them immediately running over to the two of them.

"Blake! Rachel! I can't believe it! You two did say you went to the same school but I just can't believe both of you are here!" says Lexi.

"I'm sorry, but who are you again? Do I know you?" says Blake.

"I agree with Blake, who are you?" says Rachel.

"Please excuse her," says Chase, "apparently she's the only one who has memories of when we went missing, she knows everything that went down."

"Blake, Rachel, do they look familiar to you?" says principal Smith.

"They do, but I know that I haven't seen them before, or at least, I don't remember it," says Rachel.

"I agree, no matter how hard I try to remember, I just can't remember talking with them," says Blake.

Principal Smith turns to Carly, "Carly, you haven't said anything, is everything ok?"

"Oh. I just don't feel too good. Ever since Lexi told me what she remembers, it all makes sense as to why I feel so upset."

"Carly, we don't know if what she's saying is true," says Chase.

"It is true! Why don't you believe me!?" says Lexi.

"Because there's no evidence, for all we know, you could be making this up," says Chase.

"Why in the world would I do that?? Besides, I could never come up with something like this, I have my limits," says Lexi.

"I don't know why, but I believe her. I don't think she's lying. If she was, when she saw me and Rachel, she wouldn't have reacted like how she did," says Blake.

"Precisely, she did the same for me and Chase. She was incredibly excited to see us. If she was lying, she wouldn't be doing this," says Carly.

"Lexi, can you please tell us what you remember?" says Rachel.

"Of course."

Lexi begins to explain the story, beginning to end. While she's telling what she remembers, looks of shock come from Rachel and Blake. They look scared, angry, and surprised all at the same time as Lexi explains.

-5 years after leaving-

"C'mon, Carly! Why won't you date someone already?" says Carly's friend.

"I don't think I can," says Carly.

"Oh come on! Don't tell me you're still hung up on that girl from when you went missing."

"I am. I don't remember much about her, but I still love her. If she died like Lexi said she did, I think I'm gonna be single for a while."

"Lexi was 10 when she said that, she could've been lying!"

"Why does everyone say that?! Just because she was 10 doesn't mean she's gonna lie about everything. Besides, her reactions when she saw all of us were not fake. I know it."

"Fine. What about Chase though? You guys are pretty close."

"Hell. No. Chase is my best friend. Besides, I don't even like men, you know that."

"So? You guys are pretty close, I think you could make it work."

Carly turns furious, "Excuse me? You know what, I'm done with your shit. You don't get to say something like that to me. Have a nice life."

Carly walks out of the café as her friend tries calling out after her.

-10 years later-

Blake flips through the tv channels and stops on something that catches his attention.

A man from the tv starts talking, "Here we are with the famous Lexi Miller, one of our youngest CEO's in the country! She's the CEO of Joseph's automobiles at just 20 years old!"

Blake looks proud, "I knew she could do it."

Lexi starts speaking through the tv, "Thank you, David. I've worked hard to get where I'm at now."

"Now I must ask, why did you name your company Joseph's automobiles? If it was me, I would've used my own name," says David.

"Well, you know how I went missing with six other people around 10 years ago. Joseph was one of them. He sadly died along with Ana. Joseph was kind of like our leader. He treated us amazingly and he wanted to be a CEO. He wanted to create a company based on cars. I named my company after him so I could honor him. Inside is a statue of Joseph, along with Ana to honor both of them, since they're no longer here with us."

"That's very admirable of you, Lexi. Remind me again, where are the rest of the survivors?" says David.

"I haven't seen them since last year when they came to my opening for the company. I remember them cheering so loud, I would love to see them again."

"I hope you come into contact with them soon, Lexi. Anyways that's all for today, folks, tune in next time to have an interview with the amazing detective Chase."

Blake shuts off the TV and just sits there for a bit, thinking.

He picks up his phone and dials a number, it rings for a bit. She picks up, "Hello?"

"Hi, Lexi. It's me, Blake. All of us should meet up, I'd love to talk with you guys again."

"Of course! Where do you think we should go?"

"I've been dying to go to Antonio's recently, do you know where that is?"

Lexi lets out a laugh, "Of course I do, I live in the same area as you do, Blake. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do! Im just making sure," says Blake as he returns a laugh, "does 7pm work for you?"

"Yeah, that sounds good! I'll let everyone know."

"Alright! I'm excited to see you and everyone else, I'll see you soon."

"Me too. I'll see you soon, Blake," Lexi hangs up the phone.

-Switch to Leo and Anthony-

"So we're done now?" says Anthony.

"Yeah. I've made you suffer enough, besides, this is getting boring. I promise I won't hurt your family," says Leo.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Leo. I'm glad you've got a little bit of good in you."

"I think you misinterpreted me, Anthony. It's not that I had a change of heart, it's just that I'm bored of this game. I have better plans now."

Anthony's expression turns from a smile to a concerned look, "What do you mean by that..?"

"That is none of your business unless you want me to threaten your family again?"

"Nevermind, I won't ask, I apologize, Leo."

"Good. Now then, get out of my sight. I don't wanna see you ever again."

"Yes, sir."

-Back to Lexi and the others-

Lexi is the first one to show up at the restaurant. Way too many people recognize her and people left and right keep asking for a photo with her. As she's taking photos, Blake comes in.

"Lexi!" says Blake.

Lexi waves goodbye to her fans and runs over to Blake, "Blake! It's good to see you!" She hugs him.

He returns the hug, "Are the rest of them here?"

"We're the first people to arrive. I've told everyone else but I'm not sure if Chase is coming."

"How come?"

"I called him while he was at work, he sounded really busy."

"Oh, well, that's-" Mid-sentence, Blake stops and realizes someone is right behind Lexi, trying to surprise her.

Blake starts a new sentence, "Never say never, Lexi."

"Huh?"

Chase announces himself and ends up scaring Lexi, "Chase! Don't do that!" She hugs him.

"I'm sorry kid, I thought it'd be funny. Besides, work can wait for later."

Lexi almost tears up, "I'm glad."

"Alright! Where are Carly and Rachel?" says Chase.

Blake hears his phone ding and he checks it, "Rachel just texted me, she said that she and Carly ran into each other, so they're walking together. They should be here soon."

"I'm glad you two were able to stay such good friends, especially after what she did in the games," says Lexi.

"Me too. Behind the competitiveness, she's a good person. Besides, she couldn't control it," says Blake.

Carly announces her and Rachel, "We're here! Let's go inside, I'm starving!"

During dinner, they bring up the unfortunate event from ten years ago.

"I can't believe that it's actually been ten years. It feels like yesterday from when the vice principal told me I had been missing for two months," says Blake.

"I know, right? It feels weird," says Rachel.

"I wasn't even able to tell I had been missing until I left my house. I swear, it felt so unreal," says Carly.

Chase starts laughing, "I was able to tell right away, apparently my team had trouble figuring out the cases that were usually assigned to me while I was gone."

Lexi sighs, "It's not the same as it was."

"Isn't that a good thing?" says Blake.

"Well yeah, I'm glad we aren't in the games anymore. But, I miss Ana and Joseph. I know you guys only know them because of what I've told you but they were both amazing. Carly, I'm sure you knew how amazing Ana was, even without remembering," says Lexi.

"You're right, Ana helped me so much, even if I don't remember it," says Carly, "and Joseph sounds like a good man. He sacrificed himself for you without even thinking about it. Despite his plans and how much work he did dedicated towards it, he threw them all out the window for you."

"He was a good man. A great man, even. I'm proud to have my company named after him," says Lexi.

"Hold on, let's not forget about Ana now. Maybe Ana wasn't our leader in the game, but from what I heard, she was incredibly smart. I'm sure she could've helped you become a CEO even younger, Lexi," says Chase.

"Don't worry, I could never forget her. We could never forget her. She's just as amazing as Joseph, she and Joseph will always be with us," says Carly.

"I agree. Even though I don't remember them, I miss them. Is that weird?" says Rachel.

"Not at all, I feel the same way," says Blake.

"I'm sure we all do," says Chase, "Let's do a toast, for Ana and Joseph."

"I love that idea," says Carly.

They all pick up their glasses, and they clink them together, "To Ana and Joseph!" they all say simultaneously.

-THE END-

Thank you all for reading! I had a lot of fun with this story. It's been a long journey. It took me a year to write this story, which is more time than I expected, I thought I would finish in around 6 months, but clearly not. I plan on starting a new story, but that won't be coming for a while. I'll you all know when it does come! :)

-Elena