Choose (A Choose Your Own Story Adventure)

10. Leave With Night Watch

Mia takes a step towards the exit where Night Watch came from. Zander looks at her with a wave of emotions: surprise, disappointment, then understanding.

She smiles sadly at him. "No matter what the reason is, you've still done bad things, Zander. I'm sorry."

He nods. Night Watch motions for her to leave. She does as she's told. Mia turns away from Zander's disappointed expression and leaves.

Mia walks down a dim path. It's so dark that she can't see her hand in front of her face. She pulls out her phone and turns on the flashlight. A long tunnel stretches ahead of her. Her steps sound hollow against the dark cement. Mia shivers. This area is far scarier than any room that's in Zander's house.

She finally reaches a wooden ladder. Mia climbs up and slides open a trapdoor. The bright sun blinds her vision, causing her to squint. She looks at her surroundings. There seem to be miles upon miles of trees. Zander's house is nowhere to be seen.

Where is she? Mia starts to panic. Is she lost? How did Night Watch get here? He couldn't have just walked. Where did he come from?

The trap door opens. Mia jumps backward. A man with dark hair pokes his head out. Mia sighs. It's just Night Watch.

He climbs up and stands next to Mia. He smiles. "Alright, he's taken care of. I can take you home now."

The hero starts walking through the thick woods. Mia follows him, tripping on exposed roots and potholes. After a few minutes, they reach a white car. Night Watch unlocks the car and slips in. Mia sits in the passenger seat. After a minute, Night Watch reverses the car into a road and drives away.

It is silent in the car. Mia's looking out the window, feeling uneasy. She didn't expect the day to turn out as it had. She had a great time at Zander's house. It wasn't like what she had expected when she first went with him. It isn't a scary laboratory with experiments and a crazy evil sidekick. He's just...normal.

"What did you do to him?" she asks. She has been scared of asking the question. She doesn't really want to know, but, at the same time, she does.

Night Watch doesn't look at her. "Just had a quick chat. He doesn't intend to do anything for a while."

It grows silent in the car. Mia stares at the hero. He's driving so casually. He has one hand on the wheel and another resting on the rolled-down window. He acts like today's events are completely normal. Though it probably is for him.

It's normal for him to go to Zander's house. It's normal for the hero to have a "quick chat" with him and then go back home. To get the glory while Zander stays in the background. Mia can't help but feel a sort of resentment towards Night Watch.

"I want you to call the police and give them Zander's address," Mia says.

Night Watch's eyebrows raise. It's the first emotion he's conveyed during the entire car ride. "Why?"

Mia doesn't know why. Her confidence falters. "It's...the right thing to do. If you want to stop him from doing anything else, then this is how to do it."

It's clear that he doesn't want to. After a second, he pulls out his phone and dials 9-1-1. Mia looks away, tears welling up in her eyes. This doesn't mean that he'll go to jail. He's just going to be monitored by more reliable people than Night Watch.

After he makes the call, Mia asks to call Zander. Night Watch doesn't question it. The phone rings three times before he picks up.

"What do you want now?" Zander sounds tired.

"Hey, it's Mia."

"Oh." His voice changes. "Hey."

"I called the police," she says. She thinks it's better that he hears it from her than from sirens approaching his door.

"What?"

"It's better this way. You...you understand, right? All of this stuff you've done...if you want a break, this is it."

"Yeah." He's silent for a moment. "Visit me if I end up going to jail, okay? You're the only person who'd want to."

She promises that she will. When the phone call ends, she sets Night Watch's phone in the cupholder. Night Watch has an emotionless expression on his face. She can't tell how she feels about what she just did. But it feels right. The hero and villain battle will end and Zander can slowly live a normal life again.

Night Watch asks for her address. In a few minutes, they arrive at Mia's house. She gladly gets out.

She looks at the hero. "Um, thanks for your help."

"Any time," he says. The tension between them seems to have thinned. He gives her a flashy smile. "If you want to express your gratitude in the paper, that would be great. I'll see you around."

He reverses out of her driveway and speeds away, signaling the end of Mia's adventure. She watches as he leaves, a wave of exhaustion overwhelming her body. Only then does she realize how draining this day has been. When she goes inside, she heads straight to her bed and falls asleep.

***

"Wow," you say. "That was unexpected."

"Yes, and so were your decisions," Grace responds. "Mia was just supposed to go to work today, not intervene in a hero-villain situation."

You shrug. "Not like it was worth it. Why didn't I get a choice whether to call the police on Zander or not? That seemed like an important decision."

"I made it for you. You had already done enough."

You stare at the screen, offended and confused. Why is the computer so angry? You're just playing the game as it's presented. You were having fun, but now you just want to go back to your friend and get on with the tour. At least that made sense.

"Mia should sleep for the rest of the day," the A.I. says. "You can go now."

You don't want to get bossed around by a computer, but you also want an excuse to leave. You nod the computer a farewell and leave the room, hoping that you haven't missed too much of the tour.

Congratulations! You just got the A GOOD ENDING? ending! Go back to "1. Morning" to try again!

Ending: 10/18