Your POV:
I sit outside on a bench and try to process everything that has happened, on the roof we also have a view of the IOI building. because the large building of IOI is also much larger than all other buildings and houses it was almost impossible not to see.
"That's IOI. So the stacks are over there? We've been living this close to each other the whole time?" Wade asked as he walked outside
"Next door, around the world, it's... it's all the same in the OASIS." I said and walked to the railing and looked towards IOI
"For the record, um...I'm not disappointed. You said I... I would be disappointed when I met you, but...I'm not." he said
"I've lived with it my whole life. You don't have to pretend." i said to him and walked away. I sat back on the bench and Wade sat down next to me.
"Then why should I be disappointed?" he asked."because it's been like this all my life. My parents also left because I didn't live up to their expectations," I explained.
"but like I said, I'm not disappointed." Wade said, gripping my chin making me look at him.
"Z, if I hurt you, I'm... I'm sorry." I said
"No, it's...Wait, did... did you just call me "Z?" He said and a grin appeared on his face
"Oh, my God. Did I?" I said and started laughing when i realized i did call him that.
"I think you did."
"Wade, I'm sorry." i apologies
"Yeah, Wade, Z. You can call me whatever you want. And I'll call you (N/N). he said
"No." i said
"Uh, (Y/N)?" he asked and i nodded
"Okay. Cool."
"It's so much slower here. I mean, the wind, the people...Everything." Wade said
"We forget what it's like to be outside." i said and started looking at the view infront of us
"Yeah."
Wade closed his eyes and began to lean in. I did the same until I suddenly realized what the 2nd clue meant. I jumped up from the bench and Wade looked at me.
"Oh, shit!" i yelled and Wade looked at me confused
"I just figured it out." I said and started walking back inside
"Figured what out?" He asked as he followed me
"The second clue. I know what it means." i said and Samantha walked towards us with an confused expression on her face.
"We've been thinking about it too literally. "The leap not taken," the leap Halliday didn't take, is with Kira." I explained
"Yeah, but... I mean, he blamed her for breaking up him and Morrow." Wade said
"No. Halliday was madly in love with her." Samantha said to us and i nodded before continuing "He had a chance with Kira. He had a chance to kiss her, but..." "He didn't take the leap. Wade finished after me
"Right. So that's where we go next." I said and started looking for my headset.
"The place where the leap wasn't taken." Wade said.
"Where the date was." Samantha said.
"At the movies."
*************
when we logged in we immediately called the others to come too. when the rest came we ran to the curator, who can take us to the movie where the challenge was.
"Hey, Curator."
"We figured out the second clue. The challenge is here." I said
"Halliday kept track of every movie he ever watched, the week and the year he watched it, and how many times." Z explained
"Curator, can we see November 23 to 27, 2025?" Z asked the curater as he showed the movies halliday had watched that week.
"Okay, so our options for that week are The Fly remake." I said as i started walking around looking at the different options
"Great flick, terrible date movie." Arty said
"Say Anything... That would make sense." i said
"We gotta remember the clue. "A creator who hates his own creation." Z said and continued looking at the movies
"The Shining! It's Halliday's 11th favorite horror film, and it's based on the best-selling book by Stephen King, who hated the movie!" Z explained
"Hey! No side chitchat." Aech said to us
"I think we found it." Z said and handed the movie to the curater.
"Are you absolutely sure you want to go here?" Curater ask us
"Absolutely positive."
"Let's hope you have the belly for it." curater said and the platform we were standing on started to move down and the movie theaters appeared before us. when it hit the ground it stopped and we all ran inside. once inside we walked to a table where a stack of papers with pictures of keys were depicted.
"Look." Daito said
"Ticking clock."
"Okay, so I'm estimating about five minutes to find the key." Arty said
"Yeah, there are so many keys The Shining, though. Where do we start?" I said
"Okay, so we got the key from room 237, the keys to the Snowcat, or the keys they give Jack at the beginning of the movie." Z said
"Well, if it's "the leap not taken," maybe the key isn't a key at all." I explained
"I say we split up."
We get all the keys and then we meet back at the Torrances' apartment." Z said
we all split up to find the keys ASAP. eventually i ran into daito and sho who got the key to room 237. the 3 of us ran back and found the rest.
"We got the key."
"Sweet! To room 237!" Z said and we started running again
"We ain't got no business goin' to room 237! We should stay out! Plus, there was this crazy, naked zombie lady in there." Aech said
"There are no zombies The Shining." Z said to him
"Well, maybe it's not supposed to be like the movie." I said
"Kira is the key. You're the one who said it."
"Hey, y'all. I saw a picture of Kira!" Aech said
we stopped but Aech couldn't stop in time and ran into us causing us all to fall to the ground
"Where?" Arty said
we all got up and Aech lead us to the picture
"It's Kira. "Escape your past." Arty said
"The leap not taken. Halliday's greatest fear wasn't The Shining or any book or movie. His biggest fear was kissing a girl. That's the leap he couldn't take." i said
soft music was playing close to us. when we looked around we saw that a new room had appeared next to us.we all walked there together. Only Z had to literally drag Aech inside. i silently chuckled at that
"That's her. That's Kira." Arty said
"None of this is in The Shining." Z said
"Z, look. That's the zombie-circle level in Mayhem Mansion, one of Halliday's first games. The whole Shining trivia is just a diversion." I explained
"One minute left." Daito said
"How do we get to her?" Z said
"Take the leap." I said and jumped on one of the zombies. I looked back, but saw that the others were gone. I continued jumping to get closer to kira. but everytime I almost reached her the zombie I was on moved away again. After a few tries I finally reached her and we landed on a small floating platform.
"Care to dance?" I said to her
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to ask?"she replied and everything started to crumble and Halliday appeared.
"Well, well, well. So you found my Jade Key. Imagine that." he held up his hand and the key appeared.
"Thank you." I said and started walking away, jumping on the smaller platforms that appeared. I took the clue and walked back outside.
**************
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. please vote and comment. 😊