Izzy nodded in response, still looking away. Haunt seemed nice enough, but she knew she wasn't the easiest or most fun person to talk to. He'd probably enjoy the game more if he found other people to -

Her thoughts were cut off by an invisible push to her gut. She doubled over in her seat, and stared at Haunt as he began to glow a light blue. She quickly looked at her hands to see that she was also glowing.

Before she could make sense of what was happening, she found her self in an unfamiliar square. She looked around frantically, feeling a panic attack begin to take hold of her. It seemed like every player in the game was packed into the square, all just as confused as she was.

A black cloud formed overhead, and with it a voice addressed the players. With every word the voice spoke, Izzy's panic attack grew. She frantically swiped at her menu, seeing that what the voice had said was true. There was no way to log out.

She realized with a start that she was having trouble breathing. The second unseen push, this time hitting her in the chest, made the problem worse.

This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be trapped in a life-or-death game. She couldn't be, she couldn't be, she couldn't be.

Her thoughts continued to spiral downwards, becoming incoherent even to herself. She stood doubled over, eyes wide and hands covering her mouth. She couldn't move, and people bumped into her from all sides.

Haunt had taken off, but Izzy didn't notice. The only things she noticed were the awful feelings that bounced around mercilessly inside her. She was going to die. Everyone around her was going to die.

A loud clang resounded throughout the square, audible over the thousands of voices. When she heard the noise, she felt it - the urge to run. To leave wherever she was.

So she did. Izzy turned on her heels and sprinted blindly. She didn't care that she had no idea where she was going. She didn't care that she was running into dozens of people. She just wanted to get as far away as possible. She gasped for air, but no matter how hard she tried, her breaths were quick and shallow. Blackness crept into the edges of her vision, and she felt herself begin to get dizzy. 

But she kept running.