Never World

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Summary

Tess Galvin, a young teen dealing with the loss of her right hand, finds salvation in a virtual reality video game competition that allows her to experience the world in a way she hasn’t in years. The Dark Hand died on a Tuesday and on that day, everything in Never World changed. When Tess is caught stealing, she's approached by a mysterious man known as The Creator. He offers her the chance to compete against nine other contestants on a brand new reality show, where the prize money would solve all her problems. Desperate to help her sick father and drag herself out of poverty, Tess realizes the game is her only option. However, Tess learns there’s something more sinister going on in Never World and she quickly discovers her life is on the line. Tess is convinced that she has no choice but to compete on the reality show or else she’ll end up in jail and unable to protect her father. After meeting Nate, a contestant who is on the brink of death due to health issues, she is inspired to do well in the competition and push herself to the end. There’s also something about Nate and another contestant, Scott, that intrigues her to find out more. With little help from anyone inside the game, Tess must fend for herself and try to figure out what dark secrets Never World, The Creator, and The Dark Hand hold.

Status
Complete
Chapters
35
Rating
4.0 1 review
Age Rating
16+

Chapter 1

The Dark Hand died on a Tuesday. They found his body in an alleyway on top of a pile of garbage and water-logged newspapers. It was a strange way for one of the most famous terrorists in the world to go down, but that was how it happened. He had smeared TRAITORS on the brown brick wall in his own blood. Tess Galvin knew because she was one of the first people to see him dead.

Tess was sitting in the school planetarium that overlooked the alleyway where they would find The Dark Hand. Despite not being a student, it was one of her favorite places to sneak into. It was peaceful.

The stars were projected all over the ceiling and walls, but some of them floated in front of her eyes. She could reach out and touch them, hold them in her hand, and push them aside as she walked through the large classroom.

Everything in the room buzzed off, leaving Tess in total darkness for a moment, when news about The Dark Hand broke. The projection screen switched over to the national news channel and focused on a couple tense reporters. Tess, however, went to the window when she spotted the flashing lights. She slid open the glass and peered down from six floors up. There were tons of police officers and detectives surrounding a sprawled out body in the alleyway. Flashlights illuminated another message written in red.

END IT.

A cop peered up toward the window Tess stood at, so she started backing up slowly. She had to go, but the news story caught her attention.

National terrorist known as The Dark Hand was just found dead tonight in an Alleyway near the rail yard. Officials believe he was murdered by those working with him. It seems as though the underground movement has been stopped.

Tess took one look back toward the window before hurrying out of the room. Her black boots echoed loudly on the hard wooden floor.

That wasn’t the first time Tess had seen The Dark Hand.

The last time she had seen him he was alive.