CHAPTER 163

On her next victory, she had blinded War at the beginning of the round and then hid deep in the mountains. Next round, she blinded him again, then had him captured and took his legs. She made him squirm, crawl, and roll across entire countries looking for her while she taunted him with nursery rhymes when he got close. The Earth was now spinning so fast during each turn that Murray declared he was having to reset geological events just to prevent game issues due to continental drift.

"How long has it been?" Beth finally asked Murray before the next round could start. He opened his mouth to reply, and she quickly added "Inside the game, down on the virtual Earth."

"Eons," he replied as War reappeared.

The horseman only lasted a couple more rounds before he finally broke apart. Heavy muscles sagged as he dropped his sword to the ground and wept.

"I can't go on any longer," he cried. "I don't even remember what killing feels like. I'm just so numb, that I...that I..."

Aw, c'mon, mister. Jenny rocked her horse violently, making it scoot closer to War. This is the most fun I've had in years!

"Stay away from me!" He backed away from Jenny and hid behind Murray. "She's done things to me! You've seen it, you even told me it was getting hard to rebuild me!"

"Rest assured that each round is only—"

"I don't care!" War yanked on Murray's robes, causing the man's head to snap back and forth. "I quit! I quit! Please, send me back!"

Quitterquitterquitterquitter...

Beth felt light-headed, as if she was falling, and then the world beneath them was flattened like a giant ball of clay, turning into a map. A golden fire rolled across it, destroying all of War's remaining troops. The scene dramatically transitioned again, and now she was staring at the game board proper.

"We're back," she whispered.

"Agh!" War looked over at Jenny and fell backward out of his chair. Screaming, he ran away from them and out into the surrounding mists, leaving his massive sword behind.

"And with this, I conclude our mediation." Murray clapped his hands together. The pieces of the board game floated neatly back into the box, and then the box slid toward Beth.

"Good game," she told Famine and Pestilence.

"Fuck you," Famine replied, then stood and stormed off. Pestilence stayed behind only to slump forward with their face in their hands.

Beth's initial reaction was to feel bad. Despite how they had treated her, she knew well the effect of Jenny's in-game wrath. They had received it on a scale she couldn't possibly fathom.

"Fuck those guys," she muttered. With a deep breath to steady herself, she turned away from the table.

"It was very boring to watch." Death held out Tick Tock. "Though you did make my brother cry during one of the last rounds. That was amusing."

"It was far more interesting from our point of view. Especially when we were winning." She took Tick Tock, then stuffed the Risk game inside. Reggie hopped down from his seat as Beth took Jenny in her arms. The doll's laughter filled her head, and she chuckled.

"You did good," she told Jenny. "We couldn't have won without you."

That's because I'm the house champion, Jenny declared. They didn't know what hit them.

"Let's talk about it later," she muttered, then looked up at Murray. The angel was trying to smile in her direction, but had opened his mouth into a comically wide grimace.

"So you're taking them back?" she asked. "We're done, everything goes back to the way it was?"

"Almost." Murray stared at Death for a moment. "I will have to dismiss the horsemen first before returning you to your realm. Since they have wandered off, it may take me some time to find them. But I must warn you that there will be consequences to your actions."

Beth narrowed her eyes. "Why the fuck should we have to suffer consequences?"

Murray held up his hands. "Peace, child. These are natural consequences, and this one cannot be avoided. I fear that the horsemen have been permanently damaged by your actions here."

"We're not paying for their therapy," Reggie declared.

"The horsemen of the Apocalypse are physical manifestations of an idea or construct. They aren't people like you or..." Murray looked at Reggie, then Jenny, then back to Beth. "Or other humans," he finished. "Death is the exception, for he is merely the cessation of life. The others have been intricately woven into your society. Upon our return, the idea of Pestilence, War, and Famine will have shifted. I cannot promise that it will be for better or for worse."

"Then I demand compensation," Beth declared. "For all of mankind."

"Denied." Murray licked his teeth, then his lips. "Though you were the victors of your game, your actions while playing were based solidly on free will. My job here was never to fix your mistakes, but to investigate a complaint."

"Who complained? In a court of law, you are entitled to face your accuser."

"The complaint wasn't filed in a court of law. Rather, I chose to indulge you before for the sake of the Father and His divine will."

His divine will can suck a...

Beth covered Jenny's mouth, knowing it would do no good. Luckily, Jenny took the hint.

"Are you going to do that hideous screaming thing again?" she asked.

Murray nodded.

"If you need us, we'll be inside." She turned away from the angel and walked toward the house. The mist swirled around her ankles until she made it onto the steps. Death rushed ahead of her to open the door, and they all walked inside.

Death closed the door behind them and locked it.

"Oh my god, we fucking did it!" Beth let out a whoop of delight, then knelt down to high-five Reggie. The rat king did a little dance on the floor, then tossed his crown into the air before catching it.