Professor Remo met everyone's gazes and reassured them, "Stop scaring yourselves. What Oli said was only speculation. Besides, dying in the Dreamscape doesn't necessarily mean anything."
Joey glanced casually at Professor Remo, then silently lowered his head. Professor, things aren't that simple.
He considered how he could warn everyone that dying would harm their bodies in the real world without exposing himself.
The nine of them sat around the table, with the painting lying on top.
Suddenly, with a strange click, the entire hall plunged into darkness. Panic spread in an instant.
"What happened? Are you still there?"
Joey heard a woman's voice filled with terror.
The voice surprised him. It was understandable for a girl to be timid, but he hadn't expected it to come from this particular person.
Annie Bullock.
Someone he never would have expected.
"Don't panic. It's probably an electrical fault. Nobody move. I'll check the Electrical Panel."
With that, Joey left his seat and found the Electrical Panel from memory.
He flipped the tripped breaker back on, and the dark room instantly lit up.
Before Joey could enjoy even a few seconds of relief, a piercing scream rang out.
He hurried back and saw a row of bloodless faces, all staring in the same direction.
Joey followed their gazes. Someone lay slumped there, his head resting on the table.
"Anderson?" Joey looked at the others in confusion. "What happened?"
Margaret sat closest to Anderson and had been the first to notice something wrong. "I don't know. I stayed in my seat after the lights went out. When they came back on, I realized... Anderson... was dead."
As a doctor, she quickly determined that Anderson had died of cardiac arrest.
"It's just a dead person. What's all the fuss about? Weren't you acting tough earlier?" Chris