There's nothing else.
Just mountains and snow and a single text box centered in the middle of the screen with a label above it that reads:
Access Code
I wait.
Nothing happens.
No pop-ups. No warnings. No instructions. Just mountains and an empty box and the sick feeling in my stomach that I've just done something monumentally stupid and there's no going back.
Ding.
The forum notification makes me jump.
Another message from AuctionAdmin_DarkDesires.
This one contains a single line of text: a string of twelve characters. Letters and numbers. No explanation.
The access code.
Obviously.
Because they're still holding my hand. Still walking me through this like I'm a child who can't figure anything out on her own.
You can't,whispers the part of my brain that sounds suspiciously like Derek.You're exactly as incompetent as you think you are.
I copy the access code.
Paste it into the text box.
My finger hovers over the enter key again.
Last chance. This is your last chance to stop being stupid.
I press enter.
The screen blinks.
For one horrible second I think it's going to go black again, that this whole thing is just an elaborate loop designed to fuck with me, to prove that I'm gullible, and desperate, and?—
A web portal loads.
It's simple. Clean. Almost clinical in its design. White background. Black text. No branding. No logos. Just a header at the top that reads:
Triple X-Mas Auction
Confidential Participant Agreement
Below that, a single line:
Logged in as: Access Code 847-SK-2847
Not my name.
Just a code.
Anonymous.
