It starts in an alley.

 

It starts with four girls and a video game.

 

It ends with three girls and a video game and a blood-stained cobblestone.

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Evie and her friends are obsessed with the video-game world of The King, a frighteningly tall, spider-like man. They play every night over the course of one summer, gathering watchful eyes of parents or guardians, or so they think.

 

We watch the girls play, and it becomes clear that, for Evie, the line between reality and gameplay has started to blur. The King begins to ask things of her, and she does them, believing she will be rewarded for her loyalty. When it turns out they haven’t been alone after all, a story that begins with tween-girl hijinks quickly devolves into something sinister, as the girls learn the truth about the darkness behind winning the game and the reality of the world around them.