As I lay on my couch, doing my best to fall asleep after another frustratingly long day of admin work, a shadow fell over me. I could see it, even through my eyelids, slowly swaying back and forth, occasionally blocking the overhead light as it stood over me.

  “Issi…” I started

  “Yes? Hello! Are you awake already, Evie?” the little girl replied. I opened my eyes and found the tot leaning over the back of the couch, watching me.

  “Issi, I’ve only been home for like half an hour. I haven’t had a chance to fall asleep yet,” I grumbled.

  “Good! When I heard you were home, I wanted to play, but Jane told me not to wake you, so I was being very quiet while I waited,” the tot declared proudly. I slowly sat up and stared at her as she stood there, smiling.

  I narrowed my eyes. “How did you get up there anyways?”

  “I’m standing on a chair. I brought it all the way over from the table myself so I could check on you!” Issi replied before turning away and hopping down. I heard a muffled thump followed by frenzied footsteps as she hurried around to the front of the couch.

  “Are you done playing government yet? It seems like you’re always out of the house, and since Jane and Jeni are busy with their school things, I don’t have anyone to play with,” the girl asked as she slid around the corner of the sofa and stared me in the face.

  “What about Eddie? Isn’t he around?”

  “He’s a butt! Every time I ask him to play, he just wants to read his books to me. It’s boring!” Issi moaned.

  “Well, I’m sorry that I haven’t been around lately,” I said, gently patting her on the head, “but what I’m doing is important. And, to be honest, I don’t really want to be doing it either.”

  Issi looked at me strangely. “Then why are you doing it?”

  “Being an adult means that sometimes you have to be responsible and do things you don’t want to,” I grumbled.

  “Bleh! I’m never going to grow up,” Issi declared before skipping a few feet away and turning towards me again, a bright smile on her face. “So, since you’re awake and not working, can we play for a little while?”

  “I guess, for a little while anyways. It’s not like I have to be up in like another five or six hours.” I mumbled that last part under my breath as I lurched to my feet. “Haven’t you been meeting kids your own age in school? Why don’t you play with them?”

  “They either need to go home and work or are afraid of the bears that follow me around,” Issi stuck her lip out in an adorable pout. “Can’t you ask them to stop following me when I go out?”

  “Absolutely not! They’re there for your protection,” I immediately replied. “Maybe I can pull back the security one day, when the area’s a little safer, but that won’t be anytime soon. I’m sorry your friends are afraid of the bots, but you’re not going out without them.”

  The little girl looked crestfallen, but I ignored her pleading eyes and stayed strong. “So, what did you want to play today?”

  “Chessers,” Issi declared, before putting on her best serious face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sir Froggington step out of the hallway, a small tower of interlocking, stacking trays in his hands. The girl hurried to the table, sitting dead center on the far side, while she waited.

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  I slowly followed, sitting opposite of her, waiting as the frog carefully unstacked the trays and placed them between us, one by one. Each one was filled with dozens of different little figures. Some had samurai, others army men, and a couple still had antithesis. I just stared at them blankly.

  “I was kind of expecting chess pieces,” I said quietly. “And where’s the board?”

  “Boards are boring! Each piece moves a certain distance, and there are rulers in each box!” Issi declared as she grabbed the tray, which seemed to contain a dozen or so bear figures, along with a tiny version of me. “You have to choose one too!”

  Sir Froggington slipped up next to me and placed a chip down on the table next to me. “You might want this. I considered printing the rules out, but they changed so much that I figured having a dynamic version was better.”

  “You’re not filling me with confidence,” I muttered under my breath as I slipped the chip into the socket on my neck. Pulling up the file, I found a nearly incomprehensible text document containing different rules for nearly every piece. Just scrolling through the document was giving me a headache.

  Isabelle leaned forward and tapped the table in front of the other trays. “You need to choose one! I recommend either Sharron and Nora, or the Squirrels. They’re my favorites.”

  Inspecting the trays further, I found that one tray did in fact contain small versions of Sharron and Nora, along with a handful of other samurai. The second tray that Issi had pointed to contained Angeline, along with about a hundred squirrels. I decided to take the smaller tray.

  Following Issi’s example, I pulled the figures out of the box and set them out in a rough line in front of me. When I picked up the Humboldt piece, I brought it up close to my face so I could look at the details. The little figure was light but was extremely detailed.

  “Where did you get these from?” I asked suspiciously.

  “Mr. Froggington made them in the garage machines,” Issi replied without looking up.

  I shot a suspicious look at the robotic frog, who stepped away from me. “With Nyx’s permission, of course.”

  Isabelle dug into another tray and pulled out a couple of tiny model buildings and cars, then scattered them around the table before sitting down and staring at me expectantly.

  “Now what?” I asked.

  “Now, we fight!” Issi declared, pulling out a ruler and moving her pieces around.

  “Nyx…”

  I’ve reviewed the rules and can walk you through it. It’s fascinating. Somehow your younger sibling has managed to transform chess into a pseudo miniature wargame.

  “I have no idea what that is,” I whispered under my breath.

  That’s not surprising; most of them disappeared after the incursions began. Turns out, tiny plastic toys weren’t priority cargo in the early days, and many companies couldn’t survive with local sales. It’s a very niche thing these days.

  You are definitely going to lose, by the way.

  “Rude, I spend a large part of my days ordering bears around. I have some knowledge of tactics,” I hissed.

  Oh, it’s not that. Isabelle has no idea how to balance things, and both you and Bob are practically invincible. Sharron and Nora are also extremely overpowered compared to the other units, just not as much.

  “I see… I don’t know if I should be pleased or annoyed.”

  You should start moving your units. Isabelle is waiting for you. I’ll display the movement and other relevant stats above each piece as you play to make things easier for you.

  I glanced up at Issi, who had completed her movement and was staring at me expectantly. I smiled at her nervously and looked down at the pieces.

  Are you ready?

  “Not even a little bit,” I whined, looking at the array of numbers in front of me.

  Good, then let’s begin.

  I think I melted my brain trying to wrap it around all the strange rules and stats, and before I fully grasped it all, Issi had completely overrun most of my forces. I was down to just Shannon and Nora, trying to figure a way out, when I heard a voice from behind me.

  “Issi, did you wake Evelyn up to play your game? I asked you not to do that,” Jane sighed from the hallway.

  “I didn’t wake her up! She was already awake,” Isabelle replied happily.

  “Yet she played an entire round of Chessers with you? How long did she sleep?”

  “I haven’t yet,” I groaned. “I got sucked in figuring I could play with Issi for a little while, then still get a decent sleep. I didn’t realize it would take so long.”

  Jane sighed. “Go to bed already! I know you like to spend time with the kids, but you need your sleep or you’re not going to be able to function tomorrow.”

  “But the game isn’t over yet,” I whined.

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake! You have like three hours until you have to leave. If it’s that important to you, take a picture and set it up again later,” Jane said as she strode past me, heading for the kitchen.

  I felt a small hand pat me on the head, and when I turned, Isabelle was there. “Don’t worry, Evie, we can play more later. Take care of yourself!”

  I stared at her blankly. “I’m supposed to be the adult here,” I whined, “not you.”

  “Then start acting like it, bed!” Jane called from the kitchen. I pouted but did as I was told. Tomorrow was another day after all, and I vowed that the next time Issi and I played, I would win.

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