15

Kai felt the cold floor on his cheek.

He was dimly aware of being back in the small room. The walls were moving, growing taller. No wait. The floor of the chamber was dropping. It came to rest with a jolt.

One of the walls was gone. He blinked against the brightness of the light that flooded the room from the missing wall. Part of him wanted nothing more than to just stay on the floor. But if the floor moved and trapped him again...

He couldn’t chance it. The cold sweat beaded his forehead and made up his mind. Move while the doorway was an option.

He walked out into an open stone courtyard under a dome of pale blue sky and found Zap, sniffing his armpits. He was dressed in the same beige jumpsuit contraption that Kai wore, but he also had slip-on sandals, whereas Kai was barefoot once again.

“Hey, man. How weird was that?” Zap wouldn’t meet his eyes.

Kai felt a surge of anger at what he’d been through, followed fast by an overwhelming sense of shame. He shoved it all deep. “I like your clothes.”

“Shut up.” Zap laughed. The tension eased. “You look pretty good yourself. It’s just so you, darling.”

“Shut up yourself. Have you seen Ruaan?”

Zap turned and pointed. The wall behind them stretched off in both directions, fitting in ten doorways identical to the ones they’d stepped out of. Only one of the doors remained shut.

Could it be the one holding Ruaan?

“Do you think he’s OK?”

Kai shrugged. “We can hope.”

“Why are there no people?”

“Maybe they’ve been eaten, and we’re next.”

“Um, what?”

“I’m just kidding. Listen. There’s something that’s been bothering me. Why aren’t you freaked out by all this? You and Ruaan seem to be taking it all so well. I’m used to it from my accident, but you guys?”

Zap seemed relieved not to be on some big creature’s menu. “Affinity training. We lived in simulations all the time. This is completely normal. I mean, each simulation was different, some weirder than this even. I suppose it’s all just what you’re used to.”

“I guess so.” Kai walked to the door. He hoped Ruaan was somewhere behind it. Sitting down, he faced the door.

Zap paced, restless. “So, what now?”

“We wait for Ruaan, and then we decide what.”

“Do you think they’ve fed him?”

“Probably not.” Kai couldn’t shake the shame from what he’d seen in the chamber. It had sunk into his bones, written itself into his DNA. Where are you, Tau? He hauled out the bottle of light from around his neck, grateful it hadn’t been incinerated with his clothes. Even though the courtyard was lit from the stones, the pendant pulsed with light. Kai folded his hands around it, wishing he could see Tau one more time. Until Runt found a way to stop the dark Affinity enhancer being pumped throughout the OS, who knew how long they’d be cut off from all things good.

Ruaan’s floor landed without warning. He stormed out, looking as though he’d swallowed a thundercloud, and it had given him indigestion. “Whose stupid idea was it to come to this place?” He towered over Kai with his fists lifted and ready.

Zap stepped in and grabbed his wrists. “Calm down, man. It sucked for me, too.”

Ruaan’s nostrils flared. “What are you talking about? You know nothing.”

“Gentlemen, please join us for replenishing.” As quiet as a spider, a girl their age had padded in on silent feet and stood waiting for their attention. She was dressed in the same beige outfit as they were, and her red hair was drawn back in ponytail. Her features were plain, but her skin was pale and flawless, even though she wasn’t wearing a scrap of makeup.

Kai got to his feet, keeping a wary eye on Ruaan.

Ruaan faced the girl with his fists still waving.

The girl handed Kai a pair of shoes.

Zap stepped between Ruaan and the girl. “Excuse me, but what is replenishing, and does it involve food?”

The girl laughed and instantly looked prettier. “It does, indeed. Follow me, please.”

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.