“Oh, yeah. That was way too much fun,” Hawk replied, his brown eyes bright.
Gemma grinned softly, somewhat disappointed that she’d missed out on the excitement. But at least they had passed. That was most important. She was still one step closer to fulfilling her mission.
Gemma’s heart skipped a beat.Hadthey passed? The android hadn’t yet said anything, and there was someone who hadn’t gotten out of their sleep chamber yet.
Alfie.
Gemma rushed to his coffin.Please be here. Please be alive.
Alfie lay inside, his hands over his eyes, his chest rising and falling as he sobbed. She rocked back onto her heels, pressing a hand to her stomach.
He’d made it.
“Congratulations,” the android said. “Your team has successfully completed your first simulated trial. Please exit the room and proceed back to the cafeteria for lunch.”
For lunch?They’d been gone for at least twelve hours. The moon was out when they’d been sucked back to reality.
Gemma stared at the simulator and narrowed her gaze. Had they really only been in there for a short period of time?
“I don’t understand.” Hawk frowned, pointing to the machine with his thumb. “How long were we actually in that thing?”
The android replied, “You were in the simulator for five hours. It is typical to feel confusion upon your return.”
Confusion was a good word for it.
“You all right?” Christian asked Alfie after he’d climbed out of his chamber.
“Yeah,” he managed to get out between shaky breaths. “That was just too real.”
Colton snorted. “You can say that again.”
“Yeah, Imara accidentally kneed me in the groin, and I swear I can still feel it,” Hawk said.
“Who says it was an accident?” she quipped back, her eyes mischievous and her grin playful.
Hawk pushed her toward the door. “I will get you back. Just wait.”
“I’d like to see you try.” Imara sauntered into the hall, with Hawk on her heels.
Gemma shook her head as she and the rest of her team followed closely behind.
Their group had been quiet throughout lunch, not for any reason other than they were completely exhausted. The twelve—five, technically—hours they’d spent in the simulator had felt so real that their actual bodies were sore and tired, and yet it was only midday.
Which meant there was likely another round in store for them.
Hawk had seemed upset to find they weren’t the first group to complete the exercise, but at least they hadn’t been cut. It was almost unfair that one person could ruin the chances for five others.
This fact, though, did pose major problems for Gemma. She’d already been worried about possibly slipping up and voicing her allegiance to the Dissent in front of Christian or Imara, and now she had Hawk and Colton to worry about too. If any of them learned of her true intent for being in the Trials, it would all be over.
And she would be dead.
Several other teams trickled into the cafeteria as they waited for next steps to be revealed. Gemma tried to count how many people were left. Though she didn’t have an exact number, they had to be around one hundred. So many contestants had already been disqualified and sent back to Perileos, and the first week had only begun.
Colton was asleep and drooling on the table by the time the Kaizen entered the cafeteria, her lieutenants right behind her. The boom of the doors slamming open shot him up in his seat. Imara burst out laughing.
“So, how’d it feel to kill some people?” the Kaizen announced.
Gemma ground her teeth. She was lucky they hadn’t been real human beings, or Gemma may have found it really easy to killher.
