They'd been sleeping peacefully for almost two rotations.Three had died during that time because their cryopods failed.I thought the game makers had forgotten about them, but no, they'd simply been biding their time.
Five females had been chosen as the first victims.I compared their identification numbers in the system to the files I'd created on every single female.I'd started with a file on my mate, then continued recording the others' details.I would pass the information on to the authorities.Maybe that could be used to return them to their homes.Although I wasn't sure they'd want to go home when they found out how long they'd been in cryo.I dreaded having that conversation with my mate already.
They'd chosen some of the weakest females.Not even one who was a warrior or athlete or survival expert.The game makers clearly didn't want anyone who might stand a chance.And one of the five was my mate.
I was so tempted to change the game makers' instructions.Every cell in my body screamed at me to protect my mate.I couldn't let her be sent to the planet's surface.It was a death sentence.Yet I couldn't risk it.The game makers had chosen these females.They might remember who they chose and why.Any changes would be noticed.
I would have to let it come to pass.But that didn't mean I couldn't help.I had done that for other Trial participants, the ones that might stand a chance to win.
Hacking deeper into the data didn't take long.The first couple was a female called Fay and an orc named Vruhag.She was a lucky Peritan to have been paired with such a strong warrior species.I switched to the camera view of his cell.He was struggling against his restraints, his muscles bulging beneath thick green skin.He would be a formidable contestant.And with a bit of help, he might keep her alive for long enough.
A few more commands and I'd set myself up as an anonymous sponsor.I paid a ridiculous amount of credits to allow the orc the choice of a weapon.Orcs had natural weaponry, but a good sword or axe would increase his chances.There was nothing I could offer the female.Except...
An idea sprang to my mind.Yes, that could work.
It was time to contact the chii.
2
Unknown
Present time
He sweeps me into his arms and I squeal with laughter, leaning into his touch.I feel light in his presence, so very happy and contented, as if the world stops spinning every time we’re together.All my worries fade away and I simply live in the present, just him and me, together.He whispers to me, words of love and adoration, and I soak them up and store them deep inside my heart.His strong arms are tight around me, a promise, protecting me from all that might trouble this moment.I kiss the side of his neck, a place where I know he is particularly sensitive, and he laughs, a grumbling sound that intertwines with my own joyful laughter perfectly.Time stops.This is for us.Just us.Our time.Our life.We belong together.I am his.He is mine.
Thought sparked into existence, a tiny flame barely illuminating the all-encompassing darkness.I knew that I was asleep, just about, but that’s all I knew.My mind was sluggish, bumping against corners that shouldn’t exist.
Who am I?
The question floated up, hazy and insistent.I reached for it, but it slipped through my fingers like smoke.
I fought to wake.Not fully, not yet, but enough to peel back the fog.My body felt distant – heavy and unreachable.My thoughts were dull and slow, dragging through molasses.This wasn’t natural.This wasn’t right.
It should’ve been easy.Wake up, start the day.But there was no day.No light.Just darkness and the soft echo of a self I couldn’t remember.
I should have a name.A life.Memories.Something.But whenever I reached for them, I found only emptiness.
The flame of lucid thought was flickering more strongly as more questions rose to the surface.Why can’t I remember?Where has everything gone?
Still, I pressed on.I became aware of my body, little by little.Limbs like lead, a mouth too dry to swallow, eyelids glued shut.But I was here.I existed.I felt.
Time lost meaning.Seconds stretched like years.Or maybe it was years.
The darkness didn’t become any brighter, but my awareness expanded a little further every time I was conscious enough to notice.
I was lying on something cold and hard.Even though I couldn’t remember what my own bed felt like – assuming that I owned a bed – I was quite sure that this wasn’t a mattress.A table, maybe.Using that realisation as an anchor, I tried to remember how I may have come to lie on a table.Nothing.My memories remained blank.
But the table was real and I held onto that.I was real.
Then pain.
Sharp and sudden, a jab in my wrist.I would have cried out if I’d had the strength.Heat bloomed through me like wildfire, licking up my arm and down my spine, flooding every nerve.Sweat erupted on my skin.
I gasped, or tried to.My chest heaved and my heart kicked harder, fighting the burn.
And something shifted.The fog cracked.The numbness thinned.
I wanted to live.
