Wait! Crap!
I used the goblin's dagger… does that mean I lost to Cole and Marcus…
What they don't know won't hurt them.
Gabriel walked solemnly back to the gate and stepped into the darkness. He turned the corner and entered the pitch-black room.
Gabriel glanced back in time to see the light behind… evaporate.
A few seconds later, standing in pitch black darkness, he began feeling along the wall beside him, searching for the exit.
Here it is, he thought as his hands passed over the door's patterned surface.
Gabriel pushed.
A crack of light split the darkness, though it didn't illuminate much. Gabriel stepped through.
As he emerged, he noticed many others had already finished their trials, excitedly discussing what had happened.
Ah! It's Marcus.
Marcus was waiting in the crowd, eyes fixed on the doors, clearly anticipating his friend Cole—who stepped out of the door beside Gabriel simultaneously.
"Cole! Hey, how'd it go?" Gabriel asked, weighing whether he should tell Cole that he'd used a weapon or not.
"I strangled that little goblin. The first trial was way easier than I thought, I just couldn't find my way out that damned room!" he said with a grin.
Marcus walked over. "What took you both so long? Showing off in front of the world?"
"Maybe…" Cole said.
"Is Erin out?" Gabriel asked.
"Not sure. She might be on the other side of the hub," Marcus replied.
Not a second later, Erin stumbled out of one of the doors, severely injured. One arm bore a deep knife wound, and her wrist was marred by deep bite marks.
Gabriel rushed over, supporting her shoulder. Marcus moved to her other side.
"Your trial didn't go as well as ours, I take it," Marcus said.
"Well observed, Sherlock," Erin replied. Blood dripped down her face.
"Cole, go ask Arthur what we can do about her injuries. In the previous batches, people always got injured but went into the next trial one hundred percent healthy. Find out how," Gabriel said firmly. He then took her dagger out of her hand and put it in her pocket.
"Okay, but who's Arthur again?" Cole asked.
Gabriel facepalmed. "The android, Cole. The one at the counter in the canteen. He's helpful."
"Yes, sir!" Cole said sarcastically before rushing off.
Gabriel and Marcus guided Erin further into the hub, ignoring the onlookers. There was a bench along the side.
They sat her down and waited for Cole to return.
Gabriel stayed by Erin's side as she sat on the bench, her breathing steady despite the blood soaking into her sleeve.
"That goblin didn't hesitate," Erin said, inspecting the bite on her wrist with a frown. "Went straight for me. I tried to keep it at range with the dagger."
"And?" Marcus asked.
"And I was wrong to do that," she replied flatly. "It was faster than I thought. I killed it, but I shouldn't have tried to keep it back, I should've simply finished it quickly."
She clicked her tongue, irritated more than shaken. "I should've gone for the head immediately."
Gabriel nodded. Just a miscalculation, with a bit of panic.
Before he could respond, hurried footsteps echoed back across the hub.
Cole returned, slightly out of breath. "Arthur says to take her to her room. Told me she needs to drink 'the vials.'"
"The vials?" Marcus asked.
Cole shrugged. "I think he means the ones in the glass cabinet."
Gabriel glanced at Erin. "You good to walk?"
She pushed herself upright immediately. "Yeah."
They helped guide her to the wall beside the bench. Erin raised her knuckles and knocked three times.
The surface rippled. A door formed.
Inside, her room was identical to the others. They brought her to the chair near the wall.
She sat, rolling her injured shoulder once, testing it.
"I'll grab the vials," Gabriel said, already turning.
The glass cabinet stood against the far wall of the kitchen-looking area, faintly illuminated. Three slim vials rested inside, filled with faintly glowing liquid.
Gabriel reached for the handle.
A sharp jolt shot through his arm.
"Ouch!"
He recoiled, shaking his hand. "Right. Guess that's a no."
Behind him, Erin stood.
She walked past him, opened the cabinet
and took out all three vials.
Before anyone could say anything, she uncorked the first and drank it. Then the second. Then the third.
Her knees buckled.
She staggered back a step, teeth clenched, hands digging into her sides as a strained sound tore from her throat.
Marcus moved instinctively. "Erin—"
"Don't, stay back," she snapped, shoving him away.
Her body convulsed as she dropped to one knee, muscles tightening, veins standing out sharply beneath her skin. The bite on her wrist began to close, skin knitting together unnaturally fast. The knife wound sealed next, flesh smoothing as if rewound.
Her arms thickened slightly, muscle definition sharpening as she shifted, breath coming hard and uneven.
Gabriel watched without a word.
After a long moment, Erin sucked in a deep breath and stood.
She rolled her shoulders again. This time, there was no wince.
"…That's new," she said, flexing her fingers.
Marcus stared. "You look taller."
Gabriel nodded slowly. "Maybe an inch taller."
Erin blinked, then huffed a short laugh. "Huh."
She straightened, posture different now.
"Well," she said, glancing between them, "I won't be making that mistake again."
I can't wait for my vials.