The silence stretched tight as a wire. I could hear stomachs rumbling, that hollow, desperate sound of hunger eating itself alive.
Everyone else looked just as bad—hollow cheeks, shaking hands, the whole nine yards of slow starvation.
"We can't divide this equally," this thin kid suggested. "It's impossible with our numbers."
"One spoon won't do me any good," someone else said.
This seven-foot giant with dark hair pushed through the crowd like a bulldozer.
"Share?" He laughed, showing teeth that looked too sharp. "I'm not sharing a squat with you weaklings."
"Bitus! That's barbaric," a girl protested.
"Look around," Bitus grinned wider. "We're caged animals fighting for scraps. Might as well act like it."
Arguments erupted. Some wanted fair shares—others backed Bitus and his brutal take. His three massive friends flanked him like a muscle wall.
"There has to be another way," I said, stepping forward despite my body's protests.
Bitus eyed me like prey. "Here's your other way."
He lunged at the serving table.
Two hundred desperate people exploded toward those plates. Bodies slammed together—elbows, shoulders, screams. Bitus bulldozed through, grabbing four plates while his crew protected him.
"Get back!" He swung a plate like a club. Food scattered as people dove for scraps.
The cafeteria became a war zone. Tables flipped, chairs flew. A girl lunged for a plate only to have two boys rip it away, wrestling until it shattered, contents mixing with dirt and blood.
I spotted one intact plate and dove. My fingers wrapped the rim as shadow fell over me.
Bitus.
"Don't think so, weakling." His boot aimed for my skull.
I rolled away, losing the plate as his foot cracked concrete where my head had been. He hauled me up by my shirt.
"Should've minded your business." His fist pulled back.
The punch caught my shoulder, lightning through my damaged body. Stars exploded as something popped wrong in the joint.
"This is how the real world works. The strong take what they want."
He got cocky, loosened his stance. I drove my fist up with everything left, catching him under the ribs where muscle couldn't protect.
His eyes went wide. Grip loosened as air rushed out in a shocked wheeze. I broke free, dove for another plate under an overturned table.
The fight raged on—bodies writhing across floors slick with blood and spilled food. Weaker candidates pressed against walls, some crying, others frozen.
Bitus had recovered, fighting three candidates who'd teamed up. His friends fought desperately to keep their hoarded plates, surrounded by starving people.
The cafeteria doors burst open. Xavier walked in unsurprised, flanked by equally unbothered guards.
"Enough." His voice cut through the chaos.
Fighting gradually stopped. Candidates stayed crouched, ready to resume.
Bitus stood center stage, clutching two plates, shirt torn and lip bleeding but defiant.
"Fascinating," Xavier said, stepping over spilled food. "I hope this answers your questions."
Confusion rippled through the room. His icy gaze found mine specifically. Cold dread crawled up my spine.
This trial isn't just about surviving monsters. Something much worse is happening here.
Agility training—rope climbs, balance beams, wall scaling, sprint intervals through spinning barriers designed to knock you senseless.
My number got called. Walking to the start line, searing pain shot through my wounds. The venom was back, worse than morning training.
I felt the painkiller bottle but remembered Kambi's warning: don't let anyone know about last night. Taking medication would raise questions.
I was alone.
Rope climbing first. Halfway up, agony exploded through my torso. My grip slipped—I crashed to the mat.
"Again!" the trainer barked.
I stumbled through the balance beam, coordination shot. The spinning barrier caught my shoulder, sent me face-first into dirt.
"What's wrong with you? Are you even trying?"
I failed every test. My body betrayed me until the trainer dismissed me early, disgust on his face.
I collapsed against Tobi, dry-swallowing a painkiller, grateful physical testing was over.
Evening came—they marched us to the research facility. Sterile white walls, bright lights that hurt. They separated us, led me through endless corridors to a pristine room with a one-way mirror.
"Kae Renshaw," a voice crackled.
"Yeah."
"We'll begin shortly."
Scientists filed in with sci-fi horror equipment. They directed me to a chair with restraining straps and articulated arms positioned around my head like a torture device. After strapping me in, someone jabbed a needle in my arm.
"Try to remain calm," one said as drowsiness crept through my veins.
Vision blurred. Sounds became distant echoes. Consciousness faded to black.
I opened my eyes in a golden wheat field under endless blue sky—back home in Ark-Arro.
"Kae!" Tobi and Mila waved from across the field. "Come on, or we'll miss the festival!"
I ran toward them, confused. What festival? We were celebrating our return from trials I couldn't remember.
Mila handed me orange juice. "I added something special for flavor."
"How did I get here?"
"Through the Ironwyrm train," she said like I'd lost my mind.
I searched frantically. "Cent! Vivi!"
No answer. Panic rising, I shoved through the crowd.
At a corner, I knocked over trader goods. In the window reflection—a massive bird diving at me. I dodged as it crashed into the building.
Enormous creature—obsidian feathers sharp as razors, dagger talons, predatory eyes. More descended, scattering everyone.
I found shelter where Vivi hugged Mila, both trembling.
"Where's Cent?"
"Looking for you," Tobi said. "With your mother."
Impossible—my mother had been dead for years.
We took narrow streets twisting into a maze. A bird crashed behind us, morphing into the train monster.
We ran to a dead end. I spotted a boulder blocking an escape route.
"Help me push this."
The monster gained fast. "Go ahead!" Tobi shouted. "I'll keep watch."
I climbed up, turned back to help. He stretched for my hand as the monster grabbed his ankle, dragging him away. His jaw hit the ground with a sickening bone-crushing sound before the creature swallowed him whole.
"Tobi!" I screamed, helpless.
I found Cent as another monster lunged, snatching him in its jaws.
"No!" a familiar voice cried.
My mother appeared—not broken from memories, but healthy, vibrant, hair styled for the festival, eyes bright with life.
This couldn't be real.
Cent cried as the monster swallowed him. I grabbed a log, drove it through the creature's stomach toward a cliff edge.
The tip broke. All three of us went over.
I caught Cent as we plunged into dark water, sinking deeper and deeper.
The monster slowly dissolved as Cent broke from my grip, swam toward the surface, and pulled himself out of the water while I couldn't keep up. He fled, leaving me alone in black void.
A screen materialized, showing a man with my exact features.
"Protect them," he said urgently. "When you come of age, break all the contracts."
"What contracts?" Water filled my mouth.
"Break it all before it comes for everyone."
The screen went dark. Water crushed my chest as darkness closed in.
I gasped awake, screaming against restraints. Scientists rushed to hold me down.
What did that vision mean? Which contracts? What is coming for us?