Pain. That was the first thing that registered as she hit the cold stone floor. Not the kind of pain you get from stubbing your toe on the corner of the coffee table—oh no, this was advanced pain. Professional-level pain. The kind of pain that made you question all your life choices, like signing up for a job that apparently involved getting thrown around like a ragdoll by demonic…whatever-the-hell-those-things-were.
"Oh good," she muttered to herself through gritted teeth, "at least I've broken a few bones. Great job, body. Really out here thriving."
Before she could fully process how many bones were currently screaming at her, Byte's voice crackled in her ear. "Hey, so... you need to get back in there."
She blinked. "Excuse me? Back in there? Are you joking?"
"No joke," Byte replied, as if he were reminding her to grab milk at the store and not, you know, sending her back into the literal jaws of death. "You're not done yet. You've got a mission."
"Oh, sure. And why not? I'll just hobble my way back into the murder castle, full of freaks that could easily be extras in a horror movie. No big deal," she muttered sarcastically, dragging herself upright.
It hit her then. She wasn't free to run. She was at the beck and call of these people, and whatever insane situation she was in, it wasn't one she could just leave.
Then, of course, she remembered the damn nano-tech suit. The one she could have activated earlier, like a smart person. But no, she had to do it now, after getting a free lesson in medieval torture. Brilliant. With a thought, the suit kicked in, wrapping around her like the world's fanciest set of pajamas, dulling the pain almost instantly.
"Well, that's a bit better," she muttered, rolling her shoulders. "Now I can get back to not dying."
The castle was eerily quiet again, which, funnily enough, didn't make her feel any better. If anything, it made her feel like she was trapped in one of those cheesy horror films where everyone is too dumb to leave the haunted house. She swiped through the first and second floors, trying to look like she had her life together, which she very much didn't.
"Where the hell are the other three rookies?" she muttered. This had to be some kind of sick hazing ritual. They send the new kid in to get mauled by creepy castle creatures while they sat back and watched the horror show.
"Wait," Byte's voice was sharper now. "Where are the bodies of the two you killed earlier?"
She froze in place. "What do you mean? They should be right where I left them." Her heart pounded in her chest. But when she looked at the landing of the top floor stairs, she saw them. All of them.
The damn sickly long creatures.
"No way," she whispered, backing up instinctively. "They can't be killed by guns…"
Without warning, they all lunged at her at once. She barely managed to avoid the first contact, ducking and dodging like her life depended on it—because it did. But one of them got hold of her, lifting her up as though she weighed nothing, and rattled her around like a ragdoll. She slammed into the walls, the floor, then back into the wall again. Each hit sent a shockwave of pain through her, but the suit held up.
"Byte?" Her voice was tight now. "What are these things?"
His answer came after a pause, and when it did, it wasn't comforting. "They're... well, they're like humans if humans were built by nightmares and ate raw fear for breakfast."
Fantastic.
She unloaded half a magazine into the thing's chest, but the creature barely flinched. It was like trying to take down a brick wall with a water gun. No, scratch that—taking down a brick wall with a squirt gun.
Her heart sank. "You've got to be kidding me."
It hit her again—hard—knocking the wind right out of her. She tried to roll away, but the creature was relentless, grabbing her and shaking her like a chew toy. She slammed against the wall, bounced off the floor, and skidded across the stone until she stopped in a crumpled heap.
"I'm starting to feel like a piñata," she groaned, trying to stand up but only managing to wobble.
She knew she couldn't keep this up. Not like this. She needed to get out. And fast.
She managed to dodge another swipe, ran down the hall, and skidded into the staircase room. Her heart was pounding in her ears, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Byte was shouting something in her ear, but she couldn't hear him over the sound of her own racing thoughts.
Run. Get out. Move.
She bolted for the staircase, her feet flying down the spiral steps as the creatures screamed behind her. Four floors. She climbed down four more floors, if she continued to run down, maybe she would be out of this nightmare. The walls blurred as she ran, her suit doing its best to keep up with her frantic pace.
Finally, the stairs opened into a massive hall. At the far end, there was a giant gate.
And, miracle of miracles, it was open.
"Well, that's convenient," she muttered, before charging headlong toward her escape.