The room was barely furnished. It had a tiny bed, a dusty desk, and a small bathroom. It reminded her of prisons from Earth, but she was missing an inmate.
On the bed was a folded set of clothes which Eden must have left beforehand.
After scanning the rooms for any hidden cameras and finding none, she slowly stripped from her filthy dress and hopped into the bathroom.
The shower was scorching hot. Just the way she liked it.
She nearly moaned as the water hit her skin, relaxing her tense muscles. It was the first truly normal thing she'd done since arriving.
She was briefly reminded of home but quickly shook off the thought. This wasn't the time to drown in her sorrows.
Instead, she directed all her aggravation into scrubbing her skin until it stung, watching as the dirt swirled down the drain.
When she was done, she stepped out of the shower and rubbed the fog off the mirror in the bathroom.
She paused when she caught a glimpse of her reflection, recalling Eden's words earlier.
"...we all have a little bit of engineering in our blood."
Staring back at her was a product of bioengineering and genetic modification of the human body.
It explained why these people were faster, stronger, and more striking. If Earth had this kind of tech, plastic surgery would be obsolete.
'Truly outstanding,' she thought. 'Is this really what AI is capable of?'
Her eyes caught a silver mark on her right shoulder, and her brows furrowed. She touched it, but it felt like part of her skin.
'Is it a tattoo?' she asked herself, studying the faint straight line. Something told her the mark meant something more.
She dismissed it, since her thirty minutes were almost over.
She left the bathroom and dressed in the fitted combat trousers and snug shirt Eden had left her, then stepped into the hallway where Eden already waited.
"Ready."
Kiah nodded.
They walked until they got to a place that looked like a modern cafeteria. It was a tall, echoey room with metal trays and faintly buzzing lights. Only a few people were present.
After being served, Kiah sat across Eden at a table, eyeing her food warily. It consisted of an apple and some gooey gray blob that looked like sadness.
She took a cautious bite, and her face twisted. It tasted like pain and despair.
"What is this? It tastes like wet cardboard."
"Supplies are short. The soil is mostly dead, so we use synthetic compounds to create food mass."
Kiah hummed.
"But why wasn't I served what you're having?"
She gestured at Eden's plate, filled with chunks of meat.
Eden shrugged.
"Hierarchy."
Kiah didn't understand what she meant and was about to ask when a cold voice came from behind.
"Be grateful you've got anything at all."
Kiah turned, and there he was. The blue-haired jerkface who shot her.
He gave her an icy look before storming off.
"What's his problem?" She muttered.
Eden poked her meat absentmindedly.
"That's Thorne. He's not usually like this. His sister was abducted during a raid three days ago. We didn't get to her in time. So he's kind of frosty to newcomers. He's on edge."
Kiah's chest tightened. "Oh."
She could understand the pain of losing someone. It was terrible. That was why she wanted to go back to her mom as soon as possible.
But still, he didn't have to be a jerk.
"So, tell me about this test." She asked, poking at the unappetizing blob on her tray.
Eden scooped her final spoonful of meat and swallowed.
"They'll drop you and a few others hoping to join in an unknown zone. Your task is simple: survive the night and make it to the extraction capsule before time runs out."
"That's it?" Kiah frowned. She thought the test would involve something more dangerous or stimulating. "Sounds like glorified camping."
Eden raised a brow.
"It's basically survival of the fittest. And no offense, but you're not exactly fit."
Kiah's mouth parted in disbelief. Not fit? She was the fittest she'd ever been, in two universes, no less. She could sprint, scale walls, and jump like a cat. She didn't know what could be fitter than that.
"So… I will be fighting the other people joining?"
Eden shook her head.
"No. You'll be fighting something way worse."
Eden's cold tone made Kiah's brow furrow in worry.
"What do you mean?"
"Degenerates."
Kiah's brows pinched.
"What are degenerates?"
Eden stood up and gestured for Kiah to follow. They left the cafeteria and walked through a dim corridor, the hum of overhead lights buzzing faintly above them.
"Remember the story I told you? Back during the Fall, some humans mutated into man-eating monsters. The Overseer wiped them out with new weapons and tech, and burned every body until there were no traces left. Or so we thought."
"They're back?"
"Yes. And no." Eden turned a corner and led them down the stairs. "The originals were eradicated. But ten years ago, after the wall went up and Duskworn was formed, a new kind of monster started reappearing. It was one at first. Then another. Then hundreds. They lurk at night and kill everything in their paths."
Kiah's skin prickled. "How? Where did they come from?"
"No one knows. Some say it's a virus. Others think the original monsters were not completely wiped out." Eden's voice dropped. "But this set of degenerates is different. They are faster, stronger, and more intelligent. And when they bite you, you turn into one of them."
Kiah felt a chill crawl down her spine. She was supposed to spend the night fighting those things? What if she got infected?
"Do you believe it's a virus?"
Eden hesitated. "No. At least, not a natural one."
They paused by a sealed door.
Eden continued.
"I don't believe they were part of the originals, either. Five years ago, while I was in the streets, a friend of mine went missing. She disappeared one night on a stroll, just vanished. She had this heart-shaped birthmark on her arm. You couldn't miss it. One week later, a degenerate attacked our town, almost obliterating the whole neighborhood. It was tragic."
She spotted an unreadable expression, as if holding something back.
"I almost died. But when I saw the disfigured degenerate who almost ended my life, it had the exact same birthmark as her. Same spot. Heart-shaped on her rotten skin."
Kiah's breath caught. "Are you saying—"
"I think someone is making them." Her tone was grim. "Turning people into monsters. I don't know what for, but it's not random."
Kiah's thoughts spun, processing all the information. Human experimentation wasn't far-fetched. On Earth, black market science thrived. They had no empathy for human life and treated people like tools for their scientific purposes.
Considering that people were being abducted every night in Duskworn, it was possible that someone was using them and turning them into these things. But why create more chaos in an already chaotic world?
For weapons?
Or just sick fun?
She couldn't wrap her head around it.
She couldn't help but thank her luck that Eden got them out of that truck, scared of what would have awaited them at the end of the ride.
She needed to be careful.
Eden placed her palm on the panel, and the door slid open. The room inside was stark and metallic.
Weapons lined the walls like museum pieces. Blades gleamed under the soft blue lights: axes, curved swords, arrows, serrated daggers. Each was carefully placed neatly in rows.
"Wow." Kiah breathed.
"We are going to find you your own weapon," Eden said, patting her back and stepping inside.