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SUMMER
Adone looked to me, and I shrugged. “Do we trust this?”
“It is safe,” Burmoot said cheerfully.
Safety was a relative term in this game.
“I’ve set things up for you,” he said. “Your next assignment will greet you in the morning.” With that, he zipped up in the air, fueled by the mini jetpacks strapped to his arms and legs.
I watched Adone, waiting to hear what he thought we should do.
He grunted. “I don’t trust anyone in this Game, not even Burmoot, but I believe there’s no harm in finding out what he offers.”
“Well,” I said, taking his arm and tugging him down the stairs leading to the ground. “I have one thing to look forward to. You owe me a massage.”
“You are correct, mate, and I always pay my debts.”
Tumbles leaped off the platform, landing on the sand beside us. I lifted him while Adone approached the opening. While I cooed to Tumbles and stroked his softened branchy fur, Adone poked his head into the darkness.
His voice echoed. “It is a large room. Holographic, I believe, though the food smells real.”
“Food?” I scurried over to stand beside him. “Real food? How about water? Please, tell me there’s water.” My tongue was permanently stuck to the roof of my mouth. As for my belly, it had given up rumbling and was probably drumming up support for a coup.
“This food smells familiar, like they prepared it with recipes from my home planet,” he said, leaning back on his heels.
“It sounds amazing,” I said, hugging my arms around my waist.
The moons had started to rise, casting shadows that stalked across the sand. And since there wasn’t a cloud in sight, the area around us could be viewed for miles. Like a carnival that had shut down for the night, the structure supporting the obstacle course we’d recently finished loomed behind us. I thought of the creatures we’d evaded, and a shiver tracked through me.
“Let’s get inside and shut the door. It’s creepy out here.” I sat on the edge and dropped my feet inside. “There aren’t any stairs.”
“Let me jump down inside and you can follow.” He leaped, and a thud rang out below. “Come, mate. I will catch you!”
Without a bit of fear, I scooted forward and let myself drop. He caught me, just like he said, and he lowered me to my feet.
I put Tumbles down, and he rolled around the large room, cooing, before scooting through a small hole in the wall.
“Where is he going?” I asked.
Adone crossed the room and dropped to his knees. He poked his head into the small opening. “It is a tiny version of this room, one suitable for our friend.”
“Aw, really?” I pictured a small bed, and a little platter of food to tempt his appetite. A bowl of water.
We were so close to finishing this game, near enough I could taste it. I hadn’t given much thought to what would happen to Tumbles when we left. It would hurt to leave him behind.
Adone rose and stalked toward me. But he passed me and leaped toward the opening, releasing a catch that kept the door from falling inward. A clunk, and it closed off the night, leaving us alone.
Tall spires evenly spaced around the room glowed, and I reached out to touch one, finding it warm.
“It’s hard, like stone,” I said.
“I believe it is a type of stone that absorbs the sunlight during the day and emits light at night.”
“Cool.” I strolled around the room, taking in the pile of soft leaves near one wall we could use as a bed. I stopped at a long table loaded with food, most unlike any I’d seen before. My belly didn’t care. It stomped its feet, the sound echoing around the room. “Everything looks amazing.”
“Eat,” he said. “After, your bath awaits.” He pointed to a depression in the opposite wall hosting a tub big enough for two. Steam coiled off the surface, and my bones groaned in anticipation.
I poured water from a pitcher into two cups and handed one to Adone. We drained them, refilling them three times. My belly sloshed, and I felt marvelous.
