Kaz turned and gestured for me to follow. "Let's introduce you to the rest of the shit-shovelers."

  The barracks stretched before us, a concrete box trying hard to be a military facility but achieving prison instead. The stink of sweat, and blood hung in the air.

  My worms shifted under my skin, a microscopic tide pulling back from the surface like they were trying to hide. Not good. They'd never retreated before.

  "This is where we pretend we're a real unit," Kaz said, leading me toward a cluster of people gathered around a battered metal table. They looked up as we approached, their eyes carrying that special weight of people who've seen others die and expect to join them soon.

  "Fresh blood," Kaz announced, stopping just short of the table. "Name's Fischer."

  Real charming introduction. I kept my expression neutral.

  A tall beauty of a woman with electric blue hair rose from the table, towering over most of the others. Her eyes were an unnatural magenta-pink, almost luminescent in the dim light.

  "Newbie, huh?" She grinned, all predator, no warmth. "That's new. Usually we get fire-starters or rock-skins. Boring shit." She stepped closer, invading my personal space with practiced ease.

  The worms beneath my skin thrashed at her proximity. I clenched my jaw against the discomfort. My hand twitched, a half-second muscle spasm I couldn't control.

  "I'm Zo, you sick or something?" Zo asked, noticing the twitch.

  "Just hungry," I said. Not a lie.

  "We're all hungry here," she replied, still studying me like I was a puzzle with missing pieces.

  A woman sitting at the far end of the table hadn't bothered looking up. Her platinum-white hair was pulled back in a severe bun, not a strand out of place. Her uniform somehow looked tailored to her. When she finally glanced in my direction, her silver-grey eyes swept over me with clinical detachment.

  "Another dead man walking," she said, voice clipped and precise. "How exhilarating."

  "That's Sadie," Kaz explained.

  Sadie turned back to whatever she was studying on the table—maps, from what I could see.

  "Don't mind the Ice Queen," Zo said. "She forgets what it's like to be new."

  The third woman at the table was leaning against the wall, partly in shadow. She stepped forward, revealing striking features and hair that faded from jet black at the roots to silver-white at the tips. Unlike the others, she hadn't stopped watching me since I'd entered.

  "Sophie," she introduced herself, voice smooth as polished stone. "I'd say welcome, but that would imply you're going to enjoy your stay." Her pale blue-grey eyes made me feel like I was being cataloged, every weakness noted for future reference.

  Another spasm hit me, stronger this time. A wave of nausea followed. The worms were getting more agitated, pulling deeper into my flesh rather than supporting it. I forced my breathing to stay even.

  I noticed the others keeping their distance, a subtle half-step of space between us. They'd seen enough new recruits to recognize the signs. Fresh Sacred, unpredictable power, potential danger. Fair enough.

  "What are your positions in the unit?" I asked, trying to keep them talking while I fought another wave of nausea.

  "I'm Shield maiden," Zo replied, gesturing to the massive dent in the concrete floor nearby. "I take hits, and get stronger. Simple but effective."

  "Hunter," Sophie said, examining her nails, which I now noticed were more like metal claws. "I kill what needs killing."

  "Strategic oversight," Sadie supplied. "I ensure we don't all die from stupidity."

  Kaz pointed to a rack of gear against the wall. "Your station's over there. You get the broken shit because you're newest. Fix what you can. Sleep when you can. Eat when you can. Don't touch anyone else's stuff unless you want to lose some fingers."

  A clock on the wall caught my attention—not a normal clock. Its face displayed nonsensical symbols and multiple hands moving at different speeds.

  "Dimensional fluctuation timer," Sophie explained, catching my gaze. "Shows when the tear's most active. Right now we're in low tide. There is about six hours until the next surge."

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Your bunk's in Chamber 7," Kaz said. "Down the hall, third door. Get settled.

  Another muscle spasm, this time in my leg. The hunger was getting worse. The worms needed to feed soon or... well, I was starting to understand what would happen.

  I nodded and turned to go, keeping my movements measured despite the growing discomfort. As I walked away, I heard Sophie murmur something to the others, too low to catch.

  Whatever she said, Zo laughed.

  Chamber 7 turned out to be a glorified closet with six bunks crammed inside. Only two showed signs of use; the other four had stripped mattresses. Former occupants who hadn't made it, I guessed.

  The walk from the staging area had been an expedition of my own deteriorating body. My legs heavier with each step. Breath catching strangely in my chest. The sensation of something pulling away from my bones, like internal supports being dismantled.

  I tracked the security measures automatically—cameras in the corners, guard patrol patterns, distance between checkpoints.

  I closed the door to Chamber 7 behind me and leaned against it, finally allowing myself to slump. The pain was getting harder to ignore—a deep, cellular ache like my body was forgetting how to be solid.

  The hunger of the worms felt different from human hunger. Not a hollow sensation in the stomach, but a desperate pull from every cell, a billion tiny mouths demanding to be fed.

  The small room had a sink with a cracked mirror above it. I needed to assess the damage. Know exactly what I was working with.

  Moving took more effort than it should have. Three steps to the sink felt like thirty. I gripped the edge and forced myself to look in the mirror.

  Shit.

  My eyes were fully changed now—gold irises ringed with crimson, and completely bloodshot. That wasn't the problem though. The problem was my skin.

  Around my hairline, extending down my temples, the flesh had a grayish hue, like something that had been dead for hours. When I pulled my collar aside, I saw the discoloration spreading across my collarbone in mottled patches.

  I pressed a finger against one of the gray areas. The skin dented like soft clay and remained dented. The worms had withdrawn from these sections, abandoning them to decay.

  "Fuck," I whispered.

  The worms beneath my skin retreated further from my probing finger. I could feel them pulling inward, concentrating around vital areas—heart, brain, spine—and leaving the periphery to rot.

  They were starving, and they were making choices about what parts of me were worth saving.

  I needed to feed them soon. Very soon. But how? The collar limited my ability to use my Origin. The facility was crawling with guards

  I splashed water on my face, which did nothing for the decay but at least helped me focus.

  I'd need to cover the visible rot. I zipped my prison jumpsuit up to the neck, pulled the sleeves down to my wrists. The discoloration on my face was harder to hide. In the end, I had to settle for trying to keep my head tilted in ways that put the worst spots in shadow.

  Not great, but it would have to do.

  I took one final look in the mirror. "You've got this," I told my reflection. "Just a few more hours until the surge. Then you'll feed."

  My reflection stared back with hungry, inhuman eyes, looking unconvinced.

  I was halfway back to the staging area when I felt it—a shifting in the air pressure, a subtle vibration through the floor.

  The alarm sounded a second later, a low-pitched pulse rather than a shrieking wail. Red lights began flashing along the corridor.

  "Tear activity detected," announced a mechanical voice over the speakers. "All units report to deployment stations."

  Doors slammed open along the hallway as Sacred rushed out. The organized chaos of soldiers who'd drilled for this a thousand times.

  I pressed myself against the wall, watching the flow of movement, trying to figure out where I was supposed to go. The hunger spiked at the prospect of combat, the worms suddenly agitated beneath my skin.

  "Newbie! This way!"

  Zo appeared at the end of the hall, gesturing impatiently. She wore what looked like armor now—scavenged pieces from various sets, strapped together in a patchwork that somehow worked. A row of vicious-looking knives hung from a bandolier across her chest.

  I pushed away from the wall and jogged toward her, fighting the heaviness in my limbs. Each step sent a wave of pain through my decaying tissues.

  "Tear's opening early," she said as I reached her. "Are you ready to die?"

  "Not particularly," I replied.

  "Good answer."

  She led me down a service corridor I hadn't noticed before, moving at a pace that had me struggling to keep up. My vision blurred for a second, black spots dancing at the edges.

  "Where's my gear?" I asked, focusing on the practical to distract from the pain.

  "No time," Zo called over her shoulder. "We're at secondary deployment. You'll get whatever's in the caches there."

  We emerged into a larger chamber where other Sacred were gearing up. Sadie stood at a central console, issuing orders with military precision. Sophie was nowhere to be seen.

  Kaz spotted us and strode over, now wearing a battered chest plate and carrying what looked like a massive golden axe.

  "You," he said, pointing at me. "Stay behind the Shield Wall. Do not engage directly. Your job is to pull any wounded back to the medical station. Understood?"

  I nodded, too focused on staying upright to argue. The worms were churning now, sensing the imminent violence, desperate for sustenance.

  "The tear is stabilizing at fifteen meters," Sadie announced. "Temperature dropping rapidly. Frost Goblins are already confirmed on site."

  "Defensive formation," Kaz ordered. "Sophie's already in position. Zo, take point."

  Zo grinned, cracking her knuckles. "Time to play."

  The team moved toward a massive airlock-style door. Through small reinforced windows, I could see flashes of light from beyond.

  I followed, fighting every instinct to collapse. The rot was spreading... I could feel it creeping across my back now, the skin there going numb then painful as nerves died.

  "You look like shit," Zo said as we reached the airlock.

  "Thanks. I feel amazing," I replied.

  The outer door began to open. Beyond it, a narrow stone bridge stretched across what appeared to be an endless void. At the far end, reality itself was torn—a jagged wound in space, glowing with frozen blue-white light. Dark shapes moved within, pressing against the barrier between dimensions.

  "Welcome to the bridge, cutie," Zo said. "Time to earn your keep."

  As we stepped onto the bridge, a crack like shattering ice echoed across the void. The tear widened, and a massive troll pushed through.

  It was showtime.