https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-6.mov Her hand felt a Tenebris crystal. One that she could potentially throw. And while the Tenebris started to creep near her. She glided the crystal through her fingers and then threw it. The crystal flew, it exploded. The Tenebris soon followed. Jioni gulped and then felt around for her weapon. Through the dense fog, …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-5-1.mov “Remember! Page 31, page 31,” Tracey screamed from the shadows. Embarrassment followed immediately. She didn’t know page 31 that well, let alone how to execute it in a high-activity place like this, but in a desperate show of impressing, she attempted 31. One leg behind. The other forward and swing. She stumbled and barely …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-4-1.mov With each successful hit, a newfound confidence arose, but panic occasionally cropped up. She jolted as a Tenebris grabbed her. Jioni shook her leg and then struck it. Another one grabbed her torso. She elbowed it away and then stabbed it. Every moment she wasn’t fighting, she trembled involuntarily. And just as quickly as …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-3.mov Her eyes widened. An idea came, and she slid her still-shaking hands into her pockets. Jioni continued to shift around. Her hands became more frantic. She searched for the gun Derrin gave her, but she didn’t have it. It had to be with her old clothes. A quick relief high, just to crash back …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-2.mov Jioni followed the sound of a Tenebris and attacked it without haste. The victory came quickly but felt hollow. What she hit didn’t appear simulated at all. Her heart pounded, and the uncertainty drenched her in fear. She stepped back, then started to swing aimlessly. Fear took over her body, soon exhaustion, and she …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-1.mov Jioni couldn’t monitor her breath fast enough in the decayed simulation. Hyperventilation set in, but she relaxed and stood up straight. Though it was a struggle, she breathed out slowly. Concentration, in a place like this, was the only thing necessary. Tenebris crawled in every direction. Her flawed plan was to punch them, but …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/7-20.mov Jioni’s head spun in an attempt to figure out what was happening. Level 15? Some people have died or become critically injured in this simulation. This was illegal—and though Tracey was only doing this to help, she felt less than prepared to fight. But she couldn’t let Tracey down, not again. Jioni looked down …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/7-19-1.mov Tracey cranked the dial one last time; it reached level 15. The grass disappeared, and thick brown fog permeated the area. Jioni could no longer see Tracey, but she did see the glowing eyes of simulated Tenebris. Too distracted by the scenery, Jioni hadn’t realized that her clothes had changed. She was wearing a …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/7-18.-1.mp4 The screen rose to level 9, and the simulation sucked the air out of Jioni’s lungs; she darted to see that the blue skies had turned a muted puke green; the grass turned yellow; the trees were black and had lost all their leaves. The screen read level 10. Jioni’s breath labored; she held …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/7-17-2.mov Jioni hyperventilated; she hated the simulation. Nothing about the Trial felt real. It was a liminal space, feeling dreamlike, with all her senses ignited and overwhelmed simultaneously. When she tried to step forward, it felt off. She attempted to find Tracey but couldn’t see her. “I believe in you,” Tracey said. “And I refuse …
