https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-17.mp4 “Dialing it down is faster than turning the simulation off,” Tracey said, wiping Jioni’s face. “Where else are you bleeding?” Jioni blinked slowly. “Were the Tenebris simulated?” “The sky, trees, and ground were,” Tracey replied. She lifted Jioni’s dreads. Instantly, Jioni’s heart dropped to her stomach. Her feet shuffled back, but it was too …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-16-2.mov Jioni was silent. She failed the exam. Again. Shame overwhelmed as her mind raced with being overcome by Tenebris. Embarrassment quickly followed from the early termination of the exam. Something deep inside, she wanted to feel pride; level 15 was leagues harder than level 3. The Junior Agent Exam would’ve been a cakewalk compared …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-15.mov “You’ve improved so much,” Tracey pushed Jioni off her. “I didn’t want to stop you.” Jioni struggled to reply, but she held her arm and breathed heavily. She hid her trembling hands in her pocket. “It’s been an eventful couple of days.” “Has it?” back next
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-14.mov Tracey finally emerged from the shadows with Derrin’s gun. Without missing a beat, she eliminated the Tenebris. It only took her a few seconds to aim and shoot. Jioni regained herself and raced toward Tracey. She hugged her and demonstrated all her built-up incompetence with this gesture. The woman was stiff, unwelcoming, and cold. …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-13-2.mov Jioni peered out for a weapon. Desperate hands snapped a bough from one of the dead trees. And the moment she spun around, Tenebris surrounded her. The branch pushed the Tenebris back and then impaled them. She swung and swiped until a Tenebris knocked her bough out of her hand. So she punched, and …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-12.mov A new Tenebris appeared. She still held her face, but with her legs, she crouched to the ground and swept kicked it. As the Tenebris crashed to the floor, she kicked it again harder. This kick felt new. It was the kick of discomfort and panic. She stepped back and wanted nothing more but …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-11.mov Jioni had little time to rebound as another Tenebris held her chin back. Something about this position filled her with fear. Her body immediately froze, and her thoughts processed too slowly to react to anything. This was the same attack that damaged her face yesterday. She pulled with all her weight down, her face …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-10.mov The Tenebris lifted her and revealed its teeth. Jioni winced. Multiple Tenebris soon drew near. She exhaled once, then used all her strength to lift herself. She punched the Tenebris with clenched fists. Her arms were sore. Her stomach felt tight. Then her knuckles throbbed in pain—how was LaMesha able to do this yesterday …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-9-1.mov She raced through the dense fog and stumbled halfway onto the floor. Jioni saw the culprit, a Tenebris crystal. It exploded right there, and even worse, it attracted the Tenebris to her location. A branchy Tenebris grabbed her right leg. It felt rigid and scratchy on her. Then the Tenebris pulled and dragged her …
https://rosemadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/8-8.mov It soon became evident how ineffective her fight was. As Jioni struck another Tenebris, the blade broke off and clinked to the floor. With this, she swung that stick like a bat—a very defective bat. her fight equipped with a stick ended as it crumbled and chipped away in her palms. She tossed the …
