Claude was thankful that his mind had largely blanked out as soon as something had hit his face. His jaw had partially unlocked itself and his body moved of its own accord as it jumped up and gripped the larger bone and snapped it into pieces with a single bite.

  Shards entered his mouth and down straight into his stomach as they burnt apart in the stomach acid which had reached up his throat and bubbled as drops of saliva fell onto the floor.

  All he knew was pure hunger. A desire to consume which needed to be filled at any costs. A small part of him was trying to gain his attention to his environment, to the increasing red glow of the bones which were layered across the floors, walls and ceilings of the darkened room.

  Kamryn ripped out large chunks of bone from the ceiling as they stood upside down atop sheening sheets of bones. All layered and secured. Their appearance had altered to become far thinner and gaunt with light grey skin and an extended belly with the same grey suit wrapped even tighter.

  Claude was aware now of why he had been entirely unable to determine Kamryn’s gender to be a man or a woman or in-between. When a person was starved to a point the body looked mostly the same.

  He had never noticed the eerily thinness of their form when they had first met, part of his mind had likely tried to adapt to the situation or they had used an augmented hologram to cover their body.

  All he knew that nothing humanoid should be able to become that thin without snapping apart. He’d never seen starvation, he’d experienced hunger a few times, when he’d been applying for jobs back on Belphus or as a student and had to limit himself to cheap food packs.

  But this was abnormal. His jaw opened again as even larger shards of human bone were compacted together and dropped in his direction, an unknown force drew them towards him as his body jumped, bit and devoured it even further.

  The disconnect between the actions he was undertaking and his awareness and observational abilities was fascinating to Claude. He was aware, he could think and take in information but his body was simply acting on its own without his conscious thought.

  Guess I’d go completely insane. I’ve decided. This is a CAMPIN simulation or more likely Antares Cybernetics. Granted that the former was deemed illegal.

  Or I’m actively drowning right now and all of this is my body trying struggling to make sense of the situation.

  As even larger shards of compressed bone fell down from the ceiling in his general direction more of it began to impact on Claude’s body, edges of bone cut into his clothing and then into his skin underneath.

  Blood didn’t flow from his minor wounds and nor did his body react. Claude was a passenger inside his own mind, trying to work out the situation. He focused his energies on making part of his body gain control but the rapid movement of his head made it hard for him to take in further details.

  His view of Kamyrn had faded as they had thrown down more bone and large clouds of bone dust began to fall from the ceiling. As his stomach was filled a deep hunger within him began to dissipate. Bone crunched by his teeth dropped from his mouth as Claude dropped onto his knees.

  The voice called from above as Claude saw that despite the figure standing upside down on the ceiling the hair flowed in the same direction as though they were standing upright.

  Right. Rules of gravity don’t apply. Yeah, this is a simulation.

  ‘There. I’ve managed to reduce the worst of the transformation and the damage to your soul but without an active system running I can only run localised interference. Sally told me fifteen minutes but as long as we run on a set time loop just before that time ends we’re good to go. I promised you something. A present. Soon. The first step was to enable your survival here, we call that the Hunger Time. The second was to complete your suitability as an Inheritor-Candidate. Evolution complete, recede. I’m sorry for my behaviour earlier. I was hungry. We all are.’ said Kamryn as they folded arms and watched standing upright on the bone ceiling high above.

  There was a shift in front of Claude’s eyes, the red tint dimmed before his stomach contracted inwards and flexed. His arms dropped to his side and hung loosely and his head dropped forward.

  As his physical changes began to rapidly recede and his jaw snapped back into place and blood stopped running from his eyes he slammed both his hands onto the smooth floor of bones beneath him. His knees hit the floor as he crouched over with a sweetened taste inside his mouth.

  Claude was certain, the part of his mind that continued to operate, observe and take in sensory information, that raw bone, polished or not shouldn’t have that kind of taste.

  If it had been meat or something solid he would have understood but bone. Plain, shining, polished and broken shards of bone shouldn’t taste sweet unless it had been treated. Or there was a simulation error.

  Whomever is controlling this simulation has made a few mistakes. Yeah, this could be Antares Cybernetics level tech. CAMPIN wouldn’t be this raw. At least according to the NISRO propaganda back on Belphus. When is the security rescue team from the Acqua Foundation going to find me?

  He experienced no pain, but the sensation of smashing the palms of his hands into bone caused a resounding noise throughout the room. There was no physical way that he should have been able to move his body that fast or with that much strength without tearing apart his muscles and ligaments.

  Reflexively, his body tried to gulp down air, granted that during his time leaping and eating fragments and compressed sections of raw bone thrown to him like an animal, he hadn’t drawn in breath once.

  At least my eyes have stopped watering. I must have been crying this entire time. Crying tears of blood isn’t a good sign. Or maybe it is, my mind is rebelling. Trying to tell me this place is built wrong.

  The blood which had already fallen from his face had been long absorbed by the polished bone floor beneath him. All other traces of it either on his clothes or body had simply been fully absorbed.

  Claude wasn’t clear on why his sense of smell had become fully diminished. He could taste the remnants of the bone and the sweet aftertaste but his entire time inside the bone chamber, he couldn’t smell a single thing.

  An aching groan came from his mouth as his full control of his consciousness came back to him and he folded in two clutching a painful stomach as his body wanted to throw up. Claude swallowed down a mouthful of stomach acid which burnt his throat on the way back down.

  Dust clouds of powdered human bone swirled around him as his red tinted vision dimmed for a moment before he was grabbed and hoisted high into the air on one of his arms. An elongated and extremely thin arm and hand lifted him up as Claude began to regain full control of his body once more.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  The cuts across his body and clothing had begun to itch where the clouds of bone dust has touched them. He wanted to scratch at the open wounds and tear off the torn scraps of clothing covering him.

  A raw heat within his body was rising but Claude forcefully shut it down as his stomach and appetite had been sated. He was tired of being pushed around. He could try and scream for help, grab the hand holding it and fight but he needed to establish a dialogue.

  Rules of survival. Establishing the fact that I’m a human being is the most important. Build a connection. Then either survive, or demand to leave the simulation. We had training on this in case we ever ran into a broken CAMPIN remnant.

  Despite being lifted several metres high up in the air he made himself relax. The thin, spread out hand was holding him up by the back of his clothing. The white fabric stretched a little but failed to rip.

  He made himself smile as he took in the sight of Kamryn. They had changed, skin flush once more, eyes brighter and with a look of confidence. Aside from the elongated and unnaturally thin arm and hands the rest of them looked entirely normal.

  A pair of dark eyes simply stared into his, deep pools and a face which showed a tinge of sadness, even regret as he was held in the air. Claude considered that he was being examined for a moment, like a newborn animal or one that had been picked up and was being inspected by a new owner.

  Forcing a bright smile on his face and trying to ignore the experience of eating raw bone, losing complete control over his own physical reactions, his memory damage he spoke to Kamryn.

  ‘Hello again. I think that you captured me, or my boat did in fact sink and you locked me up inside a remote hidden facility. Yeah, I’m putting it together. But this isn’t a CAMPIN operation, you haven’t given me an employee identification number nor tasks. So, this is either a rogue element of Antares Cybernetics or worse, you’re kidnapping people for illegal Uni-Clone trials. I know my rights as a citizen of the World Government of Belphus. A team will be searching for me. Kamryn, last chance to let me out of this….simulation and free my mind.’ said Claude as he did his best to ignore the sensation of hanging above the ground.

  There was no immediate response but after he was tilted to his sides he was lowered back onto the smooth bone floor of the room. Above his head trickles of bone and dust dropped down onto his head and into the cuts on his body but this time they were absorbed.

  The unnaturally thin hand and arm retracted back and folding their arms Kamryn turned a head and looked at the same bone carving reliefs on the walls which Claude has been looking at earlier.

  The red light emitting in the room dimmed from the ceiling a little but Claude’s eyes adjusted faster than he could think to the increase in darkness inside the room.

  Without turning their head to him a voice spoke in his head. He recognised it as Kamryn but their mouth hadn’t moved. Arms remaining folded as they continued to stare at the carved bone reliefs and images along the wall.

  I’m hungry. More than you could imagine. Not being able to devour this entire island and every single living organism down to the bacteria in the soul wouldn’t fill me up. But I’ve learnt discipline. Claude Blefusci. A name more suitable that you can imagine for this place. You have a choice. I offer you two pieces of advice and something special I borrowed or I can leave you alone inside this room and you make your own way out was far as you want. There are threats here, even in this place, deep beneath the ground. I’m trying to keep Sally unaware of this. I’ve broken enough rules already. What do you prefer?

  Before Claude could respond the room began to darken further as he saw two deep blue points of light glow from Kamryn’s eyes as they turned their head towards him.

  With an open mouth full of more sharpened teeth than was humanly possible and a tongue which rolled outwards and snaked around their head a deep chill ran through Claude.

  He didn’t know why he had been taken to this place, or even how much time had passed. The room began to darken even further as the mouth of Kamyrn opened and their jaw extended. Much as Claude’s had earlier but the rows of teeth upon teeth was wrong. Entirely wrong.

  Claude smelled something this time. The same as earlier when he had first arrived, a disgusting smell which had made him want to immediately vomit.

  A word from Kamryn came into his mind. A single word which he knew the meaning of immediately despite having only learnt biology back in High School on Belphus a decade and a half ago.

  Candaverine.

  Claude knew this word. The smell of death. His death. He would be consumed by the ever-hungry figure in front of him. Real or not, simulation or not he wanted to progress. To escape this place or at least enter a different environment.

  Worst of all was the hideous smell had caused his own mouth to open and he had been licking his teeth and mouth, with saliva forming.

  What did they do to me?

  I’ve given you something to eat. Something to drink. The Tourism Board needs to operate. You accepted. Claude. I’m offering you the opportunity to become a living god if you succeed. Or a chance to escape this place and learn the secrets and hidden history of the Eternal Empire. The Tourism Board is Above All Claude. Eat or be eaten.

  As the room began to darken further, the bone relief carvings on the wall shifted, previous images became new ones. The intricate designs showed a giant towering over a small figure. Between them were three skulls each with a word written on each one. The first read, blood, the next heart and the final one was brain.

  Then the carved image animated itself as the small figure leapt into the air with claws for hands and began to attack the first skull. The giant grew hair and roared silently as it raised feet to try and stomp the small figure.

  Claude. Sally is coming here. She’s getting bored. I can’t keep protecting you. All I want is to leave this place, this reality. I can’t do that unless an Inheritor-Candidate takes control. The fungus was inside the bones, severely weakened and an ancient strain but unless you agree I can’t help you. The Founder wants an ending.

  The small figure’s jaw extended as teeth grew on the intricately carved image as it avoided the slow, ponderous attempts of the giant to crush it.

  Arms thinned and extended as it smashed open a small portion of the skull as a liquid dropped down and into the mouth of the small figure as it grew a little in size.

  Inside the room of polished bone, the only light that was now visible was from the carved intricate image as the small figure tried to drink the liquid and avoid the attacks from the giant. Then the small figure turned and pointed an outstretched arm at Claude before it waved in greeting.

  Even the blue points of light from Kamryn’s eyes had ceased to glow. Inside his mouth, his tongue flowed across his teeth before it dug itself into one of his incisors and drew blood and a momentary and unexpected short jab of pain.

  Claude found himself nodding. His hair was shaking as he tried to control his body from losing control as he had earlier. Even if he was beginning to change again, this time he wanted absolute control over his own actions.

  The smell in the air was a severe distraction for him, the entire time he had been looking at the carved bone images on the wall and listening to the voice of Kamryn inside his head the smell lured him in. Caused him to further salivate.

  Good enough. This place is ruined for now, the bone will need time to regrow and Sally will locate my reality interference here. I’m going to shift us. Just...just close your eyes and ignore anything you hear. You made a good choice new Inheritor-Candidate. Congratulations.

  Claude forced his eyes shut and slammed both his hands over his ears as heat began to rise inside his stomach once more. He clenched his teeth tightly and held the blood pooling inside his mouth as long as he could, keeping his tongue flat on the bottom of his mouth.

  There was a shift in reality as the room entered absolute darkness as the last thing Claude heard was tiny screams of victory which sounded just like his own voice.

  ‘Welcome to the . Please confirm your destination to your chosen Seed world or Variant of the planet Belphus.

  All Visitors please register with your nearest available Tour Guide. The Tourism Board is Above All.’

  [This has been a sponsored message from . Choose yours today!]

  Nicholas A. Ostheimer [Original Founder of the Tourism Board and Creator of Fictional Realities.]