"Mom...It's dark...I'm scared..."

  I couldn't see anything. The darkness pressed against me, swallowing me whole. I couldn't move, and breathing was hard—too hard. What was happening to me?

  "Why the fuck did you grab the kid too? We were just supposed to take all the valuable shit they had!"

  "I don’t know, man. I panicked. The little bugger came out of nowhere. I ain’t the type of person to shoot a kid, man." A deeper voice responded.

  Their voices echoed from another room. My heart pounded against my ribs. Who were these people? Where were Mom and Dad? What did I do wrong?

  I’d been good. I ate my vegetables. I finished my homework. I never said bad words.

  Had I done something bad?

  "Please, help me. I swear I'll be good again."

  A door creaked open, and my body jerked. A fresh wave of terror filled my chest as I scrambled backward, only for the wall behind me to stop me cold. Footsteps drew closer. I squeezed my eyes shut.

  "Please don’t hurt me. Please don’t hurt Mari. I’ll be good now, I promise. Just let me see my mommy!"

  They didn’t answer. Their heavy footsteps stopped in front of me, their breathing deep and uneven.

  "Here. Deal with your mistake."

  "I can't do it, man. She's just a brat. The guilt is gonna kill—"

  "DO YOU THINK I GIVE A SHIT? WE’LL BOTH BE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU."

  Deal with your mistake?

  Did that mean… they were letting me go?

  Hope flickered inside me like the dying embers of a candle.

  "My daddy is rich! I can ask him for money if you help me! I promis—"

  A deafening bang.

  Everything stopped.

  The fear. The shivering. The panic.

  My body gave out, collapsing to the ground.

  Had I… fallen asleep?

  A deep voice sobbed somewhere in the distance.

  "Fuck, man. I can't believe I did that. Fuck."

  Then, nothing.

  No more voices. No more fear.

  Just darkness.

  "Mari..."

  Who's there?

  I tried to speak, but my voice wouldn't leave my mouth.

  "Mari... Wake up..."

  My eyes fluttered open. Something was bumping against me—small, light, with frantic wings. A flying animal? Where am I? What is this thing? What happened to me?

  "Mari! I'm glad you're finally awake. I was worried for a second there! Anyways, hurry up! We're late to the hunter orientation!"

  Hunter orientation? My head throbbed. The words made no sense. What’s going on? Who is this? Wait—how is it talking?

  "Who... are... you?"

  The words scraped my throat like broken glass. Pain shot through me, deep and raw, as if my body had forgotten how to speak. I wanted to cry.

  "Oh yeah, I totally forgot to introduce myself. My name is Desire. I will be your Hunter's personal assistant. I am here to offer you support during the Hunter jobs that will be assigned to you. I am basically your friend!"

  A friend.

  The word lingered in my mind, unfamiliar and warm. I had a friend now? A small smile crept onto my face.

  "Okay... Desire... friend."

  "Your throat still seems to be bothering you. I mean, it’s pretty obvious since there’s, like, a massive hole in it. BAHAHAHAHA!"

  Desire burst into laughter, wings flapping wildly.

  A hole?

  In my throat?

  My fingers trembled as they reached up, brushing against my skin. Cold. Wet. Hollow. My stomach twisted. My breath hitched.

  There was a gaping hole in the side of my neck.

  No.

  No, no, no, no.

  Panic crashed over me like a tidal wave. My body locked up. My chest burned. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. Nothing.

  Tears streamed down my face. My legs gave out. I collapsed, the world spinning, tilting, shattering around me.

  What... what happened to me?

  Why is there a hole in my throat?

  "Hey now! Don’t start the waterworks, you big baby. You’re fine! You just had... a little accident! It’ll get better, don’t worry. The nice ladies at hunter orientation will fix you right up!"

  Desire’s voice was light, almost cheerful, like this wasn’t completely insane. Like this was normal.

  I wanted to believe him.

  But my hands were still shaking.

  And my throat—my throat was still missing a piece of me.

  I nodded as I pushed myself up. My legs wobbled beneath me, and the tears still ran down my face, but I tried to stop them.

  It’s okay. Desire said they would fix this. It will be okay.

  Desire is my friend.

  Friends don’t lie to each other.

  He floated ahead toward a massive, triangular building, his small form bobbing through the stale air. I wiped my face and followed.

  I don’t like this place.

  The stench of rot and sewage clung to everything, thick and suffocating. My stomach churned. I wanted to go home. Home with Mom and Dad. But will I ever go back?

  The people here looked like they hadn’t eaten in months—thin, hollowed-out, barely alive. Will I become like them? The thought made my body shudder.

  And some of them… some of them weren’t even people.

  Machines.

  Their glowing eyes flickered beneath rusted metal faces. Limbs creaked with mechanical whirs. They moved like people but weren’t. Their bodies were wrong.

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  What is this place?

  A towering structure loomed ahead, swallowing up my thoughts.

  "Here we are! Welcome to the Pyramid!"

  The Pyramid?

  It didn’t look like anything from Earth. More like something straight out of the evening cartoons I used to watch with Daddy—blinding neon lights, flashing spotlights, metal veins running up its sides like circuitry.

  A wailing siren blared from somewhere to the right.

  "Hurry, Mari! That’s the last bell for the hunter’s orientation!"

  Desire darted toward the alarms.

  I forced my legs to move. They felt weak. Unsteady. But the idea of being left alone again was worse.

  I pushed forward.

  A crowd swarmed the entrance. I shrank back, overwhelmed.

  Towering machines stood at both ends of the massive doorway, their bulky metal frames rigid, unmoving. They held the gates open with effortless strength.

  "LAST CALL FOR HUNTER'S ORIENTATION. FAILURE TO ATTEND IS PUNISHABLE BY TERMINATION."

  The sirens screamed.

  Panic erupted through the crowd. Bodies pushed forward, desperate, frantic.

  I was too small.

  The wave of people swallowed me whole.

  I struggled to keep up. My breaths came short and sharp. My vision blurred. Desire—where is he?

  I couldn’t see him anymore.

  The world darkened.

  My body faltered.

  I was drowning.

  Then—hands.

  Strong. Unyielding. Lifting me up.

  "Oh shit! Careful now, little girl. This is a dangerous place for a kid like you. Wait—what the fuck? Why do you have that? This messed-up system is starting to recruit children? That’s sickening."

  My vision was still blurry. A large figure held me up by my arm like I weighed nothing.

  "Crap, the doors are closing. Aghhhhhhh, fuck it. Kid, hold on to me tight if you want to live."

  I didn’t have time to think. I grabbed onto the stranger’s jacket with everything I had.

  Then—fire.

  Flames crawled up her legs, burning bright, hot. Her limbs whirred, then—BOOM.

  She launched us forward.

  Wait. WAIT. HOW IS SHE FLYING?!

  We shot through the air, barely squeezing past the closing doors. My breath caught in my throat. My soul left my body. My arms locked around her like a vice as we landed with a thud.

  I was shaking.

  "WOOOOO! Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about! That rush never gets old. How was it, kid? Pretty fun, huh? Am I the coolest person you know, or what?"

  She turned her head, grinning—then froze.

  I was paralyzed. Barely clinging to her leather jacket.

  "OH MY GOD! KID, YOU OKAY?! WHAT HAPPENED??"

  She shook me, desperate, like I was some broken toy. Big mistake.

  The moment my senses returned, the nausea hit. Hard.

  I couldn’t stop it. My body lurched forward.

  Everything I had eaten that day—gone.

  Right onto her jacket.

  A deep, horrified silence.

  "Are you SERIOUS right now?! I just bought this jacket, man! I mean, yeah, I guess it’s kinda my fault, BUT STILL!"

  She groaned, holding out her arms like she could somehow escape the mess.

  "At least WARN me before you do that, bro! I could’ve gotten you a bag or something!"

  "I'm... so... sorry... Not... mean... to..."

  I tried to apologize, but the words choked in my throat.

  Right. The hole.

  I needed to get this fixed. Desire. Where are you?

  "Mari! Are you here? Did you get in?"

  A familiar voice echoed through the lobby.

  Desire!

  I tried to call out, but my voice wouldn’t reach him.

  The stranger looked at me, then in the direction of the voice.

  "Mari? That you? I’m guessing you know the one yelling your name?"

  I nodded.

  "Got it."

  She turned toward the voice and yelled at full volume.

  "HEY! MARI’S HERE! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE NOW!"

  Her voice boomed across the lobby. A second later, a familiar blur shot toward us.

  Desire.

  He found me.

  "Thank god you got in, Mari. I would've lost my job if you became a failure on your first day—BAHAHAHA!"

  Bright lights flickered from Desire’s eyes, scanning me from head to toe. A strange sensation crawled over my skin, like invisible fingers tracing my body.

  "Scan complete. No problems here—well, aside from the gaping hole in your neck. BAHAHAHA!"

  His laughter sent a chill down my spine. Was my injury really that funny?

  But... he’s my friend.

  Friends don’t lie to each other. I can trust him.

  The woman whistled, arms crossed. Her gaze flicked between Desire and me, sharp with curiosity.

  "Woah. Is that the new Desimaro people are going crazy about? How did a brat like you score a high-end PA like that? Your parents rich or something? Contractors, maybe? Damn, I might’ve hit the gold mine saving you."

  Her eyes practically sparkled with greed.

  "No. Unfortunately, my Hunter does not have a family. I was merely assigned to Mari in order to fulfill my true purpose."

  True purpose?

  What does he mean by that?

  Was he made to protect me?

  A soft warmth filled my chest, pushing away the fear. Desire was mine. He was my friend. He even said so himself. He would never do anything to hurt me.

  The woman clicked her tongue in disappointment.

  "Damn it. Thought I was about to score my express ticket out of this dump."

  Her eyes drifted back to Desire, admiration creeping into her tone.

  "You’re one lucky brat, though. Having a Desimaro is basically cheating. These things are loaded with the latest battle and support tech. With him around, you’re already set to start hunting."

  Hunting?

  Battle tech?

  Support tech?

  What exactly is Desire?

  What exactly is going on?

  A voice suddenly rang through the room.

  The once lively chatter vanished.

  Silence.

  "ATTENTION, HUNTERS."

  "EXPERIENCED HUNTERS, PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE RIGHT SECTOR. NEW RECRUITS, REPORT TO THE LEFT SECTOR. FAILURES WILL NOW BE TERMINATED."

  The voice paused.

  Then—metal groaned.

  A deep, mechanical whir rumbled from behind the massive doors. Something was moving. Something big.

  Then came the screams.

  Raw. Desperate. Terrified.

  The people left outside begged. Pounding fists against steel. Crying. Pleading.

  BANG.

  A single, deafening shot.

  For a second, nothing.

  Then—chaos.

  BRRRRRT—

  A relentless hail of bullets ripped through the air. Metal shrieked. Flesh tore. The screams pitched higher—horrific, inhuman—then cut off.

  Bodies thudded against the floor.

  Spent shells clinked as they scattered across the ground.

  The gunfire stopped.

  Silence.

  "THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE. PLEASE HEAD TO YOUR DESIGNATED SECTOR. THE PYRAMID WISHES YOU ALL THE BEST.

  PROVE THAT YOU ARE USEFUL.

  NECA NE NECERIS."

  My hands clenched into fists.

  I didn’t know what it meant.

  But I knew it was a warning.