Peacock starred dumbfounded as Viseral lunged forward and snapped the green hand from the flower-patched plant-folk. The being responded in slow motion. Its gold eyes went wide. A shrill keening started low in its throat, then rose like a wave, crashing into Peacock’s skull. A headache bloomed in his head as pressure built behind his ears in time with rising panic. He jerked back, covering his ears against the onslaught.

What the hell, what the hell! These weren’t mobs, these were people they were inflicting pain on. Peacock’s target opened its carved mouth, hand going up to shield itself from the dragon in front of it. From me.

The injured plant-folk’s scream died down, leaving in its wake an ice-cold revelation Peacock had refused to ponder before. If Zenith Flight hadn’t killed them, it only meant one thing. They wanted more killers. No, I refuse. These Rebirths had done nothing to them. They didn’t deserve this.

“Two, the hand!” Nex’s volume increased.

Peacock flinched. Nex getting louder was a sure sign his punishment just got worse.

A rustling sound came from his left. Viseral’s target had collapsed to its knees. It held its wounded arm close as thick, green sap dripped to the ground, bringing with it the smell of deep woods after heavy rain.

Peacock’s target turned and shuffled away at what he wagered was as fast as it could muster. Peacock didn’t stop it. I don’t want to be a part of this anymore. A dark thought took shape. If I refuse, perhaps Nex will simply kill me. No point in keeping a worthless recruit. The thought of death brought with it the phantom alarms that had haunted him since hatching. He smashed it down. No. It doesn’t matter what happened to me before. Death is better than this.

A large, clawed hand slammed into Peacock’s back, flattening him against the ground. “The pain inflicted on this detritus is a pale comparison to the pain I can inflict on you, Two.” Nex’s tone, low and cold, sent ice down Peacock’s spine. “But before we get to that, a demonstration of what you should do is in order.”

Peacock caught sight of Nex’s long, spiked tail as it swung out and around, catching the fleeing plant-folk dead center, and sending it flying over them to land near Viseral and its injured comrade.

Nex shifted his weight, twisting the hand that held Peacock, grinding him against the rock as Nex forced him to turn until he had a clear and unobstructed view of Viseral. “One, both are now your targets. Remove the right feet.”

Peacock clamped his eyes shut, but with his arms pinned under Nex’s weight, nothing could block out the keening. First one, then the other screamed, their pain and terror echoing off the chasm walls until it sounded as if a village of plant-folk were crying out.

Every time their screams died, another command shot out. Over and over it went, until the cries strangled out, leaving behind a ringing in Peacock’s ears and a churning in his gut.

A hot gust of air blew across his head and neck.

“Open your eyes, Two.”

He did as Nex commanded. The worst is over. At least I didn’t have to see them die. Peacock’s attempts at reassuring himself died at the sight of the aftermath. His breath and thoughts ground to a halt.

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Pieces of plant-folk, unnervingly human in their design, dotted the space around Viseral. Shining green sap pooled on the rock, casting heady scents of trees, wildflowers, and gentle rain. The smells were beautiful, calming. The macabre scene was anything but. Wait, something’s not right.

“Why didn’t they vanish?” Peacock squeaked out despite the force on his back.

Nex pushed harder, sending a flush of pain through his body. “That is not the question you should be asking. Perhaps your punishment for disobeying will help you find the proper one.”

The wrenching in Peacock’s gut returned. What have I done? I’ve saved no one, least of all myself.

Nex pulled back. A moment later, piercing pain erupted in Peacock’s neck as a quill sank deep.

***

Peacock gasped on the floor of his cage. Nothing mattered but being released from the agony Nex had trapped him in. Unlike all the other times, his body still throbbed even after Nex had revived him. Still, his aching body paled compared to the hell he’d been forced to visit.

“Hey, are you okay?” Alainn’s voice filtered, muddled, through the haze in Peacock’s mind. She grunted. “No, stupid question, of course you’re not. Um… are you feeling any better? You were screaming and thrashing around when I got back here yesterday, and you were still at it when I got back today. I have a feeling that wasn’t from hunting White Rabbits. What did Nex do to you?” Alainn hesitated. “No, don’t answer that. Here. Nex is gone for today.”

A wet splat sounded near Peacock, bringing with it the renewed stench of old meat. “I doubt you’ve eaten in days. Starvation makes the pain worse. Eat. Quick, before it rots.”

Peacock didn’t move. He wasn’t sure he remembered how. The smell of meat grew thicker, opening up a new pain in his stomach, and with it an uncontrollable compulsion. Peacock thrashed, using his nose and tongue to find the slimy chunk of meat beside him. He swallowed it whole.

“There you go.”

More chunks came flying in, and they all slid down Peacock’s throat until the old meat smell switched to rot.

“Sorry, that looks like all of it for today. I hope it helped some, at least.”

It did. The residual ache in Peacock faded from sharp to dull. His scattered mind pieced together his surroundings.

Alainn stood, pink chest against the bars of her cage, and red hands grasping the bars as she peered at Peacock. A small chunk of leftover rotten meat lay at her side.

Peacock struggled to his feet and stared at the food. “Did you feed me all of that?” A strange, uncomfortable feeling rose. Whether it was guilt, gladness, or something else, he couldn’t tell.

Alainn shrugged. “Does it matter? I’ve been doing pretty well with my mob-slaughtering, I’ll have you know. I’ve certainly eaten better than you the last couple of days.”

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Peacock tried to smile, but it slipped down into a frown instead. This felt weird. There was no reason for her to help them. The first lesson you learned in Zenith Flight was all that mattered was you, which meant she had an angle, some sort of ulterior motive. He just had to figure out what.

“You don’t trust me.”

“No, I don’t. No one in their right mind would help someone else in here unless they had something to gain.”

Alainn shook her head. “Wow, did Nex stab you with a mind-warping substance, or what? I know you can’t remember your old family, but surely you've played games before. There are always assholes. Doesn’t mean everyone is.”

Peacock glared at her. “Games? Really? I guess you have been doing well in so-called ‘training’ because you’ve obviously missed out on how Nex can torture us whenever he feels like it, and we can’t die! No food, no water, doesn’t matter. He can rip us apart and heal us up again, and thanks to some sadistic programmers, we can feel it all. This isn’t a game, Alainn. This is a deep, dark hell.”

Alainn had taken a few steps back and now looked at Peacock with pity in her eyes. “They really took everything from you, didn’t they?”

He snorted and turned away. His anger and frustration froze as he took in the empty cage behind them. “Where’s Viseral?”

“I don’t know,” Alainn whispered in a delicate voice. “He didn’t come back when you did.”