DING!
The sound wasn't in the room. It was inside Ren's skull. It vibrated through her molars like a dentist's drill hitting a nerve.
Ren groaned, her eyes squeezed shut. She tried to roll over to smash the snooze button, but she couldn't move. She was currently pinned under approximately three hundred pounds of sleeping Tiger King. Kael had her trapped in a limb-lock that was equal parts romantic and suffocating. His heavy arm was draped over her waist, and his face was buried in the hood of her damp red puffer coat.
DING! DING! DING!
'Okay! I'm up! Stop the noise!' Ren screamed mentally, rubbing her crusty, sleepy eyes with her free hand. 'What is it? Is the cave collapsing?'
[System Alert: Mission Failed.]
Ren blinked, her brain still foggy with sleep. 'Mission? What mission?'
[Quest: The Great Serpent Escape.] [Objective: Complete three escape tasks to flee the Snake King's territory.] [Deadline: The New Moon.] [Status: FAILED. The New Moon was last night, dumbass.]
