Ash woke up and did not know where he was for about two seconds.
The ceiling was wrong. The light was wrong. Then he heard the soft, steady hum of the array under the floor and remembered.
Training Room Seven.
Day two.
It was completely silent otherwise. In the dorm there had always been something going on—doors sliding open, footsteps in the corridor, someone's music leaking through the wall, the cleaning drone doing its slow rounds. Here there was nothing. The sealed walls kept everything out. He lay under his blanket for a full minute just listening to the quiet.
He had slept well, though. Better than he had in weeks.
He got up, washed his face with cool water, and went to the kitchen. The stove was basic but worked fine. He heated a ration pack of rice and vegetables, poured an energy drink into a glass, and sat at the little table to eat. It was a decent breakfast. It was also very quiet.
