James woke up after another bad night of barely sleeping.
He sat on the edge of his bed with his phone in his hand, staring at the Floor 6 briefing from the TRB. The Dock 7 news was still playing on every channel, but no suspect had been named. His body had healed enough to move normally, but the memory hadn't left him.
When he closed his eyes, he saw Derek's face. He saw the skeletons moving forward. He saw the System message: [INVALID TARGET].
He forced himself to focus on the briefing instead.
Floor 6 was a Standard Floor, Subjugation mission, recommended party size five. Finn had sent a message telling everyone to meet at a private training facility before entry.
James stood, showered, and dressed. He checked his gear and made sure everything was ready. On the outside, he functioned normally. Inside, he carried what happened.
James opened his status window and looked at the five unspent stat points from Level 12.
