The elevator doors opened and she beckoned for me to go first. I stopped, not knowing where to go; before me extended a spacious and bright conservatory filled with plants, palm trees, six-foot-tall grass with meaty stalks, even a bamboo grove. The glut of color made my eyes widen. The high ceiling was hidden behind an imitation blue sky. The wall behind me was made to look like the face of a cliff.
“The recreation zone,” Kerry explained. “All the entertainment you need: twelve restaurants, a cinema, pool, petting zoo, gym, spa…”
We walked along paths winding like forest trails and covered with soft carpet bearing a three-dimensional pattern that imitated stone.
“At night, this whole place changes,” my assistant said. “This level turns into a small resort town, the Boom Boom nightclub opens, along with some bars, a casino and… Uhh… Are you over sixteen?”
“Of course!”
“Oh, great!” she winked. “If you want, there are rooms for intimate relaxation here. Check the catalog, there’s plenty of choice!”
“Sexbots?” I clarified, blushing.
“Hmm… Are you sure you’re sixteen?” Kerry giggled. “See for yourself. I won’t spoil the surprise.”
The level was deserted — almost all the entrants to the Games were gathered below.
“Meeting, talking,” Kerry explained. “Most of them arrived yesterday, some even the day before. In… yep, in six minutes the hotel will let the journalists in, that’s why the contestants are hanging around down there. They all want their time to shine for the viewers… You know how it is, a lot depends on the sympathy of the public in the Games! The opening stream will start right after the shared meal. At midnight local time.”
Midnight seemed to be Snowstorm’s favorite time. The ball at Distival had begun at twelve too.
We toured the whole level, but didn’t go inside anywhere. All I could do was look through doors and spin my head. Unfortunately, I saw none of the promised ‘rooms of intimate relaxation.’ But I did manage to stroke a fierce-looking white rabbit in the petting zoo — that took a lot of willpower after the Nether. It was soft as a pillow.
“You have five levels in total,” Kerry said between yawns as she stroked a listless lizard. “The two upper floors are living quarters, we’ll get to them soon. The third is the immersion level. Each contestant has their own individual capsule. The settings are taken from your own devices. The fourth is where we are now, the rest and relaxation level. The contestants gather here to talk and share impressions after each day of the Games.”
“What about the fifth?”
“The fifth floor is the media center. It’s for reporters and official events. After you settle into your room, I’ll take you there. That’s where the shared meal will be, by the way.”
We went up one floor from the recreation area. Kerry led me to my room.
“Damn, I almost forgot! Chloe asked me to take you to see her before the interview! Do you need a lot of time to get ready?”
“I’ll just wash off this powder,” I grumbled, although I was dreaming of a shower.
“There’s clothes in your size in the wardrobe if you need them! But best you don’t get changed, I think Dante made you look just great!”
There were no personal items in my room apart from what I had on me before the visit to the stylists. Hairo had only given me three minutes to pack for Alaska. I only had time to put my hoodie on.
Looking around the room quickly, I chuckled — no worse than what I had in Dubai, more spacious if anything. It was all modern, but with retro styling: thronelike chairs, a natural-wood imitation table, a bed with a carved wooden headboard and a cupboard that was simply a work of art, with a carved door and gilded curved handle. I couldn’t help but stroke the back of a chair, and I noticed the material didn’t seem like plastic. It was real wood!
Throwing my clothes into the laundry basket, I put the comm the organizers had given me on my arm, went into the bathroom, washed off everything the makeup artist had put on my face, then fixed my hair.
“Hmm… Pale again,” Kerry shook her head. “Shame you washed it off. Karim made you look healthy, but now you look like a vampire. You should get more sun, Alex! Or isn’t there much sun where you live?”
“Very little,” I lied, sending potential pursuers on a false trail. Cali got plenty of sun all year round, I just didn’t have any windows. “It rains all the time…”
More running through corridors, an elevator, another of the hotel’s service floors, this time for the managers of the Demonic Games. It was quiet and empty. And, amazingly after what I’d seen in my room and the hall — it was humble. In one of the corridor sections, we stopped at a door labeled ‘Chloe Cliffhanger, Community and Connections Director.’
Kerry knocked, then opened the door a touch.
“Miss Cliffhanger, I have Sheppard here.”
“Come in,” a sharp woman’s voice answered.
Behind the door was a spacious room outfitted as an office. A young-looking woman in a beige pantsuit and golden-rimmed glasses walked over to greet us.
Chloe offered me a hand:
“Hey, Alex, how was your trip?” The woman gestured to a black sofa, the only dark item in her office. “Take a seat,” she said, turning to Kerry. “You’re dismissed for now, wait outside the door. We won’t be long.”
My assistant walked out, leaving me alone with Cliffhanger. I bit my lip, not knowing what to expect. I doubted that high-ranking Snowstorm executives talked to every contestant like this.
The woman offered me a drink, but I refused. Then she sat down next to me, looked me hard in the
