Someone shifted in their cot and moments later the lights flickered on in their crude sleeping quarters. Calli squeezed her eyes shut as she faced the wall, listening to the rustling of those waking around her.

"Morning," Devon's voice greeted.

"Morning," Jonah's offered back, clearing the sleep from his throat.

Calli listened to their footsteps retreat and slowly turned away from the wall as she pretended to blink awake.

Over in her cot, Lucy sat up and threw her feet over the edge, stretching her arms wide with a yawn. The baggy sleeves of her sweater slipped down to her elbow, exposing strange markings against her skin.

"Sleep well?" Ada asked, rising gracefully from her statue-like sleeping pose.

Calli inhaled deeply, faking a lengthy stretch awake. "Like a baby," she yawned.

The older woman studied her nails absently, "Hmm, I had no idea babies moaned so loud in their sleep."

Calli snapped her yawning mouth shut.

"What about babies?" Lucy sleepily asked, seating herself at the edge of Calli's cot.

Calli blushed, "Nothing." She glanced at Ada who dismissively walked away, joining the others in the locker room where the same food from the day prior waited.

Lucy shrugged, "I had absolutely wild dreams last night. Nothing about babies though."

"What did you dream of?" Calli asked, attempting to mask the suspicion in her voice. Did she dream about the demon? Is he not my dream alone? A spark of jealousy edged her thoughts.

Lucy blushed, muttering quickly, "It's nothing. I really shouldn't've mentioned it."

Calli grabbed the young woman's arm, "About a demon?"

"Ow, Calli that hurts," she tensed her brows, attempting to pull her arm from Calli's grasp.

"Tell me if you dreamed of the demon too," she demanded.

"What? No," Lucy cried out. Calli released her and the young woman cradled her arm close. "I dreamt about Jonah," she confessed in a whispered hiss.

"Oh." Calli saw how Lucy carefully studied her and realized what she'd done. "I'm sorry," Calli quickly extended. "I just – this place – this gameshow is getting to me," she lied.

Lucy nodded and stood, "Yeah, I get it. This place is," she paused, "odd."

"Yeah," Calli agreed, though the word didn't even begin to describe it.

"You – did you dream about a demon then?" She asked tentatively.

"What?"

"You said too. You asked if I dreamed of the demon too. So does that mean you dreamt about a demon?" She pressed.

Calli slowly nodded. "I was back in the field," she admitted. A sudden thought came to mind, "Was your dream a," she wagged her eyebrows, "you know, a good dream?"

Lucy blushed, looking down as she wrung her hands together, "When we were kids, I used to dream Jonah and I would get married," she whispered. "But last night," she paused as an uncontrollable smile occupied her lips, "it was more than just walking down the aisle in a white dress."

Calli had guessed as much. But was the gameshow responsible for these heightened dreams? Were they lacing the food or water? It seemed a bit of a stretch. Just a coincidence then? Whatever it was, she feared the embarrassment another night of sleep would bring. Especially if she couldn't keep her mouth shut.

Lucy dipped her head to whisper, "Was your dream a good dream too?" She asked, unable to hide the slight shock in her voice.

"Buh, what? No. No," Calli shook her head.

Lucy smiled and raised her eyebrows, stifling a laugh. "Okay. Well, come on then," she said, nodding to the locker room, "we should eat before the next trial is announced."

They met with the others in the locker room for their makeshift breakfast where Jonah acknowledged them with a simple greeting. The red in Lucy's face hadn't grown so quickly this time but it was still present. There didn't seem to be much recognition on his part though past being a fellow contestant and Calli couldn't help but feel sorry for the young woman.

As they chatted and giggled about things from Devon being far too large for his cot to Jonah cursed to be nearly nude, Calli watched Ada across the room. Still perfect as a bronze statue, not a single hair was out of place nor was a wrinkle in sight, despite all they'd been through so far. The woman busied herself around the room with checking empty lockers and studying herself in the mirror. Occasionally she would interject into their conversations, but she always kept a distance.

"I snuck into the games to keep an eye on you," she recalled what Ada had confided in her. Her carer had claimed it had been out of greed, but Calli wasn't sure what she could really mean by that. The woman had been against Calli wishing for money, a greedy thing in some ways, but she had been absolutely thrilled that Calli would even consider auditioning for the gameshow.

What does she want? She narrowed her eyes. "I've got a question," Calli addressed the room, "what is the one wish everyone here wants granted?"

The others looked at her with concern as the room fell silent. Ada leaned against a sink, coolly watching her with calculating eyes.

"Ada, why don't you start first," she insisted.

The woman smiled, "Wealth, power, love?" She laughed. "Too much to choose from really."

"Oh? Don't be so pedestrian, darling," Calli taunted. "You can be more specific than that."

Ada took a challenging step forward, "I want to topple the patriarchy. You?" She pointedly questioned. "Still on about money?"

"Hmm," Calli mused, "seems a more appropriate ask than toppling the patriarchy, no? Surely there's a more reasonable wish you could ask for. Or do you truly believe Dorian James can grant any wish?"

"I have complete faith that my wish will be granted," she steadily countered.

"Oh, so you'll be winning this gameshow then?" Calli tested, raising an eyebrow.

Ada flashed a smile but quickly tamed the expression, "No. I'll count on you to do that."

Calli openly glared at the woman, "What is with your insistence that I could win this?"

The room fell silent as the two woman unwaveringly stared each other down.

"Yeah," Jonah interjected, sensing the tension. "I don't want to get turned into a dog again or anything for saying this, but I could very much kick all your butts in the next trial," he teased, elbowing Devon.

Devon rolled his eyes. "We don't even know what the next trial is. For all you know, I could be the one kicking your butt. I did actually win the first trial, remember? I'm well on my way to getting my wish granted," he chuckled.

"So, what'll your wish be?" Lucy asked Devon as they all pretended to move on from Ada and Calli's argument.

Ada winked at Calli and continued her lazy exploration of the gym. Their conversation hadn't revealed enough to Calli, and she was still left wondering Ada's true motives as she watched the woman meander away.

"Actually," Devon sighed and looked down to his folded hands. "I was going to wish for Jonah's arm to get fixed," he admitted.

"Guess you gotta figure somethin' else out, huh?" Jonah laughed, patting the big guy on his back.

He returned a soft smile, "Yeah, I guess I do."

Lucy reached for a fruit on the table.

"What the fuck is that?" Jonah demanded, startling the seated group.

"Language!" Ada called from somewhere between the rows of lockers.

Calli looked to where Jonah was reaching. Before Lucy could pull her hand back, he had snatched her wrist, holding her arm up as he pulled her sleeve down, exposing the scars of many small slashes. She hadn't recognized them earlier, but now, up close, Calli realized they were from self-harming.

"Oh my god," the words slipped out before she could stop herself.

"It's nothing," Lucy argued, blushing as she attempted to pull her sleeve up, but Jonah's grip was unrelenting.

"Lucy," Jonah's voice was sharp and pleading, his sad eyes searched hers for understanding.

Her eyes flickered to his at the sound of her name, narrowing in confusion.

Calli wasn't sure they'd made introductions. Maybe he does remember her?

"It's nothing," she repeated, yanking her arm free and covering it with her sleeve again.

"Lucy," Calli placed a hand on her shoulder from where she sat on Lucy's other side, "If you want to talk about that or anything at all, I'm here."

The young woman stood, brushing off their concern as she walked out of their reach. "I promise you, it's not what you think." She turned to face them as her lips softened into a smile that didn't touch her eyes, "They're just scars."

The room was silent. Calli tried to remember if all the scars looked old or not. Are they on her other arm as well? Her panic didn't settle. A million questions worried her mind. What do I do? What can I do for my friend?

The world had been a cold sad place when Calli had woken from her coma. One of her first thoughts back then had been, Has it always been this way? Surely that hopelessness in the air hadn't been there for long. Surely, she had imagined it in her deep depression. But she could see it in the eyes of her neighbors and people on the streets. That weight that clung to everyone's backs as they tried to make it through another day. That same weight that kept her bedridden for days. Calli couldn't help but feel a sense of understanding for Lucy. Everyday was hard and unrewarding. The buildings grew taller. The sun grew smaller as the air grew thinner. And all the while corporations grew richer as everyone else slaved under them. The population's only revolt seemed to be in criminal activity. Nothing ever seemed to get better.

"I –"

The disembodied voice of the announcer interrupted Calli, causing the four of them to jump, "WELCOME TO DAY TWO OF THE WISHING GAMES."

"Wonderful," clapped Ada, sauntering over to join the rest of the group.

Calli rolled her eyes as the voice continued, "TODAY OUR CONTESTANTS FIND THEMSELVES WITH THEIR SECOND TRIAL. AS THEY STEP THROUGH THE DOOR, WHAT WILL THEY FIND? HOW WILL THEY SUCCEED? WHO WILL WIN THE NEXT TRIAL IN THE WISHING GAMES?" Its foreboding questions asked.

They all looked at each other. Lucy had retreated into her sweater again, holding her hands to her mouth. The fear in her eyes was palpable. Calli couldn't say she didn't feel the same. That feeling of wrongness had returned to the pit of her stomach, and she feared what that would mean for them.

"No use in delaying the inevitable," Ada declared.

"The inevitable?" Devon questioned. He hadn't budged from where he sat with his hands clenched together. Calli thought she saw them tremble. "We don't even know which door that guy is talking about."

Above the door that led to the wide-open gymnasium, red neon letters suddenly appeared, floating over the door as if drawn into the air.

"Exit," read Ada. "Well, if I were a betting woman, I'd say probably through that," she punctuated with a sharp point of her finger, "door." She casually walked over it to place her hand on the doorknob. "Ready?" She asked the group.

The rest of the group looked at each other again, slowly coming to focus entirely on Calli, expectantly waiting for an answer.

The sudden weight of their anxious gaze surprised her. Nothing she'd done so far warranted any sort of leadership over them. She wondered what it was that made them look at her as if she could answer for them.

She nodded, "Yeah, let's get this over with," and offered what she hoped would be a reassuring smile.

They each smiled back at her.

To Calli's further astonishment, Lucy cheered, "Yeah!"

The boys both laughed and joined her, shouting, "Yeah," in unison.

Their cheering broadened the smile on Calli's face, and she stepped forward to join Ada at the door. A feeling of empowerment washed over her as she firmly nodded at Ada to open the door.

Ada's returning smile was both a tease and a challenge. "Let's do this," she laughed enthusiastically as she opened the door and stepped through to their next trial.