Dylan woke with a sudden, coughing gasp. He bolted upright and several pairs of hands reached out to prevent him from falling off the table. He blinked, shook his head, and took a few more breaths until his heartbeat returned to normal. Once he'd regained control of himself, he found Nishara, Cora, and Ayastal in front of him, and the bodies of Grishnag, Syala, and Zilaka resting on tables to either side. Eyes closed, bodies dormant. Still in the game, he figured.

Same room as before. At least we were right about that.

Nishara sobbed and tears ran down her cheeks. Ayastal and Cora put their hands on her shoulders and back. Dylan scooted off the table, took a moment to regain his balance, and reached out to touch one of her arms.

"Hey …"

She slithered forward, embraced him, and wept with sobs that shook both of them.

"You will be alright now," Ayastal said softly. "It's over, for now."

Dylan rubbed Nishara's back slowly. "She's right. You're okay now."

"It …" Nishara took several more sobbing breaths before she could continue. "It hurt!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I wish I could stop this." He cupped her cheek in his left hand and tried to smile. "As long as we're alive, there's a chance we can figure this out and find a way to escape."

"It has to happen soon. I don't know how much longer I can do this." She burst into tears again.

Dylan held her and just waited for her to let it all out. The others kept their hands on her shoulders, trying to offer what little comfort they could.

Finally, her weeping subsided. She clung to Dylan for a few more minutes, and he kept his arms around her until she pulled back a few inches and gazed into his eyes. She managed a shaky smile and stroked his cheek.

"Thank you." She kissed him. His heart revved up again and he let it continue as long as she wanted. When they finally parted, he blushed and grinned. She smiled and her face turned a slightly darker shade of brown. She patted the other females' hands and gave each of them a brief kiss. "Thank you."

"Any time." Cora smiled and gave her shoulder one more gentle squeeze. Then she leaned forward and spoke in a soft tone, almost a whisper. "I think I've worked out at least part of what's going on here. I want to wait until the other three are back with us before I say anything more, just in case."