The Five Evolution

Chapter 32: Roll of the Dice (I).

『"You, me and lady luck..."』

"Hold up. Who died and made you leader?" Naomi asked as they all floated weightlessly, her hair suspended around her face when she spoke.

Amara turned to face her mid-air, using a floating piece of debris to steady herself before answering. "None of that matters right now." Her eyes swept across the group.

She took note of Ethan, bleeding and barely conscious, Hiro wide-eyed and flailing, and everybody else. "What matters is survival. So you can either help or stay out of our way."

Before Naomi could fire back, gravity returned with violent immediacy. The SCP distortion ceased as abruptly as it had begun, and everything that had been floating came crashing down.

"Brace!" someone shouted.

Amara hit the ground hard, rolling instinctively to absorb the impact. Around her, bodies and debris slammed into the metal floor with loud thuds and metallic clangs.

For a moment, nobody moved. There was just the sound of groaning and the settling of debris.

Then Hiro pushed himself up on his elbows, spat out a mouthful of nothing, and said, "Okay. That was wildly anticlimactic."

"I guess whatever he did only lasted a few minutes," Raj said, helping Tova to his feet while simultaneously checking on Ethan who’d managed to land on his side.

"I don’t think it’s over," Hiro responded. "Feels like the Clam’s just taking a breather if you know what I mean."

Amara stood slowly, assessing the damage she took. There were a few bruises, definitely. Maybe a cracked rib, but nothing too serious.

She turned to Raj and brushed her hair back. "A few minutes was all he needed to disappear." Then she turned to Hiro. "And if that’s the case, we do not want to still be here after that breather."

All around them, the facility was in more ruins than before. Sparks rained from broken conduits, distant screams echoed through the corridors.

Sophia pushed herself up with both hands, hair disheveled, uniform torn at the shoulder. "Can we please get the fuck out of here already?"

"I’m with you on that," Amara said with a tired sigh. "But first, let’s do a head count." Her eyes swept over the group as she did a mental count. "We’re still missing one."

Hiro groaned. "Please, don’t say Weesil."

"Weesil," Amara confirmed, lips pressed into a thin line. "We can’t leave him behind."

Sophia threw her hands up. "Fuck that! We should just start going now."

"Yeah, I’m with her on that," Hiro added quickly. "I still think that little weasel had something to do with all of this."

Amara held up a hand. "If he did have something to do with this whole mess, then I should be grateful for something. His chaos is what saved us from the Warden and his goons."

"Once again, fuck that," Sophia said immediately. "We should leave now."

"Agreed," Naomi added. "He’s a Lockwood. They’ll probably send a rescue team for their own."

"We don’t leave people behind," Amara said firmly.

"Even people who might have gotten us killed?" Sophia challenged.

"Especially them." Amara met her eyes. "Because if we start deciding who’s worth saving based on whether we like them, where does it end?"

There was a moment of silence.

"She’s right," Raj said quietly. "We all make it out or none of us do."

"That’s a lovely sentiment," Naomi said. "But in case you haven’t noticed, we’re in an underwater prison full of psychotic Awakeners. Every minute we stay here, our odds of dying increase."

"Then we better get a move on," Ethan said, his voice strained. "Thirty minutes max." He placed a hand over his mouth and coughed. When he looked at it, there was blood.

Ethan tried to hide his hand as he continued, "after that, we leave whether we’ve found him or not."

Amara looked at him, saw the pain he was hiding, and nodded. "Thirty minutes." She turned to the others. "Anyone not on board can head to the submarines now. No judgement."

Nobody moved as the group went quiet, reasoning through it.

Amara’s brows furrowed when she noticed the blood on Ethan’s hand, forcing her gaze away as she looked at each of them in turn. "So are we in agreement that we should find Weesil first?"

There were murmurs of agreement. Some reluctant. Others resigned. But in the end, it was settled. They were going to try finding Weesil, complete their group and all make it back safely.

"Great," Naomi muttered. "Now how the hell are we supposed to find him in this clusterfuck?"

Hiro raised a hand. "I could scout around—" He stopped mid-sentence then immediately shuddered like he’d been doused in ice water. Goosebumps visibly rose on his arms. "You know what, never mind."

The entire group suddenly wore the same haunted expression, knowing exactly who he was afraid of running into.

Everyone’s minds went to the same place. The old woman. The knitting needles. The guards that were turned into yarn.

They all shuddered in unison.

Amara shook her head immediately. "No. We’re not risking that."

Sophia crossed her arms. "If this damn dampening field wasn’t active, I could just locate him psychically." Frustration evident in her voice. "So what now?"

Silence stretched for several seconds as they all tried to think of solutions that didn’t involve splitting up or wandering blindly through a prison full of homicidal Awakeners.

Then Hana stepped forward, her hand stretched forward, palm open wide. "I could find him."

"What?" multiple voices said at the same time as everyone turned to stare.

"Yeah." Hana’s lips curved into a smile that was somehow both confident and unhinged. "By summoning my Spirit Weapon."

She paused for dramatic effect, clearly enjoying the attention.

"The Game Master," Hana declared, hand still extended. "My Spirit Weapon lets me manipulate probability and chance through dice rolls."

"Okay..." Hiro said slowly. "And how does that help us find Weesil?"

"I roll two nine-sided dice," she explained. "If I get an even number total, I can make small things happen. The higher the number, the better the outcome." She paused.

"Like finding someone in a massive facility?" Amara asked.

"Like finding someone in a massive facility!" Hana grinned. "If I roll high enough, the Game Master can guide us straight to him."

"That sounds useful," Raj said. "What’s the catch?"

"There’s always a catch," Sophia muttered, rolling her eyes.

Hana’s smile widened. "If I roll an odd number total, something terrible happens to everyone in range."

"Define terrible," Amara said carefully.

"Oh, nothing happens to me," Hana said cheerfully. "I’m the Game Master. But everyone else?" She made an explosion gesture with her hands. "Bad luck. Really bad luck."

"How bad?" Naomi demanded.

"Last time I rolled a 7... let’s just say piano fell on someone," Hana clarified.

"A what?" Hiro’s voice cracked.

"We were on the third floor. There was no piano in the building." Hana shrugged. "The Game Master doesn’t really care about logic. It just... makes terrible things happen."

"Absolutely not," Sophia said. "I am not risking getting piano’d for fucking Weesil."

"It’s not always pianos," Hana said. "Sometimes it’s freak electrical surges. Or spontaneous combustion. Or—"

"Not helping!" multiple voices said simultaneously.

Hana shrugged. "So what’s it gonna be? Should I try, or do we just abandon Weesil to whatever fate awaits him in this underwater prison of horrors?"

Everyone looked at each other. Then, almost simultaneously, they all turned to Amara.

She glanced at Ethan, and despite the blood, the torn uniform, and the way he was barely staying upright, he gave her the smallest nod of trust.

Amara exhaled slowly, then met Hana’s gaze. "Do it."

Hana’s spirit weapon manifested with a shimmer of golden light as a floating board, roughly two feet square, hovering at chest height. The surface, decorated with bird patterns and criss-cross bones.

On the board’s surface, words began appearing, glowing softly: INTENT: FIND WEESIL.

Two perfectly ordinary-looking nine-sided dice materialized in Hana’s palm and she shook them theatrically, hand cupped, eyes closed. "Lady Luck," she whispered, "don’t fuck us over."

Then she threw.

The dice tumbled through the air in slow motion, hitting the floating board with soft clicks. They rolled. And rolled. And everyone held their breath.

The first die landed: 3