Mia has only one option left: Travel to the planet Revivium and enter the game.

In a universe where Corporations rule everything and even own planets, Mia embarks on an incredible journey to survive the AI-run fantasy game, Revivium. With no body modifications and no way to make a living without connecting to the network, Mia must succeed against all odds to progress in-game and earn the currency it offers. As a new player, she stumbles into an old story, reviving the ancient order of the Warhog Paladins.

The Warhog Paladins were the first guild in Revivium, promoting teamwork and helping others before their leadership was mysteriously murdered. Plunged into the game faster than she could imagine, she uncovers the Paladins’ secrets that jeopardize her survival. Yet she cannot ditch the quest without losing her only friend and all of her creds.

With the competition heating up and the stakes getting higher, Mia must summon all of her skills and courage to emerge triumphant. But will the cost of winning be too high?

​

​

Chapter One

Bitz: Error

Days in Game: Error

My thumb hovered over the sign now section, then I pressed it down on the screen. The moment felt heavy. “Please look directly ahead for the eye scan.” I straightened up to look into the camera and the screen in front of me. My image flickered once and then a message popped up.

Congratulations! You are now a participant in Revivium. Welcome to the game! Let’s get you connected to the network.

A soft beeping sound filled the room, then stopped.

We are having some trouble connecting with your implant. A support person will be with you momentarily. Good luck!

The screen flicked to a logo of Revivium rotating in the air.

It was hard to get air into my lungs, but I forced myself to relax. Of course they couldn’t connect to my implant. I didn’t have one. Heck, I wouldn’t be here otherwise. Deep breath in, then out. The room was small. If I reached out, I could touch each wall without extending my hands. After the long voyage to this space station, I was ready to begin. I needed to get out of small boxes. The ride all the way here was in a bunk almost as small as this. Heck, I couldn’t sit up all the way in my bunk. It had been cramped, but more importantly, cheap.

The door behind me slid open. “Please exit the signing booth,” said a soft neutral voice. A man in a white jumpsuit smiled at me as I exited. “We had a problem connecting with your implant. Please follow me to the medical bay where we will have a technician help with any updates or corrections.”

I nodded and didn’t bother correcting him. He was just doing his job. He gave me a nod and then started walking down the hallway.

“Are you excited to get planet-side?” asked the guy.

I tried to hide the shock from my face. He’d spoken to me. “I mean, kinda. It was a long trip here,” I answered. No one spoke to me unless they had to. As soon as they realized I didn’t have an implant, they treated me like shit. Then again, he probably assumed I had one, and it was just having some problem.

He didn’t turn around at my voice but kept moving down the hallway. “I know this season will be interesting. You’re cutting it a little close, with only two more days before they close the entrance.”

“This was the only shuttle I could get,” I answered. “I’d have loved to be here sooner.”

He shook his head. “It’s the last shuttle. Normally, we would get one more but so many people arrived in the first couple of days. Our numbers are up this season and it should be fun.”

“I think it depends on your definition of fun.”

Now he turned to look at me over his shoulder as he walked. That’s when I noticed his eyes. They glowed like they were back-lit keys on a keyboard. Not that people used those much anymore. Their eyes always gave them away, the artificial humans. “The survival rate of players has only increased over the last couple of years. The trend has been to ‘get in and get out’ as they say. Most players not even getting to level five.”

“You still can die.” I didn’t argue, my goal was to get in, save enough Bitz and then get out. It was the safest plan.

“And yet you signed up. My people live on Revivium and survive just fine.” He paused outside a closed door. “This is the medical center.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Good luck in the games.” He tapped a button, and the door opened to a white metal room with chairs off to one side. Another doorway was on the far side.

“Thanks, I need it.”

His eyes narrowed, and I knew what he was doing. He was running a scan over me. I quickly stepped past him. Surprise crossed over his face as I entered the room. I headed for one of the white chairs. Yet, rather than leaving, he followed me inside. “You don’t have an implant.” His voice hung in the air like all the times I’d heard it before. “All people under the age of 22 are required to have implants.” Great, someone who quoted the law.

“Keyword being under.”

“I’m surprised you made it this far without one,” interrupted a fresh voice. This time female.

I turned toward the doorway on the far side. The woman was dressed in a white lab coat with a label. “My name is Doctor Abigail.” Her eyes were off, another artificial human. I wasn’t going to complain. This was the closest I had been to a real medical professional that I could remember. Who cares if they were created and not born. Then again, some people cared way too much. “You must be Mia. I requested your file as soon as they logged the error after signing the contract.”

“That’s me, Mia Lark.”

“Come into my office, and we can discuss getting you an implant.”

“You don’t have time for that,” said the guy. “The last shuttle goes down in two days. Didn’t we hit the numbers?”

Panic filled me. I had to get down to Revivium, this was my only shot. I’d literally spent my last cred getting here. My voice came tumbling out, “Per the agreement, I get an implant and an entry into the games.”

He opened his mouth, but the Doctor glared at him. “She is correct. I have the agreement right here. We need to abide by it.” The doctor continued into her office, which looked more like an operating room. Bright light streamed down from overhead and a white chair with a head and footrest was in the center. “Take a seat Mia,” she pointed at the chair. The wall to the right flickered, then lit up. As soon as I took a seat, a picture of me appeared. It was larger than the real me was, but you could see everything from the dirty jeans I had on to the tear in the long sleeve shirt on one of my shoulders. The deep blue of the tank top underneath was clear to see. The clothes were all I owned at this point.

“She won’t have enough recovery time,” he said.

I interrupted, “You know I’m right here…”

He glared at me. He was not my favorite person in the room at that moment. I got ready to argue with him when the doctor spoke.

“Greg, I will go over the risks with her.”

“Abigail…”

“Doctor Abigail, Greg.” Woah, she wasn’t dealing with his nonsense, either. The doctor motioned to me as she hit several things in the air that I couldn’t see. “Mia, I don’t have a medical history for you. Have you had any work done?” I hesitated, and she continued. “I need you to be completely honest with me, I want you to succeed.”

“I haven’t ever been to a doctor before. I assume I got the required shots right after I was born or I couldn’t have gone to school.” Everyone got a shot with various vaccines when they were born, but I couldn’t confirm that.

A compartment opened up on the wall closest to the doctor and she pulled out something that looked like a stylus, but it had a sharp needle at one end. “I need to take a sample.” She approached, showing me the item. “I am going to prick your finger with this. It will hurt but it will take a few drops of blood then analyze them.”

I held up my left pointer finger since it wasn’t my dominant hand. She moved my hand down to the armrest and jabbed my finger. It stung, but I didn’t move. The pain wasn’t bad. Better than getting tossed around on my bunk during a solar flare. Those bruises took a few days to heal.

Dr. Abigail waited a few moments then withdrew it. A chart showed up on the wall and Greg turned his attention to it. “She shows no antibodies, how is she still alive?”

“It happens,” answered the doctor, reading the report. I didn’t understand the language, so I ignored it. “Alright, you have no drugs in your system, or nanobots, which was my concern.”

“Drugs are expensive, same for health care.” I huffed. “Look at me, I can’t afford anything like that.”

“Do you have any objections to nanobots?” she asked.

“Heck no, most people wouldn’t be alive without them,” I replied. “Plus, I think it was in the terms and conditions they would inject me with them.” Nanobots and biotech were the whole reason for the game. You could only buy them from Revivium Corp using Bitz, and you could only get Bitz in the game. Anyone who had money wanted Bitz without the sacrifice of playing the game.

The doctor chuckled. “Most people don’t actually read those.”

“I know I have a 60% chance of making it out of Revivium alive. I am going to read the fine print.”

“It’s closer to 70% these days, higher if you don’t enter the gladiator ring,” said Greg. “What do you know about the games?”

“Just cause I don’t have an implant doesn’t make me stupid.” My voice rose. “I’ve watched and read everything I could get my hands on.” The library with its cracked screen readers had been a lifeline. Especially once I graduated from my education requirements. But the vids mostly focused on monster fights and great loot.

“Enough - we need to get moving if you want to make it down on time before the cutoff,” said the doctor.

I nodded.

“To get into the games, you need an implant. It will connect you to the network, and provide a UI. In addition, you need a dosage of nanobots to stabilize you after the surgery. It isn’t without risks.” She stepped closer. “Normally someone who gets an implant is put into a coma for 48 hours or longer, then woken up and introduced to the changes over the course of a week.”

“But, I have 48 hours until my boots need to be on the ground.” Panic rose inside me. This had to work. “What do you recommend?”

“I’ll keep you under as long as possible. I’ll change the settings to run a slow introduction automatically. You will hit the ground on the last shuttle, then you must try to take it easy.” She paused, her bright eyes staring into mine. Her voice came out stricter, “Don’t go rushing off into battle. Find an inn, pay the fee, and crash for a couple of days. Whatever you do, don’t get hit in the head for the first week. Can you do that for me?”

“I can.” This was really going to happen. I was getting an implant and, more importantly, a chance.

“Good, I am going to put you under now. Lean back in the chair.” Dr. Abigail pulled strap's out from behind the chair that went across my chest. Then ones for my legs and arms. The chair leaned back and my feet rose in the air until I was laying flat. The bright lights shone down on me. “Alright Mia, I’ll see you when you wake.” Something pricked my arm, and the edges started going dark. “Greg, get an implant out of storage.”

“Wait, you can’t mean to give her one of ours?” he asked. That was the last thing I heard before I was out.

#

The cred stick was in Matt’s hand, outstretched toward me. My fingers snapped out and snagged the stick. He chuckled.

“If you need more money you can always get up on stage,” he added. His dark eyes traced over my face and then dipped lower.

I let cool indifference settle over my features. “Cleaning is my jam. I’d just fumble on stage.”

He shrugged. “Up to you, but several other Luddites have asked for work this week. Your pay’s gonna drop.”

Ice formed in my chest. I hated that word. “Drop?”

“Yeah,” he snickered. “I got two offers, half of what I am paying you, to clean up before we open. So it's dropping. A couple of regulars have asked about new girls and you’re right up their alley.”

If my pay was cut in half I couldn’t pay my rent or feed myself for the week. Matt knew that. The trap had sprung, surrounding me like claws digging into what I was willing to do to be able to eat. As is, I was skin and bone. Even on stage, I wouldn’t make much more than I made now. Especially once I bought some skippy clothing and paid the stage fee. The only way you made money on stage was by someone wanting to take you into the back room. In the back, you could make bank, if you were willing to do the work. The ice shattered in my chest and my stomach jumped.

“I’ll let you know,” I said, quickly turning away.

“It will be worth your while. I don’t need an answer now.”

The music spiked as the lights surrounding the club flickered. Even now I felt dirty. I headed directly to the back of the room and the staff exit. First I had to pass through the dressing room. Several folks were already getting ready. Most I ignored, but one caught my attention. Brittany smiled at me as I approached, but it fizzled out as she studied my face.

“Mia, you good?” she asked.

I leaned in for a quick hug. “He wants me on stage,” I whispered as I pulled her tight.

Her eyes widened then narrowed. She knew. It was a trap she’d fallen for, but at least she had some security. Help from the bouncer was available at the shortest notice for her. For me, with no implant or connection, I’d be at the client's mercy unless someone checked on me. That was a no-go. “He said some regulars would eat me right up.”

Her face paled. Brittany stayed at the club since she had her own group of regulars that visited each week. She said you got used to it and several were pretty nice to her. Generous in their gifts of creds. Given how many times she’d fed me, it made sense. Yet, building up a regular client base took time, and until then you had to deal with some real slime. None of the other dancers were paying attention to us but Brittany glanced around. She grabbed her purse and yanked me into the bathroom, locking the door behind us.

“You can’t come back to the club,” she whispered.

“What? I’ll just clean at half the price until I find something new,” my voice trailed off as she dug around in her purse, pulling out a cred stick from a pocket. “I’m not taking that.”

“Yes, you are.” She pressed it into my hand. “Cleaners who don’t end up dancing, vanish.” She shivered. “Matt hadn’t said anything about you dancing, so I figured you were good for some reason. He must have been feeling out his options.”

Before getting this job, I’d had several offers from other places to dance. But I stayed away, sticking to manual labor. The only reason I tried this place was it seemed more upscale. Yet, unease filled me at her words. “He must have found out.” I tapped the side of my head. If I wasn’t making Matt money dancing, there were other ways to get a payout from me. None of them good. I shivered.

“Take the creds and go.” Brittany hesitated. “One of my regulars offered to pay off my debt. He wants me to live with him. I’m gonna take it.”

My mouth dropped in shock. An offer like that was too good to be true. I knew Brittany was in debt up to her eyeballs and it was going to take several years to even get close to paying it off. It's why she liked the money from the backroom. She could be free so much sooner. “For real?”

“For real,” she said. “I’ll miss you.”

I pulled her in for a big hug. The types of clients from here would want her to cut all ties with this place. I’d more than likely never see her again. “I’ll miss you.”

Someone knocked on the door. “Brittany, you have a client here!”

Brittany pulled away. “That’s gonna be him. I gotta go, and so do you.” She opened the door and headed back to her locker. I went for the narrow hallway then the employee exit out the back alley. Outside, neon lights several stories above lit up the area in a dim glow. I quickly yanked my hoodie up and walked out into the night.

Chapter Two

Bitz: Error

Days in Game: Error

“Mia, can you hear me?” asked a soft voice. “We don’t have much time. You need to open your eyes.”

The voice cut across the darkness I had embraced. I needed to get up, I couldn’t stay here.

“We need to get her to the shuttle, she has less than 30 minutes till launch,” said a familiar male voice. Greg, it was Greg. The shuttle. The shuttle!

My eyes snapped open, and then quickly closed. Bright lights were blinding and momentarily painful. I was sitting upright, strapped to a chair. I flexed my hands. I could feel the straps across my chest and wrists.

“Here, drink this.”

Something touched my lips, and I took a sip. Cold fresh water filled my mouth, and I took another sip before she pulled the straw away. I blinked a few times and, eventually, my eyes adjusted to the lights. I opened them fully. Dr. Abigail studied me. “Did it work?” I asked, but as I spoke, her name popped up above her head.

Dr. Abigail, Implant specialist.

I turned toward a sound on my right and Greg stood there with a concerned look on his face. His name also appeared.

Greg, medical intern.

“You tell me, what can you see?”

“Your names.”

“That’s a start.” She flashed a light into my eyes.

“Woah,” I tried to hold up my hand, but it didn’t move. “Too much.”

She ignored my comment. “It should be slowly adding things in.” She unstrapped my left wrist and then grabbed the strap on my chest.

“I mean, as soon as she touches down she is going to be slammed,” said Greg. He moved to free my right wrist.

“Slammed?” I asked.

“Information overload,” replied Greg. Yet, at the same time, that response appeared in the corner of my vision. The words floated in the air. When I glanced at them, another screen popped up with even more information on information overload. The sudden appearance caused me to jerk.

“How do I close this?!”

“Think about closing it,” said Dr Abigail softly. She glared over at Greg. “Please be helpful. I changed the settings for a slow introduction. It will help.”

“It will be helpful if I get her to the shuttle.” He checked something. “She has twenty minutes.”

I focused on closing the screen of additional info and it snapped shut. “Wait, I only have twenty minutes to get to the shuttle?” A timer popped up on my screen.

“There, you can have the timer,” said Greg.

“How did you add the timer?”

“We are both friends in your contacts platform,” answered Abigail. “You will need to change your settling later for what access your friends and contacts have. For now, I gave us both complete access.”

Panic filled me. They had access to what? The timer in the corner of my vision mocked me. It kept ticking down by the second. Eighteen minutes to go.

“Your heart rate is spiking,” murmured the Doctor. “Take a deep breath. In and out.”

I couldn’t help but listen to her instructions. My lungs filled with air and then I slowly breathed out. “How do I get to the shuttle?” A map appeared in the bottom right with the room and a dotted line leading out of the door.

“We will get you there. First, you need to change into your gear. You can’t bring anything with you. Remember the terms and conditions?” asked Dr. Abigail. “Can you stand up for me?”

I shrugged and braced myself on the armrests before popping to my feet. The room only spun a little before stopping. “I think I’m okay.”

“Good,” said Greg. He held out a folded jumpsuit. “You also have boots to wear as well.” He pointed next to the chair.

I took the jumpsuit from him and he headed behind a privacy screen that dropped from the ceiling.

“Do you need help?” asked the Doctor.

I shook my head and regretted it. The room spun again but quickly stopped. “I got this,” I muttered, at least half to convince myself.

Once I answered, she joined him behind the screen. The jumpsuit was a basic black uniform with a zipper down the front. Folded inside the clothing was underwear and a bra. I pulled off my ratty sneakers and socks. Then ditched my dirty pants. My underwear were falling apart. The feeling of new clean clothing made me smile. The boots even fit my feet.

“She will be fine,” said Dr. Abigail.

“But where did she come from?” asked Greg.

“Does it really matter? She signed the agreement and is headed into Revivium.”

“But don’t you want to know?”

“We can’t know everything we want.”

“I can hear you guys…” I muttered.

“Are you dressed?” asked Dr. Abigail.

The counter was down to thirteen minutes and ten seconds. “Yes.” The screen rose in the air but the two came around the side instead of waiting.

“You will need to head to the shuttle on your own. Remember, you promised you would take it easy your first week. Stay in the beginner town for at least a few days. Rest in the inn and eat some food. You need calories. We had an intravenous line going while you were under but you are still skin and bone.” Her voice paused when Greg set a hand on her arm.

“You can do this,” he said. “Good luck, and unlock your future.”

I smiled at the slogan. It was on all the ads for Revivium and I wondered if he had to say it. “Thank you for all of this. I won’t let you down.”

Greg’s look was unreadable, and Dr. Abigail just gave me a small smile. The seconds continued to tick, and I headed to the door. It opened for me and the map pointed me to my right. I followed the glowing line on the map. My eyes flickered all around as I walked and various signs would light up with additional information. I passed by the sign-in booths and kept going. It was weird, some places that didn’t look like they had signs at all in the physical world had whole windows of information in my virtual vision, and some of the physical signs had nothing in the virtual space.

My pace increased a bit when the timer reached ten minutes, yet the line on the map was much shorter and the doorway was in sight. As I approached, the door slid open and a ramp led down to another door that was still closed. I quickly headed down the walkway and the far door slid open. Inside, five chairs lined the walls of the shuttle, and four were occupied. Three on the right and one on the left. All four glanced at me and names popped up above their heads.

Blaze, Art, Rascal, Branch.

“You coming in?” asked the one on the left, Branch.

I paused at the sight of all the messages.

“You waited until the last minute, that's for sure,” said another. This one had Blaze over his head, followed by Revivium Player.

I darted to the available seat on the left and sat down. “Yeah, well, I had to hit up tech support.” The room just included the chairs on the two sides. The door faced the row of chairs and then a metal wall. Nothing else was in the room and the only text boxes were above people's heads.

“Ah, me too,” said Art. They also had Revivium Player listed after their name. “But now my arm is as good as new. I just gotta get out of the game with enough Bitz to pay my passage here.”

The guy sitting on my left chuckled. He was older than the rest of us, by at least five years if not a little more. He had some dark facial hair and piercing blue eyes. “I’m in it to get what I can and then get back to my family,” said Branch. Again, he had the Revivium Player tag.

“Aren’t you a little old to be heading in?” asked Blaze.

He snorted. “Older, smarter, and stronger.” He pointed to his own chest. “I work in the mines. Make decent money, but this will let my kids be debt free. I have a stronger reason to get out of there. They are three and five.”

The countdown in the corner of my screen flashed, then vanished.

“The shuttle door is now closing,” said a female voice over the loudspeaker. The door snapped shut. “We will begin our descent to Revivium. We will take this time to review the rules.” A screen popped up in my eyesight and the shuttle moved.

Rule One: Once you leave Revivium, you cannot return

Rule Two: Do not harm a non-combatant non-player character (NPC)

Rule Three: Bitz cannot be stolen or looted from a player

Rule Four: No outside items or technology allowed

Rule Five: If you have in-game debt or an open quest, you cannot leave

Please see the terms and conditions for the rest of the agreement.

These rules are now in effect. You can now access the game manual from your screen. Good luck and may you unlock your future.

“What’s your plan for in-game?” asked Blaze.

Art answered first. “I’m heading straight for the games. Gotta level up a few times and then I’ll bet on myself. Keep it nice and simple.”

“Not me,” interrupted Branch, “I want to find a nice guard position. Do some quests to gain experience and then just save as much Bitz as I can. None of the gladiator stuff. Too risky.”

Someone chuckled, but I was trying to figure out where the game manual was or how to access my contacts. A screen popped up at the thought, with tabs across the top: Messages, Contacts, Character Sheet, and Inventory. Everything was grayed out.

“What about you Mia?”

“What?” I frantically closed everything, and all eyes were on me. A small headache was forming behind my eyes.

“What’s your plan?” asked Blaze.

“No idea. Probably lie low in the beginning area for a while.”

They all shot me confused looks, except for Branch, who nodded.

Blaze scoffed. “No one checks out the newb area anymore. You can’t really earn any Bitz there.”

I shrugged.

The shuttle jumped and everyone went quiet.

“We will land in one minute,” said the overhead voice. The shuttle shuddered again once more then stopped. The door snapped open. “Welcome to Revivium. Please exit the shuttle.”

#

Bright light streamed in from the open door and I smelled something that I couldn’t put words to. Fear trickled down my spine. Everyone stood up and filed out of the shuttle. I waited until I was the last one in line to exit. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out into the sunshine.

A white line glowed on the dirt a few feet ahead of me. Next to that was a wooden sign sticking out of the ground, which I didn’t look at yet. Blaze, Art, and Rascal headed off down the pathway that was before us, bypassing an opening in a wooden fence. Branch turned off the main path to his right and vanished behind some trees.

The shuttle beeped behind me and I jumped forward crossing the white line. My hand reached out to touch the sign as several window boxes popped up covering my vision. The beeping increased, echoing through my head as my headache ramped up in full gear. Dust rose as the shuttle took off back into the air. I covered my eyes and coughed as dust engulfed me.

Buttons asking if I accept appeared, and I frantically closed the boxes any way that I could. The throbbing pain behind my eyes increased, and I clutched at my head in panic. Remembering Dr. Abigail, I took a deep breath in and then out. Then again. My panic slowly decreased, and the pain lessened as I cleared the windows from my vision. Small alert signs lined the right side of my vision above the map, but I ignored them.

I’d promised to find an inn and rest. The mini-map had a picture of a bed on it, and I rushed down the trail, intent on finding it. The air still smelled strange, and the sky was literally blue. Fluffy clouds dotted the air like a picture book from when I was a kid. Trees lined the path, and a wooden fence was along my right side. The opening that Branch had come down had a sign tacked to the tree on the right. Haven, it read. More words appeared above the sign. Beginner Village, then a button for more info.

I clicked on it, ignoring the headache as best as I could.

Haven is the starting point for most players. Get your bearings, accept some quests, and learn how this new world works. Food and Lodging are free in this area until level five.

Free food?! I started walking again after closing the window. More trees lined the path with dark green leaves. Each of the trunks were wider than I could probably wrap my arms around. The trees stopped, and the area opened up into a wide dirt plaza. Several wooden buildings lined the plaza. Each had signs that made my head throb even worse. The picture of a bed was to my right, and I headed directly there.

Then I noticed the white dots moving around my map. One approached the square, and it was a person. A little girl skipping in a green dress. She saw me and waved her hand in the air. I hesitantly lifted my hand and waved back. She had dark brown hair and eyes but she didn’t head my way. My focus went back to the inn as I crossed the square. More white dots were walking around in various directions, but I ignored them.

Another pop-up appeared over the door saying this was the inn. Again my headache throbbed, and I pushed open the door. Inside, the space was brightly lit with several real glass windows and a counter that ran along the left side.

An older gentleman with a bushy beard smiled at me. Over his head, James, Innkeeper appeared. “Welcome, you must be a new player.” His eyes gave away the fact that he was an artificial human. They were just a little too bright of a color. It made sense that most people here would be artificial. It was their home.

“I am, can I get a room?”

“It’s a little early for one.” His eyes studied me in concern. I knew that look. He was scanning me. “You don’t look so good.”

“Headache from the shuttle ride. Just need some rest.” I tried to keep my expression calm.

He nodded and grabbed a key from behind the counter. “Here you go, room three. It's up the stairs and on your right. We have music in the plaza most nights. If you want a heated bath, that's five Bitz, but your room is free till level five. We have simple fare, but the good food is over at the tavern. Again, the simple meal is covered. Any alcohol you need to pay for.”

I held out my hand for the key. “Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.” He set the key into my hand. A pop-up over the key appeared Key to Room 3, Haven Inn.

I gave him a nod, but tears crept to the edges of my eyes as I plodded to the stairs. My hands shook by the time I got to the top, and I spotted the door at the far end. The door was wooden and a bright blue color. The door clicked as I approached, not needing me to even put the key in. I swung it open to a small room with a bed, a window, and a small dresser on one side. Small, but clean.

After closing the door behind me, I yanked my boots off and stumbled into the bed. Sleep quickly overtook me.