Maria held my hand, gulping hard.
"This is the last stage," she said, her voice shaky.
I nodded.
We need to finish it to pass the trial.
Suddenly a voice rang in both our heads:
"How about this... both trapped on a beach, and the challenger does a massage for her.
The only condition to leave the stage is to have oily sex behind a rock."
We blinked, and the world shifted.
Sand under our feet.
Maria in a bikini, me in shorts.
A bottle of oil appeared in my hand, coconut scent strong.
Maria looked around, eyes wide.
"A beach? This trial's messed up. But we gotta do it, right? To get out."
"Yeah," I said, trying to sound calm.
"Lie down. I'll start the massage."
She stretched out on a towel that appeared, face down.
I poured oil on her back, rubbed it in.
Her skin warmed under the sun, waves crashing distant.
Laughter from far away reminded us people might show up.
My hands glided over her shoulders.
She tensed, then relaxed.
"That feels... okay," she muttered.
