Sit and Wait

Damien let out a soft sigh.

"I'm sure that all of us understand that our situation isn't exactly the best. The first thing we should debate on is whether or not we should wait twenty-four hours to see what this physical enhancement is, or if we should use our points now and try to clear a lab with what we have."

Zenos slowly nodded.

"If we decide to wait for twenty-four hours, then we will inevitably use up food. Considering how expensive food is, that's definitely not a cost we can ignore. Especially considering how limited our resources are."

Adonis furrowed his brow.

"...If we wait, then will we even be able to buy bullets? We don't even know what it will do."

Killian clicked his tongue.

"Of course it is. At the end of the day, everything is a complete gamble. The only thing we can do is look at the options, pick one, and then pray that it somehow works out."

Zenos took a deep breath.

"If we decide to wait for the option to buy the physical enhancement, then we will have to spend an entire day waiting. If we do decide to do that, there are upsides as we can slowly deliberate over plans and strategies. Also, it will be a break, which may be quite useful for those that are injured. The only problem is that we have no idea if the physical enhancement will be worth it, or if we even have the credits to buy it in the first place."

Damien nodded.

"That summarizes our situation pretty well. Though, one thing I will point out is that my injuries seem to be healing way faster than normal. Despite recklessly moving, my injuries actually haven't worsened, but become better."

Adonis raised an eyebrow.

"Really? How much has it healed?"

Damien lifted up his bandaged hand and looked at it.

"Although it's very slight, I can already feel the sensation of my fingers coming back to me."

Zenos turned to Killian.

"What about you?"

Killian looked down at himself, and let out a soft hum.

"Now that I think about it, the empty sensation near my stomach is no longer there. In fact, if I took off these plasters, I don't even think I would begin bleeding."

Damien narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.

"Their tech really is advanced... but they never released anything like this despite having it."

Zenos looked quite perturbed.

"That truly is quite strange. I can't imagine they would give us anything all that expensive. Which means it surely would've been fairly easy for them to create and sell."

His brows furrowed.

"It's not as though medicine was low in demand. In fact, it was quite high and the trend only indicated it would continue to increase. Even to those with an untrained eye, they would be able to tell that much."

A moment of silence lingered. Damien broke it after a moment.

"Maybe there's a reason why they couldn't. But as for what that could be, we couldn't really know. Not to mention, it doesn't exactly matter to us in this situation."

Zenos opened his mouth, about to retort, but he closed it soon after.

"...Yeah, you're right. Anyway, we should decide on what we do. Wait, or go."

Adonis frowned.

"There's no point in relying on chance. I say we work with what we have now and take on a lab as soon as possible."

Damien shook his head.

"That's not how it works."

Adonis narrowed his eyes.

"Huh? And can you tell me how it does?"

Damien sighed.

"Both options are a gamble. Do you know what's waiting for us in the next lab we go to?"

The corner of Adonis' lip twitched.

"How in the world would I know something like that?"

Damien shut his eyes.

"And what if there is something in there that we can only take on because we had the physical enhancement?"

Adonis clenched his fist.

"But that goes both ways! What if using up the points for physical enhancement and food costs us the bullets we would've needed to live?"

Killian rolled his eyes.

"That's why it's called a gamble."

Adonis' face twitched.

"But that way is less of a gamble!"

Damien smiled bitterly.

"At the end of the day, every single choice, even when we choose to do nothing, is a gamble. There is simply too much we don't know. Even things that appear to be guaranteed are never truly what they seem. Regardless of what we try to do, escaping the clutches of luck is impossible."

He looked at everyone else.

"Just look at us. I'm sure when all of us were kids, none of us expected to become death row prisoners. And as the days for our execution counted down, I doubt any of us believed we would even be alive."

Damien paused.

"Yet here we are."

Adonis closed his eyes and shook his head.

"If you're going to say all of that, then how the hell am I supposed to choose? How am I supposed to even make a choice when I have no idea what will happen?"

Damien's expression gradually left his face, almost making him look hollow.

"Well, no matter what, you'll always be making a choice. Inaction may now seem like one, but it is one in the end."

Several complicated emotions flashed by Adonis' face.

"Then I'm going to make the choice to leave it to you three."

After a few moments, he let out another remark.

"My judgment never seems to work out. If I have to gamble, then I'll put all my chips with whatever you decide to put them on."

Zenos gave him a glance.

"If that is your choice, then the rest of us can discuss it. Just so you know, there will be no time for regrets later."

Adonis scoffed.

"I've already got so many of those. What's one more?"

Killian had a small frown on his face, but he didn't say anything. After a few moments, he spoke up.

"Well, I think we should wait. With that amount of time, I'd probably heal most of my injuries, which could be the deal-breaker in the next lab that we face. Maybe we won't be able to buy that enhancement, but there are still positives to go along with it."

Zenos rubbed his chin and contemplated it.

"I believe it would be better to go now, as assuming that this enhancement is something special that would make a significant difference, then we probably won't be able to afford it. On the other hand, if we can afford it, then my bet is that the actual effects will be minimal."

Everyone then turned to look at Damien, waiting to hear his opinion.

He cleared his throat.

"Honestly, Zenos' answer was close to winning me over. However, I feel that saying it wouldn't be worth it is a stretch. We can buy the medical kit for one point. And although it wasn't immediately apparent, it seems like the effects are pretty damn strong, despite just being plasters and bandages."

His eyes narrowed.

"...My guess is that even if it is cheap, it will still be something worth getting."

He looked to others.

"What do the rest of you think?"

Adonis responded promptly.

"I already said I would leave it to you all."

Killian shrugged his shoulders.

"It's what I want as well."

Zenos closed his eyes and deliberated over it for a minute or two.

"I suppose I can accept your logic. It appears we will be here for the next twenty-four hours then."

Damien cracked his neck.

"Before anything else, I'm going to sleep."

Killian smirked.

"Hah, just what I was thinking?"

Zenos sighed.

"Well, I suppose it would be better to ration out our food anyway, and sleeping rather than eating is the best way to do that."

From the way he said it, it was fairly clear Zenos was feeling quite hungry. Adonis looked the same, but he ended up laying down on the ground without saying anything. Zenos did the same soon after, and in a flash, all four of them fell asleep.

Their fatigue consisted of more than just the physical exertions they did. There was also the mental fatigue coming from stress. After all, while it wasn't all that physically taxing to slowly walk through rooms of darkness, the constant tension they faced as they explored the room took quite a toll on their minds.

After several hours had passed, they began waking up one by one.

Adonis let out a groan.

"...Sleeping like this has not gotten any easier the second time."

Zenos clicked his tongue.

"In fact, I believe that it has gotten harder."

Damien chuckled.

"Well, it's pretty bad, but I don't know if it's because of the pain or because of the sleeping conditions."

Killian stretched.

"I don't know what you are all talking about, because it's all the same to me."

Damien sighed.

"Anyway, how much time do we still have to wait before we can buy that thing?"

Emmett's voice promptly chimed in.

"It will be available in the next eighteen hours, eleven minutes, and fifty-three seconds!"

Zenos frowned.

"That means we haven't even been sleeping for six hours."

Adonis scratched the back of his head.

"Huh, I don't feel tired though."

Damien narrowed his eyes.

"I guess all of us didn't consider the waiting part. We're going to have to find a way to kill time."

Zenos raised an eyebrow.

"What? We all share our bedtime stories with each other until we fall asleep again?"

Killian blinked a few times.

"Well, I have a story I can tell..."