Tile bit into her kneecaps.
The violent shift in gravity from the arena to the Cube X medical ward left Kikaru's inner ear spinning, throwing her forward onto the polished white linoleum. The heavy scent of industrial bleach and sterilized cotton rushed into her lungs, completely erasing the smell of burning pitch and dry ash.
She didn't brace her fall. She kept her hands pulled tight against her chest, her fingers locked in a white-knuckled death grip.
The two jagged pieces of Elias's shattered shard dug deep into the meat of her palms. Blood seeped around the sharp edges, dripping onto the pristine floor in slow, heavy drops. The nanocleaners embedded in the baseboards whirred to life, tiny mechanical drones sliding across the tile to scrub the red stains away before they could even set.
"Get a trauma team to bay four!" a voice shouted over the mechanical hum of the ward.
Kikaru stayed on her knees, her chest heaving. She looked around the massive room.
