I notice Charlie curled up in a ball opposite me. He’s covered in the sandy-colored desert dust, but other than that, he looks like he got out of the crash unscathed. Then I see Bree slumped against a far wall, unconscious. There’s crusted blood all over her clothes and matted into her hair. My heart clenches at the sight of her. An instinct in me makes me reach for her and my chains jangle loudly as I move. But they hold me back, stopping me from reaching her.

“Brooke?” I hear someone whisper.

I look left. It’s Ryan. He’s one of the few prisoners who’s awake, and must have been drawn by the sound of my clanking chains.

I’m relieved to see him alive, and glad to know that everyone from our car made it out of the crash. But at the same time I feel frantic, desperate, and distraught. We’ve been captured. Again. Once more, my freedom has been stolen from me. And I have no idea what happened to the other car, to Molly, Zeke, Stephan, and Ben.

At the thought of Ben, my heart constricts. We parted on bad terms. What if that ends up being the last time I see him alive? How could I have let him get into the other car like that, with so much left unspoken between us?

There’s no time to dwell. Though my heart aches with worry over what could have happened to my friends in the other car, I have more pressing matters to deal with in the immediate moment: escape.

“Are you okay?” I say to Ryan.

He nods but he’s gritting his teeth and I know something is causing him pain. It’s then that I notice Jack isn’t with him. His trusty best friend, who has been by his side since forever, has been taken. I look back at Bree and realize that Penelope is missing too. Rage swirls through me at the thought of what might have happened to them.

“What are we going to do?” I say to Ryan.

He shakes his head. “I don’t know. Wait. See what’s what then come up with a plan.”

My stomach drops. I know all too well what’s what. I’ve been in this situation before. There’s only one thing that awaits us, and that’s an arena.

Just then, the sound of footsteps comes from the other side of the cell door. Then there’s a rusted, grinding noise as someone turns a key in the lock. The door swings open and bangs against the wall, making a cloud of dust whirl into the air.