Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to do that to me? Though apparently, I give good reactions when I can’t shut up, and I stand up for myself. Could they be saving Hazel for room zero? But what would be the thinking behind that? Surely the stronger a person is the better for the…show? Would they not want it to last, watch people fight for longer, not knowing the outcome?

Maybe I’m trying too hard to think like them. There has to be a reason but it’s unlikely we’ll understand it since we’re not certifiable.

“See? We know there’s something coming, and I’m being treated differently,” Hazel says, shaking her head.

“You’re not the only one getting different treatment. Theo and I have done a lot of rooms, and Evan and Kevin have been taken away, Kevin still is gone.”

“Fine. I’m the only one treated in a different way: solo.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, and we don’t know something big is coming, we only assume it because of the changes in their behavior. But maybe this is part of their plan.”

“Piper, we’re in different positions here. Let’s not try to pretend otherwise.”

Why is she being so hostile? It’s not as if any of us are in a good position, but it’s not a contest over who has it worse. Evan would win that hands down; he’s been here the longest and done more rooms than all of us combined probably.

“This is what they want,” I tell her. “We can’t be divided in here. We might not have the same experience, but we’re all trapped.”

She shrugs. “That’s all we share.”

I bite my lip. I don’t know how far to go with this. Hazel is either talking through pure anger and fear, or she’s letting them get into her head and believes that she’s going to die here…soon.

Honestly, I would never think she’s going into room zero.

Not all of us are in here to fight. There is a purpose for everyone.

I would ask Caleb when I see him, but I don’t know how helpful it would be to know, kind of like knowing when you’re going to die. Some things are best left unsaid, and my purpose for being in this dungeon is definitely one of them.

“Do you want to play cards?” I ask her. It’s been a long time since we’ve done anything together. God, the last time might actually have been the night we went to the lake.

She turns her head at that, her mouth hanging open. “Did you not just hear me?”

“What?”

“We’re not the same, Piper.”