He nods and pain flickers in his eyes. How many times has he been in one of those rooms? He’s had to kill. I can’t even imagine all that he’s gone through.

I shake the thought away because it’s only going to make me panic if I think about what I might have to do if I’m put in that situation.

“What’s next?” I ask, trying to distract him from whatever memory he’s replaying.

“Bedroom is next to this,” he murmurs, striding away. I dash after him. I might not be falling apart like Hazel seems to be, but I don’t want to be alone.

Theo opens a door. The room is painted a dull gray, like the color of the sky right before a storm hits. It’s not a particularly big room, so the four sets of dark wooden bunk beds overwhelm the space.

There is enough room for two more people here. Oh, God…

“The two bunks along that wall are free. You and Hazel can take whichever one you want.” He gestures to the empty bunks. There are two sets of bunks against the walls opposite each other. If I sleep on my side, I’ll be able to see the others across the room. I will definitely need to know people are with me if I’m going to get any rest.

“All right,” I whisper.

He looks down at me. Theo is tall, easily a foot taller than me, maybe a bit more. “What you told Hazel was right. We’re all in this together. I understand your fear and your desire to get out of here, but while we’re stuck in this place, we need to make it bearable. We do that as a team, okay?”

I nod. “Yes, I appreciate that.”

That’s surprisingly comforting to hear. I know I have Hazel’s friendship for support, and I know that when it’s needed, she will snap back to herself, but there are only two of us. We’re a team—until we go to room zero.

He places his palm on the wall near my head. “If you ever have to go to that room, don’t hold back; it’ll get you killed.”

I press my lips together and close my eyes. Please, don’t ever let me experience that.

“How often does that happen?” I ask, blinking my eyes open and staring at him to gauge his response. I don’t want anyone to downplay the situation. All I want is facts.

“Not very often. Since I’ve been here, it’s only happened to me and Priya, and before that it had been months. They let the number of us…dwindle. Then in quick succession…”

“They kidnap more people.” They wait until their subjects are almost all dead before taking in more people. “Wow.” I shake my head. “Wait, how long were you alone here?”