Sitting up straight, I look around as the blanket slips down my body. The door is open. It’s open! I slam my palms on the floor and haul myself to my feet.

My vision blurs as the blood drains from my head. I fall sideways, my body hits the wall, and my head lolls to the side.

How long have I been in here? I don’t remember much, just being hot and then cold. Beyond that, my memory is a blank.

I take a minute and focus on the rising and falling of my chest, my lungs filling with oxygen, until I’m used to being vertical. When I don’t feel like I’m going to hit the floor, I take a step. My legs work. On a gasp, I sprint out of the door and along the corridor.

I push the door open into the clothes room and lunge for a bag marked S.

This is why they have so many bags hanging up. Replacements. Will I end up in only my underwear in each room?

I tear at the opening and pull on the clothes. Once the soft material covers every inch of skin, I breathe easier. Tears sting the back of my eyes. I look up, willing them not to fall. They’ve taken so much out of me, I don’t want them to see me cry, too.

Caleb is quiet. No one tells me to go back to the room with the others, but they don’t need to. It’s pretty obvious. It’s not like Caleb is going to open the front door and let me go free.

I can’t even promise them I wouldn’t go to the police if they let me go. Not after that. I would rather die than keep their sick secret.

The curving corridor feels longer. I pad down the hall, my body shivering from the last cold snap. I think they changed the temperature six times, but I can’t really remember. When it was hot, I passed out, every time. All I really know is that I always woke up freezing.

The door at the other end opens. Theo is the only person to walk toward me, but Priya, Lucie, and Kevin are behind him. My best friend is nowhere to be seen.

I wrap my arms around myself, pushing back on the ache in my stomach.

“Are you okay?” Theo asks. He stops just a few feet from me, and I do the same.

I meet his eyes. “I don’t…”

Am I okay? I mean, not really. I have just been exposed to extreme temperatures. I’m weak, my body doesn’t know if it’s warm or still ice cold, and mentally I’m done.

They saw you without clothes.