I wince as her words rub like broken glass against my skin. “Lucie, I’m sorry, but when we get out of here, we need to make sure we get out alive. This wasn’t it. Before we run, we have to at least have a one percent chance. Them letting us go is them controlling it.”

Much to my surprise, Hazel comes to my defense. Her eyebrows are still tucked together showing her disapproval, though. “Piper is right. I might not agree with how they went about it, no one has the right to make decisions like that for the whole group, but if we all ran, we all would be dead today.”

“Yeah, Lucie,” Priya says. “Think about what our captors have at stake here—they’re well known and loved, their families constantly donate to charity, they work hard to make improvements to our town, all while doing whatever they want here, feeding whatever darkness is deep inside them. Do you think they would give that up willingly?”

“That’s not the damn point, Priya! That was my only chance to decide how I die, and they took it from me. One of you is going to kill me, and I would have much rather it be one of them!” she screams, pointing to me and Theo as her face reddens.

“Lucie, calm down,” Priya coos. “We can talk about this rationally.”

“No, we can’t! Theo and Piper have no respect for us. They’re trying to take on the role of leaders, being the strong ones with all the ideas, making choices they have no right making! You’ve been here two minutes, Piper, and you think you can boss me around, make decisions for me, and do whatever the hell you like!”

“I don’t think that! Will you chill out and look at this rationally? You know what Theo and I did was right. We’re trying to give us all the chance to leave here alive. Isn’t that what you want?”

“What makes you more qualified to decide how that happens?” she snaps.

“Logic. It’s clear for anyone who gives it more than a nanosecond of thought. If we run when they leave the doors open, we die.”

A low growl rattles in her throat. With balled hands, she lunges. Priya catches her around the waist with her arm before Lucie gets close. But I tighten my muscles, ready to defend myself.

“Get off me!” Lucie shouts, thrashing under Priya’s grip.

The speaker crackles. Over the noise Lucie is making, we all hear that dreaded sound that makes my skin break out in goose bumps.

“Lucie to the waiting room,” Caleb orders.

Lucie’s face falls, her jaw getting longer. They witnessed the whole thing, of course, and now she’s going to be punished.

“It’s okay,” I tell her. “You’ll be fine. You’ll be back here soon.”