I hold my hands up as the vein in her neck protrudes. “Priya, calm down. Let’s not freak out when we don’t know. Okay? They could have him for another reason. Nothing they do makes sense. Let’s not try to think like them; we’re nothing like Caleb, Matt, and Owen.”

Sucking in a breath, she takes my hands and grips tight as if she’s about to hit the floor.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“One of them might die. They might be fighting right now and…”

“No, Priya, don’t think like that. Let’s all keep our heads. I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

“Everything is falling apart,” Hazel comments.

Snapping my head in her direction, I give her the look. The look that she often receives from me when she opens her mouth before thinking. It happens a lot; most of the time it’s inappropriately funny. However right now, it’s just plain unhelpful.

But I can’t deny that she’s right. We haven’t been here long, but already things have changed, shifted. There’s a heightened nervous energy, all of us trying to outthink them, to look ahead and see what new hell they can inflict upon us before they do. Like if we’re prepared, we can somehow stop it, as if it would be better if we knew what was coming.

You never ask the fortune-teller when you’re going to die.

I can feel it, in the way the others look at each other, at the joy in their voices when our captors call us, the taunting tone that they revel in.

Something is coming. Every moment in here is building up like a pressure cooker, and I don’t know when it’s going to explode. I only know that an explosion is inevitable.

“Nothing is falling apart,” Theo says. “I’m making a snack. Everyone just sit down and chill the hell out.”

Priya and I sit on the sofa, and Hazel perches on the arm of the sofa. She looks ready to run if needed.

“Is it okay if I leave the TV on? I’ll turn it off if it shows something awful, like we all agreed. But in case…” I ask. They might show us more. Not that I want to see what Lucie and Kevin are going through, but I do want to know if they’re okay. I want to know if Kevin is still alive.

The throbbing in my head begins to intensify. I wish I had some painkillers.

“I think we should leave it on,” Priya replies, wringing her hands. “Piper?”

I lean back against the sofa and face her. “Yeah?”

“Do you think I will see Kevin again?”