I swallow a thick lump clogging my throat and pick up the remote.

My eyes are glued to the screen as it pings to life.

Lucie is still lying on a gurney-style bed. But now there is a second one in the room.

“What the…?” Theo whispers.

“Why do they have two beds?” Priya asks. “Has that ever happened before?” she asks Theo.

Theo shakes his head slowly, his mouth slightly parted. “Not that I’m aware of.”

“Do you think it’s for Kevin?” Hazel asks.

No, I think it’s for me.

My heart rate rockets to the point where it’s all I can hear, and I’m sure the others must be able to as well.

No one has been in any of those rooms, beside room zero, with another person before. Isn’t part of the torture that you’re in solitary confinement? We only have ourselves.

Why would they change things up again when it’s been this way for more than a year?

“Piper, please come to the waiting room.”

My heart freezes as they confirm my fear. Twice in one day. No, this has to be a mistake. I can’t do it again.

Yes, you damn well can!

Hazel grips my arm. “You can’t do that room.”

They’re testing me. Two rooms in one day is too much for anyone. But what choice do I have except to fight them at every turn? They know I won’t give up, so they’re going to keep pushing until I’m as timid and afraid as Hazel.

They want me to believe that I’m going to die down here.

Well, I’m not.

I stand, my vision blurring, and tug out of Hazel’s grip. “I can,” I reply.

Take Priya’s coping mechanism and become someone else.

My legs wobble as I step toward the door. Theo, Hazel, and Priya don’t make a sound, but I know they’re with me.

This is the one I feared most, and it’s finally happening. It’s happening just hours after room one.

You can get through it. Soon it will be over.

I place my palm on the door, and when it clicks, I push it open. Caleb is going to torture me with water.

The door closes behind me, clicking locked as Owen ensures that I can’t go back. I couldn’t anyway. Not with the threat of room zero, knowing that things around here are changing, and fearing that Caleb, Owen, and Matt are developing a taste for killing.

Will they start killing us in the other rooms? Or will they let us outside the building again, giving us the false hope of escape?

I’m certain they would like the hunt. Where is the glory of killing someone locked inside a room?