The Lost

by Natasha Preston

  My vision blurs the way it does when I stand up too fast. My blood pressure has always been low, and at times when I find eating hard, like when Penny died and when I was kidnapped, I’m even more prone to dizzy spells. “Hazel, I thought they were going to kill him,” I whisper.

  “Oh, Piper.” She pulls me in for a hug, and for the first time since we got in here, I want nothing more than to hug my best friend. I want the same comfort she gave me when I lost my sister. She never let me lie down and wallow for long. I lay my head on her shoulder and hug her back. “He didn’t die, though. He’s here and the others are going to fix him up.”

  “The deepest scars are the ones you can’t see, Haze. How is he going to get through all of this?”

  “The same way the rest of us will, with help from each other.”

  I nod against her shoulder, for once being the pessimistic one, and I hate it.

  “What happened to you guys?” I ask, still holding her tight.

  “We woke up groggy, and minus you and Evan.”

  “I’m glad you were here.”

  “Where did they take you?”

  “To their game room. They tied us to chairs and beat Evan.”

  She pulls back and her wide eyes stare into mine. “But they didn’t hurt you, right?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  Her pupils home in on my cheek. “There’s a mark.”

  “I was slapped. It’s nothing, Hazel.”

  “The bastards,” she grinds out.

  “Drop it. Let’s focus on what’s next.”

  Dropping my arms, I step back, and Hazel lets me go. “You’re really okay?” she asks, moving her head closer to judge my reaction.

  “I’m okay. I promise.”

  Something in my voice or my expression makes her believe me. This is the first day in here that I feel helpless. I want to know why they took only me and Evan. What was the point in hurting him? Why force me to me to watch? It doesn’t make sense that it was only us. Like it doesn’t make sense that Theo and I were let out. We were always the first ones up, so they had to know it would be us.

  35

  Two days later and Evan is looking a lot better. His bottom lip is still slightly swollen, and he’s sporting a pretty decent black eye, but it doesn’t hurt him as much to move around. There is no more wincing when he gets up, although he is walking a little slower than usual.

  Right now he is sleeping, something he’s done more of these last two days. His body needs time to heal, and I think his pride does, too. There is no shame in being beaten up, especially not when you were tied down.

  Priya is the next best thing to a nurse and has fixed him up as best she can.

  My cheek is almost back to its usual pale color, too; the mark left by Matt is nearly gone. The physical scars of that day are healing. But when I lie in bed and wait for that music to play before I sleep, all I can see is Evan’s broken body slumped over in the chair.

  They made me watch my friend being hurt. I don’t know what I would have done if it had been Hazel in Evan’s place. It’s hardly a secret that the stress of this situation has meant Hazel and I haven’t been as close as usual, and I’ve spent a lot of time with Evan. Is that why they chose him? If it is, I’m grateful for the distance between me and my best friend. I will keep it that way if it stops her from being hurt.

  Or maybe this has nothing to do with me at all. Though why would I be brought out there to witness Evan’s beating if it didn’t?

  There’s another unanswered question to add to the ever growing list.

  It’s midafternoon, a particularly boring time in here when lunch is done and we’ve exhausted good conversation in the morning. There are very few new subjects to discuss since we’re stuck in this small room.

  The speaker above me crackles, and my spine stiffens. Caleb’s voice echoes through the room. “Evan to the waiting room.”

  “No,” I whisper.

  “Again?” Priya says, shaking her head. “Why do they keep picking him?”

  “He’ll be okay,” Theo replies.

  Ignoring them, I walk toward the bedroom. Evan opens the door just as I get to it. His jaw is tight, posture hunched.

  “I know, but I promise you, you’ve got this, Evan,” I tell him, willing him to find strength in my words.

  Swallowing, he nods and his eyes find the waiting room door. “I’ll see you soon, Piper.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

  After the beating, he has been more withdrawn. We haven’t laughed in a while. I understand, but it scares me because he’s been rock solid since I met him. He’s the one who’s given me more courage to face whatever is coming. He makes me believe I can survive in here. After all, he has been doing it for months, and most of that time he’s been alone.

  “Soon, Evan,” I say as he walks away from me.

  The door clicks twice, once when it was unlocked for him and then again as he disappears through it.

  He’s on his own now.

  “Piper, you all right?” Theo asks.

  “I’m fine,” I reply, pressing my hand against the ache in my heart. How much more can he take? I need to focus on something else, or I won’t be able to handle waiting for Evan to come back, thinking of the worst-case scenarios that could be happening.

  Kevin might be somewhere in the building, but we don’t know for sure he’s alive. Caleb, Owen, and Matt might have got up close and personal with him. Or Evan could be sent to room zero with Kevin right now.

  No, don’t think that. Distract!

  Hazel. She is sitting down watching TV, her elbow resting on the arm of the sofa, finger tapping against her chin. I’ve seen her do that a million times before. Every exam at school, every time a cute guy in our class would talk to her.

  She’s nervous. In here she’s never not nervous, but this is something else. She hasn’t moved in an hour.

  “Haze,” I say, scooting a little closer to her. “What’s going on?”

  Still looking at the TV, she shrugs the shoulder closest to me.

  “Talk to me.”

  Priya is the only person sitting close enough to hear us, and she won’t interfere. Lucie and Theo are playing cards at the kitchen table.

  “Hazel, please, I’m worried about you.”

  Her eyes slide to mine and well with tears. Her voice, rough, whispers, “I’m going to die in here.”

  “Don’t think like that.”

  “Why haven’t I been in any rooms? Everyone else has.”

  “I think they’re trying to drive a wedge between all of us.”

  “But why me? Why use me?”

  Okay, good question. “I’m not sure why.”

  Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to do that to me? Though apparently, I give good reactions when I can’t shut up, and I stand up for myself. Could they be saving Hazel for room zero? But what would be the thinking behind that? Surely the stronger a person is the better for the…show? Would they not want it to last, watch people fight for longer, not knowing the outcome?

  Maybe I’m trying too hard to think like them. There has to be a reason but it’s unlikely we’ll understand it since we’re not certifiable.

  “See? We know there’s something coming, and I’m being treated differently,” Hazel says, shaking her head.

  “You’re not the only one getting different treatment. Theo and I have done a lot of rooms, and Evan and Kevin have been taken away, Kevin still is gone.”

  “Fine. I’m the only one treated in a different way: solo.”

  “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, and we don’t know something big is coming, we only assume it because of the changes in their behavior. But maybe this is part of their plan.”

  “Piper, we’re in different positions here. Let’s not try to pretend otherwise.”

&nbs
p; Why is she being so hostile? It’s not as if any of us are in a good position, but it’s not a contest over who has it worse. Evan would win that hands down; he’s been here the longest and done more rooms than all of us combined probably.

  “This is what they want,” I tell her. “We can’t be divided in here. We might not have the same experience, but we’re all trapped.”

  She shrugs. “That’s all we share.”

  I bite my lip. I don’t know how far to go with this. Hazel is either talking through pure anger and fear, or she’s letting them get into her head and believes that she’s going to die here…soon.

  Honestly, I would never think she’s going into room zero.

  Not all of us are in here to fight. There is a purpose for everyone.

  I would ask Caleb when I see him, but I don’t know how helpful it would be to know, kind of like knowing when you’re going to die. Some things are best left unsaid, and my purpose for being in this dungeon is definitely one of them.

  “Do you want to play cards?” I ask her. It’s been a long time since we’ve done anything together. God, the last time might actually have been the night we went to the lake.

  She turns her head at that, her mouth hanging open. “Did you not just hear me?”

  “What?”

  “We’re not the same, Piper.”

  “I’m lost, Haze. Just because they see something different in us and treat us differently doesn’t mean we’re not the same. This is still you and me. I’m your best friend no matter where we are, no matter what anyone does or doesn’t do to us.”

  “You’re friends with Theo and Evan. I’m friends with Priya.”

  Jesus, she is not getting this.

  “Hazel is right,” Priya says.

  Damn it, not her, too.

  Hazel and I glance over at the same time, but our expressions are polar opposites. She is relieved to have someone backing her up. I’m irritated that they’re both believing the crap Caleb, Owen, and Matt want us to believe.

  “No, she’s not! Come on, surely you can see that they want us to think this. Don’t give them that. We’re all the same.”

  Priya rolls her almost-black eyes. “I want to believe you, Piper, but if they were to put us all in room zero, we know the three left standing would be you, Evan, and Theo.”

  Throwing my hands up, I exclaim, “I’m not going to kill anyone!”

  “Not right now, but you will. Theo and I have, and so has Evan. Let’s not pretend like we have a choice when we go into that room. It’s instinct,” Priya rants, her face reddening.

  I sit on the sofa, my back sinking into the cushions. “Priya.”

  Sighing, she gently tugs on the bottom of her long hair, twirling strands through her fingers. “I’m sorry, but let’s not pretend here. We’re not getting out alive, not me, Hazel, or Lucie anyway.”

  “And you think what? That they’ll let me, Theo, Evan go? Because that’s not going to happen. Maybe we won’t die the first time we go into room zero, but taking someone’s life is going to destroy us anyway.”

  The door from the waiting room opens, and Evan walks back in. He braces himself against the wall and looks over.

  Our eyes connect, and he takes a ragged breath.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, getting to my feet.

  He straightens his back and drops his hand. His moment of weakness is over, and now he’s back to his strong self.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Where were you?” I ask, walking over to him. Though from his wet hair and sweatshirt, I already know.

  His eyes find the floor. “Five. I’m tired.”

  I follow him into the bedroom. “Was it Caleb?”

  He looks over his shoulder. “And Owen.”

  “Both of them?”

  “Yeah. They took turns.” He spins and wraps his arms around my back. Burying his head in my neck, he whispers, “There was hardly any time between.”

  “Evan,” I murmur, hugging him back so tight, I’m scared I’m actually hurting him. But he doesn’t complain.

  Caleb and Owen tortured him with water together. It’s one thing to have two of us in that room, but something else entirely to have two committing the torture.

  “It’s okay now. You’re here and you’re safe.”

  “You believe we’re safe here?” he whispers in my ear.

  “Right this second, I do.”

  Evan steps back and brushes my hair from my face. “I really needed your positivity, Piper. Thank you for following me in here.”

  “Of course. Do you need anything?”

  “Just for you to be up on your bunk again.” He smiles shyly, like he’s just shown me his journal.

  “That I can do,” I tell him.

  We climb our respective ladders and lie down. I stare up at the ceiling and wait. A second later his arm flops over and onto my pillow.

  With a big smile, I reach up and take his hand.

  “Good night, Piper,” he says softly into the dark.

  “Night, Evan.”

  36

  I spent most of the night tossing and turning. In the morning, we all get up together. It seems no one slept well.

  The reason? The damn roasting bedroom.

  They turned up the heat.

  So that’s new.

  Theo, Hazel, Priya, Lucie, and I are all on the sofas, drinking coffee like it’s going out of fashion. Evan is in the bathroom.

  The temperature is back to normal now, but the damage has been done. We’re going to spend the day tired and hope they don’t do the same thing tonight.

  I felt like I was going to burn to death in the dry heat last night, with nothing to cool me down.

  Wait. Fire. That’s it! We could set fire to the place.

  Great, and actually burn to death.

  But…would they let us burn in here? The fire department would come. Even if they don’t call, someone would see a lot of smoke in the woods. They’d think it was a forest fire.

  Caleb, Matt, and Owen couldn’t leave us because firefighters would find our burned bodies and start to ask a lot of questions.

  They would be forced to act. They would have to let us out of here. The transportation of captives is the part where the kidnappers are most vulnerable; there are factors outside of their control.

  We can escape.

  “We need to set the place on fire,” I say.

  Theo, Lucie, and Priya look at me with wide eyes.

  “What did you just suggest?” Hazel asks.

  “That’s too dangerous!” Theo growls. “We’ll die.”

  I shake my head. “No, I don’t think we will.”

  The four of them look at me like I’ve lost it completely. I haven’t. Not completely anyway.

  Unless I have, and I just don’t know it. Either way, it’s a plan that could work. It’s better than playing dead since Theo and I aren’t getting called into any rooms.

  For some reason, we’re getting a break. For how long? Every time that speaker crackles, my heart takes a dive and my palms sweat.

  That’s probably why you’re getting a break. To drive you crazy always fearing it.

  Evan walks into the room from his shower. His messy dark hair is damp. His eyes lock with mine as soon as he turns around, always to me first, as if he’s checking to make sure I’m still here and I’m okay.

  He frowns, sensing the tension in the room. “What’s going on?”

  “My best friend has finally lost it. That’s what’s going on,” Hazel tells him.

  He walks to the sofa and sits. Ignoring everyone else, he says, “This should be fun.”

  “I’ve thought of a way out of here.”

  “No, Piper, you’ve thought of a way to kill us all at once,” Lucie says, cutting in.

 
Evan looks at her, frowning. He leans more on the positive side, like me, so I appreciate that he’s at least willing to hear me out.

  “What’s your idea?” he asks, tilting his head. I can tell he’s half-amused, but I have a feeling my idea will wipe away his smile.

  I look at him dead serious and say, “We set fire to this room.”

  He stares for a second, and I can see his mind working overtime. “Fire? Really?”

  “Yes. People will see the smoke, and the fire department will come. Caleb, Matt, and Owen can’t leave us in here to burn because the officials will find our bodies and a lot of questions will be asked. Don’t you see? They have to let us go for their own survival. And while they’re opening the door for us, we have a chance of getting away. Six on three, it’s not bad odds.”

  It’s not great odds, either, but there isn’t much we can do about that.

  His mouth curls into a grin. “God, I love how you think, Piper.”

  “Are you kiddin’ me?” Theo yells. “I know you back her on everything, but this is ridiculous!”

  Evan’s head snaps to Theo. “We can’t break out. There are too many doors and they’re always locked. What else would you suggest? She’s right, Theo. This is the only way. They can’t let us burn in here; they have to let us out. It’s our best chance.”

  Silence cloaks the room like a blanket.

  I chew on my lip while they all consider our chances. This is the best way.

  It’s the only way.

  What else can we do that would force them to let us all out at the same time?

  They don’t care about us, so we can’t pretend to be sick. But they do care about self-preservation, so they’ll open the doors to save themselves from a lot of questions the police would have if they found charred bodies in here.

  Priya takes a breath, tears welling in her eyes. “I hate to admit it, because I’m scared, but I think Piper is right.”

  “Yes, I’m right,” I say. “There is nothing else we can do, at least nothing that will get us all free at one time.”

  “No, Piper is not right. Piper is insane!” Hazel exclaims.

  Evan ignores her. “When are we doing it?”