The Lost

by Natasha Preston

  We make the short walk back to our room, grabbing a bag of new clothes in the clothes room as we go. The heat from the light has made me a sweaty mess. I need aspirin, a shower, and to lie down.

  Hazel, Priya, and Theo are sitting on the sofa when we get back. Where is Lucie? Sleeping, maybe.

  “Are you two okay?” Hazel asks.

  I nod and pain slices through my forehead. Damn, that hurts so much. “I need…”

  “Sit down. I’ll take care of it,” Evan says.

  “Hey, no, you sit, too.” Priya leaps to her feet. “You need a glass of water, right?”

  “Thanks,” Evan replies and follows me to the sofa.

  When my headache has ebbed a little, I’ll go for my shower.

  “Was the camera on?” I ask.

  Hazel nods. “You two were amazing, though. So strong.”

  “What camera?” Evan asks.

  “When Lucie and Piper went into room five, they showed the live feed in here and made us watch,” Hazel says quietly. With the constant threat of room zero looming over us, it’s understandable that we do what we’re told.

  Evan shakes his head. “They really do that?”

  “Yep,” I say, taking the glass of water from Priya with gratitude. “I love you,” I tell her.

  Evan downs his pills, too, and lies back against the sofa, gripping his glass of water as if it’s his lifeline.

  I know the feeling.

  “Do you guys want anything to eat or are you going to bed early?” Theo asks. He avoids eye contact with me, preferring to look between me and Evan.

  “I can’t eat a thing,” I say. “I’m going to shower and sleep.”

  Evan nods. “Same. My head is killing me.”

  “All right,” Theo mutters.

  Things with Theo have gone from bad to worse. It started when I didn’t let him run, and Evan’s presence has only widened the distance between us.

  I miss having him as a friend, but I’m not going to turn my back on anyone in here in order to do that. There can’t be any cliques in here. Everyone is equal; everyone gets the same treatment.

  Evan insists I use the bathroom first, and I’m thankful, because I don’t know how much longer I can stay awake. I need to curl up in bed and close my eyes. I need this damn headache to go away.

  Will there be any lingering effects from the extreme light exposure? I don’t know how long you have to be exposed for that to happen. We were in there for a couple of hours, and there were moments of complete darkness, too, which only made it worse when the lights turned back on.

  I think I’ll be okay.

  You have to be okay.

  When I’m finished brushing my teeth, showering, and changing into the new clothes I brought back, I head straight to bed. No one stops me as I walk through the main room, understanding that I need to go to bed.

  I’m not really feeling in a chatty mood.

  Slipping into bed, I tug the quilt around my body and close my eyes. Sleep may not come quickly, but at least I can lie here in the dark and be still.

  After about five minutes, or it could have been many more, I’ve lost the ability to count, Evan creeps into the room. I hear his footsteps getting louder, and then he climbs the ladder to the top of the bunk next to mine.

  His head hits the pillow with a light thud, and he sighs quietly.

  I wonder what he’s thinking? Was it easier or harder for him having me there? He’s done the room before but on his own. He took on the role of protector. Did that give him enough of a distraction?

  “Evan?” I whisper.

  “Yeah?”

  I smile at the gentle tone in his voice. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m okay,” he replies, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “Are you?”

  “I guess. My head doesn’t feel good.”

  “No, but it’ll go away.”

  Evan lifts his arm, flopping it over his head and into my bunk. Biting my lip as my smile grows, I lift my arm up and grip his hand. That has to be uncomfortable for him, his arm resting on the wooden side of the bunk and bent back, but he doesn’t seem to care.

  In fact, it only takes a few minutes before I hear his breathing getting heavier, and only a few minutes more until I follow.

  31

  I wake early as usual. Evan’s hand is still beside my head, but sometime in the night, I let go.

  Sitting up, I rub my eyes. The ache in my head has subsided, but it’s still very much there. I kick off my covers and sneak a look at Evan as I turn around to go down the ladder.

  He’s still asleep, and I’m sure as hell not waking him up.

  I go in search of aspirin and water. To my surprise, Theo is sitting on the sofa, drinking from a mug. The smell of coffee hits me like a truck. I love it, but I can’t drink it with a headache.

  “Morning,” I say.

  “How are you doing?”

  I grab some aspirin, fill a glass with water, and down them. “I’m okay; head is still hurting.”

  “Take it easy today…you and Evan.”

  I sit and tuck my feet under my butt. “Are you okay with Evan now? It was a little scary knowing he’s been here longer than us, but we didn’t know he was there. Think about it, Kevin could be in that situation months down the line, and we would want people to accept him.”

  If we’re all dead, that could happen.

  Let’s not think too much about that one.

  “I get it,” he replies with a nod. “And clearly you really like him, so he can’t be that bad.”

  “I like everyone in here.”

  Maybe Evan in a slightly different way.

  Theo smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Right.”

  “Are we cool? Except for Hazel, you are the first friend I made in here. And I know you wanted us to run when we were let outside, but I’d hate it if we can’t go back to how things were.”

  “Do you honestly think it can go back to how it was now?”

  I press my lips together, unsure if he means because of what’s happened or because of Evan. I’d ask, but I don’t want to go there with him. Awkward in here would take on a whole new level considering we can’t get away from each other.

  “I hope we can. You’ve helped me a lot.”

  “You have Evan for that now. He seems to help more. I saw you playing cards.”

  “Theo, you could have joined in.”

  “I’m not really talking about the card game, Piper.”

  Can we move on?

  “Hey.” Evan’s smooth voice makes me smile.

  Theo lifts his chin in greeting. I look over my shoulder. “Hey. How’s your head?” I ask.

  “Not too bad. Yours?”

  “Hurts.”

  He gives me a small smile. “You’re not used to it.”

  But he is, because they’ve sent him from room to room for months. It takes a really strong person to get through that.

  Evan sits next to me, his arm pressing against mine. I don’t know if it’s because we got through room three together, but his touch doesn’t make me cringe.

  He is comfort. I feel safe.

  You’re ridiculous.

  “Are we still on for the plan?” Theo asks, his eyes only on me since Evan wasn’t here for the planning.

  “Are you sure you want to do it? It’s risky. Like, insanely risky.”

  “What plan is this?” Evan interjects.

  Theo’s eyes tighten. “I’m going to play dead the next time I’ve been in a room. Maybe I’ll be able to get away and find help.”

  “No offense to either of you, but that sounds like a terrible plan.”

  Theo and I laugh. Shaking my head, I agree, “Yeah, it is.”

  With a frown, Evan looks between us, a little lost, like he’s n
ot sure if he’s missed a joke or not.

  “This is all we have now,” Theo tells him.

  “But you’ll die.”

  “Theo, he has a valid point.”

  “I’m not disagreeing, but I can’t keep doing this. Like Lucie said, I would rather die trying to escape than at the hand of one of my friends. I don’t know what they think this is, but the era of gladiators ended for a reason.”

  “So, you just need to get in one of those rooms?” Evan asks.

  Theo nods. “Lucie was called when she tried to attack Piper, so I figured I’ll do the same.”

  I can feel Evan’s eyes on me. “She attacked you?”

  “Not really. She only tried. She was upset.”

  “And you’re going to pretend to attack Piper?” Evan asks Theo. His voice is hard, like he’s challenging him to try.

  Can’t say I hate the protective side of Evan. In fact, I damn well love having someone take care of me.

  Theo laughs. “No, I think she’s had enough. But now that you’re here…”

  Evan rolls his eyes. “Sure, attack me.”

  “Pretend,” Theo stresses. “I’m not going to attack you. I just need to do something that will get me in a room, something that’s not going to make me feel like crap.”

  Apparently even pretending to attack me would make him feel awful.

  Evan lifts his hands. “Go ahead.”

  The speaker crackles, sending a bolt of fear down my spine. “Evan to the waiting room,” Owens voice sings.

  “What? No way, it’s too soon!”

  Evan shakes his head. “Don’t. Calm down. It’s fine. I’ll be back soon.”

  “But it’s—”

  “No,” he cuts me off. “Don’t do anything that could get you in there again.”

  Evan gets up. I want to follow him to the door, but my legs feel like jelly. This isn’t fair.

  I watch with my heart in my stomach as he grabs a quick swig of water from the tap before disappearing though the door.

  Theo moves from his seat and wraps his arm around my shoulder. I tense for a second before relaxing.

  “He’ll be okay, Piper. If anyone can handle going in there again, it’s him.”

  “I like him, Theo.”

  He chuckles. “Duh.”

  32

  Evan has been gone a long time, and I can’t help worrying that he’s been taken away for another six months or worse.

  How long can you be in solitary confinement, flitting from torture room to torture room before you lose yourself completely? Evan is one of the strongest people I know, but everyone has their limits and I could see in his eyes that he was scared when they called his name.

  Priya senses my stress. “It’s been a good few hours now, but I’m sure he’s fine.”

  I shake my head. “But he keeps having to do this over and over. How do you stay strong through that?”

  “He’s stronger than anyone. Caleb, Owen, and Matt know that, which is why they kept him in those rooms for months, Piper.”

  “Right. Yeah, that makes sense. They punish him harder.”

  Hazel scoffs. “He’s probably dead. We don’t know where Kevin is. They’re probably in room zero.”

  “Hazel!” I snap, scowling at her. “If you can’t be positive, then don’t speak! I’ve had enough of this doom-and-gloom attitude you’ve adopted since we got here.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry for being realistic.”

  “You’re not being realistic; you’re being pessimistic, and it’s not helping.”

  She rolls her eyes and flicks through one of the old magazines, ignoring me.

  All our lives, she’s been so upbeat. Whenever I had a freak-out that I’d done badly on a test or essay, she would talk me down. I hate what this place is doing to my best friend. I miss the old her so much.

  There is nothing I wouldn’t do to be back in my room with her, eating popcorn, watching some stupid rom-com, or trying to pick out the killer in a mystery movie.

  Hazel never guessed right because she always overthought it.

  I probably shouldn’t have snapped at her, but her attitude is crappy. Constantly hearing the worst-case scenario is bringing us all down. I’m not naive. I know what they’re capable of, but I can’t let my mind constantly go there. Hope is all we have.

  I turn back to Priya. At least she’s trying to make the best of things here until we figure a way out of this mess. “You’re right. Evan’s probably just being kept in there longer. I hate that he’s been treated worse because he tried to escape. I mean, it makes sense for them to do that, as a deterrent to the rest of us, but it sucks. Royally sucks. We would all escape if we could,” I say.

  “We can,” Priya whispers. “Remember, there is a way out of here. We just need to figure out which way is most likely to work.”

  Any new ideas would be welcomed.

  What if Kevin and Evan are in room zero?

  The door in the hallways clicks, unlocking. Priya and I jump to our feet. Lucie dashes out of the bedroom, and Theo puts down his plate to walk closer.

  It’s either Evan or Kevin.

  Evan walks through the door, rubbing his forehead.

  There is no blood on him, no injury or sign of a struggle, and he’s carrying a bag of clean clothes. His brown hair is still disheveled in that purposeful way.

  He hasn’t been in room zero. But his head is hurting.

  “Sound?” I ask, my shoulders now free of stress. He’s safe.

  But we don’t know if Kevin is.

  Evan nods, his eyes are semi-vacant as if he hasn’t been able to bring himself back from wherever he goes mentally while in those rooms.

  “Yeah, sound. I’m okay, though.” He drops his hand. “Everyone else all right?”

  “We’re all fine,” Priya says. “Do you need anything?”

  “Sounds like dinner is cooking,” he replies.

  The microwave is humming.

  She brushes her long black hair over her shoulder. “Yes, it will only be another minute now.”

  Theo opens the fridge and tosses Evan a bottle of water.

  “Thanks, man,” Evan says.

  The two of them are less frosty with each other, which is nice. It’s not Evan’s fault that any of this is happening. And it’s not his fault that Kevin appears to have taken his place in exile.

  “You were there a long time,” I say.

  He pauses on the way past. “I was?”

  “Yeah. A little over five hours, Evan.”

  “I-I don’t know if I’ve been in that room that long before. When you’re in there…”

  “Time is meaningless. I know.”

  Smiling, he adds, “It didn’t feel like any longer than usual.”

  When you’re in one of the rooms, it could be for minutes or all day. It’s impossible to tell.

  “Well, at least you’re back now. Do you need aspirin?”

  “I’m all right. I’ve gotten used to not having anything. My head isn’t too bad.” He flops down beside me. “What have you been up to while I was gone?”

  I shrug. “Nothing. TV.” Worrying about you mostly.

  He glances over. “The Da Vinci Code, huh?”

  “It’s one of the better DVDs we have here,” I reply. “Keeps my mind busy.”

  “What do you usually watch at home?”

  “Ironically, anything crime-based. I love those documentaries about getting into the minds of serial killers.”

  “Really?” he asks, lifting his eyebrows.

  “Yep. So, I should have known Caleb was a creep, right?” So stupid to have trusted him.

  Evan throws his arm over the back of the sofa behind me. “We’re all in the same position, Piper.”

  “Yeah, I know. I still feel like I should hav
e seen it coming. I know not to get into cars with strangers.”

  “Caleb is rich and respectable. You knew who he was, right? I mean, everyone knows about those guys.”

  “I knew about him, yeah. But that doesn’t mean I’m not an idiot.”

  He shakes his head, a frown marring his face. “Don’t put yourself down. I think you’re pretty awesome. You have no idea who you really are yet.”

  “Who I really am?”

  “You can change the world, Piper, or take it over.”

  “Hmm, I don’t hate the idea of owning the world.”

  He tilts his head back and laughs. “I knew you were going to say that. Perfect answer, and when we’re out of here, we’ll get working on that.”

  “We have to get out first.”

  “We will. There is no way our destiny is to die in this building.”

  I lean a little closer to him. His warmth is comforting, his words spurring me on, strength seeping into my pores. I’m ready to fight to get out of here.

  “Thanks, Evan. You always seem to know what to say.”

  “I know you better than you think.”

  “Which is incredible since I’ve known you such a short time.”

  “You said it yourself, time means nothing in here.”

  It’s true. Evan, Theo, Lucie, Priya, and Kevin, along with Hazel of course, have become so important to me in such a short amount of time. We’ve made a family in here, bound by fear, the need to survive, and the same horrifying circumstances.

  But that’s not to say that just because we’re the heroes of the story, we’ll get out alive.

  “I can’t wait to do normal things like going to see a movie with my mom, eating breakfast out with my dad, riding my bike, and, I can’t believe I’m about to admit this, but I’m even looking forward to school again.”

  Evan laughs. “I need to figure out my whole life when I get out of here. College, work, everything.”

  “There will be plenty of time for that. What you really need to do is spend time with your family. Ultimately, that’s all that matters.” Being here makes me realize that I haven’t appreciated my parents enough. Sure, we spend time together, but I took it all for granted. Evan after Penny died, I still assumed they would always be there. The three of us was the new constant.