Welcome to the game.
“Caleb!” I scream, panic searing through my veins.
“Go through the door at the end of the hall,” he instructs, his voice cold and tinny through the speakers at the very top of the wall.
I shake my head vehemently. “Not happening. Open this door now!”
“Orientation is in the room at the end of the hall,” he says. His voice sounds like a recording. But if it is, where is he?
“Caleb, you’ve had your fun, now let us out!”
“How do they find this fun?” Hazel snaps.
My head is dizzy. I slam my hands into the wall to steady myself. I don’t like this; I need to leave.
“Orientation is in the room at the end of the hall.”
“Shut up!” I scream. “Just shut up and open the door!”
Hazel slaps her hand over her mouth and sobs. “What’s going on, Piper?”
“They’ll let us out in a minute,” I reply. My voice sounds monotone even to my own ears. They have to let us out. They can’t hold us indefinitely. How long could they keep us? What would they want to keep us here for?
The speaker crackles with static. “Orientation is in the room at the end of the hall.”
My heart races, pounding in my chest as if it’s trying to escape.
“Hazel, maybe we just have to play their stupid game.”
“What? I’m not going through there.”
“Well, they’re not coming in here, and that might be a way out,” I say, pointing toward the door at the end of the hall.
She shakes her head. “I want to go home right now.”
I grip her hand, my fingertips tingling. “So, let’s do that. I don’t care if we have to walk home when we get out of here.”
“Orientation is in the room at the end of the hall.”
If I hear that one more time…
“Let’s get this over with,” she says through gritted teeth, her eyes narrowing at the speaker on the wall.
If I could reach it, I would rip it down.
“Okay,” I reply, very unsure if this is the right thing to do.
I don’t know why they are doing this or what they’re getting out of it. But if they think they can laugh it off when we get out of here, they’re mistaken.
Hazel and I hold hands as we slowly shuffle toward the door. Her breathing is heavy…or mine is. At this point I don’t know. I’m just glad I’m still breathing. The tie of her friendship bracelet brushes against my skin.
Neither of us speak as we approach the door.
There is no lock on this door.
Hazel shakes her head. “I can’t open it.”
Her eyes are wet with unshed tears.
“It’s okay, Haze. I will,” I whisper.
Reaching out, my hand shakes so hard I almost miss as I grip the handle and push down.
“I changed my mind,” Hazel says, gripping hold of my wrist to stop me from opening it.
“What other option do we have?”
“Orientation is in the room at the end of the hall.”
We both jump as the recording of Caleb’s voice plays again.
“I’m scared, Piper.”
“I am, too, but we’re in this together, and when we get home, we’re never going out again.”
Nodding, she presses her lips together like she’s trying to prevent herself from falling apart.
“Okay, I’ll go first, and we’ll be out of here soon.”
Her grip on my wrist loosens, and I push open the door. We take a step back, afraid that one of them might jump out at us.
They don’t.
The room is dark, the lighting from the corridor offering a glimpse of what’s inside. The only thing we can see is the herringbone wood floor.
“Caleb?” I tentatively call out. How could I be so wrong about him?
“Orientation is in the room at the end of the hall.”
“Oh my God, okay, we’re going in!” I shout. Fire ignites in my stomach. We need to get out of here right now.
I walk ahead, my desire to get this over with outweighing my fear. Hazel, still holding my hand in a death grip, stumbles inside behind me.
“Close the door, Piper,” Caleb says through the speaker. This time his voice is soft and human.
Turning on my heel, I grab the edge of the door and slam it shut.
Almost instantly, the door makes a clang.
My body overheats. It’s locked, and we’re cloaked in darkness.
I take a step closer to Hazel, pressing my side against hers. She’s trembling, her body causing mine to shake. The loss of my sight makes my other senses run wild. I can smell paint so strong it almost chokes me; I can taste it. Hazel’s heavy breathing rattles in my ears.
“Where are they?” she whispers.
“Shh.”
Even though I can’t see, I close my eyes and listen. The space around us is dead, like there has never been any sign of life in here, like we’re the only ones.
Before I can take a full breath, light floods the room. My eyes blink open, and I whip my head around. Hazel whimpers as I spin us so our backs are to the wall. We can see more from this angle, and no one can sneak up behind us.
My gaze tries to take in everything at once. A relatively small room with two armchairs and a TV screen. In the corner is a water cooler. There is another door opposite the one we came in.
Caleb’s voice rings through the room: “Piper, turn the TV on and press play on the remote.”
“Don’t,” Hazel warns.
“They’re not here; we have to.”
“Get comfortable, Hazel. You’re going to want to be sitting for this next part,” Caleb says. Laughter feeds through the speakers.
My breath catches. “Did you hear that?”
“Them laughing at us? Yeah, I heard.”
I nod because I know they can hear us. But I definitely heard three voices laughing. Who is the third person?
“Just do what they say, Hazel.”
She sits, and I turn on the TV and press play. Retreating back, I forgo the spare seat meant for me and huddle next to my friend.
The screen flashes to life. Caleb, Owen, and another guy I’ve never seen before are grinning at the camera. They’re sitting behind a long table with their hands placed palms down on the wood.
“Welcome, player…or players,” Caleb says. His eyes darken the way they did after he locked the car doors. He almost looks like a different person.
“What the hell?” Hazel whispers.
“We know you must be wondering what you’re doing here,” Owen says and chuckles. He sits forward, his fingers spread wide like he’s excited. “You’re here to play.”
The third guy runs his hands over his face and says, “We don’t want to give too much away, the games will become crystal clear in due course, but I just want to take the opportunity to wish you luck.”
Owen’s head tilts. “Luck? How odd.”
Caleb nudges him with his elbow. “Through the door in the far corner, you will find another room. Grab one bag each from the hooks, choose the bag marked with your clothing size. Then go through the next door. You’ll know the one.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I mutter.
Caleb sits back in his chair. On either side of him, Owen and the guy with no name stare into the camera and smile.
The video ends and cuts to black.
Hazel and I look at each other. “What do we do?” she asks.
Shaking my head, I shrug. I don’t know what to do or where to go. I have no idea how to get us out of this or even what Caleb really wants. The idea is to scare us, right? Well, he’s already done that. How much further will he take it?
And what’s on the other side of this door?
Hazel sobs. “We can’t stay in here. You said this is a test, right?”
“Yeah, I think that.”
“Do you think they’re going to let us go back the way we’ve been if we refuse?”
“Why are you asking me? Do you think I’m the one with all the answers?” I snap, surging to my feet.
Hazel flinches and drops her chin.
“Damn it. I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to shout at you, but I don’t know what to do, either.”
“Please proceed through the door on the far wall,” Caleb’s robotic voice booms through the speakers.
I take a breath, close my eyes, and open them again, more composed than before. Clenching my trembling hands, I look at Hazel. Her eyes are wide, confused and fearful. Out of the two of us, I’m probably the stronger one, the one who will jump right in and take action, but just barely. Here, though, she’s leaving it all up to me.
This is my fault. If I hadn’t started talking to Caleb, we would be at my house right now.
Oh God, what are my parents going to do when they find out I’m missing? And Hazel’s parents?
“Please proceed through the door on the far wall.”
The speaker is above the door we’re supposed to walk through. I glare at it, knowing Caleb and his friends are watching. They’re probably loving this. Our fear is what they want.
If I had any control, I wouldn’t show them fear.
“We have to go,” Hazel says, standing. She holds onto the arm of the chair to steady herself. “Like you said, let’s get this over with so we can go home.”
“Right,” I reply. I nod, but underneath I’m petrified.
Hazel walks ahead and wraps her hand around the handle. Her knuckles turn white the harder she grips. With a deep breath that whistles past her teeth, she shoves the door open.
This next room is small, more of a hallway. It’s painted mint green and brightly lit. Along one side is a row of hooks holding cloth bags with S, M, L, and XL embroidered on the front.
At the opposite end of the room from us is the door.
Instead of white like all of the others, it’s red. But there is a white lily lying on the floor.