“Hello? Are you awake?”
I froze, every muscle locking into place. So the voice hadn’t been in my head. It wasn’t some fever dream or hallucination born fromstress and fear. It wasn’t coming from the hallway or through the door.
It was coming from the bathroom vent.
I turned slowly, my eyes narrowing as they focused on the grate above the toilet. “H-hello?” I whispered back, carefully sliding onto the closed toilet lid to get closer.
“Oh, thank God,” the girl said, relief flooding her words. “You’re awake. I was afraid you might be…hurt.”
My stomach twisted into knots. “Who are you?” I asked softly.
A long pause stretched until I thought she wouldn’t answer, and I couldn’t blame her. I was just as leery of her.
“My name is Crystal,” she finally answered.
My breath caught in my throat, lodging there like a stone.
Crystal Martin?
The latest missing girl. Well, not counting Kenny. I’d seen her face plastered across the news and social media for days.
I grabbed the edge of the vent with both hands, fingers curling around the cool metal slats. “Crystal,” I repeated. “I’ve seen you on the news.”
A small sigh came through the vent. “So they haven’t stopped looking for me?”
My eyes stung, pressure building behind them. Tears threatened to spill, but I blinked them back hard. I didn’t have the heart to tell her she was old news and most news outlets were no longer reporting on her disappearance. They’d moved on as the days had dragged into weeks. “No. They haven’t.” I wanted to give her hope because I needed it as much as she did.
Another shaky breath filtered through the vent. “How long have you been here?” she asked.
“A day,” I replied, trying to calculate through the fog in my mind. “Maybe two. I’m not sure. Everything’s…blurred.”
“That’s normal,” she murmured. “It happens to all of us. We lose all concept of time.”
I didn’t want this to become mynormal.
“Where is here?” I pressed, desperate for information, anything that might be useful. “What is this place?”
“I don’t know where we are. They drugged me when I was taken, and I woke up somewhere else before they moved me here.”
“How many are there?”
“Including you, five, I think,” she said. “There was a girl before you. We used to talk at night. It’s safer when it’s late. Sometimes I could hear her scream. Until one day, she just stopped.”
Kenny. She wouldn’t be coming back.
“There’s been a lot of buzz about you since you arrived. Everyone knows your name.”
Wonderful. I’d always wanted to be popular, just not like this. “Why are you still here? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you are. I’m just wondering why you haven’t been auctioned off yet?”
“I didn’t have any interested buyers.”
That was a good thing, right? Then I thought about it. “What happens if you don’t get…picked?” I decided on picked because the thought of humans being sold was a concept I didn’t want to voice out loud, regardless of how real it might be.
“They find another use for you until you don’t have a use anymore.”
I cursed under my breath. “I can’t stay here. Do you know a way out?”
“There’s only one way in or out, and it’s guarded twenty-four seven. Three shifts, four guards each. Silvia keeps us locked up tight until showtime,” Crystal informed. “Your best chance to escape is after you’re sold. During transport. Before they get you wherever you’re going. At least, that’s my plan.”
