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Her limbs were numb. Every inch of her, even the messy hair flowing past her shoulders, felt heavy.

“Khalani.”

A light creaking noise.

A faint whisper permeating the oppressive fog.

Sensations slowly filtered back.

Her shoulders throbbed with pain, and she realized her hands were twisted and bound behind her with hard rope.

She had a hard time opening her eyes, as if her eyelids had been sewn shut. The pull of darkness beckoned her once more, offering an escape that seemed almost preferable.

Maybe if she faded with it, death would claim her and finally finish the job that should’ve been completed a long time ago.

Wake up.

Wake up.

“Wake up!”

Khalani jolted, her eyes shooting open as she heaved rapidly.

She realized she was seated on coldtiledfloor, her legs stretched out in front of her, and her arms bound behind a rusty metal pole sticking out of the ground.

Serene, Derek, Adan, Takeshi, and Brock were similarly restrained, each tied to separate poles scattered throughout the empty space.

She glanced around the small, dim room, illuminated only by a single, flickering lightbulb hanging precariously from the ceiling. The weak light cast eerie shadows along the concrete walls.

Dread clawed inside her stomach when she saw a set of dark, rickety stairs that led upward to an unknown destination.

“You alright?” Serene’s voice was strained, breathless.

Khalani turned to her left, wincing from the sharp throb at her temple.

“Where the hell are we?” Her voice came out hoarse.

“I don’t know,” Serene replied, her blue hair matted to her forehead as she scanned the room with a frightened look. “All I remember is waking up to a gunshot, and then someone pressed a strange cloth over my face.”

Khalani swallowed, her nostrils flaring.

The air was thick with a musty, unpleasant odor. It seeped from the concrete walls and buried into her skin. The sharp fragrance of despair lingered on her tongue, as though the room was well-acquainted with the stench of death.

She glanced at the others. Derek and Adan sat to her right. Dark circles hung under Derek’s eyes, lips pulled tight as his gazes darted about the room, sharp fear etched into the lines of his face.

Adan was moving his shoulders back and forth, trying to maneuver his hands out of the rope.

Brock was bound to a pipe in the corner near the stairs, shifting his body in an attempt to free himself, but based on the jagged snarl playing across his lips, he wasn’t getting far either.

Takeshi sat directly across from her. Though similarly restrained, his posture radiated a dangerous calm. Like a monster stirring beneath water.

He obsessively studied every single inch of the room. The stairs. The poles they were tied to. The ropes.

And Winnie…

Utter terror sliced through Khalani’s chest as she frantically scanned the room.

“Where’s Winnie?” she nearly screamed.