Page 155 of Distress Signal

My head pounded, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, which seemed to be stuffed with cotton.

Even without opening my eyes, I knew I was somewhere unfamiliar.

But I couldn’t remember how I’d gotten here.

Gathering myself through the jackhammer in my skull, I attempted to take stock of my surroundings with my eyes still closed.

The surface I lay on wasn’t soft, exactly, but not as hard as the floor would be. The fingers of my good hand twitched against it, and some sort of rough fabric scratched against them.

I strained my ears and was greeted by the sound of distantly running water.

And breathing.

Fuck. I wasn’t alone.

“C’mon, Rea Rea,” a voice whispered. “I know you’re awake.”

My eyes flew open, and I shot upright, the pain in my headforgotten as my attention locked on my reflection across the room.

No, not a reflection.

My twin.

“Lainey!” I cried.

I scrambled off the mattress, trying to get to her, but my progress was stalled halfway there.

Looking behind me, my blood lit with fury.

There was a fucking manacle hooked around my ankle and bolted to the wall.

“What the fuck?”

“Shut up,” my sister hissed. “Keep your voice down.”

Quieter this time, I said, “What the fuck?”

“The real question is, what the fuck are you doing here?”

“Oh, right,” I snorted. “Because I asked to be here.”

My memories came back to me all at once.

Leaving Crew and Aspen’s reception to go up to the house for some much-needed silence.

The conversation with Aspen.

Walking across the driveway, the struggle, the prick of pain in my arm, which I now realized had been the sting of a needle.

Goddesses, how long ago had that been? How long had I been here?

My heart rate ticked up, breath growing shallow.

I swept the room, searching for any indication of the time. Nothing hung on the walls, but the world beyond the small, ceiling-level windows was dark.

We were in a basement, then, and I could’ve been here for mere hours…or days.

The basement, I realized with a start, looked identical to the one from my recurring nightmare. Right down to the floral wallpaper and shag carpet.