When I opened my eyes, I felt so lazy that my eyes kept on closing. For a moment, I forgot that I was abducted.

  I felt like I was just a regular high school student who woke up on Saturday. No sense of urgency to get up and get ready for school. No worries, no responsibilities.

  That was the most rest I've had since this entire month of October. My exhaustion from the constant running, the constant worrying of being found, disappeared. I would have stayed in bed and pretended that everything was back to normal. If it weren't for my brain showing me images of Cana and me getting drugged and kidnapped by gas-masked people, who I can only assume to be the cultists.

  Now fear and guilt come flooding right back in me. I did this. I convinced Cana that it was the only option we've had. Now, we are held by the very same people whom we've been trying to avoid. I gritted my teeth. First Eris. Now, Cana's death will be added to my list of things that I will never be able to atone for.

  For a moment, I just wanted to lie down and go back to sleep, hoping that when I woke up, I would wake up in my own room in Biringan.

  I scoffed, shaking my head.

  I can't even fantasize about waking up back home, with my mom and dad, because I know that would just be too unrealistic. But thanks to that, now my heart is starting to pump like crazy, my eyes wide awake. I'm up, fully aware of my predicament.

  Cana, I'm sorry, I thought. Before the tears start flowing down, I've heard footsteps from the other side of the door. It was closing in fast.

  I scanned my new surroundings to look for ways to escape or at least hide.

  The room was pretty bare-bones. Just this bed and a lamp table on my side. It had a vase full of colorful flowers I couldn't name. Beside it was the cult journal. And the cult amulet.

  They didn't took it, I thought. Wait a minute, I'm still alive. That means that that cultist this morning was telling the truth. They want us alive.

  Then another more dreadful thought popped up in my brain.

  Is it even the same morning? I wondered. How long have I've been here?

  I searched for a wall clock but found none. Meanwhile, the sounds of the footsteps getting louder forced my attention back to the immediate threat. With all these questions, anxiety was building up until I was in full survival mode. No room left for dialogue or what-ifs.

  I scanned the room again. There were no windows. And only 1 door. I thought of just hiding under the bed but I have a feeling that they would just drag me out of there. And then what? So I dropped that plan. If the only way out is through that door, then I'm going to have to fight my way through.

  My head whipped to the vase on my side. I've grabbed the vase and smashed it on the floor. Not caring if my abductor was close enough to hear that. The vase shattered in pieces, and I was rewarded with a small, blade-like edge. I jumped down my bed and squatted down near the sea of sharp shards. I picked up the blade-like edge. The incident this morning (assuming it's still the same morning) with the gun confirmed that there was no way I was going to drive this down the neck of the person coming in.

  I can't. Even when my own life is threatened...I just can't.

  But the one thing I can do is to threaten to take my own life. I don't really know what they plan on doing with me. Why they needed me alive. I don't even know if they'll take my threat seriously. I know I won't. This is a stupid plan. If you can even call it this a plan. But right now, this is all I have.

  And the door is already creaking open.

  I stood up and turned around, pointing the shard at my neck.

  But the moment the door opened fully, I was greeted by a cute chinita girl. She had long, straight black hair, her bangs cut straight horizontally. Her skin was as white as the porcelain bowl of water she was holding. A clean towel was draped over her shoulder. Her small, almond-shaped eyes went to the edge I'm holding to my neck.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Which made me remember what I was doing. "Come any closer and I-I'll drive this in!" I yelled, hoping to cover up my stuttering, hoping that yelling would make it more convincing.

  She took a step forward.

  I pressed the knife on my skin till it hurts. "I mean it!" I yelled again. This time, without stuttering. I locked eyes with her to show her that I mean business. The pain in my neck lingered more than I thought it would. I may have been too into my threat that I started worrying if I actually pierced my skin. I worried if I was actually bleeding.

  The girl put down her bowl of water on the floor. "Umm...did you mean to cut yourself? Cause you're bleeding."

  Well, that's not good. I thought. "That's the idea," I said, not breaking eye contact even though I'm starting to panic a little bit.

  But then my stomach grumbled.

  "You hungry?" she asked. "Lee just made dinner."

  "Dinner!?" I gasped. Then I closed my mouth, realizing I'd just said that out loud. I don't want this stranger to know that I am anxious to know what time it is. Because that will only lead to more questions...

  "Yes, dinner," she repeated.

  I remained silent, keeping my eyes on her. I allowed myself some time to process the fact that I was out for at least a couple of hours. My mind went to Cana. Did they even bring her here?

  Meanwhile, this girl was just staring at me. Is she waiting for me to say anything? What a polite little kidnapper you are. Well, this actually works to my advantage, anyway. It will give me time to think of a plan. Or maybe come up with questions that will subtlety tell me everything I want to know without giving her too much information. Silence lingers in the air as we've just stared at each other for a long time, gauging how the other one will react.

  "You must have a lot of questions," she said, breaking the silence. "We can talk while we eat."

  "Sure," I said. "And I suppose you'd want me to drop the blade too?"

  "I was just thinking that maybe you'd rather have a real knife with a proper handle that doesn't cut you," she said pointing to my bleeding hand holding the shard. I didn't even notice my hand was bleeding. Or in pain. "We can get you one. In the kitchen. You can also use it on the meal we're having. So two birds."

  "You're funny," I said. "For a kidnapper. And a cultist."

  "Okay," she said. "I know what it looks like. But it isn't, really."

  She didn't deny it! I thought. It's really them!

  I looked around my prison. "You mean I'm not trapped in this windowless room?"

  "I told them to put you in a room with windows," she said. "We're high up. I can show you around if you like. It's pretty cool."

  "I'm sure it is," I said. "But mom told me not to talk to strangers."

  She sighed, looking really sympathetic.

  "Oh, I'm sorry," I said. "Am I being uncooperative?"

  "You come here looking for us, right?" she said.

  "Then you went ahead and drugged me and Cana and took us here!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Then I lowered my head, realizing that I only have one person to be mad at. "This was a mistake. Cana...I-I'm sorry..."

  She lowered her head and took a deep breath. "How about this?" she smiled. "I can't make you trust me. But you do want to see your friends, right?"

  "Friends?" I said, absolutely confused. I only came here with Cana. A friend. Singular. Is she just trying to confuse me or is she just bad with grammar? For a moment, I wondered if she meant friends as in they've got all the other haunteds. But that's just impossible. Most likely, she's just lying to me to get me to come with her.

  "Yes," she said. "I can take you to them."

  "Very kind of you to do so," I said. "Quick question, though, why didn't you just bring them here with you? I'm sure they'd like that."

  "They're still sleeping," she said.

  "Drugged, you mean," I said.

  "Look, you shot one of our guys," she said. "They couldn't see if you were armed or not. They didn't want to risk getting shot again."

  "You sound so convincing," I said. "But I just caught you in a lie. I only came here with one other girl."

  "Yes," she said. "Rustia brought another one here. She's got a gash on her forehead. Don't worry. Mrs. Yap, our family doctor, is taking care of her. She's in good hands."

  A gash on her forehead... I thought. Suddenly, like a computer, my mind started replaying all that had happened since the attack at the university. Then it settled on the one image that made sense to that key phrase.

  "Indigo..." I said. My voice barely audible in this closed echo-y room. "She's...she's here?"

  "Yes," she said. "Do you want to see her?"

  I was too stunned to speak. Indigo's here! Suddenly, I was tearing up. I was happy. At least I thought I was. But that happiness was soon replaced with dread. Because in the back of my mind, I wrote her off as dead when we left her and ran away to save ourselves.

  The guilt and shame made my heart felt like it was being wrung out hard like a wet towel.

  "We...We left her..." I said, choking out the words through a tight throat.

  "So they've told me," she said. Pity is clear in her voice. "I'll give you some space."

  She looked at the washbasin. "Oh, if you want to wash up, you can use this," she said. Then she took the towel on her shoulder and placed it on the doorknob. Then she turned and stepped out of the room.

  "I'll be waiting at the dining table. Come find me once you're ready." Then she gestured to her right. "Just follow this hallway."

  Then she left and disappeared to the right, leaving the door wide open.