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If my childhood had taught me anything, it was how to skate by. To stay under the radar and not give anyone a reason to punish me. As terrified as I was, I was more scared of what might come next. I jumped up and ran to the closet, tugging on sweats.
By the closet door sat three pairs of shoes: two pairs of white sneakers and one pair of cheap flip-flops. I pulled the sneakers over my socks and went to the door.
I could do this. After the millionth deep breath, I pulled the door open a crack and peered out. Several people shuffled their way down the hallway, nearly around the corner at the end. A single straggler passed by my door, making me flinch at first, then I leaned back out.
My gaze locked on his face. He had his head down, staring at the floor, a look of complete defeat on his face. He was handsome. Strong, chiseled features beneath a stubbly beard. I couldn’t help but think I knew him from somewhere. A moment of either déjà vu or past recollection tickled my mind, but I was too scared to pinpoint why he looked familiar at this very second.
“Hey,” I hissed.
He stopped and looked over his shoulder. “You need to hurry,” he said. “You’re gonna get us in trouble if we don’t get there on time.”
“Where are we? Please, I don’t belong in this place. I don’t know why I’m even here.” I made my way all the way out into the hall, my hands held out, pleading. “How do I get out of here?”
He held my gaze for a few seconds. The look of defeat morphed into one that was closer to sorrow or pity.
“You don’t get out.” He nodded above and behind me. “He sees everything.”
I turned and found a camera right above my door. That was scary, but the truly terrifying thing was what was under the camera. Centered above my door. A metal badge, about twelve inches long: an infinity symbol. I gasped in surprise. That symbol had always been the only thing I’d found comfort in.
Marie and Clint’s restaurant was named Infinity Sunset Diner. They’d given me a job while I was still in foster care, paid me cash under the table, and had been kind to me when no one else was. Theirs was the one place I’d ever felt anywhere near safe.
After they’d given me the watch for graduation, I’d gone so far as to get the symbol tattooed at the back of my neck right below my hairline. No one knew how much that symbol meant to me. No one. I’d never even told Carlos. He’d seen my tattoo, but I’d never elaborated on it. How could the man who took me know about that?
The stranger I’d been speaking to grabbed my hand and tugged me along, almost pulling me to the ground as he hurried us along the corridor. I followed, not knowing what else to do, my feet dragging on the plush carpeting as I tried to keep up. Fear still raced through my body, but things were starting to take on a surreal sense. Part of me hoped I was still asleep. Maybe this was some weird dream. Could that be what was happening? Could I have gotten home, eaten something from my fridge that was past its date, and now I was in bed sick with food poisoning and hallucinating this whole thing? It was a nice thought, but this was too vivid to be a dream.
The stranger pulled me faster toward the end of the hall. A pinch of pain burned in my wrist where his fingers tugged at my skin. So much for not feeling pain in a dream.
Ahead of us, a door opened into a large, ornate dining room with a thick carved wooden table extending down the center of the room. Other people stood in rows near the table as the door to the room slowly closed.
The stranger broke into a run, yanking me along. He basically dragged me the last ten feet. I plunged through the threshold an instant before the door slammed shut.
The stranger who’d pulled me in walked over and joined the others in a row. Bong. The same deep chime from earlier reverberated through the room, and everyone sat. All I could do was stare at them.
A half dozen people sitting in perfect silence as they unwrapped silverware. They acted like they were here for a nice leisurely brunch, except they all looked nervous. No one spoke or looked up from their plates.
The room was like something out of a movie. The type of dining room an aristocrat would have a meal in. Crimson wallpaper with interlaced floral designs, wainscoting, and the table they sat at was thick wood, stained dark with delicate carvings along the edges. A chandelier hung above with more lights along the wall in brass sconces.
It was too much. The world had gone mad. My breathing was becoming erratic again. I’d woken up less than fifteen minutes ago, but it was like I’d been in this place for years already. Standing there, all I could do was stare at them in confusion. “What is this?” I mumbled, barely above a whisper.
A black-haired woman who looked like she was in her mid-twenties set up her silverware on either side of her placemat. She didn’t look up as she said, “Sit down. Hurry.”
“Huh? Why am I sitting? Why are we here?” My body trembled like a leaf, on the verge of shattering from the stress.
With her eyes still staring down at the table, she said, “Sit the fuck down before you get us all into trouble.”
Above us, another chime rang out. Instead of a single sound, this time it was a double alarm. Bong-bong.
“Goddamn it,” the woman hissed.
She leaped up from her seat and was on me in a second, her hand winding into my hair. Electric shots of pain burst through my scalp as she hauled me toward the table. Stumbling as I followed her, I lost my footing and fell. Her hands, like iron, never slipped from my hair. Icy fire shot through my scalp as she kept me from falling with her grip. Tears burst out of my eyes from the agony.
“You stupid bitch. Now we’re all going to be in trouble.”
She shoved me into an empty seat beside the guy who’d pulled me into the cafeteria. He glanced over but kept his head down. I could see, through the tears, a pained and apologetic smile on his face.
Bong. “Good morning, everyone,” the strange voice said from the hidden speaker. “Welcome to the dining room. It seems some of you don’t know how to follow rules or how to behave around your fellow housemates. Punishment is required.”
A low buzzing sound echoed around the table. Everyone else had what looked like some kind of bulky watch on. Glancing at what the guy beside me wore, it was like a less sophisticated, clunkier smartwatch. They’d all vibrated, and now everyone looked at the little screens built into them. Why didn’t I have one? I didn’t want one, but my mind wouldn’t slow down enough to consider it.
