“CASSIE. CASSIE, DARLING, WHERE ARE YOU?” My mom came tumbling into the kitchen, almost knocking over the flower vase while she was at it. I looked up from my bowl of cereal and saw my mom, who was practically in hysterics, holding an opened emerald green envelope with a gold seal fapping every which way as she ran towards me.

Confused, I reached for the envelope when she had finally made it...

Despite the endless comments being shouted behind my back, I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the last letter. “Open me when you’ve lost your way,” it read. Just like the countless others we’d found over the summer, it gave specific instructions on when to open it; more over, and more eerily, it knew exactly of our predicament.

Had we finally lost our way in the midst of this mind game?

...

“What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve believed?” Vince shifted uncomfortably onto his back and pulled his torn plaid blanket up to his chin with his unshackled hand.

The question caught me by surprise, so much to the point that I was unsure if he was asking me or one of the others. I waited a moment for someone to respond, but no one did. Vince’s head lolled to one side, and I felt his ga...

Meagan took a quick look around us before leading me into the nearest divot in the wall. She whispered, “Three days ago, I was walking back to the room after my last assignment had finished up late. I accidentally took a wrong turn, and- well, you know how easy it is to get lost in this place. I was wandering around for like, ten minutes, looking for a regulator to ask what hallway I was in. Turns...

“Anne- Anne? Hey.” A hand— Meagan’s— came down hard on my bony shoulder, pulling me back to my dreaded reality.

I let out a small groan and tilted my head up to see Meagan’s gentle smile plastered on her bruised face. “You slept through lunch. Again.”

At this, I dropped my head right back down into my crossed arms on the lunch table– if you could even call it that. “I don’t see the nee...

“It’s not going to work, ok? We’ve been through this already.” My teeth are chattering, and the bright light of our flashlights reflect off the fresh, crunchy snow piled all around us.

From the corner of my eye, I can see Wade, who is walking to my right, shaking his head. “I’m just saying,” he argues, clouds of breath dissipating in the air, “if we continue West, we are going to walk straig...

“I didn’t kill your father, Tessa.” His voice is low, dark, and strung with fury. “You killed him. You let him die, just like how you let your cousin, Marley, die.”

I smile and crane my neck. “Is that right?” I can feel my hand heating up, and I look down to see it ablaze with red flaming fire. My smile grows as I lock eye contact with Nolan. “Last time I checked,” mocking him from earlier, “...

I turn the corner of the long, darkened hallway, and continue to run as the sirens blare above my head. Just a little bit farther, I tell myself. You’re almost there. I can see the door to the medic room through the hazy smoke and red flashing lights— a good sign. So, so close.

Ten feet. Five feet. The distance between the door and my body is rapidly closing as I sprint towards my only hope....

“Five minutes, Max.” Ginger is peeking her head through the door of the security room, a salad and Dr. Pepper in her hands. “Make sure to lock up when you’re done with your nightly rounds, kid.” Just like that, I’m left alone in the small room lit only by five computer screens that constantly screen the surveillance footage of Parker’s Gas Station.

“Night,” I call back to Ginger, but she’s ...

Tuesday, 20th August

10:40 P.M.

Dear diary,

It happened again. This time, mom was standing right next to me, and I had to stuff my hands underneath my crew neck in order to keep the light invisible to her. That’s twice in one week. The most it’s ever come out in a seven day period. At it wasn’t during an assembly at day camp this time. Gosh— now THAT was scary. I’ll update you next time it h...