"It's impossible the rest of us didn't spot it before," the boy Griffin argued with Nikita. "You're the only one?"

We gathered in front of the wood door, which remained closed.

"My vision's better, is all," said Nikita. She met his gaze with level, defiant eyes.

"Who cares?" I whispered.

Nikita whipped to me. "Wanna repeat that?"

I balked.

Yasuko jostled Nikita as she moved between us to get to the door. "You had an idea earlier, didn't you, Sydney?" she said, looking over her shoulder.

Her eyes pinned me. She smiled, and I relaxed, aware of the tingles traveling through me, lighting every nerve aflame. The others drifted into the background. Nikita's glower barely registered. Only Yasuko and I remained in the world—captivated by the small smile that rested on her plump lips. Thoughts crystalized into the idea that had escaped me before the fight.

"How did we get here? I mean, we were taking the exam-"

"This is clearly something the teachers set up," Nikita interrupted me. She shoved Yasuko out of the way and flung the door open. "Come on, Yasu. Let's get outta here."

The unsettling feeling from earlier rocketed back, prompting me to disregard reason and grasp Nikita's arm. "No, we don't know what's out--"

My vision flashed white when her fist struck my cheek. I reeled back, arms flailed, searching for something to stop my descent. Fabric brushed my hand, and I latched on. The hard floor greeted my body with sharp pain—something fell on top of me to knock the wind from my lungs. I blinked, expecting to see Nikita ready to continue the battle, only to discover Yasuko's shocked face inches from mine.

I felt the solid muscles of her body where we touched. She was tall and slender, and I imagined her body to be as soft as it looked. I was finding out just how different the real Yasuko was from my fantasy. Her sweet breath on my cheek pulled my attention to her face, well within my panic zone! The smell was that of candy—not a particular flavor, but sugary. It was enough to lull my panic into a sense of security.

We lay on the floor for a long time—it could have been an eternity. I felt my head move forward on its own, lips reaching for her lips seconds before she said, "Are you ok?"

I froze. Heart now in jackhammer mode.

She pulled back a fraction of an inch.

Truth be told, I didn't feel any pain in that moment. The warm vibrations kept nerves quiet so I could revel in the sweet contact of our bodies until a messenger from my anxiety prone brain rushed to the front and screamed to ruin it, I almost kissed her!

Suddenly I was all flailing arms and legs as I extracted myself from under Yasuko. I scrambled to my feet and held my breath, searching for a place to hide. Nowhere to go! Wide eyes dashed between Griffin and The Girl, whose name I didn't remember, to Nikita, to Yasuko back on her feet, and finally settled on Nikita, who wore a strange expression—a cross between fear and confusion. Nikita blocked the door. She wouldn't let me pass, I was sure of it. Besides, I didn't want to get punched again. That was a perfect time for the injuries to announce their presence by flaring hot in my cheek, hip, and head. I shifted from foot to foot, seeking an escape. That ended when two very unexpected things took place.

The first was Yasuko's swift change from sweet to angry as she closed in on Nikita, who she grabbed by her funky, patterned blouse. "What the fuck was that?" she shouted at Nikita. "It was entirely uncalled for."

Nikita didn't struggle or move to defend herself, she simply frowned. "What's with you?"

"What's with you? We don't know what's happening to us and you hit Sydney for trying to make you wait? Why don't you ever take a tick to think things through?"

"Who's this nook to you? You simping or what?"

"She's my neighbor, and a hell of a lot smarter than you're acting right now."

Nikita's eyes narrowed, shifting to me.

"We don't know where we are or what's out there." Yasuko softened and released Nikita. "The best course of action is to find out why we're here, don't you agree?"

"Good idea."

"Yeah, I agree."

Griffin and The Girl answered simultaneously.

The second unexpected occurrence happened then. Through the semi-darkness beyond our open door showed another door across the expanse of the room. It opened to show pitch black within. A shape emerged as I watched in terror, unable to do anything, like being paralyzed in a nightmare as the monster revealed itself from the dark.

My face must have shown my feelings because Yasuko sprang into action the moment she looked at me and where my attention was. She pushed Nikita out of the way. At the same time she thrust the door closed, only to fall forward out of the room as the door disappeared, leaving her off balance. Breaking from my paralysis, I rushed to Yasuko splayed on the floor, never taking my eyes off the figure advancing with slow, jerky movements. I grabbed her by the waist as she got to her feet, ready to pull her back into our room. That's when the lights burst to life.

Yasuko and I cried out. I thought I heard the figure also make a noise, but I wasn't sure--my eyes were closed tight from the flare of pain the sudden brightness caused my sensitive head. Yasuko trembled in my hands, still around her narrow waist. She pushed back into me, focused ahead on the figure. Being a few inches shorter than she, I had to shift to the side to peer around her. My breath caught when I saw the figure shuffling towards us.