Sara's right, it really is suspiciously easy... I mused as I moved a velvet curtain hanging over a window that could not be there as we were one floor underground, and found another door.

We agreed to eat before we would move on, however. I took my plate and a champagne-filled glass to a bean bag positioned farthest from the rest of my friends, trying to think while my eyes flicked between Matt and Yvonne, and the cameras constantly moving to zoom in on us.

"Maya, do you still love him?" Ron asked, his voice gentle as a caress, as he came to sit down next to me and wiped a tear I did not notice off my cheek with his thumb.

"No." I said. "I don't think I ever have... But... we were together and this is not the way to end a relationship..."

"Oh Maya... He did the same with the girl he dated before you. It's Matt. He's my friend but..."

"I'm good. Please don't worry about me. Just tell me, did Sara know?" I understood that some things worked differently in friendships between guys, I did not blame Ron, or Eric for not warning me. But it would feel like a betrayal from Sara...

"Of course not." Ron said, squeezing my hand in his, making me feel a little better.

I nodded, then let him pull me to my feet and follow the others to the new door, my head starting to swim ever so slightly again after the champagne.

The door opened to a long, ill-lit corridor, lined with three doors on the left side and one on the right. The distant, opposite wall was made entirely of mirrors reflecting the light coming from the sitting room behind us.

"Guys, this really is too easy. Where did you find this place, Ma...?" Sara asked, pausing as she spotted Matt and Yvonne's joined hands for the first time, before she looked at me, eyes brimming with surprise and questions.

I shrugged, letting Ron put his arm over my shoulders as he noticed our silent exchange.

"Well, on this website... Isn't it cool? And we can win all that money..." Matt replied.

"But where's the hook?" Eric asked. "Oh well, I guess we'll find out sooner or later. Let's see the bedrooms. If they are anything like the sitting room..." He said, looking at Sara meaningfully, making her blush and the other men chuckle.

"Just remember the cameras, Eric." Matt said, throwing the keys to him.

Eric caught the bunch, then pulled Sara towards the closest door. It opened without trouble and before Sara and Eric vanished inside, Matt took the keys back to open the door in the middle, not even looking at me as he threw the keys to Ron before he closed the door behind himself and Yvonne.

I followed Ron towards the last remaining door, feeling... funny. Am I really supposed to share the bedroom with him? I mused as he opened the door for me.

Lights came on the moment we entered, soft, warm and candle-like, emphasizing the intimate atmosphere reigning within the walls of the bedroom. A king-size four-poster bed complete with dark curtains, hopefully impenetrable to the lenses of the omnipresent cameras, stood in the middle of the windowless room, taking up most of its space. A wardrobe, a vanity, a chair and an armchair completed the decor varying in colour from the snowy whiteness of the bed sheets to the pale gold of the furniture and the dark bronze of the curtains and carpets.

It would be perfect if strange... unsettling music did not start to play the same moment the lights came on. Of course, there was no way to turn it off. The music crawling into my ears and filling my brain with irrational fear made me shiver. Sara was right, there is something off about this place...

"Okay. Let me bring you your bag and I'll leave you alone. I can sleep in the sitting room." Ron said, disturbing my disquieting thoughts.

"No!" I called, suddenly certain that the moment he left the room the door would shut, trapping me inside alone. "Please. I don't want you to leave me alone," I begged. "If you don't want to stay here we can both sleep in the sitting room."

"Are you scared, Maya? You know it's just a silly game..." he said, pulling me into an embrace.

I only shook my head in response so he continued. "Fine, let's get our bags and settle here then."

We exited the room hand in hand, realising that the music could now be heard throughout the house.

When we got back into our room I quickly grabbed my toiletries, slippers and a night dress. Not seeing the dressing gown I brought, and not wanting to waste too much time and let someone else beat me to the only bathroom, I took a deep breath and left the room, leaving Ron seated in the armchair leafing through a book he had brought from the sitting room, pretending not to look at me.

The bathroom was the only room without a camera, and that was great. That it didn't have a lock wasn't so cool. I could only hope that the panes of frosted glass set into the door would alert the others of my presence as the lights, like those in the bedrooms, only came on when someone walked inside.

However, the lights well visible through the glass did not stop Sara from entering, while I was still drying my hair after the shower.

"Maya, I swear I didn't know." She said, placing her stuff on a chair placed by the sink and embracing me.

"I'm good." I assured her. "I just wish I was at home, this place creeps me out." I said, forcing myself to speak up. The music seemed to be louder in the bathroom.

"Nonsense." She giggled. "Finally... you know. You and Ron..."

She shed her clothes then disappeared into the shower even as I called, "What are you talking about?" I never told her I liked Ron, I hardly realised it myself, but, apparently, something had given me away.

I left the bathroom and bumped into Ron waiting for me in the corridor.

"Will you join us in the sitting room for a drink?" He asked, his eyes scanning my far-too- short-nightdress-clad body, making me blush as I recalled its lacy parts.

"Hmm, I need to put something on first." I said, tearing my eyes from his, resisting the urge to cross my arms across my chest as I made my way towards our bedroom. It wasn't the first time he saw me wearing a nightdress, but I had never seen him looking at me this way.

I felt better the moment I pulled on a hoodie Ron offered me gallantly when I, rummaging through my bag, realised that some of my clothes were missing... I must have left them at home, just great. Apart from the clothes I had been wearing the whole day, and the nightdress, I only had one clean set left.

And yet I was sure that I had brought more clothes, I mused as Ron led me towards the sitting room where we sat together on a bean bag, sipping the champagne Eric brought to us and trying to talk, ignoring the creepy music and the awful cameras until Sara appeared and Ron, with a quick kiss on my cheek left to take a shover, leaving his place to her.

Eric, bringing a glass to Sara, sat on the floor at our feet. "Gosh... I don't know what to say..." he said, sounding as muddled as I felt. There's definitely something in this drink... I observed the golden bubbles rising up the sides of the ice-cold flute as I tried to follow Eric's words, my thoughts skipping back to the shades of champagne of the decor of the bedroom I was about to share with Ron.

"I feel so bad... and so good about this..." Eric mumbled. "Ron had been talking about you since you started dating Matt but he would never make a pass at you as long as you two were together..."

I giggled, feeling quite happy about it myself. Ron... I still could not believe that he liked me just like I liked him.

Yvonne entered the room then, dressed in a semi-transparent pyjama which made Eric raise his eyebrows at me and Sara in a mock-wonder, while the girl took her glass and came to sit on the sofa opposite of us.

"Some of my clothes are missing." She said, her French accent sounding more pronounced now, as her voice seemed to shake ever so slightly. Is she scared?

Deciding that she was innocent, that she had probably known as much about me as I had known about her until today, I told her, "Mine, too. I bet it's a part of the mysteries of this house, and they'll give everything back to us once we are out."

"Really? Have you been to many places like this? This is my first. Are they all the same?" She asked.

"Not exactly the same, just the general idea. You walk into one of these, stay a day or two and if you find your way out within the time limit you win." Sara said.

"All together, right? Like, you don't have to separate from your friends?" Yvonne asked, draining her glass and shivering uneasily, her eyes darting towards the dim corners of the room.

"Usually, you don't but..." Eric said and I noticed Sara grabbing his arm.

I shifted uncomfortably, and looked towards the door leading to the corridor with the bedrooms. What takes Ron so long? I mused, feeling suddenly certain that something was about to happen...

I jumped as two figures appeared in the doorway, before I realised they were Matt, followed by Ron. I only started breathing freely again when Ron, dressed in a pair of grey pants and a black t-shirt, hair still damp after the shower, pulled another bean bag closer to the one I was sharing with Sara and I scooted over to him, leaving my place to Eric.

"Why can only one win? I thought we were a team." Yvonne asked Matt when he sat down next to her.

"Well, that's what makes this house different from the other places we've been to." Matt said, addressing all of us. "Only one of us will walk out of here on Sunday night."