Mother's light continues its menacing intensity. The teens remain baffled as they are left confused. Their fright heighten as the camera lens stays still in its static pose. Mother hasn't spoken for merely two minutes. The roommates are numbed and petrified.

"Anyone knows what Mother is doing now?" Austin asks nervously.

While the girls refuse to say anything, stuck in their paralyzed gazes, Henry slowly replies back.

"I would like to know myself." His voice trembles, but he worries whatever Mother is doing, could feed more into the lying narrative that he's a mole of SEED.

"I'm...scared." Lynne mumbles in a rattled pitch.

Before anyone else can respond to that, something is happening. Something below.

Austin's breath hitches as the glowing tile beneath his feet begins to trill with an ominous vibration. His white sneakers consumed by the tile glow. The faint tremor suddenly sends a prickling sensation through his legs, and he freezes, staring down as if expecting the floor to swallow him whole.

"Do you see this?" He calls out, his voice laced with alarm.

Sam's gaze snaps to the glowing tile. "Yeah, I see it," she replies, her tone sharp with worry. "What the hell is this, Mother?" she demands, glaring at the cracked camera lens above the screen.

Mother remains silent, her red light pulsing brighter and brighter, casting a noxious glow that seems to thrum in time with the tile's vibrations.

"I don't like this at all." Lynne whispers, her voice shaky as she steps back, putting distance between herself and Austin. She clasps her hands tightly, her knuckles white as she struggles to process the escalating situation.

Before anyone can answer, a sudden, searing pain explodes up through Austin's right leg.

"Aaargh!" He screams, a guttural cry that reverberates through the room, raw and primal.

The teens recoil, horror etched on their faces as they watch Austin's body convulse. His right leg buckles under the invisible assault, but he can't collapse-his feet seem glued to the cursed tile.

"Austin!" Lynne cries out, rushing forward before hesitating, fear holding her back. "What's happening?"

Austin grits his teeth, trying to speak through the agony. "It... it feels like... bullets. Shooting up my right leg...It hurts...It...." His voice cracks and sweat beads along his temple as he claws at the air, desperate for an anchor. "I can't move... I can't..."

Another wave of pain erupts, sharper and more brutal, wrenching another scream from Austin. His head snaps back as if he's been struck by lightning, his body rigid with the force of the shock. The tile pulses faster now, each jolt sending new waves of torment through him. Tears streak his face as his cries grow weaker, his strength waning with every passing second.

Sam's heart pounds in her chest, the sound of Austin's suffering ringing in her ears. Memories of Brandy's final moments flash in her mind-her friend's lifeless body, the desperate wails of her foster mother on the phone. A cold wave of guilt and fury crashes over her, and she clenches her fists.

"Stop it!" Sam screams, her voice trembling with emotion. "Mother, stop it! You've made your point!"

Mother's light remains determined, her silence more damning than any taunt.

Sam turns to the camera lens, her eyes blazing. "What about you?" she yells, addressing the invisible audience. "You're just going to sit there and watch this? Do something! You have the power to end this!"

The room remains still. There is no response, no sign of intervention. The gravity of the silence presses down on her, suffocating. Sam's shoulders sag as she realizes the truth. They're alone. The audience, whoever they are, doesn't care.

"Sam, it's stopping!" Maddie's voice cuts through the stressful air.

All eyes snap back to Austin as the glowing tile beneath his feet begins to dim, the harsh vibrations fading into silence. Austin collapses to the floor, his body shivering from the aftershocks of the pain.

"I can't feel my right leg..." He mutters hoarsely, his voice hardly clear. He tries to roll up his jeans, but his hands tremble too much to complete the task. "It feels... like it's on fire."

Lynne breaks free from her frozen state and rushes to his side, her hands hovering uncertainly. "Austin," she whispers, tears brimming in her eyes. "Just hold on. We'll figure this out."

Henry moves toward them, his steps tentative, guilt and fear warring in his expression. Before he can reach them, Mother's voice unexpectedly returns, cutting through the room like a razor blade.

"Pitiful!" She purrs, her tone dripping with mockery. "Look at you all, scurrying around like frightened mice. You can't even protect one another, let alone yourselves."

Sam's head snaps up, her fury reignited. "You're a monster!"

Mother laughs, a low, chilling sound. "And you're a disappointment, Samantha. You begged for the audience to save you, but what did they do? Nothing. Do you know why? Because they're just like me. They want to see you break."

"You're wrong!" Sam yells. "They're not like you. They're just blind. They'll wake up and see you for what you are."

Mother's light pulses brighter, a foreboding glow that makes the teens flinch. "Let me remind you, my dear children," she says, her voice icy, "the nation may hold the power to decide your fates, but I hold the power to decide how much you suffer until then."

Henry's eyes widen as her words echo in his mind. Elijah's advice surfaces like a beacon: Take the power from Mother.

Mother's light dims as she delivers her parting words. "The finale is near. You'd best prepare your performances. Remember, only one of you cannot be trusted. So to the killer..." The teens pause as they share unnerving glances quickly toward each other and then back to the camera lens. Mother finishes her threatening tease. "The nation holds your fate."

With that, her presence vanishes, leaving behind a suffocating stillness.

After a minute of silence, Lynne takes a deep breath and looks at the others. "We need to help Austin. He can't stay like this."

Sam nods, stepping forward. "Let's get him to his room. Henry, help me."

The two of them carefully lift Austin, who winces but manages a weak "Thanks" as they guide him towards his room three doors from the house's left side. Maddie lingers behind, her gaze fixed on the camera lens, her expression unreadable.

"What's wrong with you people." Maddie whispers, bothered by the cruel phantom nation.

Once Austin is settled on his bed, Lynne returns hastily with a jar of ointment from his supply basket. She rolls up his right pants leg to reveal the harsh angry, red veins snaking up his calf. The sight makes her stomach churn, but she steels herself, applying the ointment with gentle hands.

"You don't have to do this," Austin minces through the pain, his voice rough but grateful.

Lynne shakes her head. "Let me. Call it payback for... you know." She offers a small, shaky smile, and Austin manages a weak laugh before grimacing in pain.

"You guys..." Austin murmurs through, "Let Maddie know, I was never going to hit her."

"We know." Lynne says softly as she continues to apply the ointment through his scarred leg.

As he nods, Henry lingers in the doorway, his face pale. He clears his throat. "Austin, about that...you know back at the group dinner... I... I'm sorry."

Austin meets his gaze, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. "You sucker-punched me. Didn't think you had it in you," he quips, his smirk faint but genuine. "Maybe when we get out of here, I'll take you to the gym. Toughen you up."

Henry chuckles softly. "Maybe." He hesitates before adding, "Get some rest. You earned it."

As Henry leaves the room, Lynne continues her careful ministrations, her focus unwavering. Austin winces occasionally but doesn't complain, the tension between them replaced by a fragile truce.

"So I guess you like seeing me in pain." Austin smirks haphazardly, trying to be funny.

Lynne gives out a fake laugh only to playfully slap his right leg, which he reacts in pain.

"Ow!" He grimaces. "What was that for?"

"Didn't mean it." Lynne apologizes.

"Yes you did." Austin smirks through the pain.

Lynne goes on to smile back. For the first time in days, a flicker of camaraderie glimmers in the fractured group. But as Sam stands in the hallway, her gaze fixed on the camera lens on the wall. A single thought echoes in her mind.

We have to fight back. Somehow.