Henry and Maddie exchange tense glances as Sam's revelation hangs in the air, heavy and perplexing. Dr. Illam Gerro-the name stirs something within her, though the details remain frustratingly elusive.

"So who is this Dr. Gerro?" Maddie asks.

Sam hoping to piece together the shards of memory. Trying to remember he was in fact the last person she saw before she came here. "He... he did my last eight checkups," she mutters, her voice tinged with both certainty and doubt. "My social worker sent me to him."

Henry shakes his head, his fingers twitching as if trying to grasp something intangible. "Why would a doctor be tied to SEED? A regular doctor?"

Sam bites her lip, her gaze flicking between Henry and Maddie. "I don't know. But... I can see his face. Tall, white guy with light blue eyes and specs, scar on his left cheek, deep voice. He... he tried to be warm. But...he's so... eerily clinical." She continues to remember more about him. "I know he creeps me out a lot."

The description snaps something in Henry's mind. His eyes widen. "Wait," he says, his voice tinged with realization. "I've seen him before. Not as my doctor, but somewhere else."

Maddie's fingers clench at the hem of her shirt. "I... think I might have, too," she murmurs, her voice fragile.

Henry's heart races as a thread of connection seems to form between them. He turns abruptly, heading towards Austin's room, where Lynne has been sitting on the edge of the bed, chatting softly with Austin as he rubs his bruised right leg.

"We need to talk," Henry blurts, cutting through their hushed conversation.

Lynne looks up, startled. "Henry?! What's wrong?"

Austin straightens, grimacing at the strain on his injured limb. "What now?" He asks, his tone exasperated but tinged with curiosity.

"The laptop," Henry begins, his words tumbling out. "It's dead. SEED must've taken it down after Elijah sent me a schematic. But it's not just the map of this place that's important. It's a name. Dr. Gerro. Illam Gerro."

Austin's brow furrows. "Never heard of him."

Henry quickly repeats Sam's description-a tall white guy with light blue eyes, the left eye scar, and the way he looks clinical almost freaky. As he does, recognition out of the blue flickers in Austin's eyes.

"Wait... I think he was at one of my football games. Just in the crowd, watching."

Lynne's face goes pale. She shivers. "I... I think I might've seen him, too. Somewhere."

The pieces begin to click together, a puzzle that feels maddeningly incomplete but undeniably real. Sam joins them in the doorway, her arms crossed, looking haunted. Maddie stands close, also wanting to take part of this.

"It's not a coincidence," Sam says softly. "He's connected to this."

"Connected?" Austin's voice rises, incredulous. "What are we supposed to do with that? Great, he's tied to the bastards that put us in this cage. He probably built this whole nightmare. How does that get us out of here?"

Henry takes a steadying breath, the answer forming like a whisper in the back of his mind. "It's not just him," he says.

As Sam, Maddie, and Lynne are stumped, Henry soon remembers something from that schematic. "There was something else on that schematic. Something important."

"What you saw?" Sam ponders.

Henry slowly glances at the camera lens and then around the house. Hoping Mother stays silent. "All of you, meet me in the bathroom." He instructs hesitantly.

As he heads over there, the others are left puzzled at first, though Sam suspects Henry knows something, so she follows. Maddie curious about what Henry is keeping, follows behind. Lynne begins to follow the others though notices Austin is trying to stand up.

"Don't," Lynne feels worried.

"Not to worry," Austin stands still for a moment. "I need to move. I'm useless if I stay here."

"I would like to stop you." She says.

"But you won't."

"Yeah," She reluctantly nods. "I won't."

She allows him to limp on, watching him along the way.

"Make sure you don't trip." Lynne smirks.

"Ha!" Austin smirks a little as he trudges carefully, pretending to laugh. "Funny."

Eventually all of the roommates make their way toward the shared bathroom.

"What are you doing?" Sam asks, suspicion lacing her voice.

"Just... trust me," Henry replies, his tone urgent.

Already in the bathroom, Henry watches as Sam and Maddie follow him. Several seconds later Lynne arrives right alongside Austin, who trudges his way with his still bruised leg.

"Close the door!" Henry orders, his voice high.

Lynne listens and does exactly that. All of them struggle to find space to move freely in this not so large area.

"Why are we in here...together?" Austin asks, not liking this at all.

Maddie soon deduces, as she thinks about Mother and the nation. "You don't want them to listen."

"You got it!" Henry nods.

"Are we sure there aren't no cameras anywhere here." Maddie looks around a bit panicky.

"That would be just plain weird." Austin shakes his head in disbelief.

"After everything they faced, nothing would surprise me anymore." Henry states nonchalantly.

Sam mentions, "Well, we just have to take that risk." She quickly looks around the room. "I recommend we huddle and whisper, knowing Mother likes to eavesdrop."

"Yeah, don't want to alert her or her creators." Henry concurs.

Soon Maddie, Austin, and Lynne all agree, and begin to get closer alongside Sam and Henry, as they stand in the center of the room, right near the sink. Their voices aiming to go low.

"Alright, Henry, enough games, what is this about?" Lynne questions.

"Gladly," Henry nods realizing he needs to make his point. He hastily grabs a tube of toothpaste, uncaps it, and begins drawing crude lines and shapes on the bathroom floor.

As Sam kneels down, she and the others watch, perplexed but intrigued, as Henry sketches the floor plan of the Fear House from memory. He informs them that Elijah sent him an attachment of a schematic right before SEED permanently shut down the laptop. Sam and Maddie confirm, both seeing it as well. Sam alerts them that's how they know about Dr. Gerro's possible involvement. His name's listed as the schematic designer.

"This," Henry says, his tone low, pointing to a blocky section of his makeshift map, "is the Forbidden Room."

"And?" Lynne questions. "What about it?"

"There were the initials MCN labeled in the room." Henry explains. "Elijah personally inscribed the words, Data...Mind."

"Still don't get it." Austin looks dumbfounded.

"Hate to say, I'm with Austin," Maddie shares his same quizzical look.

Sam remembers Henry told her about the Star Trek codenames he shares with Elijah. Suddenly, Henry nods and starts to see a connection finally. The words, Data...mind. It has to be some sort of double meaning.

"So what does it mean?" Lynne ponders.

Henry informs them about Elijah's last coded message. How he hinted about "the gardeners"-which meant to refer to SEED-and how they lost their minds forgetting the key, and that anyone can steal it...take it.

Henry then turns to Sam. He whispers to her, "Power."

Sam gets up, soon recognizes what he meant about the power Elijah alluded that it is in this house. Suddenly, Sam uncovers the connection. "Of course."

"Oh, please share." Austin says with a little cocky tone, leaning behind the door.

"Remember what Mother always says. That she is the house, and the house is her."

Soon the other slowly begin to form the connection that Sam is already deducing. The key is Mother. The data and mind has to refer to what controls her. What holds her power.

Henry then glances back at his makeshift depiction of the schematic, showing the Forbidden Room. "It's there. It always been there."

"What's there?" Maddie questions.

"What we assumed was something monstrous..." Henry then begins using the toothpaste to spell out the letters: M...C...N

"The room was never holding a creature or whatever." Henry explains further, "What's inside that room and what have been making those strange noises...has been Mother's central network."

"MCN." Lynne finally understands.

"The power." Sam nods, her voice unwavering.

"That's what Elijah meant, for us to take the power away from Mother." Henry looks on confidently.

"By taking it, meaning what on our part?" Lynne says a bit baffled. "We go after her network?"

"Exactly," Henry says. "And if we can take it out-if we can destroy it-we destroy her."

Austin's face hardens. "And how do you suggest we do that? The door's locked. We can't even get near it without her watching."

Henry straightens, his gaze fierce. "We distract her. During one of her challenges. If she's focusing on us, she can't guard the room. One of us sneaks in and shuts her down."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Austin demands.

"We... improvise," Henry admits, glancing at Sam and Maddie.

Sam crosses her arms, her expression wary but thoughtful. "And what if it doesn't work? What if she catches on?"

Henry meets her gaze, his voice steady. "Do you have a better plan?"

The room falls silent as they consider the enormity of what he's suggesting. Sam looks around and suspects if there is a camera nearby watching. She nods, a grim determination in her eyes.

"We need to give her exactly what she wants."

"What's that?" Lynne asks, her voice small.

Maddie looks at her baffled, as do the others.

Sam's lips curl into a cold smile. "Drama. Conflict. We give the nation a show they'll never forget."

***

Over the next two days, the teens rehearse their roles, sharing covert glances and whispers during their sparse meals and quiet moments. Their newfound unity feels fragile but unyielding, a thin thread of hope binding them together against the oppressive weight of their circumstances.

Then, on the twenty-sixth day of their captivity, the familiar, grating siren blares through the house, signaling Mother's return. The teens gather in the Gathering Zone, their faces masks of feigned resignation.

"My dear children," Mother coos, her voice dripping with mockery. "The nation has spoken. The finale begins tomorrow. Your fates will soon be sealed."

Her words hang like a guillotine over their heads, but as the teens glance at one another, a spark of defiance burns in their eyes. For the first time, they aren't just playing her game. They're planning to end it.

Henry grips the toothpaste-sketched map in his mind, his determination unshaken. Whatever it takes, they will fight. They will take back control. And they will survive.

The game isn't over. Not yet.