Inside the diner, a hush seems to settle over the teens, a strange mix of relief and ease permeating their group. Seated in the far-back corner booth by the window, Sam, Henry, and Elijah share one side of the table, facing the faded wallpaper and the soft glow of hanging orb lights, while Maddie, Austin, and Lynne occupy the opposite bench. Plates of half-eaten cheeseburgers and fries are scattered before them, the unmistakable sheen of greasy satisfaction lingering in the air. They've just toasted their sodas to their fallen roommate, Keith, the weight of his absence heavy but honored in their shared quietness.

Henry, his fingers twitching around his cola glass, speaks first. "So, Elijah," he begins, his voice a little steadier than before, "what else can you tell us about SEED? Who runs it? How far does it go?"

Elijah, slouching slightly but still alert, runs a hand through his dark hair. His tanned skin glows faintly in the warm diner light, the edges of his face sharp with both exhaustion and determination. "I'll give you what I know," he says. "From what Jude and I pieced together-SEED stood for Social Experimentation and Evolutionary Development. It was a rogue think tank that was obsessed for studying fear. It's not just one guy running the show."

"There's more?" Henry asks curiously.

"Trust me, it's bigger than you think." Elijah replies, "They have rich benefactors. There are others working. They thrive on experimenting on fear...social fear, control, manipulation."

Austin leans forward, his broad shoulders stiffening. "Sounds like the crap Gerro was spouting back at the house. Trying to rationalize what he did to us."

"It's more than just him being some twisted scientist," Elijah adds. "We've been digging through their firewalls. Jude's a wizard at it, but even he's hitting walls." He soon pulls out his cell and shows them a lot of specs of classified SEED data. "From the stuff we pulled so far, they've got experiments planned all over the place, more future Fear Houses, something about Phase Two, and something else that is called a Neurobox..." His voice trails off.

"Neurobox?" Maddie's voice is soft, her fingers toying with a fry. "What... what does that even mean?"

Elijah shrugs. "It's bad. From what we've seen thus far, it's SEED's answer for absolute fear control. More invasive. That's all we got before SEED added new firewalls." He slides his phone towards him, near the edge of the table.

Maddie shudders and shifts closer to Lynne, who's staring blankly out the window, her arms folded tight.

Sam's sharp voice cuts through the lull. "What about Gerro? How deep is he in?"

Elijah exhales heavily, rubbing his temples. "From what Vance-" he pauses, glancing briefly at Henry, "our contact-found, Gerro's definitely among the highest. He's been with SEED since the start. Vance even told me and Jude that Gerro founded it."

Henry's hand clenches around his soda glass. "And this Vance?" He soon connects something. "He's V? Isn't he?"

Elijah nods in agreement.

"He's good, right?" Austin questions with some doubts.

Elijah hesitates before nodding. "Yeah. Vance helped us big time. With his help, he's the reason we got that schematic."

Sam narrows her eyes. "So, the map of the house. That wasn't just something you stumbled across?"

Elijah shakes his head. "Vance fed it to us. He worked inside SEED for years, once a loyal faithful. But he flipped when he realized how messed up it all was. He made a bond with Jude a few years ago. And since then, he fed us what he could."

Henry's jaw tightens. "Did Vance ever... did he say anything about your brother?"

Elijah's expression darkens. "He didn't know for sure. Promised he'd look into Alonzo's disappearance." His words hang heavy in the air. "I still have hope though. I will get the truth."

.Lynne soon wonders and looks to the others, finally breaking her silence, "What about our smartphones?"

The rest soon realize ever since their captivity, they lost their phones. While there is a shared laugh over the predicament. They all know they can't survive a day in the real world without a mobile phone.

"Don't worry, I got that covered. Jude's working on tracking down your cellphones." Elijah says giving them a calming remedy.

"Good." Austin smirks.

Before anyone else can speak, Elijah's phone buzzes loudly on the table. He glances at the screen and grins. "It's Jude." He taps the screen and sets the phone on speaker, pulling the phone back to the center. "Yo, you're on with everyone. Say hi."

A muffled laugh comes through. "Hey, guys. Glad you made it out. Wish I was there," Jude's voice is warm but strained.

Everyone lean forward. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Jude replies. "I'm working on finding your phones, but... there's... there's something else. Something happened an hour ago."

Elijah frowns. "What?"

Jude's voice drops. "He's dead, Elijah."

"Who?" Elijah asks with a concerned look.

Jude pauses over the other line, and after a minute. "Vance. Supposed accident."

The table falls silent as the teens react speechless, unable to fully process what they just heard. Maddie's hand flies to her mouth. Lynne's eyes widen with shock.

Henry whispers, "No way."

Elijah's knuckles whiten around his phone. "Damn it... Jude, stay safe bro. Find those phones."

Jude's reply is solemn. "I will. Stay low, guys. You're still targets."

As the group say their byes to Jude, the call ends. But there are several minutes where only the distant chatter from other customers and the hum of the background music echo through the air. The unbelievable happenstance that the one person who defected from SEED, who had a hand in helping them escape the Fear House just so happens to mysteriously die an hour after they escaped. While some remain quiet, Henry breaks it to say something.

"Trust me, I don't believe in coincidences, but that's freaky." He says worriedly.

"Did we do the wrong thing and escape?" Lynne questions.

"Absolutely not!" Austin counters.

Sam looks on listening to everything that was said. "Austin's right. We couldn't stay another day along as Mother was toiling with us and the nation did nothing."

"Still freaky, Sam." Maddie ponders.

"Vance was a good man. But-" Elijah tries to say it.

"You know they did it, don't you." Sam turns to him. "That SEED killed him."

Elijah waits to reply, "I...I do."

"But there's no evidence." Austin says.

"We all know SEED did it. Trying to send a message." Sam states.

"And what's that message?" Lynne asks, her voice shaking.

'That they think they are in control."

Henry soon interrupts her, "But he's right. Gerro." As the others turn to him, baffled why he said that. Henry resumes, "That the real world is harsher than what they faced back in the house."

"And you're saying what?" Lynne doesn't look convinced.

"What Sam just said, they went after the guy who helped us. If they can do that, they could be coming after us. Gerro may be right after all, this isn't over."

Sam shakes her head. "I don't care. I'm not living in fear. Not for them. This isn't a game anymore. These are our lives. We need to remind them they don't control our lives."

"Damn right!" Austin mutters, a defiant grin tugging at his lips as he pounds the table with a fist.

"You're right." Elijah slowly nods.

Sam sees two of them who agree wholeheartedly. She then checks on the others. Henry slowly concurs. Lynne takes a minute until she finally agrees. Her hands tremble, yet Austin offers his own, covering it to offer her some solace.

Lynne turns to him, "Thanks." She whispers.

Austin nods with a smile.

As the others look to see when Maddie can agree, she nods to them in which the unease mood has lightened slightly. But Maddie's attention is focused unexpectedly on something else. Initially, she surveys around cautiously and spots at least another person-a older male-by the bar counter, the waitress and the cook are mostly in the back distracted. But her eyes lock on someone.

Someone who is spying on them.

"You're okay, Maddie?" Elijah asks.

"We're being watched." Maddie says, her voice low.

All eyes follow Maddie's subtle nod toward a young teenage girl about thirteen, who feels very fanatic, sitting four rows down. Her wide eyes dart between her phone and their table, her fingers tapping furiously. Maddie shifts uneasily.

"Is that girl..." Lynne sounds alarmed.

Sam stands abruptly, drawing the group's attention. "I'll handle it." She strides at first to the direction at the back restrooms on the opposite side. But Sam purposefully heads toward the girl, who freezes in her seat. In one swift motion, Sam snatches the phone from her hands and leans close.

"Hey!" The girl yells.

"Sit!" Sam commands.

The girl soon obeys, trembling as Sam examines the screen. Sam's face darkens.

"You guys need to see this!"

The others all come out of their windowed booth seats and rush, crowding around. They peer on the girls' phone screen, a live video feed-a real-time broadcast of them from inside the diner.

Maddie gasps. "They're still watching us?!"

Austin's voice is low and cold. "How? How the hell is this happening?" He turns back to the girl. "Where you got this?"

The girl refuses to answer. Yet when Sam leans close to her, almost in a threatening fashion, the girl changes her mind and finally breaks.

"An app. Same one where I saw you guys in the house."

While the girl reacts like a crazed fan, trying to ask them questions about their time at the house, they ignore her. The others look at each other still stunned over this revelation.

"This has to stop." Lynne says panicky.

"It will." Sam tells her confidently.

"Is it?" Henry ponders, "What about the harsh outside world."

"I beg to differ," She then reminds them. "Remember, we stay together. Fear won't control us. Not SEED. Not the audience. No one. We control our lives."

"And what should we do?" Austin asks.

Sam doesn't respond quickly, her jaw tightening. Using the girl's phone to trace the source of the live feed, she pinpoints a spherical camera attached above the ceiling right near the back access to the restrooms. SEED must have hijacked it somehow. Just proof of how far they can go...and how can they access any camera. Realizing she needs to do something to prove they are in control, she tosses the phone back to the girl, who stammers an apology. Ignoring her, Sam marches back to their table and picks up the pistol they'd concealed.

Henry's eyes widen. "Sam, what are you doing?"

Sam meets his gaze, her voice steady. "Sending a message."

The group follows her as she walks close enough as they stare at the camera. Sam turns to face them, her friends forming a line next to her. Austin, Lynne, and Maddie are on her left, while Henry and Elijah are on her right. Everyone give her nods, a silent blessing on what they assume she is about to do. Sam then turns back to the camera, her eyes fixed on the globe-like object.

"To SEED, To Gerro, for anyone else watching-back off! Our lives are ours!" Sam declares clearly with a zealous resolve. "Show's over!"

She quickly lifts the pistol up and shoots point blank.

The deafening crack of the gunshot echoes through the diner, shattering the camera's protective glass and small lenses. Silence falls as the waitress and cook cower in the kitchen while some of the other customers react and hide. The fangirl clutches her phone in shock and scampers away.

Sam lowers the pistol, her hands steady. The group doesn't flinch, their unity unbroken. Together, they stand tall, united and defiant, ready to face whatever SEED may bring them. Until then, they are in control.

For now.

END OF BOOK ONE