Chapter 50. You Only Get One Life.

The control room wasn’t a large one.

It was a small, cramped white room, but its atmosphere lacked warmth, instead exuding the personality of a bland, sterile object. The furniture within was scattered. A massive screen dominated the wall at the end of the room, its surface blank. Rows of tables, each lined with about six computers, stood in uneven rows, their screens dark and inactive. The drawers, too, seemed stuck, refusing to budge no matter how hard we tried.

As I surveyed the room, a sense of unease washed over me. Everything felt off, as though the setting was nothing more than a caricature of its authentic self. Perhaps that was why it was empty.

“He won’t starve us here, right?” The girl that had argued for the second door asked, her voice tinged in fear. “There’s no way he will keep us here forever.” When no one answered, she added, “Right?”

“Mia, I think if we all knew that question, we wouldn’t be scared shitless,” Everett said, a frown on her face.

The boy who had argue