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lucky the field has come a long way since then.”

    “Why leave these here?” Abby cried suddenly, gesturing at the photographs. Her chin was quivering. “They’re … horrible.”
    “Well, at least it’s honest,” Jordan replied, putting an arm around her. Abby shrugged him off. “I hate when people skirt around the truth. And lest we forget, this was locked.”
    “I don’t care if they locked it up.” She wouldn’t stop looking at the photograph of the girl. Dan had an urge to grab Abby away before the hollow girl in the frame could reach out and pull her in. But of course that was ridiculous. “She shouldn’t be here. She should be put somewhere safe.”
    Slowly, Abby raised both her hands and pulled the frame off its hook. A light patch showed on the wall where the picture had been. Abby hugged the photograph to her chest, her arms wrapping protectively around it.
    “What are you doing?” Dan said, unable to stop himself.
    “I’m going to take her back to my room. She’ll be safe there.”
    “You can’t take it, Abby,” said Dan, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. “It’s supposed to be down here. You need to leave it alone.”
    Abby was about to say something else when Jordan spoke up. “Hey, relax, both of you. It’s not like you know her, Abs. You should put it back. Someone might notice it’s missing.”
    “Who?” she demanded with a soft little scoff.
    “Someone,” Jordan replied testily. “I don’t know.… Maybe there’s a catalog of all the crap in here somewhere.”

    Abby didn’t seem to hear what Jordan had said. She stood silently, like a statue, gripping the picture to her chest.
    “Please, Abby, leave her where she is. She belongs with the others,” Dan insisted. “Please.” He couldn’t believe he was arguing with one of the hottest girls he’d ever met.
    Just let her have it, Dan. You want her to like you.
    But the need to speak was more compelling.
    Abby’s eyes seemed almost as vacant as those of the girl in the photograph. Then a shiver came over her and she blinked. Gently, almost affectionately , she put the picture back on the wall. She touched it one last time and said, “Poor little bird. I wonder if she ever escaped her cage.”
    With the picture in place, Dan felt a sense of relief. He couldn’t exactly say why.
    “Come on,” Abby said. “Let’s go back. I’ve had enough.”
    That was all they needed. They scrambled out of the old office like it was a race, and Dan was only too glad to shut the door behind them.
    “Hey, the lock,” Jordan said, just as they reached the vending machines.
    “Don’t worry, I already took care of it,” Dan said, ready to be far, far away.
    “You sure?”
    Without waiting for an answer, Jordan turned back to double-check. The lock was still hanging on the door where he’d left it.
    “My bad,” said Dan, laughing nervously. He really could have sworn he’d locked it. But then, his memory had been known to play tricks on him.



UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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    CHAPTER
N o  5 
    D an was dusty and exhausted by the time he got back to his room. Opening the door carefully, so as not to wake Felix, he took a step in and was gripped by cold.
    This isn’t my room . Dan blinked, disoriented. It looked like a cell of some sort, with floors and walls made of heavy gray stone. An operating table covered with a thin, white sheet stood in the middle of the room. In the corner nearest him was a drain—why, Dan could only guess. A small window cut into the top of the far wall was covered by crisscrossing metal bars. But the most unnerving thing about the room was the pair of shackles that were bolted to the wall on the left. At first, Dan had thought they were rusty, but now that he really looked at them, he could see that the dark red stains were far too wet to be rust.
    Why do I know this room?
    Dan quickly