The mysterious woman's words repeated in Layana's head, who still hadn't quite grasped the situation earlier. Once, twice, three times, it couldn't stop. It refused to stop. Her insides were still shaking from the unnatural encounter with another human being.

The parchment behind her back seemed so foreign. It was sticking out of some other parchment riddled with poems. Her hand itched to read its contents. But she simply couldn't.

However, her glare did not waver, she knew something was up when the guards insisted on watching them eat. She didn't eat. Instead, she took small sips of the soup, storing them in her mouth but never really swallowing it. Now that Layana noticed, the soup had an unusually bitter taste today.

Finally, the guards stepped out of the doorstep, clearly bored of his job. Who wouldn't want to watch people eat their meals right? The door closed with a metallic, loud clunk. The click of a lock can be heard from outside the doors.

"Spit it out," she said nonchalantly after the contents of her mouth spilled out into the bowl.

"What wh--"

"Please," she looked right into Ian's eyes. After a tense moment of silence, they finally gave in and spat out what little they might still have in their mouths.

"Give me your bowls," she commanded as they gave her their bowls, Andriette barely ate anything, Mason's and Sally's ate at least four to six sips while Ian's... Ian's was drained to the last drop. "Oh my..

"Well," Layana grunted as she stood up and sat in the center of the room, the woman's paper in her hand. "We best get on to see this thing, shall we?"

She laid the parchment open and flat on the floor as the others gathered around her. In a clipped, scratchy handwriting, a letter was written in the parchment. Layana cleared her throat before reciting the words aloud.

"Dear room seven," they looked at each other before moving on.

"Before I start, might I introduce myself? The name's Nyla and I've come solely to complete my duty, to help y'all get out," the room was dead silent, Layana's voice sent shivers down Andriette's spine. She knew something was off.

"And to serve as a sign.

"But in order for me to help you all, you must help yourselves first. I know what you must be thinking right about now, what in the whole world is this lady talking about?

"Well, perhaps you were asking the wrong questions then. Someone has claimed inheritance over the Bible, the truth. Would you be ready to accept the truth when the truth was unbelievable?

"Think about these things then, are you truly ready?

"Back to what I was saying. Tomorrow night, as silver light spills over your room, I want you all to remember: never take the food they might serve you. They have strong chemicals that make you sleep. And we absolutely do not want you asleep by tomorrow night.

"A new guard will be assigned to you, this guard has a stinking breath and lots of unnecessary accessories.

"I want you all to cooperate with me on this one..."

~~~

Layana wished time would slow down, but of course that wasn't possible. All they had to do was wait in excruciating silence. They have planned everything already, with the help of Nyla.

Layana couldn't ever have imagined it. The Lord has answered her prayers, the Lord, the only hope they've been leaning on mindlessly, has finally answered their prayers.

"It's true" Layana had confirmed the others--well mostly just Andriette. The chaos did not stop, Andriette was shouting at Sally and Sally was bawling. While Ian and Mason had built a strong bond trying to calm the two. "I guess."

"Mason! Talk some sense into this girl! We can't put all our trust in some weird lady we just met!" Andriette attacked. "It simply isn't logical!"

"Andriette, we don't have any other choice! What do you propose we do? This letter--this lady--she's our only chance out of here!" Layana joined in.

"Not to mention saving Cathy," Sally started flailing around wildly.

"That too,"--Layana pointedly nodded at her.

"But it still doesn't make sense! What if she's one of them? Don't play fool with me, we all know that they know our goal to escape! And obviously they're trying to get rid of us!" Her voice cracked a bit and Layana saw the hints of fear in her eyes. "What if the moment we agree to this random lady's plan, we die earlier than Cathy?"

"But Andriette...what will happen if we stay here? Would we ever be able to live?"

Her words struck deep in Andriette, she could tell by the way her eyes widened and her lips parted in shock. Andriette drew out a sigh after a long pause.

"It was said plainly in front of our eyes, the Bible, the nightmare, the names. The name Nyla is under the paper too!" Layana's eyes brightened, as if suddenly realizing something. "They could be our allies! The names under these papers."

Layana looked directly at Andriette's averted gaze. "What is faith?" She said softly, taking Layana aback. She blinked slowly, processing the abnormalities of her question all while trying to keep her cool under Andriette's burning gaze.

"Faith..." Layana's palms dripped with sweat and she subconsciously wiped it down her pants. What is faith? Then suddenly, it was there in her mind, God's words surging into her consciousness.

"Faith is...the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Layana saw the understanding in her eye for the first time and it pleased her, it pleased her greatly.

Tears built up in her eyes as Andriette nodded slowly, "then I'll follow you and your God 'till we are no longer His hidden warriors..."

Layana released a relieved breath.

It wasn't long before the relief wore off.

Layana pursed her lips into a thin line as she watched the steel door. The others were preoccupied with their own anxiety but still managed to mask it.

Mason and Ian were talking--quite solemnly--at the side, wrapping up blankets to form a singular, hard ball. Sally was sleeping yet stress was still evident on her face, as if sleep was not able to retrieve her from this nightmare. While Andriette stared--glared--at the door, sitting on the opposite corner from Layana.

"Well, isn't this quite nerve-wracking," Layana chuckled nervously, she twitched anxiously as she picked at the parchment of poems beside her.

Just then, she remembered something. Of course, she thought. I need to bring it with me.

"Uh huh," came Andriette's strangely bored tone.

"Where..." she trailed off into space.

"Where what?" Layana asked, rummaging through the parchment. "Where is it?"

"Where do you think Cathy went, since you know," Andriette gestured at her. "What're you doing?"

"Oh, just finding something," Layana grunted in exasperation. "Here it is!" She exclaimed and pulled out the Holy Bible and sat it carefully on her lap.

"What were you asking? I wasn't paying attention."

"Never mind," Andriette rolled her eyes and settled back to her place.

"Tell me, what is it?" Layana asked, voice laced with the usual curiosity.

"No, I won't repeat myself. I already said it and you're not listening," Andriette glared before grabbing the Bible and hiding it under her shirt. It was part of their plan.

Layana opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted with the loud click of a lock.

An unsettling silence fell upon the five, and Layana--along with the others--knew it was time. She dreaded this moment would come, they had agreed she would be the one.

She gulped as the metal door clunked open, revealing a tall, dark shadow. Trying to calm her nerves, she exhaled slowly. 

"Bathing time, folks. Who's first?" The guard's voice said in an unusual accent. Layana couldn't help but gag inside her mouth. She along with the others may not have access to the bathroom every day but she knew well that they did not smell like this one guy did. I guess this is the new guard, she thought.

The guard stepped out of the shadows, revealing his black, hazmat suit. It was riddled with unnecesary chains from top to bottom. He is, Layana thought before thanking God and Nyla for how to distinguish the guy from the others.

"Ain't no one gon' answer?" He said. 

Layana stood up slowly, all the while wiping her sweaty hands against her leggings.

She cleared her throat, "I-I'll be first, sir," she nodded at the guard and started walking to the open door. She could feel everyone's stares boring behind her back. They were counting on her, she couldn't let this flop. But deep inside, a strange peace has settled inside of her, enough for her to able to walk somewhat confidently to the door.

The guard closed it behind her. Layana flinched in shock at the loud noise behind. Her eyes roamed at the halls, it was dark, much darker than their room that had a single lightbulb.

"Not used to a new face aye?" The guard chuckled before gesturing for her to walk in front of him. Even with the little light coming from flickering lightbulbs, she could barely distinguish the hundreds of steel doors similar to hers. For once, she did not question the contents of each one.

Layana shuffled forward, dust lacing her already dirty feet. "Don't ya worry, girly. You'd get used to it.

"Y'know? I used to have a li'l girl just like ya," Layana wished with all her strength that the door at the end of the hall would appear in front of her so she could get out of this smelly torture. "Poor gal, let curiosity got to 'er, couldn't take a piece o' truth."

She couldn't hold her breath any longer. But her curiosity had gotten the best of her, "what happened to her?" Layana asked, breifly taking a small whiff of air before the guard could talk.

"Told 'ya, curiosity killed the cat."

And before she knew it, she was shoved inside the bathroom. The heavy, metal door clunking shut behind her and the click of a lock was followed by a muffled voice. "She went outside the walls."

Layana gulped as she gripped the shower handle and opened it. Cold water trickled down her outstretched hand, her body away from the water.

It hit the muddy, tiled floor beneath her, 'disguise the sound,' she remembered. 'The sound of water hitting tile is vastly different from water hitting a person,' the letter had said.

Indeed, she tested it. Layana outstretched her arm from hand to elbow into the water. Then she removed her hand, nodding in agreement, she looked around the muddy bathroom.

The wall was riddled with boogers and green goop. Layana did her best to avoid the toilet seat that had feces at it's edge. A dead cockroach stayed twitching in the far corner.

Her eyes dropped to the dark, grimy stack of towels under the clogged sink. 'Could I?' She thought, grabbing a peice of towel. She raised it to the shower head. No, almost immedietly, she dropped the towel to the floor with a huge, wet plop. Layana was late to realize it only made an even more suspicious sound.

"Aye, everything goin' good?"

She gulped before starting to hum a certain tune her grandma used to sing to them. Thankfully, this managed to mask the sound of water hitting tile.

She crouched down to grab the towel. Something glinted at the corners of her eye, just behind the broken toilet.

Layana continued to hum as she peeked behind the toilet. And there it was, a glinting, sharp steel, it was lodged just between the toilet and the broken tiles.

She raised the sharp steel--dagger, as Nyla called it--into the air. Its tip glinted in the dim lighting of the bathroom. 'This doesn't seem safe,' she thought. Well, she doubted it was intended to be safe in the first place.

She stared at the dagger nervously as she readied herself in front of the door. The dagger's hilt was adorned with a shiny stone that glinted as it hit the light.

Layana continued to hum once more as she waited for her twenty-minute limit. She fussed around the dagger, engraved on its sides were the initials LL. It was light, nothing compared to what Layana had expected.

And as Layana hummed, she closed her eyes and prayed to God. She prayed for guidance and strength to be able to carry out the mission. She asked for help and reassurance that what they and Nyla planned would work out. Before adding in that, of course, His will should still be done.

"Aye, twenty-minute limit's gone, girly."

Her humming stopped and she opened her eyes to the sound of the jumbling of keys. Layana's hand started sweating bullets, a single trickle running down her temple. 'Lord, please guide me,' a click of a lock. 'And help me,' the turn of a knob. 'Give me strength,' the metal door whipped open

A broken wail tore though her throat as she rushed forward, not a single thought remaining in her mind. Her hand rushed down with all the strength she had, chilled wind and adrenaline rushing to her system. Her scream was followed by the poor guard's.

Breaths shaky, Layana looked down with wavering eyes. Jack...pot? The dagger had impaled him right in between his thigh, just under his potruding belly.

The guard shouted in pain as he crumbled to the ground. Layana gasped audibly, crimson red liquid starting leaking from his thigh. Still shaken, she retrieved two damp towels from the ground and wrapped one around the man's wounds. She took hold of the remaining towel and wraped it around the guard's mouth that was muttering strings of curse words.

"Let--let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths," she whispered before pressing the towel more onto his mouth. 

***

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