Chapter 6:

The face behind the voice

Room Zero


The staircase seemed endless.
Riley climbed with leaden legs, her mind still reeling from the emails. Behind her, she could hear the others—their footsteps heavy, their breathing labored. No one spoke. The revelation that one of them was working with Anna had poisoned the air between them.
Every glance felt like an accusation. Every silence felt loaded with suspicion.
At the top of the stairs, they found themselves in front of a heavy metal door. Unlike the others they'd encountered, this one had a small window at eye level—reinforced glass, like something from a prison.
Kyle peered through first. His face went pale.
"What?" Riley pushed forward to look.
The room beyond was large, arranged like a studio. Professional lighting equipment stood in the corners. Multiple cameras on tripods pointed toward a raised platform at the far end. And on that platform, in a wheelchair, sat Anna Morrison.
Riley's breath caught.
Anna looked different from the videos. Older, obviously—twenty-seven now, the same age as most of them. Her hair was longer, pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a simple gray sweater and jeans. But it was her face that struck Riley most.
The left side drooped slightly, a permanent reminder of the brain damage. Her left hand rested awkwardly in her lap, fingers curled inward. But her eyes—her eyes were focused, alert, burning with an intensity that made Riley want to look away.
"She's alone," Paige observed, pressing close to the window. "No one else in the room."
"That we can see," Aaron muttered.
The door clicked, then swung open on its own.
They had no choice but to enter.
The room was colder than the others, the air conditioning humming loudly. As they stepped inside, Riley noticed the cameras weren't just pointing at Anna—they were pointing at the entrance too. Recording everything.
"Come in," Anna said. Her voice was slightly slurred, the words taking effort to form, but understandable. "I've been... waiting."
The distortion was gone. This was Anna's real voice, damaged but determined.
They moved forward slowly, spreading out in an unconscious semicircle. Riley noticed Nicole hanging back, trying to make herself small. Kyle stood with his arms crossed, defensive. Aaron looked ready to argue. Paige watched Anna with clinical assessment.
And Riley? Riley didn't know what she felt. Guilt, yes. Fear, absolutely. But also something else—a creeping sense of unreality, like this couldn't possibly be happening.
"Sit," Anna said, gesturing with her working hand to five chairs arranged in front of the platform. "Please."
"We don't—" Aaron started.
"Sit," Anna repeated, firmer this time. "You've come this far. Don't... make me waste... my breath."
The effort of speaking showed on her face. Each word was carefully chosen, carefully formed.
They sat.
Anna studied them for a long moment, her gaze moving from face to face. Riley felt examined, dissected, judged.
"Ten years," Anna finally said. "Ten years I've... thought about this moment. What I'd say. What you'd say. How you'd look... when you finally had to... face me."
She paused, gathering strength for the next words.
"You all look... successful. Healthy. Happy, even. Everything I... was supposed to be."
"Anna—" Nicole started, her voice breaking.
"Don't." Anna's good hand gripped the arm of her wheelchair. "Don't say my name like... like we're still friends. We were never... friends. Friends don't... destroy each other."
Nicole flinched as if she'd been slapped.
"What do you want from us?" Kyle asked. His voice was steady, but Riley could hear the tremor underneath. "We've seen what you wanted us to see. We remember. We understand what we did. So what now?"
Anna's mouth twisted into something that might have been a smile if it hadn't been so bitter.
"What do I want? I want... my life back. I want to wake up... and not struggle to... remember words. I want to play piano... without my hand... cramping. I want—"
She stopped, took a shaky breath.
"But I can't have those things. So I'll settle for... something else. Truth. Public truth. You're going to confess. All of you. On camera. Tell the world... exactly what you did."
"You're insane," Aaron said flatly. "That would destroy our careers, our reputations—"
"Like you destroyed mine?" Anna's words came faster now, fueled by anger. "You think I care about... your careers? Your reputations? You took everything from me!"
"We were seventeen!" Aaron shouted back. "Kids! We made a mistake—"
"A mistake?" Anna's laugh was harsh, broken. "A mistake is... is forgetting homework. A mistake is... failing a test. What you did was... deliberate. Calculated. Cruel."
She turned to Riley.
"You started a rumor... knowing it would spread. Knowing it would... hurt me."
To Kyle: "You wrote that article... knowing it would turn... everyone against me."
To Aaron: "You leaked my complaint... knowing what would happen."
To Paige: "You lied to the counselor... knowing they'd think... I was crazy."
To Nicole: "And you... you abandoned me... when I needed you most."
Each accusation landed like a physical blow.
"We were scared," Nicole whispered. "I was scared. I didn't know how to—"
"Neither did I," Anna interrupted. "I was scared too. Terrified. And alone. Because all of you... chose yourselves... over doing what was right."
The room fell silent except for the hum of the air conditioning and the soft whir of the cameras.
Riley stared at Anna—really looked at her—and saw the truth written in every line of her damaged body. This wasn't just about revenge. This was about being seen. Being heard. Being believed.
For the first time in ten years.
"What happens if we confess?" Paige asked quietly. "You let us go?"
Anna nodded slowly. "You confess. On camera. No excuses. No 'we were kids' or... 'it was a mistake.' Just the truth. Then I post it. Social media. Your followers. Your colleagues. Everyone."
"And if we refuse?" Aaron asked.
Anna's gaze didn't waver. "Then you stay here. Until... time runs out."
"You'd kill us?" Riley heard herself ask.
"No." Anna's voice was flat. "I'd let you die. There's a difference."
"This is murder," Aaron insisted. "You'll go to prison—"
"Will I?" Anna tilted her head slightly. "Brain damage. PTSD. Ten years of... suffering. Any lawyer would argue... diminished capacity. I'd get treatment, not... prison."
She paused, letting that sink in.
"Besides... one of you has been... helping me. Making sure... everything went smoothly. They won't let... the others die. They'll convince you... to confess."
The suspicion that had been simmering exploded.
"Who?" Riley demanded, looking at the others. "Which one of you—"
"Does it matter?" Anna asked. "You all did... this to me. One of you just... had the courage to... face it."
"Courage?" Aaron's voice rose. "Drugging us? Kidnapping us? That's not courage, that's—"
"Justice," Anna finished. "Something I never got. Not from the school. Not from the police. Not from any of you."
She leaned forward slightly, the movement clearly painful.
"Mr. Harrison still teaches. Did you know that? Still at Lakewood. Still putting his hands... on teenage girls. Because no one believed me. Because you all... made sure... no one would believe me."
The guilt hit Riley like a wave. She'd never thought about that. Never wondered what happened to Harrison. Never considered that there might have been other girls.
"How did you plan all this?" Kyle asked suddenly. "The rooms, the puzzles, getting us here—with your... condition, how did you—"
"Does it matter?" Anna interrupted. "I had help. I had time. I had... motivation. Ten years of... motivation."
Riley studied Anna's face, searching for signs of the elaborate planning this must have required. The cognitive function needed to orchestrate everything. It didn't add up with the videos they'd seen, the brain damage documented in the medical records.
But before she could voice the question, Anna continued.
"You have a choice. Confess and face... social consequences. Or refuse and face... death. Either way... you'll finally understand what it's like... to lose everything."
The countdown clock on the wall showed 09:47:12.
Less than ten hours left.
"We need time to think," Paige said.
"You have nine hours," Anna replied. "The cameras are... always recording. When you're ready... sit in front of them. Tell your truth. All of it."
"And the insider?" Aaron pressed. "Who is it?"
Anna's damaged smile returned. "They'll reveal themselves... when the time is right. Until then... trust no one."
She wheeled herself backward, toward a door behind the platform.
"Wait—" Riley stood. "Anna, I'm sorry. We're all sorry. Isn't that enough?"
Anna stopped. For a moment, Riley thought she might respond. Might show some sign of forgiveness or understanding.
But when Anna spoke, her voice was ice.
"Sorry doesn't give me... my life back. Sorry doesn't fix... my brain. Sorry is... just a word. I want... action. I want... consequences. I want the world to know... what you are."
She disappeared through the door, leaving them alone with the cameras and each other.
And the slowly ticking clock.
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**End of Chapter 6**

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