Chapter 5: Breaking the Rules

I lay on the big bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

The sheets felt too stiff, and the air was too thick. I didn’t turn on the light or read after entering the room. That strikethrough was too weird, like someone had deliberately crossed it out, which made me suspicious.

Every creak from the hallway made me flinch. Anyway, it didn’t say I had to read, so I just lay there.

But I was still restless.

My thoughts kept circling like vultures. Tomorrow night, I’ll be the only one allowed to talk to the management staff.

What should I say then? Who’s the extra person?

The message told me [Do not trust the older brother]. But just now, the older brother signaled five, and he was right. If I hadn’t trusted him and said four, I would have been the one taken away.

So, not all the rules are correct?

I remembered what the patrolling security guard said: "Follow the guidance of the real rules."

The real rules.

That means some rules are wrong—or have been tampered with.

That’s even worse. If you don’t follow the rules, you disappear. If you follow the wrong rules, you’re still in danger.

More importantly, there’s an extra person mixed in with us. I can’t just talk about this with anyone—if I talk to the extra person, that’s trouble.

My stomach twisted at the thought. It’s even possible that I myself am the extra person.

I tossed and turned with these thoughts until dawn before I finally managed to sleep.

I must’ve nodded off just before sunrise. At seven, the alarm rang. I was about to hit snooze when I suddenly remembered the rule about getting up at seven and immediately got up.

The urge to stay in bed was strong, but the fear was stronger. Pulling open the curtains, sunlight streamed in gently. My head was fuzzy, like I’d had a terrible nightmare.

Maybe everything that happened yesterday was just a dream.

I checked my phone, hoping to see an empty inbox.

No luck. Those rules were still sitting quietly in my phone.

They felt heavier than ever. "Alex, come out for breakfast," Derek called from the doorway.

His voice sounded normal—almost cheerful. I sighed and opened the door.

On the table were coffee, bagels, and scrambled eggs. Lillian sat at the table, Derek was peeling a boiled egg, and Marcus was putting on makeup in the bathroom.

It looked like an ordinary morning.

The kitchen even smelled like butter and cinnamon, and a faint pop song played from someone’s phone. Except everyone looked serious.

No one met my eye for long. The whole room felt tense, like we were playing house but everyone knew it was pretend.

"Um..." My mind was a mess, and I didn’t know where to start. Strangely, the first question I blurted out was, "Are you guys going to work?"

I heard myself and almost laughed at how normal I sounded.

"Pfft—" Lillian cracked a joke about splitting the last bagel, but nobody laughed. The silence was heavier than the smell of burnt toast.

I managed a half-smile. "Yeah, right."

"I know what you mean, Alex." Derek brought the peeled egg back to the table. "After all, I’m the older brother, and you two are the older sister and younger sister."

He winked, as if to say, we’re all in this together, right?

"Tch, I wanted to say yesterday, how come I’m the older sister when I’m a grown man?" Lillian rolled his eyes.

He tossed a bagel at Derek, who ducked. "You have the nerve to talk. I, your older brother, had to sleep on the couch all night." Derek pouted. "Couldn’t you two sisters share a room?"

"I could." Lillian grinned.

Marcus’s voice came from the bathroom: "Dream on."

Marcus stuck his head out, eyeliner half-finished. Everyone really did get along well.

It felt like a real family for a moment, until I remembered Tanya was missing.

Derek looked at me and answered my question: "Alex, the message I got only said to leave at eight, didn’t say what for. I guess it’s the same for them."

He shrugged. "Yeah, leave at eight, come back at five. Seriously, what boss lets you leave at five?" Derek sipped his coffee.

"Just take leave."

Lillian snorted. "Yeah, just the commute takes more than half an hour. How many companies let you leave before six?"

Just take leave.

I tried to laugh, but it came out thin.