The Locked Room

The gas didn’t come in fast.

It came in smart.

Slow enough that your brain tried to pretend nothing was wrong.

Fast enough that panic had no time to negotiate.

At first, I only noticed a faint burn in my throat.

Then the air changed.

Thicker.

Heavier.

Like the room itself was learning how to suffocate us.

My fingers tightened around Alessio’s hand without me even realizing it.

“Don’t breathe deeply,” he said immediately.

As if that was even possible.

As if fear didn’t already control every inhale.

The red emergency lights above us pulsed like a heartbeat.

Too steady.

Too calm.

Matteo’s voice was gone now.

No more laughter.

No more taunts.

Just silence.

Which somehow made it worse.

I coughed once before I could stop myself.

Alessio turned sharply.

“Lucia—slow breathing.”

“I’m trying,” I whispered, but my voice already felt wrong.

Bianca’s face flashed in my mind.

Tied.

Crying.

Begging in a half-cut video.

We hadn’t even finished watching her warning.

Whatever she was about to say had been erased on purpose.

Alessio moved instantly toward the wall.

“There’s a filtration override,” he said.

“How do you know that?” I asked, struggling to keep my voice steady.

He didn’t answer.

Of course he didn’t.

He was already tearing open a panel near the door.

Wires.

Metal.

A manual system hidden beneath layers of modern security.

My stomach tightened.

“You’ve been here before,” I said again, more certain this time.

Alessio’s jaw flexed.

“Yes.”

That was all.

No explanation.

No comfort.

Just confirmation of another secret I wasn’t supposed to have.

The gas hiss grew louder.

My vision blurred slightly at the edges.

Not fully.

Not yet.

But enough to make my body realize what my mind was still refusing to accept.

We were running out of time.

“Alessio,” I said, my voice weaker now, “I don’t feel—”

“I know.”

His hands moved faster.

Too precise.

Too controlled.

Like panic didn’t exist in his body.

Only calculation.

Only survival.

A clicking sound came from the wall panel.

He pulled something out.

A manual oxygen bypass.

My eyes widened.

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

He twisted it sharply.

Nothing happened.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

My chest tightened.

“No,” I whispered.

Alessio slammed his fist once into the metal.

Not out of frustration.

Out of focus.

Then he tried a second mechanism beneath it.

A hidden override.

The system flickered.

A faint green light blinked once.

Hope.

Then red again.

Failure.

The room seemed to laugh at us silently.

My knees felt weak.

I sank slightly against the wall.

Alessio turned instantly.

“Don’t sit down.”

“I’m not sitting,” I snapped weakly. “I’m… negotiating with gravity.”

A flicker of something almost like concern crossed his face.

Then it was gone.

“Lucia,” he said sharply, “look at me.”

I did.

I shouldn’t have.

Because that was when I noticed it.

He wasn’t unaffected.

He just hid it better.

A faint tightness in his jaw.

A sharper edge in his breathing.

Controlled.

But human.

“We need air,” I whispered.

“Yes.”

“That’s not helpful.”

A faint exhale left him.

Then suddenly—

he grabbed my wrist.

Hard.

Not hurting me.

Grounding me.

“Stay awake,” he ordered.

“I am awake.”

“No,” he said firmly. “You’re slipping.”

My stomach dropped slightly.

“I’m not—”

“Lucia.”

That tone stopped me.

Not harsh.

Not loud.

Just absolute.

I swallowed.

“I’m here.”

His grip loosened slightly, but he didn’t let go.

Good.

Because I wasn’t sure I could stand without him anymore.

Across the room, Bianca’s image flickered again in my mind.

“Don’t trust—”

That unfinished sentence.

It kept looping.

Don’t trust who?

Matteo?

Alessio?

Someone else?

The gas thickened again.

My lungs burned slightly now.

Alessio looked toward the ceiling vents.

Then back at the wall.

Thinking fast.

Too fast.

Like this wasn’t the first time he had been trapped in something like this.

“Matteo planned this,” I said suddenly.

“Yes.”

“He expected you to open it.”

“Yes.”

My stomach twisted.

“So this is not just a trap.”

Alessio looked at me.

“No.”

“What is it then?”

A pause.

Then—

“A test.”

The word sent chills through me.

“A test of what?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

That silence was the answer.

My heart sank.

“…me?”

Alessio’s eyes darkened slightly.

“Yes.”

The room suddenly felt smaller.

Tighter.

The air thinner.

Of course it wasn’t just about Bianca.

It was never just about Bianca.

Matteo wanted something more.

He wanted reaction.

Emotion.

Control.

And I hated that I was giving him exactly that.

My breathing became uneven.

Alessio noticed instantly.

“Stop thinking,” he said sharply.

“That’s not how brains work!”

“Lucia.”

I forced myself to inhale slower.

The gas wasn’t just physical anymore.

It was psychological.

Panic fed it.

Fear fed it.

We had to stay calm or lose faster.

Alessio moved again.

This time toward the floor.

He knelt.

Started inspecting the base panels.

I watched him carefully.

Even like this—

trapped, pressured, possibly seconds from unconsciousness—

he didn’t panic.

He adapted.

That scared me in a different way.

“What are you looking for?” I asked.

“A fail-safe.”

“And if there isn’t one?”

He didn’t look at me.

“There is always one.”

Too confident.

Too certain.

Like he had learned that truth the hard way.

My vision blurred slightly again.

I blinked hard.

“Alessio…”

His head snapped up instantly.

“Stay with me.”

“I am.”

But I wasn’t sure anymore.

The room tilted slightly.

Not dramatically.

Just enough to make me grab the wall.

Alessio stood instantly.

He was beside me in seconds.

“Look at me.”

I did.

His face was closer now.

Too close.

“Breathe with me,” he said quietly.

“I can breathe on my own.”

“You’re not.”

I wanted to argue.

I didn’t have the strength.

He placed two fingers lightly under my chin.

“Focus.”

My heartbeat felt too loud.

Too fast.

His voice lowered.

“Slow in.”

I inhaled.

“Good.”

“Slow out.”

I exhaled.

It helped.

Annoyingly.

Dangerously.

It helped.

For a moment, the room felt less like a coffin.

More like a place.

Not a death sentence.

Alessio’s gaze didn’t leave mine.

And for some reason, that felt more grounding than anything else.

Then—

a loud metallic click echoed from the wall.

Both of us froze.

Alessio turned instantly.

The panel he had been working on earlier had shifted.

A hidden compartment slid open.

Inside—

a small emergency lever.

I stared.

“Of course there was a second option,” I muttered weakly.

Alessio moved fast.

Too fast.

He grabbed it.

Paused.

Looked at me.

That pause felt heavy.

“What?” I asked.

His eyes held mine.

“Matteo expects everything.”

“Meaning?”

“This could be another trap.”

My stomach dropped.

“So we just… stay here and die politely?”

A faint almost-smile flickered on his face.

“Something like that.”

“Not funny.”

He didn’t respond.

Instead, he pulled the lever.

The room shuddered.

The gas hiss changed pitch.

For a second—

hope.

Then the lights turned fully red.

Warning systems escalated.

And the speaker crackled again.

Matteo’s voice returned.

Calm.

Satisfied.

“Good choice.”

My blood ran cold.

Alessio froze.

Because that meant—

we had triggered something.

Not escape.

Activation.

The walls shifted slightly.

I noticed it first.

A mechanical hum beneath the floor.

Alessio did too.

His expression changed instantly.

“No…”

“What?” I whispered.

He grabbed my arm.

“We need to leave.”

“We can’t leave!”

The walls began to move inward.

Very slightly.

But enough.

Enough to notice.

Enough to understand.

The room wasn’t just sealed.

It was compressing.

My breath caught.

“Oh my God.”

Alessio’s voice sharpened.

“Matteo upgraded the system.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means this room was never meant to hold people.”

Another shift.

Closer.

The walls groaned faintly.

My heart slammed.

“It was meant to kill them.”

Silence.

Then another mechanical sound.

Lower.

Deeper.

From underneath.

Alessio looked down.

And that was when his face changed completely.

Not calm.

Not controlled.

Alarm.

Real alarm.

“Lucia…”

“What?”

His grip tightened.

“Run.”

“Run where?!”

The floor beneath us suddenly clicked.

A seam opened.

And before I could even process it—

the ground dropped.