The inner room was small. That was the first thing Autumn noticed about it.
It was exactly as small as it needed to be and not one inch more. It had a cot against one wall. A small table. A lamp, bolted down. The ceiling was low. The walls were smooth concrete, and freshly finished. The floor was clean.
Autumn stood in the doorway and looked at it for a long time.
She didn't go inside. Something in her didn't want to cross that threshold, didn't want to stand in that space and feel it close in on her. She looked at the walls, then looked at the lock on the outside of the door. It was the heavy-duty kind that couldn't be picked without serious tools. She looked at the way the door frame had been reinforced, and the metal plates bolted to the wood.
This room had been built for one perso
