You can't be saved, the old woman said.
Mai Mingle was in a narrow room with it.
The room had no doors or windows, more like a solid, pitch-black, hollow iron block. She had already forgotten how she got in.
The room was only as tall as a squatting person. She crouched on the floor, the ceiling pressing down heavily on her head, leaving no space to straighten her neck.
The old woman pressed tightly against her, squatting beside her, behind her, in front of her. Mai Mingle was squeezed in the middle, forced to curl into the smallest possible ball, her arms wrapped around her shins.
You can't be saved, the old woman said.
Besides Mai Mingle, the other two Hunters in the interview had also been seized by residents, unable to break free. Emily had, without realizing it, even attracted two residents to come after her. That was because the Nest's residents liked confident people.
Mai Mingle didn't know how she knew, but she just knew:
