A few seconds after I reached her, slightly out of breath, Mia's dry, flaky lips parted as if she wanted to speak but couldn't quite force the words out. Her grip on the handle trembled.
But eventually—
"What... are you saying, Squad Leader?"
She looked at me in confusion.
"You're the one who told me to open the door."
The words that left her mouth made my expression falter slightly as a cold knot tightened in my stomach. My pulse spiked, pounding hard enough that I could hear it in my ears.
"You were standing by the other door when you noticed the flakes on the floor," she said, her voice rather small. "After Niel pointed them out, you changed your mind. You said we shouldn't touch it and told us to keep going."
Her grip around the handle loosened.
"We walked farther down the corridor until we reached this door. And then…" Her eyes locked onto mine. "You told me to open it."
