Jeez, this one's long. 2941 words of actual chapter, and counting this author's note, 2959. Anyways, happy reading!

I was still staring down at  the files, wondering what to do with them, when I realized I couldn't hear footsteps anymore, that the coast was clear. I shoved them back into their hiding place in the filing cabinet, mentally swearing to come back with a flashlight, and slid the door shut carefully behind me. I walked back casually, stopping in the heart of the manor. I turned, facing the stairs to go up, but I knew that the best place for me right now was outside, where I could think this through without being watched.

To the dorms or outside, that was the question. The obvious choice was the dorms—I'd be safe there, none of the Evos would find it at all suspicious to find me where I belonged, I could wait this all out, the reasons went on and on.

The cool, fresh air was like a breath of relief as I stepped outside, having slipped around behind Max as he was getting coffee with the other guards. I waited till I was around the corner, but before I knew it, I was running. The cold air was welcome pain because of the distraction and clear mind it brought, and my eyes were focused on the group of trees straight ahead. I finally slowed just before I hit the trees, sucking in breaths and relishing in the cold air sliding in and out of my heaving chest.

That is, until I heard the voices.

I slid close on the icey leaves, standing behind a tree and letting the voices float over me.

"—can't do that, it would blow the secret wide open," someone was saying.

"Do we have another option?" asked another.

"Forget other choices. We've talked big for a long time, but it's time to act," a third voice chimed in.

"But if we move too fast, they'll all know, and then—"

"No," said the third voice. There was something authoritative that made me think they were in charge, something in the steel of their voice... "We've waited too long. Nothing is happening. The Evos aren't expecting anything—the Wrobel hasn't acted in years. We strike now."

"Alright. What's the pl—" the second voice asked, sounding resigned.

But I'd never know what the plan was, because at that moment, I shifted my weight to the other foot and snapped a branch.

An instant later, I was standing, a knife at my throat, face to face with a person I so did not expect to see. Her hair looked the same as always—short, black spikes that tended to raise eyebrows—but somehow, different against this new background. Brown eyes glittered, reflecting the snow and icy trees around us, and a flush was in her cheeks from the cold. But there was one thing I couldn't quite get over...

"Maddie?" I asked, shock momentarily forcing any other thoughts out of my mind. How could our small, shy roommate be the leader of a secret meeting against the Evos?

"Violet?" she said, sounding just as startled.

"Why are you out here?" we said in unison. Then, also in unison, "Hey, I asked you first."

All eyes turned to me, and I became uncomfortably aware of the knife in the hand of one of the strangers I was surrounded by.

"I came out here to clear my mind." Not technically a lie.

"I saw one of the slaves kissing an Evo," I added, hoping that was a convincing reason. Totally a lie.

They all made disgusted faces, but none of them asked for details.

"Okay," I said, crossing my arms, partly as a show of strength and partly because it was cold, "Your turn."

"What makes you think we'll tell you anything? You're outnumbered, six to one, and unarmed. Why are you assuming that you'll be leaving at all?"

I did my best to keep my face calm, knowing that being afraid wasn't going to help anything. Because I have the information you need. "Because I live with you, and you won't kill me. Besides, how will you explain it to everyone when my dead body is discovered?"

"We're good at disposing of people. They won't ever find you," one of the guards said, sounding serious.

"Yeah, right. I heard you guys. You haven't done anything in years—you won't have a way to get anything done," I scoffed, trying to remain relaxed while I called their bluff. I shifted my weight to the other foot, keeping my hands from their view to hide the trembling.

Reluctantly, Maddie motioned for the people surrounding me to move away, then smiled at me. The six men moved away, for sure, each taking a step away and assuming a more relaxed position.

I didn't miss that they all had their weapons still in their hands.

"So, the Wrobel. I want to know what's been going on," I said, focusing in on the issue at hand.

"It's a bit of a long history. I think if we're going to discuss this, we should continue this inside HQ. Besides, if you're going to join, then you'll need to see Operations, anyway."

I didn't say anything, but started to follow them towards the building, two things eating away at my mind—How are we going to get back inside? And what if I don't want to join?

***

I kept pace somewhat easily, much to their surprise. I guess the weeks spent out here had kept me somewhat in shape. I watched to see what they would do when they reached the guard house, but instead they skipped it over, headed for the back door. My eyebrows raised, but at my expression, Maddie simply smirked, knocking on a panel of wood just out of sight of the glass door and windows. And then, much to my shock, it slid right open.

Literally, the wall opened.

But that was nothing compared to the next surprise: the one who opened the door was an Evo.

More specifically, it was Jasper. The one who had opened the car door all those weeks before. The Evo who was part of my Big Mistake.

Well, obviously, the evidence was mounting that I was about to be sacrificed as some part of a cult or something, but the same part of me that had me looking in that file, the same part that had made me research the Old World for years... Well, that part was currently over-riding all the other parts of me that were screaming Get out, get out, get out!

I followed them silently, walking down narrows halls and slinking through dark corners, climbing steadily higher. I had no clue what floor we were one, but we had gone up a good number of stairs, which made me think we were headed for the slave quarters on the fourth floor.

The wooden hallways and creaking stairs seemed eerie on their own, but now—cold and silent, except our footsteps intruding on the silence—it was like a scene from one of those old horror movies I had read about.

Yep, any minute now, an axe murderer is gonna jump out at us.

Although I had always wondered why humans in the Old World had killed each other. Didn't the Evos kill enough of us already? And besides that, who would choose an axe as a weapon? Basic anatomy and reasoning showed anyone with logic that a different weapon—say, a gun—would work much better. Even if you were attached to the idea of a blade, a longsword made much more sense. You could use your whole body more effectively and get more torque.

I stayed locked in my head for most of the journey, debating weapons and physics. Of course, I was well aware that I was only distracting myself, but I knew if I let anything else into my head right now, I would break down.

Eventually, we stopped in front of a dark paneled swinging door. Where the dust all the way here had been thick and untouched, everything in this area looked relatively new, or at least like it had been used within the last twenty years.

Jasper knocked, and a voice tentatively called out from the other side.

"Are you here to help me clean?"

"No, but we brought supplies," Jasper replied easily. I watched, curiosity bubbling up. Was it a code? How did it work? What if somebody came in without knocking?

"Are you sure?" the voice asked.

"Um, yes," said Jasper, beginning to sound exasperated.

"What if you're an Evo?"

"We're not," I supplied, wanting to get inside without wasting any more time.

"How do I know that you aren't?"

"For god's sake, Xander! Open the freaking door! If we were Evos, we would have just broken the door down!"

The door opened, and a short boy opened it. He had dark hair and wide blue eyes, and seemed to jump at every sound.

No wonder we were interrogated. He looks like a breeze could knock him over and give him a broken leg.

"Maddie!" he cried suddenly, catching sight of my roommate and catapulting forwards at a speed that should not have been possible with someone his size.

"Hey, bro!" she said, laughing and spinning. Maddie? Laughing? What has the world come to?

"'Bro'? Really, Mads? You know I hate it when you call me that."

"That's why I do it."

They spoke with the practiced ease that meant they had had this conversation many, many times before. I couldn't help but wonder what that would be like—to have someone you loved that much, never knowing if you'd see them again each time they left. At least I don't have to sit around thinking about the 'what if's. My family was dead, so no one was in danger.

"Are we going in or what?" Jasper asked, looking decidedly unmoved by the whole scene. I rolled my eyes at his obviousness, but pushed ahead into the room.

Then I stopped and sucked in a breath, because this wasn't a room. It was a flurry of activity in a huge space, at least three times as big as the Grande Hall, and just as tall. Between about thirty and twenty people were rushing around, a flurry of activity. The room was clearly divided into sections— there was a group of tables and cabinets in one corner, full of news, old and new, revolving around the Evos. I could just barely make out labels in the organized chaos, things like: EVOS, THE CREATION OF and EVOS, THE ACTIONS OF.

One the other hand, there were some other spots that had hardly any activity. A long, empty table sat on one side of the room, just waiting to be used. Another collection of tables and storage sat against one wall, dust gathering. It didn't look like it had been used in years, but it was covered in maps and diagrams. Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be places heavily populated by Evos, and—Does that say bomb?

I wanted to stay, to ask Maddie questions. I wanted to know why they had these, how they had gotten ahold of them, what had happened. I wanted to ask them if any of the plans had been carried out, if any were successful. I wanted to know why they had stopped.

But my attention span was too short, and there was too much to take in. My gaze fell on the last collection of table, and any thought of other things flew out of my mind.

The labels on those tables read: THE OLD WORLD.

I bolted for it, my eyes trying to take in all the information at once. There was so much... how could all of this have survived? I wanted to sit down, read everything, to stay there forever, lost in the tales of the Old World.

"How... What... Who... " I stammered, struggling to form a sentence or thought, "How did you get all this information?"

"Over time, the founders wrote down everything they could think of. The made information into books, and we've been tracking them through the Underground for years, trying to learn everything we can."

"This... this is amazing," I said, knowing my eyes were still huge.

"You like learning about the Old World?" Jasper asked, sounding almost curious.

"Yeah... I've had a bit of an obsession for a long time. It was better then, you know? I guess it was just something that always fascinated me. I even tracked down a few people who were old enough to remember things about the Old World, heard some stories."

They all stared at me in a kind of shocked state.

"You went to all of that trouble, just to hear some stories?" Xander asked, "You know that's illegal, right?"

"I, um," I said, shifting uneasily. Why are they all staring at me?

"I guess," I finished lamely, "So, my turn to ask a question—why is he here? Isn't this supposed to be a rebellion against the Evos?"

I pointed at Jasper, who remained perfectly still.

"Just because he's an Evo doesn't mean he doesn't have the freedom to choose what to do with his life. In fact, it means he has more than us," Maddie pointed out.

"Sure, but what makes you think he's not just reporting back to them as soon as he leaves this room?" I asked, refusing to meet his eyes even as I felt him watching me.

"Not all Evos are evil by definition, Violet," Xander said earnestly, "Jasper has a condition, so he can feel some emotions."

"Like Maximus?" I asked, surprised.

"Who's Maximus?" Jasper said.

"An Evo who works in the guardhouse. He has the same thing—he can only feel happiness. What about you? Which emotion can you feel?"

He ignored me, instead turning to Maddie.

"We should look into this. Maybe he can help."

"But... He's not going to help you guys," I said.

"What do you mean?" Xander asked, staring at me with his huge puppy-dog eyes and innocence.

"I just mean... Well, I've brought it up around him before. He doesn't respond well. Unlike some of us," I said, gesturing at the space around us. The highly illegal space around us. "-he actually values his life."

"I value my life!" Maddie said, somewhat offended.

"Yeah, that's why you're a part of all this," I said, my tone heavy on sarcasm.

"Yes, actually, it is," she said, her face suddenly very fierce, "and this? The way we live now? It isn't living. We aren't free, we can't make our own choices. We live in pain and fear, hoping we'll last long enough to have something happy happen, and then, when the Evos have no further use for us, they kill us."

"Yeah, but—" I started, only to be cut off with the look she was giving me. What good will you do if you're dead? I finished in my head. I could see from the looks of the people surrounding me that they wouldn't be persuaded, and the only thing that arguing with them would do is make it harder for me to get my hands on the files about the Old World.

"So, what happens now?" I asked.

"You go back to your dorm and don't breath a word of this to anyone. When we need you, you'll know. We'll send somebody to stand at a window and say 'Look at that! A sparrow!'"

"Um, what if some random person actually sees a sparrow?"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Sparrows don't live this far north—they haven't lived anywhere but South America since before the bombings when the Evos took over."

"What do you mean? How could that affect where they live?"

"Oh, it doesn't. But apparently, before the Evos, people were starting to freak out about something called Global Warming. Now, there are a bunch of species that live in places they didn't. For example, sparrows evolved to fit in a warmer climate, but then the Evos fixed Global Warming," she paused, scowling, "which was probably the only good thing they've ever done. But anyways, but the time everything had been set right, sparrows were too well adjusted to the warmth. Now they live in South America."

I took all this in with wide eyes, trying to imagine what it'd be like, living in a world where the weather was more than a minor nuisance. It was also only then that something she had said clicked with my mind.

"Wait—I can't tell them about this?" I asked, the thought of not telling Jax or Sophia like a punch in the gut.

The thought of not telling Alex was so much worse.

"Of course not," Maddie said, "they might tell on us to the Evos. Who knows who we can trust?"

"But... I mean, you told me everything. How'd you know I could be trusted?"

"I didn't. But you'd already overheard too much, and I'm your roommate. I knew you wouldn't stop snooping, so I figured I'd show you around. If you seemed right for the job, then we'd recruit you. If not, then so be it."

I nodded, turning away and reaching for the door handle. I couldn't help myself, asking one last question, "What if I hadn't seemed right? What would you have done?"

She suddenly seemed very interested in the papers scattered across the table in front of her. I would've believed it if I hadn't know they were piles of theories about taxes from the Old World and whether or not we should implement them in the future.

"The important thing is that you did, and you're walking out that door right now."