I tried to wait a long time, but there was no way of knowing what hour it was; there were no clocks in the room. There was no danger of drifting off--I'd never been more awake. In fact, it was so hard to feign sleep, but I knew I had to, at least for a while, in case they were watching us (and I was positive they were). But after what felt like ages, long after all the lights had dimmed into a thick darkness punctured only by a little nightlight by the bathroom, I slid out of that bed and, barefoot, slipped toward the bedroom door. It was locked, as I'd expected, but I used that same unique skill that I'd recognized before--that ability to, in a sense, speak with the keypad--to open it and exit into the hallway. Wherever that hidden talent had come from, I was grateful for it; maybe the Circuit itself had taught me the skill, if I'd actually been a recruit in my murky past.

The lights were still on full blast out in the hallway, still a blinding white. I'd hoped they'd have darkened them so I'd be slightly more difficult to see but no such luck. Frankly, though, I doubted I'd make it very far without someone finding me, whether the lights were dimmed or not. This place must have cameras, and there was surely someone watching all of our moves. So I was wary yet optimistic when I reached the rotating red X after following the door numbers in descending chronological order, as I'd done when I'd gone to Mr. Mallinkrodt's office.

I stood in front of those lasers, perplexed. Something beyond them was prohibited, and if the under-age recruits weren't able to be with the of-age recruits, I figured this was the only thing I'd seen that could possibly be dividing them from one another. There could, of course, be a thousand other hidden places; I knew that. But something forbidden was down that hallway.

So, placing my hand on the box on the wall, another keypad, I listened to it, let my mind expand itself to allow in the current from the device, and as before, the numbers revealed themselves to me, and the X blinked off. My luck was far too good--and yet I didn't question it. I just thanked whatever gods were out there and hurried on.

This hallway had no doors at all, but it was long. I began running, bare feet slapping against the shining floor, just to try to reach the end of it, but when I did, at last, come to its conclusion, I saw nothing but a white wall, a dead end. In disbelief, I did a turnabout, checking for doors or halls that I could've possibly missed, but nothing stuck out to me. I couldn't understand . . . why would they secure a hallway with nothing in it? But I recalled the illusion screens in those offices. They'd been pretty, moving and disconcerting. I didn't see anything like that around me, and yet . . . stepping forward, I reached out a hand to touch the dead-end wall, and my fingers moved right through it. Excitement rushed through me. This was it! I had no idea what was on the other side of the screen, but I slipped through the curtain.

I entered a small room, much like the one that was at the bottom of the tunnel though smaller, and instead of Mr. Clean, there was an older girl sitting at a desk. She was probably around my age, tanned and black-haired but otherwise forgettable except for the fact that she immediately looked up at me with distrust. "Why are you so late getting in?"

My thoughts raced to subterfuge. I had to sound believable. "I was helping with the under-ages. Mallinkrodt needed me to work with a difficult girl." I wasn't sure I was fooling her. "One who'd hidden her pill and we didn't know until we got in there."

The girl leaned back and pulled a knee up onto her chair. I'd convinced her. "I hate those kids that don't take the pill. Such pains in the ass. All right, but rations already went out, so you'll have to find Bodie and tell him you need yours."

"I will."

"I know you will. I missed it once--never again!" She made a hand gesture to indicate something like an explosion near her head.

I tried to mimic her familiarity with a nod and grin, but it was difficult. I wasn't sure how to interact with people in a friendly way. I wondered briefly if I'd ever even had a friend. But she was satiated and waved me toward a door across the room. As quickly as I was able, I slipped through it and away from her.

Another hallway, but this one was different; it was darker--far darker, almost actually in the dark (or maybe it was my eyes trying to adjust after the whiteness of everything prior to getting here)--and it was relatively short. There was noise, too, a lot of it. I waited for a moment to let my senses figure themselves out, and then, when I felt ready, walked down the short hall and entered a massive room. The ceiling was higher here, not like a gymnasium, not quite that high, but definitely higher than the rest of the place had been. And the walls expanded in all directions into depths I couldn't quite make out due to the lack of lighting. But there were people everywhere. The place was like a huge lounge, with couches and pool tables arranged in various formations, televisions and gaming systems set up to play on huge screens against the walls, a bar that looked like it was stocked with alcoholic beverages (though I couldn't really tell, being far from it), and all sorts of other random dining booths and alcoves. I was totally thrown off. I hadn't expected to see anything like this. It was loud and lively. This was clearly where the over-ages were.

As overwhelmed as I was at the sight of the place, I had one goal. None of what was going on could entice me from my path. I needed to find Henry. Surveying the place, I realized it might be difficult to do; there were maybe fifty to sixty people around, and those were only the ones I could see. At least I'd blend in, here. It was a good thing I hadn't changed into other clothing; no one here was wearing the jumpsuits. They were all in street clothes.

Taking a deep breath, I headed into the vast room, wading through the furniture and people, all teenagers, all lying around or laughing or getting close to one another or competing on video games and virtual reality or sitting at the bar (which did actually seem to serve beer) or vegging out in front of televisions. I moved around the perimeter at first, trying to gauge how large the place was, and found that there was also a locker room. When I went into it, I realized it was co-ed, but there were multiple little rooms that contained their own toilet, sink, shower, and changing space, and they all locked from the inside, so it seemed that privacy was available if desired. There were also countless lockers lining the walls, and each had a name. I thought briefly of scanning them for Henry's name, but it hadn't even been twenty-four hours since we'd arrived, and I doubted he'd have one yet. In fact, I realized with sinking hope, he might not be here at all. They may have wanted to keep him isolated, or with the underaged kids like me. And yet, I somehow doubted that they'd put someone they'd just called a murderer with little kids. Seeing no signs of Henry in the locker room (although a few showers were running, I certainly wasn't going to knock on them), I left the locker room and continued my trek around the room's perimeter. I came across a huge set of double doors at one point and, peeking in, found they led into a hallway with many more doors resembling the dormitory halls where I'd been, minus the harsh lighting, and I figured that the of-age recruits slept there.

Shutting the double doors again, I surveyed the massive room in front of me. I pressed my back against the wall and sighed wearily. How would I ever find Henry in this place without digging into all the private spaces? This main room was one thing; I could explore it without looking suspicious. But the locker room? And the bedrooms? I just didn't know where or how to start.

But I must've stood out more than I thought, scooting along against that dark wall in the dimness with my light gray shirtdress. Maybe people had been eyeing me, and I'd looked far more ridiculous and out of place than I'd meant to. In any case, a couple of guys approached me uninvited; I saw them coming and wanted to make myself invisible, hide away in a little hole. But there was nowhere to go in the short amount of time before they reached me.

"Hey," one said, the other behind him nodding. They were neither of them particularly interesting to me. Some people might have found at least one of them attractive, but I had no time for anyone. So I just kind of offered a half-smile, said nothing, hoped they'd take a hint.

They didn't.

One leaned up against the wall next to me; the other stood in front of me. "Don't recognize you," said the same one who'd already spoken, who was the one in front of me. He had several piercings across his face, was dressed rather stylishly for being in a place like this. "New?"

"No," I said, looking at neither of them and instead out into the room. I tried to inch slightly away.

"I'd remember you."

I had no idea how to respond. I was too self-conscious, too distant from my own image, that I'd never expected anyone to express interest in me; it'd been the last thing on my mind when I entered this room, and I fervently wished these two would just disappear.

They were not discouraged by my silence. "You want to head back?"

"What?" At first I thought he meant back to the under-age hallway; I thought I'd been caught.

"The rooms. I can find one."

I understood and was horrified. I must've burned bright red. Thankfully, I remembered what that girl out front had said. "No, I-I can't. I have to find Bodie."

The two of them looked at each other, grinned; the one in front cocked his head toward the one against the wall, who, to my joy, shuffled off. But the pierced one was still there. "You're in luck; here I am."

I cursed internally.

"See, I knew you were new. Everyone knows who I am. Why are you trying to lie about it?"

"I . . . I have to get my ration. I got back late."

"Late? From where? Listen, I've never seen you before, and I've been giving out the rations for two years. I told you--I'd remember you. You're . . . memorable."

The way he said it wasn't unkind or even particularly creepy; I could tell he was trying to flatter me, but his words were unwanted. I wasn't even sure what he'd meant by "memorable." But then I caught something: two years. He'd been doing this two years. Daisha said older recruits were moved out of the under-aged rooms once they'd completed their first job, and Mr. Mallinkrodt had said I'd disappeared on my second job . . . so if all of that were true, I'd have been here, at least for a while. This guy would've remembered me (or so he claimed). But I didn't have much time to think of that; he was repeating something about a room but getting me my ration first and I was just on overload with my thoughts and his talking--"Stop! Can't you just--just stop?"

He stared at me, and I didn't know if it was because he was offended or shocked or both, but he wasn't rude. He just shrugged, laughed a little, and was about to say something else to me when I was startled by someone who came up at me from the left.

"Nadia?"

My name! But it wasn't Henry's voice. I spun to find Slim, a cigarette in his hand. He wasn't the person I wanted, but I felt weirdly relieved to see a familiar face, even his.

"You know her?" Bodie asked.

I gave Slim an imploring look. He hadn't helped me in any way, but I hoped he'd understand, now.

"Yeah, yeah of course I know her," he said, squinting a little at me as if to indicate comprehension, and I was instantly grateful. "Your mind's just going, Bodie."

"Getting old, huh?" Bodie smiled, showed teeth, and his smile did have a strange attraction. "Well, I'll be out soon enough. See you around, Slim. Nadia." He said my name with a certain emphasis, and then he began to saunter off. "Oh, and I'll get you that ration, but you have to come find me if you want it." One last grin, and he was gone.

I felt as if I could breathe again. I wouldn't be collecting that ration, whatever it was.

"What the Hell are you doing here?" Slim immediately asked, keeping his voice hushed. "No, no. Let me guess—you're looking for Henry." My determined expression confirmed it, and he rolled his eyes. "He's not here. You shouldn't even be here. You really think they'd let him roam around? All he's been through?"

Anger built in me. I scowled. "You have no idea what Henry's been through—what we've been through. We don't belong here. They told Henry he's a murderer. Did you know that? They're lying to him, probably brainwashing him right now, and he has you to thank for that. Some friend you are, Slim."

I expected him to push back, to snap at me or even walk away or call someone over to turn me in, but to my surprise, Slim's mouth fell open in an expression of disbelief. "He's Zion? You sure? Explains why I never saw him much. They keep those ones hidden. There's only, like, three or four of them."

He seemed a little too impressed, to me. "But they're lying to him. I know they're lying to him. They're the ones who erased his memory and put him in Oliphant. And mine too! And that's another thing—I know you've seen me before. You're lying, too. All of you are!" My emotions were getting the best of me. I didn't want to appear weak in front of this mousy, two-faced person, but I was beginning to lose hope; if Henry weren't here, where could he be?

"Calm down!" Slim tried, obviously not wanting to draw attention to us. "Look, look. I don't want to talk about this here. I don't want to talk about this anywhere, really. You know what they'll do if they find you here?"

"I don't care." I did care, but I didn't want to admit it. "If I don't find Henry, then what's the point of all this, anyway?" I slid down against the wall, sat on the floor, pushed my hands through my hair. I didn't know what to do.

Slim's cigarette had burned quite a bit; he suddenly realized and tapped the ash off, and then, looking around as if to make sure no one noticed, he sat down next to me against the wall. "They really wipe your head?" he asked quietly, tapping his temple.

"You think we made it up?"

"No, I thought Henry just had amnesia, maybe."

"They did it. I know they did. We both woke up at Oliphant with no memories, but I saw a Circuit member there--his name is Aguado--and I heard him say to someone else that Henry's mind had been wiped, and that was how they wanted it. But then we get here and they tell us they have no idea what happened. I know they're lying to him."

"Aguado freaks me out."

"You did this--you brought Henry back to these people."

Slim frowned. "He would've found it anyway. If he was so determined to figure his life out, he would've found it. I just expedited the process." He stubbed out his cigarette way before he'd finished it, looked hard at me with those rat eyes. "I can make it so you stay here, maybe. You don't have to go back to the under-age."

I gave him an uninspired glance and just then realized that, even though he was clean, had probably showered and was no longer covered in garbage, he didn't look a whole lot better in his dark, baggy clothing. "I don't want to stay here. I want to get Henry and get out of here." I looked around at the hall, felt disgusted by all of it. "This place is gross."

"It's not too bad. Not when what else you've got is stealing food and a cold park bench and the likelihood of ending up in jail."

"Won't you all probably end up there anyway?"

"No, they don't let that happen. And we get a lot of free time, out on the street. This isn't some cage or something. Lots more to do here than out there, and the guarantee of a bed and a shower--well, it isn't so bad at all."

"They just let you do anything you want down here?"

"Not anything. Nothing violent. They keep an eye on that. Can't be killing or hurting each other. And we all have to pitch in, you know, keep things looking all right and clean. Everybody's got jobs."

My thoughts turned to logistics. "Do you all use that tunnel to get out of? That one that we climbed down?"

Slim eyed me slyly. "Wondering how to get out?"

I shrugged, wasn't going to lie.

"I want to help you," Slim said, much to my surprise. "You have to go back to your room, but can you come back tomorrow night? You think you can do it?"

I had no idea if I could do it, but what else did I have? He was offering help, and though I couldn't trust him, it was something.

"Only thing I want, though--I want your ration."

"My--" What was it with all these people and their rations? I did not want to go find that other guy--Bodie. "What are the rations?"

Slim sighed, and a flicker of something like shame crossed his face. "It's how they keep us here, for real. We all know it. Start us when we first get here; by the time we're old enough to get it, we've been on it for so long we need it." He gave a bitter little laugh. "That's how they know we'll always come back."

For a moment, I was at a loss as to what he was talking about, but I remembered suddenly that I'd kept the pill from the girls' dorm. Retrieving it from my pocket, I held out the pill, hoping it was good enough.

He eyed my offering. "You didn't take it, huh? Smart. It's small, but it'll do for now. You come back tomorrow, get me your rations from Bodie, and I'll help you. All right?" And with that, he snatched the pill off my hand, stuck it on his tongue, and swallowed.