Gabriela brought new strength to the Immortal. Now that the leaders know the President is unaware of their plans, it's full steam ahead on our projects. I've never seen Phoebe so cheerful, and Winston's smile is even more contagious than usual.

Mom is doing especially well. Her treatments are working to clean her body, and her projects with Phoebe are apparently testing perfectly in trials. She's stronger than I've ever seen her, which only makes my looming concerns about our family worse. I want to be strong and happy with her, but I can't shake my nerves. I'm terrified that soon the other shoe will drop.

According to our navigators, we will be nearing the refugee camp in a matter of days, so the leaders have asked me and Declan to finalize our knock out compound. All we need now is to run trial experiments. With Victor on my shoulder, I walk toward the enclosure of female rats, and reach in to cup Misty into my hand. She will be the first test subject for our knock out compound.

Declan has personified all the rats, giving them names, jobs, and character traits. He's quirky like that. I guess when you spend so much time with animals, they begin accruing human characteristics. Misty is one of the mother hens of the group, taking care of the others by grooming them and lying on top of them like a blanket. She's one of the more personable ones, so when I reach my hand into the cage, she is always the first to come and sniff me.

She recognizes me, and crawls into my palm. Her pink tail hangs off the side of my hand, and her matching pink nose sniffs the air around her. She is spotted with light gray and white patches of fur, one of our more beautiful rats, but she's also one of our oldest. At three years old, there isn't much time left for her, and we've been talking to her about how to make her life more meaningful. Nate hasn't said much of anything to me since Gabriela's arrival, except that Declan and I are strange for talking to the rats, but I prefer "quirky." We're quirky.

Declan and I decided that she should be our first test subject for the knock out compound, so here she sits in my palm as I lower her into the experiment cage. "It's okay, Misty. You'll be fine," I tell her. She scurries around the cage, exploring her new habitat. "Get used it, girl. Who knows how you'll see it once you're knocked out."

A voice startles me from behind. "Are you talking to yourself, Isla?"

It's Nate.

Since Gabriela was found, Nate's been spending most of his free time with her, but I'm not complaining. It's better this way.

"No, I'm talking to Misty," I correct him without taking my eyes off of her. She sniffs my fingers and licks the remnants of breakfast from their tips.

"What's in store for the rat today?"

"Misty is going to be the first test subject for our knock out compound."

"Cool." He leans past me to look at Misty in her experiment cage, resting his hand on the small of my back to help keep his balance, and Victor takes this opportunity to bop Nate on the head. I laugh even though Declan told me I should scold Victor when he does that, but Nate remains serious. "Can we talk before Declan gets back from the bathroom?" he asks.

"Attention!" A voice interrupts him over the loudspeakers. "Will the following Deathless please report to the Captain's dining room: Isla Blume, Beatrice Blume, Mitchell Harper, Rumi Patel, Gabriela Rivera, and Nathan Ward. Thank you."

Nate and I stare at each other for a moment in confusion. "I guess we have to go," he says. "Any idea what this is about?"

"None," I say, though my guess is it will either be about the rescue team or the knock out compound. I put the lid on Misty's cage, and place Victor back in his enclosure. He doesn't want to let me go, and to be honest, I don't want to let him go either. He's become a huge comfort, like a therapy animal here, but Declan told me the leaders don't like him leaving the biology lab. Apparently he causes too much of a distraction. I blow Victor a kiss and he does the same to me before I follow Nate out of the lab.

When we get to the hallway, he whispers, "I'm sorry I've been distant."

"It's okay," I reply, my eyes fixed on the gap in the wall marking our destination. "It really is. It's actually been nice."

"Wow, okay."

"No, not like that. It's just that I wasn't sure if you could actually be my friend before Gabriela came. Now I know. See? We're being friends right now."

He doesn't smile with me like he normally would, and we've already reached the door before I can ask him what's wrong.

When we enter the Captain's dining room, I see that everyone else is already there, seated around the large wooden table. Mom has saved a seat for me between her and Dr. Patel, and she gestures for me to join her while Nate sits beside Gabriela. I recognize the other person, Mitchell from around the cafeteria. He works in mechanics with Mom, and is probably a few years older than Nate. His black hair is gelled up in bizarre spikes.

As I take my seat, I watch Gabriela's hand move from Nate's shoulder to his forearm, massaging all his muscles along the way. It seems inappropriate for a meeting in the Captain's dining room, but she's closer with the leaders than I am. What do I know?

Phoebe, Winston, and Alexander are all standing in a line at the head of the table, and Declan is seated directly beside them. He gives me a shy wave and a guilty look. What is this about?

Phoebe begins, "You have been called here today, because you have been selected to join the leading team when we attack the government bunker. We will all be split into groups, and group will have an important task to accomplish during the attack. Declan will stay back and monitor the Immortal in our absence."

I peer over at Declan and see the disappointment in his face. No doubt he's thinking that this is yet another example of them not taking him seriously.

"The rest of us will be divided based on task and ability. You all specialize in different areas, and therefore will be utilized differently. Dr. Patel and Nathan specialize in medicine and will therefore be used as our medics; Mitchell and Beatrice specialize in mechanics and will therefore be creating our robots and weapons; Gabriela specializes in chemistry and will be in charge of our explosives; and finally Isla. Isla is our secret weapon. She has been selected due to her ability to think and act under pressure."

I feel everyone staring at me but I try not to make eye contact. I'm too embarrassed by the attention.

"It is for this reason that we meet today," Phoebe continues. "Tomorrow we will begin training for the attack using an immersion simulation program Dr. Harper has created. While training, we will all have specific tasks, but we must all work to protect Isla during the attack."

Everyone turns to me, probably to see what my reaction is, but I'm too confused to have any real response to what Phoebe's just told us. Do they think I'm incapable of taking care of myself? I thought my days of being underestimated were over. How else can I prove myself to these people?

"I'm happy to be part of the team," I say, "but I'm not a secret weapon."

"But you are," Gabriela says. There is a gentleness in her voice that wraps around me like a warm blanket. "You are exactly who we need for this mission."

"I don't even understand how I'm going to be involved."

"You will be one of the Deathless in charge of storming the President's quarters," Winston says. "He may or may not be there, but we are going to need someone there just in case. We all have connections with him, so we will be too driven by emotion. We'll need someone who can be both objective and effective, as you have proven you can be."

I'm speechless. I guess I'm finally not being underestimated after all. I'm finally appreciated for the strength I have, but the pressure takes my breath away. "What will I have to do once I'm in the President's quarters?"

"You will have to kill him," Winston says as if it's nothing. As if it's an afterthought. Oh, by the way, you might have to commit murder.

"What?" Mom asks.

I remember the rabbit. "No," I blurt out. "I can't. I won't."

"You will," Phoebe says. "We aren't talking about an innocent man, Isla. We are talking about the man who destroyed the world. The man who took your family, the man who has them captive now. If they're alive. He is the reason we've lost the ones we love. My husband and daughter. The boy pictured in your mother's locket. Your grandparents."

I turn to Mom and see her eyes water. She showed my uncle to Phoebe, no doubt to appeal to her sensitive side.

"It's the first step we Deathless must take to get this world right," Phoebe continues. "Which is why we wanted to call this meeting. It's important for everyone to understand that during our program immersions and during the actual attack. Are there any questions?"

Uh, yeah, I think, how do you expect me to face off against the President?

"I'll be with you," Alexander tells me. "We will get it done."

I don't doubt him, and apparently neither does Phoebe, because she nods in approval.

"Why does it have to be Isla?" Mom asks. "I will gladly do it instead. This seems like a high risk task, and I don't want Isla in any unnecessary danger. Let me kill him."

"No, it has to be Isla," Phoebe argues. "You are too connected to the world before the apocalypse. You may become emotional. Our only other candidate would be Nathan, but he is too noticeable, too obvious. The President's people will see him and immediately arm themselves, but Isla? She is a sweet girl. She's small and smiley. No one will see her coming, and that," she says, turning to Mom, "will keep her safe."

"Keeping her out of the line of fire will keep her safe too," Mom argues.

"Look," Phoebe says, her voice raised, "either Isla goes to the bunker adhering to our plan, or she doesn't go at all. It's up to her, but if she can't do what we need her to do, there is no other place for her in this battle. Any other questions?"

Mom bites her tongue, and I'm still too shocked to argue. Declan shakes his head and looks away.

"Excellent," Phoebe says. "Now, I understand the first trial of Dr. Kunkle and Isla's compound is taking place today."

"Yes, it's all set up," Declan says, crossing his arms over his chest.

Phoebe nods to Mitchell, and he stands from the table. He walks to the opposite end of the room where a large cloaked object sits on a movable platform, and wheels it back to the table as Phoebe says, "We'd like to take this opportunity to understand the effects of your compound a little better. This will help us utilize it in the attack. Using Dr. Harper's immersion program, we will be able to immerse someone in the experience of your test subject through a brain to brain interface."

Mitchell lifts the cover from his machine. On the platform sits a computer, a large rounded visor, two crowns of fabric, and electrical wires connected to the computer in a series of twisted wiring. It doesn't look like anything special, but based on the proud look on Mitchell's face, I can tell it's probably more incredible than it seems.

"Mitchell, would you like to explain your device?" Phoebe asks, though her question is clearly rhetorical.

"Sure," he smiles, but his face is so pointed—from his long, sharp nose to his crescent eyes to his slit smile—that it looks painful. I've never seen anyone with such angular features, and it almost distracts me from hearing his explanation. "This device is for virtual reality immersions, are you familiar with what those are?"

"I'll take a shot in the dark and say that this device invents virtual realities that we are able to immerse ourselves in," I say. Mom hits my leg underneath the table.

Mitchell is temporarily speechless. I don't think he knows how to handle sass, because he looks sort of hurt. "Yes," he finally says before collecting himself, smiling an angular smile, and continuing. "Good. However, the virtual realities can either be purely computer generated or they can originate from the thoughts and experiences of another being, as with a brain to brain interface. So if you wear this headset here, and we hook this set up to a different test subject, in this case a lab rat, you could experience everything that rat was experiencing through the program. This way, you can be a test subject without any of the risks, because you'll only be virtually immersed in it. We will also be using this device for strategic planning while on the Immortal. With the blueprints for the bunker programmed into the system, we will be able to run through our attack virtually and safely."

"Hold up," Declan interjects. "This added variable may throw off our results. We're testing how Misty's behavior is altered, and with electrodes strapped to her head, her behavior will obviously be abnormal."

"Which is why we will have someone here to report back," Phoebe adds.

I'm not entirely sure why—if it's the blatant disregard for Declan and my trial, the smug tone Phoebe's words are taking, or the insensitivity to Misty—but my cheeks fill with heat.

"I'll do it," I blurt out. If someone is going to be hooked up to Misty, it's either going to be me or Declan. We're the only ones who will show her the respect she deserves while connected to her mind. Mom tries to protest, but before she can get the words out, I say, "I helped create the compound, so only Declan or I would be able to fully assess if it's creating our desired effect."

Alexander and Winston exchange looks behind Phoebe's back. "See?" Winston says. "She's a natural scientist."

Phoebe sighs deeply. "Dr. Kunkle, please prepare the test subject. Mitchell, begin hooking Isla up to the program. Everyone else, sit back and watch the experience from the monitor. We can all learn from this," she says, taking a seat at the head of the table.

Declan half smiles at me as he walks out of the room. He is going to miss watching the experience. Like he'll miss the attack.

Winston makes his way around the table, and I look up to see him holding his hand out to me. "Come on, Isla," Winston says. "Let's knock you out."