Back in my room, I change out of my white uniform and into my old clothes: a ratty old tank and ripped jeans, still stained with the dirt my mom and I lay in while waiting for the government soldier to finish searching our home. They're clothes I haven't worn since my home was destroyed and my life was turned upside down.

I must have gained some weight on the Immortal, because my jeans hug my hips more tightly than I remember, or perhaps I've just become accustomed to white pajama pants; but I don't care. I feel healthier now, stronger and more energetic. I'm a different Isla than the girl who came here in these clothes.

I own nothing else, so I step out of the room I borrowed for the past few weeks and head to the biology lab to pack up our materials and meet with Declan. The hall is full of Deathless getting their belongings together and chatting with one another. Nate and Gabriela are talking outside his door, and she holds his forearm and tapping it with anxiety.

As I pass them, I hear Nate excuse himself, and a moment later, he is at my side. "Isla, are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah? Why?"

"Um, 'cause you were insane in the immersions today. Are you still angry about yesterday?"

"Oh, could you be referring to your sneak attack and subsequent tattling? Which, by the way, was mostly a lie. Yes, I could've moved, but you were about to cry right in my face. I was being a good friend, so thank you for being the worst."

"So that's a yes, you are still angry." He looks around, and then whispers, "But not angry enough to go nuts like you did in that immersion. You're mad about something else, and you're letting it get to you. I thought we were going to work on controlling that," he whispers.

"I was working on controlling that, yes," I say, pushing open the door for the patio. It's crowded with Deathless survivors and their bags, so Nate and I slide between bodies, continuing our conversation in hushed tones.

"Well, then I think it's safe to say you failed," he says. "What else is going on?"

"Excuse me," I say to a Deathless woman standing in front of the door toward the labs. She inches forward, and we slip back inside. "Nothing else is going on," I lie.

"You don't trust me. I get that. But, c'mon, what's going on?"

"First of all," I say, entering the biology lab, "after yesterday, no, I don't trust you and I never will again. Secondly, nothing is going on, so just leave it."

"Fine, don't talk to me. I'll get it from you later," he says. I wave to Declan, who has already cleared off most of our work station, as a sign to Nate that I'm done with the conversation, but he doesn't take the hint. "Speaking of later, though... Once we get to camp, you'll have to find your dwelling and get the tour and everything, and then I think we're meeting with General Sato at dinner; but I wanted to make plans with you for after dinner."

"I don't know. I usually hang out with my mom and Declan after dinner."

"Okay, after that then. Let me know. I won't push it."

"Thanks. I am going to help Declan pack. You should probably do the same."

"Alright, alright, I get it," he says. Finally. "See you at dinner, and maybe after, if you want, and only if you want." He smiles his crooked smile that would make any other girl proud to have kissed him, but I roll my eyes.

I want to stay mad at him, but there are so many other things to be mad about now. And knowing the leader's plan to put me in harm's way, I'm a little thankful Nate injected me with that new DNA, just in case.

Then I wonder... could he have known the plan too? And if he did, why wouldn't he tell me? I decide to ask him about it later, which means I'll have to meet him after dinner. Whatever.

Declan waits until Nate is out of earshot to say anything, mindlessly wrapping empty vials in plastic in the meantime. "I couldn't find anything to explain why you glitched."

"Could it have anything to do with that soldier?"

"I don't know, but... how crazy was that? I can't believe someone hacked into the program. He said he was with Gunther, right?" I nod, and Declan bites his lip. "That's not good."

"Why not?"

"Because that means Gunther has started implanting his neuro devices. He got them to work."

"His neuro devices?"

"Yeah, the ones he was creating to control people, like the one Victor has in his brain. Gunther theorized that once the implants were connected, the person's consciousness could connect to whatever computer network was used to control the device. But that means somehow the bunker has access to our network, which I know Mitchell encrypted. So either they have someone better than Mitchell there to decrypt our network security, or they have someone here who let them in, so to speak. Like a spy."

The loudspeakers buzz awake. "We will arrive at the refugee camp in 30 minutes, Deathless. Please make sure that your belongings are packed. Do not leave any personal belongings behind." It's Alexander's voice. I cringe.

"Sorry I don't mean to scare you," Declan says.

"No, it's not that," I say, shaking away my uneasiness. "We will let the General know about the mole too. I don't trust the leaders anymore. It could be any one of them."

A group of Deathless approaches and Declan directs them to carry the boxes he's packed down to level one, and waits again until they are out of earshot to ask, "What happened last night? I'm sorry I left you in there, I freaked out."

"Alexander came in to turn off the alarm and then went into the wall, like Phoebe and Winston. They were frozen. They freeze themselves each night, like you all were back at the bunker."

"What? That's incredibly dangerous. And stupid."

I shake my head in disapproval. "They want to live longer. Alexander told me. He found me and told me that the reason I'm going into the President's quarters is because I am expendable, basically."

"He told you that? Are you serious?"

"That's what he said. I didn't say anything about the blueprints or anything, but he was suspicious. He felt really bad about it all, so that's why he's with me for the attack. He wants to protect me, but he also wants to retrieve Gunther. He thinks he can save him I guess."

Declan shakes his head. "No, Gunther is beyond saving, especially if I'm right and he's already started programming people. Did Alex say why he didn't tell us about our families?"

"He said they wanted me to be angry. Hopeful Isla isn't a weapon, but angry Isla is. That's why I acted like that in the immersions today. I wanted to show them I could be useful on my own."

"Well you definitely did that. I just can't believe they would use you as a martyr. Actually, you know what, I can. You would be the perfect dead body to hold up as an example of what a monster the government is."

"Thanks?" I say insincerely.

"Sorry. That was sort of meant to be a compliment. Did he say anything about why they never told me about Hugh?"

"They want you to stay here and take care of the Deathless in their absence."

He balls his fists and bites the inside of his cheeks in anger; but he takes a deep breath, lowering his fists to the table softly. "I hate them so much. If they knew Hugh was there when we were leaving...."

"They didn't," I say. "Mitchell just found out."

"Still. I'm so sick of being used by those jerks." He takes another deep breath. "You bring back Hugh, okay? Not to add any more pressure, but... When you come back, you, Bea, your family, Hugh, and I are getting out of here. Or taking over. As long as the leaders are out of power, I'm good. They're just as manipulative as Gunther and Roberts and Cooper. They're all just trying to control us, and for once, I want to be free."

For a second, I think Declan might cry. But he runs his tongue over his teeth, swallows hard, and finds a distraction: Victor. He walks over to the monkey, the only animal we'll be taking off of the Immortal, and lets him out onto his shoulder. "We'll think of something. We will tell the General, he will fix the plans, and I'll figure out a way to keep you safe."

"That makes you, Nate, Alexander, and my mom. You've all told me the same thing, which I appreciate, but... don't you think I can keep myself safe?"

He doesn't miss a beat before he says, "I know you can, but... Isla, you are the closest I've come to having a family in more than twenty-five years. My parents essentially disowned me when I told them about me and Hugh, and I was an only child. You are like a little sister to me. I don't want to risk anything happening to you."

My eyes water, but I keep myself together. "Thank you, Declan. I didn't think about it like that. Thank you," I say, and hug his scrawny body. Victor climbs onto my shoulder, and together, the three of us leave to find Mom.

We find her in the hallway, clearing the mechanics lab of the projects she helped create, including stilts that look like giant letter C's. Declan offers to grab some, and they tell me to take Victor and wait for them on the patio.

We join the Deathless waiting to reach the camp, but with Victor on my shoulder, the crowd allows me to move through without much trouble as they move out of the way to gawk or wave to him. When I reach the balcony's edge, I see we are in some rocky desert, and in the distance a large crevice cuts the ground in two.

"Oh my goodness, your monkey. It's so cute. What's its name?" asks an older Deathless woman with feather earrings peeking out from beneath her gray hair.

"His name is Victor. Say 'hi,' Victor." He waves, and the woman and I both laugh. "Do you know where we are?" I ask.

"We're in what used to be the state of Arizona, about to cross into Nevada."

"Is that where camp is?"

"Yep, the Hoover Dam to be exact," she says, and as the words leave her lips, a huge concrete structure reveals itself in the distance. Bridges connect the two sides of the earth, and a still lake waits patiently behind the concrete structure, the Hoover Dam. I recognize it from pictures in one of the Crowley's travel books, but I never imagined seeing it in person.

A group of soldiers dressed in black waits at the mouth of the bridge over the dam.

"Are those our soldiers? Or—"

"Yep, those are Deathless soldiers. They protect the camp," the woman assures me.

"Have they ever needed to actually protect it?"

"Not yet—knock on wood—but it doesn't hurt to be ready. You never know what the President and the rest of them back at the bunker could be up to."

The Immortal stops just outside the dam.

"What's happening? Why did we stop?" I ask.

The Deathless woman laughs and rests her hand on my back. "Relax. The soldiers are just checking with Captain Fowler to make sure we're actually who we say we are, and then we're going to be getting off. The Immortal is too big to drive over the dam, so we'll have to walk," she says, as she and the other Deathless begin to disperse.

I stay and look at the surroundings. It's so different from our home. The earth is tan and dry, not green and overgrown, and the rocks are huge boulders instead of pebbles. I know we're on the other side of the country, but it takes me a minute to really process that we've moved. We've changed.

"All Deathless must disembark the Immortal immediately. Repeat—All Deathless must disembark the Immortal immediately," the loudspeakers order.

I turn around and see some stragglers leaving the patio through an exit door behind me, and I follow them down a narrow, spiral staircase to the ground floor of the Immortal. At the bottom is a crowd of Deathless waiting their turn to walk off of the tank down the thin metal exit staircase, and I can't help but notice the design flaw.

This is a war tank, right? So, shouldn't the exit protocol be more efficient? I think, but then I laugh to myself. The greatest tank ever built, and its Achilles heel is its exit system.

I wait my turn until Victor and I finally exit into the sun and heat, both much stronger than anything I ever felt in Pennsylvania. I follow the crowd down the road toward the dam, red and brown boulders on either side of us like massive guardians, and I can't help but feel a little off balance without the earth rumbling beneath me. All I can hear is the rush of water from the dam ahead of us, and the quiet chatter of Deathless around me.

I look around for Mom and Declan, but I can't spot them in the crowd. I'm sure that if she wanted to, she could find me though. Now that we are all in one place, I can see what Nate meant when he told me my hair color was unique: My orange hair sticks out like a tiger lily in a meadow. Besides, I'm the only one with a monkey on my shoulder.

We pass by the soldiers who guard the road, and despite the heat, I feel an icy chill through my body. I remember the soldiers who came and inspected our house, who checked for survivors in our neighbors homes, who shot the Mayor's daughter in her home. I think of the virtual soldiers we've been killing in the immersions. Only these soldiers are real. Everything is real now. The only other differences between these soldiers and those soldiers are their black uniforms and the black fabric around their arms with skull and crossbones painted in white. It's probably to symbolize the Deathless, but it just reminds me of pirates. Ruthless, unfeeling criminals of the high seas. Are we the new world pirates?

We reach the middle of the bridge over the dam, and all I can hear is the roar of the water until a voice breaks through: "Please continue to your assigned dwellings. All new Deathless, please remain here for further instructions."

The crowd breaks away. Some people go into the dam, while others continue across it to the other side of the lake. A small group of us remain, and I finally see Mom. She and Declan walk toward me. Declan taps his shoulder to signal for Victor to climb on, and the monkey leaps to him. "You're about to meet the General," Declan whispers, smiling. "See you soon." He walks away, as Mom takes my hand.

The crowd continues to disperse, while the leaders and an Asian man in a full military uniform gather to face us.

"Those of you who remain please step forward," Winston calls over the sound of falling water, and we do as he asks.

The Asian man runs his eyes over the crowd. "My name is General Sato. Captain Fowler was your leader on the Immortal, but I am your leader here. This is a safe place, but it is also a military base, and as such, you must follow all protocol. You will be given a dwelling here, as well as a job, just as you had on the Immortal. Dinner will be served in the north community lodge alongside Lake Mead at sun down. Breakfast and lunch are also served in the same location: breakfast at dawn, and lunch at high noon. Are there any questions?"

No one speaks.

General Sato smiles at us, as if he's gone through the necessary script and he can finally be himself. "Welcome home, Deathless."