As I walk back to the elevator with Harry, I have a swagger in my step. There's a new weight in my core. A shift in my balance.

"Feeling it already?" Harry says, pushing my shoulder playfully.

I stroke my neck. "My throat feels thick. Is my voice changing?"

Harry laughs. "Be patient."

But I can't help myself. I run my fingers across my face and the hairs on my chin feel coarser. Every cell in my body is vibrating. Growing. Transitioning.

We step onto the elevator and press the button to rise to the top floor. The doors close and as the elevator jerks us, my stomach drops and I feel a pull in my groin. A swelling.

The numbers and letters along the top of the elevator–B2, B1, L, 2–light up to mark our ascent. I wonder if Marcy will notice the changes that I can already feel.

Boom!

A loud noise jolts the air.

The lights flicker.

Our movement stutters.

Then we are plunged into an eerie dark stillness.

"What the fuck?" Harry curses as the emergency lights turn on, flooding the tight space with red.

My body freezes. "Wh-what was that?"

Harry doesn't answer me. He smashes the call button over and over. And when that does nothing, he tries to pry the elevator doors open.

"Help me," he grunts, his fingers prodding at the small crack in the center of the two doors.

I jump to his left and we each try to pull back one of the doors. My fingers keep slipping on the stainless steel interior, but after a few more tries, the space begins to open.

Harry jams his foot into the widening crack, allowing our hands to use their full grip.

With one more yank, the doors slide open. We are almost to the second floor. We only had about two more feet to rise.

My palms are sweaty and I take a deep breath. "What do you think is happening?"

Harry shakes his head. "I need to find Christopher."

Without saying anything else, he reaches out to start prying open the next set of doors.

Knowing that I need to find Marcy, I join him, and quicker than the first set, the exterior doors open, revealing the second floor corridor.

Harry crawls up first, then reaches down to help me. I grasp my fingers around his thick forearm and step up.

"Go," Harry says, pointing down the hall to my room. "I'll find you when I know more." Then he rushes off in the opposite direction.

I run.

The hallway is empty, but I can hear a commotion in the distance. Indecipherable shouting. Dull clangs. I don't know what time it is, how long I've been gone, but I hope Marcy is still in bed. Still in our room.

What if she went out looking for me? Is somehow tangled into the chaos on the other side of the building? I would never forgive myself for lying. For not telling her I was with Harry.

"Attention everyone, Attention," Sequoia's voice blasts out through speakers on the ceiling. "All non-emergency residents must report back to their bunk rooms. Repeat, if you are not an emergency responder, clear the common areas. Go back to your bunks."

I turn the corner, with every intention to obey the given command, when I see Marcy stepping out from our room and closing the door.

"Marcy!" I yell.

She looks up, eyes wide with fright. "The common bunk room isn't that far from here. Let's go there. It'll be safer."

I want to argue. Safer? We don't even know what's going on. And the announcement clearly said to return to your own bunk. But I know that there is no point in arguing with Marcy when she's made up her mind.

"Okay, if you know how to get there," I say.

We continue down the hall, round the corner, and fly down a flight of stairs. On the ground floor, I see two men running across the atrium, but they don't see us.

No one sees us.

We make it to the door of the common bunk room quickly.

But instead of turning the knob and entering, Marcy crosses her arms and stares at me. "Where the fuck were you? I woke up to an incredibly loud bang and then realized that I was all alone!"

"I–I was..."

"Were you really getting a snack?" she cuts me off. "For hours?"

At least she remembered our conversation.

"I ran into Harry in the food court," I build upon my earlier lie. "He took me to the compound's clinic. I want to tell you all about it, but I don't think this is the time."

Marcy takes a breath through her nose, her nostrils flaring. "Okay," she says. Then, without saying more, turns the handle to the common bunk room and enters.

A lot of people are still in their pajamas, woken by the commotion outside, and I realize what an early start I got today. Some people are whispering together in corners, as if trying to figure out why the announcement was made. But everyone else seems strangely...relaxed.

Why isn't anyone as unsettled as I feel?

I haven't been in this room before, but I guess Marcy has–although I don't know when–because she knows where to find Jenelle.

Tyree and Mitchell are both already dressed and leaning on a wall next to where Jenelle is sitting on her bunk. She's wearing striped pajamas and her hair covered in a wrap. The three of them are talking, but it stops as we approach.

"Hey guys," Jenelle greets us. "Welcome to the party."

"Thanks," I say, standing awkwardly in front of her. I look around, shifting my weight from foot to foot, wondering where Alex is.

Jenelle pats her mattress, and Marcy sits down next to her.

"Oh, is this the book you were telling me about?" Marcy asks, picking something up from Jenelle's pillow.

Curious, I peek down at the book's cover. The words Harnessing Technology is arched over a drawing of a human hand pixelating and transforming into robotic fingers.

I've been so occupied with my successes, I haven't asked Marcy about her progress. Or if she's still struggling. How shitty am I?

"It's really helpful." Jenelle says, taking the book. "I particularly like this diagram." She flips it open and leaves through it until she finds a page. Then she shows it to Marcy.

Marcy takes the book back. "That's a great visual of the connection between wearable tech and our nervous system."

It's as if I'm not even here.

I clear my throat.

Jenelle's eyes shift toward me. "You can look through the book, too, if you want."

I shake my head, glancing around. "I'm more curious if random loud noises are a common thing around here?"

I look around at how many people seem to be going about their business like it's a normal morning.

Jenelle shrugs one shoulder.

"It was quiet for a long stretch, but recently, things like this have been happening," Mitchell answers.

"Do you know why?" Marcy asks.

Mitchell's eyes dart around the room, then he lowers his voice. "I heard something went down a couple nights ago and Christopher and Sequoia got spooked."

My eyes dart over to Marcy. I don't want her to say anything about what we heard in the hallway. But she's not looking at me.

"We heard voices the other night," she tells everyone. "Harry, we think, said something about someone dying."

"What?" Jenelle's surprised. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I–I don't know." Marcy shakes her head. "It was late at night and, well, not even Charlie and I have really discussed it."

"Someone dying?" Jenelle's brows furrow. Then she looks at me. "You've been spending a lot of time with Harry. Do you know anything more?"

My ears turn red. This isn't a conversation I want to have in a group. But everyone is staring at me. Waiting. My mouth opens, then shuts like a gasping fish.

"Well..." I leave my tongue touching my teeth, drawing out the L for too long as I try to come up with a half-truth. "This morning he was actually pretty upbeat."

"This morning?" Jenelle asks, eyes squinting.

Harry said it wasn't a secret. And this isn't me bragging. It is?

"This morning he took me to the clinic to explain about gene therapies and stuff. I think he's looking forward to helping another transgender guy out." I use the new vocabulary word that I learned from Amelia.

"Transgender?" Marcy asks.

"I could see that," Jenelle says, obviously familiar with the term. "When you are raised believing no one else is like you, it's magical to learn that you're not alone. And that never gets old." Then she looks to Marcy. "Transgender just means someone who is a different gender than the sex they were assigned at birth."

She says it so perfectly that for a moment my jealousy fades away, and I understand why Marcy has been spending time with her.

After a brief pause, Marcy asks, "So, he didn't say anything? Anything about what we overheard?"

"No," I say. It's not really a lie. He told me he had a plan, but didn't go into details about how anyone died. "Do you guys know anything?"

"Yeah." Mitchell leans towards us. "I can confirm that there was some conflict with the Luddites. I don't know the details. Just, they had something to do with that noise."

"The city is hunting us down and the Luddites are after us?" I ask.

"Who said anything about the city hunting us down?" Jenelle shoots back. "Did Harry say that?"

"No, no." I hold up my hands. "But didn't we literally have to run for our lives away from the Choosing Day Center? It sure felt like we were being hunted down when we were navigating through underground tunnels to an unknown destination."

"Ok," Jenelle says with the nod. "True enough."

Marcy shakes her head, exasperated. "So, what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know," Jenelle answers. "But I just thought you should know. There are too many secrets in this place. Just be careful."

Even though her eyes don't land on me when she mentions secrets, I feel a pang of guilt. I really need to tell Marcy everything I know.

"Well, speak of the devil," Tyree says, interrupting my thoughts.

"What?" I look over my shoulder and I see that Harry has entered the room, Alex trailing him.

"Hey, there you are," Harry says. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course, " I say, standing.

With a quick glance back at Marcy, I follow Harry and Alex back to the door.

When the three of us in the hallway, Harry speaks. "I found Christopher. He won't tell me what's going on. He's shutting me out. But all that means is that we need to rely more on each other. Okay?"

Alex doesn't say anything. They just nod.

I rub my shoulder, feeling the injection site from just an hour ago. He's pulling strings for me. He's on my team. So, I need to be on his.

"Of course," I say.

"Good. I'll have more details soon," Harry says with a nod, then he turns and walks away.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing mind.

Alex pushes open the door to the bunk room to return to the group, but before I can step in after them, a figure emerges.

Marcy stares at me, eyes firm.

My heart catches. Was she listening through the door?

"I think you have some explaining to do," she says.