right,” I say, “Louisa, you and Maddie take turns keeping an eye on those boxes out the back window. I bet they’ll be going into that tunnel soon, so watch for who takes them and when, and maybe then we can figure out how often they use the tunnel.” I turn to Evelyn. She’s going to be obsessed with her dopey document-stealingplan, anyway, so I know it’s pointless to give her anything else to do. “You and Alonso can keep watching the file storage place next door. But don’t do anything risky or stupid. Remember that getting us out of here is more important than stealing anything, no matter how useful you think it might be.”
“But we could stop the War!” Evelyn protests. “We could be heroes!”
“Not if we’re thrown in an Alliance prison — like, for example, the one right here,” I point out. “So let’s focus on that first. Ryan, you watch out the front window to make sure no one is coming this way. And Drew, you check these last few boxes to see if there’s anything edible in there. I’ll go scout around the camp and see what I can find out.”
“Um, I don’t think we should eat anything in here,” Drew says. He points to the floor, and I follow his gaze to the little gray mouse.
“Ew!” Louisa cries.
“The poor thing!” Maddie gasps.
The mouse is lying flat on the floor in the center of the room, and for a horrifying moment I’m sure it’s dead. I immediately wonder where a giant stash of poisoned food could possibly be going.
Then I see the mouse’s small furry chest rise up and down, and I realize it’s sleeping. Drew pokes it gently with the toe of his boot. “Still alive,” he says. “But at least some of the food that was in here must be drugged. I don’t want to risk it, do you?”
We all shake our heads. I’m even more mystified than before. What is the Alliance planning? Who are they going to put to sleep with that food? I’d sort of figured the boxes might be going to CMS, since the schools are the closest places to the other side of the tunnel. But why knock out a bunch of teenagers? The four of us managed to get out just in time, but I doubt anyone else will even try to escape, especially since the teachers will be on high alert because of us.
I glance at the logo on the boxes again. Does the US government know that NutriCorp is involved with theAlliance? I’ve seen their stuff in grocery stores everywhere. They could start drugging the whole American population without anyone realizing it.
“So I’ll come with you,” Drew says, jerking me out of my thoughts.
“No!” I say, too fast, and they all look at me as if I’ve just bitten Drew’s ear off. “I mean — I just mean, I’ll be safer on my own. Harder to spot.” That is true. It’s also true that I don’t trust Drew at all. Not only that, but what I really want to do is get close to that prison. I don’t want to explain why to anyone else.
But Louisa and Ryan are both shaking their heads. “You’ll be safer together,” Louisa says. “Please, Rosie. I’ll be so nervous if you’re out there alone. What if you don’t come back? Then what do we do?”
“Drew can watch your back,” Ryan says. “He’s a great tracker. And he might see something you don’t.”
Okay, now I’m offended. Remember how I didn’t want any boys on this escape with us? Here’s one reason why. They always think they can do things better thangirls can, and guess what? They’re wrong. I guarantee I can shoot straighter, start a fire better, and climb a tree faster than Drew or Ryan or Alonso. And Wren was better than Ivan at everything — except lying, I suppose.
I want to argue with them, but I know it’s no good. Drew is going to follow me whether I want him to or not.
“Then you’d better keep up,” I say to him, and I’m out the door before he can give me one of his smug expressions.
He catches up to me as I duck inside the guard shack. I was hoping to find something that would open the big
“But we could stop the War!” Evelyn protests. “We could be heroes!”
“Not if we’re thrown in an Alliance prison — like, for example, the one right here,” I point out. “So let’s focus on that first. Ryan, you watch out the front window to make sure no one is coming this way. And Drew, you check these last few boxes to see if there’s anything edible in there. I’ll go scout around the camp and see what I can find out.”
“Um, I don’t think we should eat anything in here,” Drew says. He points to the floor, and I follow his gaze to the little gray mouse.
“Ew!” Louisa cries.
“The poor thing!” Maddie gasps.
The mouse is lying flat on the floor in the center of the room, and for a horrifying moment I’m sure it’s dead. I immediately wonder where a giant stash of poisoned food could possibly be going.
Then I see the mouse’s small furry chest rise up and down, and I realize it’s sleeping. Drew pokes it gently with the toe of his boot. “Still alive,” he says. “But at least some of the food that was in here must be drugged. I don’t want to risk it, do you?”
We all shake our heads. I’m even more mystified than before. What is the Alliance planning? Who are they going to put to sleep with that food? I’d sort of figured the boxes might be going to CMS, since the schools are the closest places to the other side of the tunnel. But why knock out a bunch of teenagers? The four of us managed to get out just in time, but I doubt anyone else will even try to escape, especially since the teachers will be on high alert because of us.
I glance at the logo on the boxes again. Does the US government know that NutriCorp is involved with theAlliance? I’ve seen their stuff in grocery stores everywhere. They could start drugging the whole American population without anyone realizing it.
“So I’ll come with you,” Drew says, jerking me out of my thoughts.
“No!” I say, too fast, and they all look at me as if I’ve just bitten Drew’s ear off. “I mean — I just mean, I’ll be safer on my own. Harder to spot.” That is true. It’s also true that I don’t trust Drew at all. Not only that, but what I really want to do is get close to that prison. I don’t want to explain why to anyone else.
But Louisa and Ryan are both shaking their heads. “You’ll be safer together,” Louisa says. “Please, Rosie. I’ll be so nervous if you’re out there alone. What if you don’t come back? Then what do we do?”
“Drew can watch your back,” Ryan says. “He’s a great tracker. And he might see something you don’t.”
Okay, now I’m offended. Remember how I didn’t want any boys on this escape with us? Here’s one reason why. They always think they can do things better thangirls can, and guess what? They’re wrong. I guarantee I can shoot straighter, start a fire better, and climb a tree faster than Drew or Ryan or Alonso. And Wren was better than Ivan at everything — except lying, I suppose.
I want to argue with them, but I know it’s no good. Drew is going to follow me whether I want him to or not.
“Then you’d better keep up,” I say to him, and I’m out the door before he can give me one of his smug expressions.
He catches up to me as I duck inside the guard shack. I was hoping to find something that would open the big
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