“Hmmm,” Siby said, tapping a finger against the table. “I like this idea. Let’s discuss how plausible it is.”

There was a silence among the group. Percy sat thinking and John Dalton had a pronounced frown on his face.

“It’s a good suggestion, but I doubt anything like this would be risk-free,” John said.

“What do you mean?” Siby asked.

“Well,” John said. “There’s a number of chemicals that do what Marie is suggesting. Some would work better than others. The best would be omnitocsil, but the problem with that is it would work too well.”

Siby bit her lip as everyone else nodded in agreement.

“Chemistry isn’t my strongest suit. What’s omnitocsil?”

“Man made chemical from the war that would break down a lot of the chemicals in the S.E.A.’s formula,” Percy said.

“As well as other things in the human body we wouldn’t want it to destroy,” John said. “It would be a death wish.”

“Okay,” Siby said. “So omnitocsil is out. Is Marie’s idea worth trying?”

Percy nodded. “I’d say yes. It’s our one good idea we’ve had in a sad number of weeks. Let’s work on it, see if we get a breakthrough.”

“Alright. All in agreement?” Siby asked.

Three heads nodded.

“Okay! Let’s get to work!” Siby started to get up before she paused. She glanced at Marie before giving the rest of the group a look. “Let’s wait before we tell Josef about this. I’d rather have a good functioning plan than another hopeful wish.”

The rest of them nodded and Marie felt a pit in her stomach. She didn’t like being reminded about how she was helping a psychopath in order to save her friends and father. What would they do if they had a solid plan for getting over the wall? Would Siby tell Josef about it? Marie still felt her focus was all about getting over the wall to help the people there. Would it be worth it?

The team worked quickly. By the end of the day they had a list of a dozen chemicals that could fight against the S.E.A.’s formula. By the end of the week, they eliminated half of them. It was good progress, even if it wasn’t the progress Marie had hoped for.

Marie worked vigorously in the gardens over the weekend, now that the ground was warm enough without the greenhouses. When she arrived at the Monday meeting, she still felt dirt under her fingernails, even after a long shower.

John started the meeting by crossing off three more chemicals. “I did some of my own work over the weekend, if you want to check my results, I brought extensive notes of what tests I did.”

Marie and Percy leaned over to glance through the notes.

Siby cocked an eyebrow. “I saw you working in the gardens over the weekend. How did you have time to do this?”

John shrugged. “I squeezed some time between gardening and sleep.”

Percy laughed. “That or you didn’t sleep at all.”

Marie bit her lip, feeling her stomach start to churn. She had no reason to doubt John. He too was a master at chemistry, and the notes he took were clear. They’d probably still run one more test on each just to be sure. Now, besides those, there were only three more chemicals that might erase the formula’s effects. She wanted this to work, not only to get across the other side, but to prove she was a valuable member of the team.

It took two more days to cross off the last of the chemicals. Marie frowned at the table, too disappointed to do anything else.

“It was a good idea, Marie,” Percy said at the end of the day. “But maybe just not the right one.”

Siby had her hands in her hair before she dropped them on the table. “What about omnitocsil.”

Percy shook his head. “Bad idea.”

“But what if there’s some way to dilute it until the side effects aren’t as potent?” Siby asked.

John gave her a slow, careful look. “Just to be clear, the side effect you’re talking about is death.”

“Well, yes, but maybe there’s a way to prolong death as long as possible,” Siby said.

The three of them stared blankly at her.

“Isn’t that just what life is, anyway?” Her voice sounded weak, like she was grasping at straws.

Marie blinked. Was this some strange plan concocted by Siby to stretch this out as long as possible? Josef was overseeing the work in the gardens, and if they weren’t working in the labs, they would all have to work in the gardens. She was almost dreading the weekend because she could have sworn she felt Josef’s eyes on her the entire time. It must be so much worse for Siby.

Marie sighed. “This is the closest we’ve come. We should at least try.”

Percy looked at Marie surprised before John rubbed his head in his hands. “Okay. Let’s try. But I want to make it clear. I don’t want to do this unless it is one hundred percent safe. Understand?”

Siby bit her lip. “I mean, nothing can be one hundred percent safe, can it?”

“Josef wouldn’t possibly okay this unless it is,” Percy said.

Siby didn’t argue. What exactly could she say? From everything Siby told her before, it seemed like Josef wouldn’t care.

“Let’s see if we can make it completely safe. It still might work,” Siby said.

Marie almost believed her.

They spent the rest of the week on the omnitocsil, a good two days longer than even Marie wanted to spend on it. It was clear omnitocsil was too powerful. From their research, they put in their new diluted formula before the memory wipe, and the inhibitors didn’t get very far at all before they were attacked by the omnitocsil. It kept attacking them, proving the memories would remain, but they also couldn’t keep the chemical from destroying everything in its path. They tried prolonging it as much as possible, but they couldn’t stop it, either.

The team sat in the conference room on Friday night, quiet. Siby sat staring at her hands, feeling tired.

“So, report?” Siby asked.

John rubbed his head with a handkerchief and shook his head. “We’ve got it diluted as far as we possibly could, but the results are still showing bad symptoms. Best case scenario, someone is fine for maybe a year or two, then their body begins to break down. Worst case, it happens within months.”

Siby frowned. “And there’s no way to check this?”

Percy shook his head. “We won’t know for sure until we test them in the mice, but the thing is, I don’t feel comfortable trying this out on them. We already know they’re going to die of this before we inject it into them. I don’t feel good about doing that to our mice.”

John nodded. Marie gave a quiet and small one. Siby could only keep this up for so long. She gave a small sigh. “Alright. No point in continuing. Put the chemicals in the fridge until we figure out a way to get rid of them safely.” Siby stood up and gave a stretch. “Let’s get some work in the garden over the weekend and meet up again Monday.”

Marie frowned, staring at the table. She thought this would work. They had toiled on this idea more than any other idea they had, and once again, they’d hit a brick wall. Frustration burned inside her as she stood up and headed out the door.

The team talked quietly as they made their way to the gardens. Marie stayed silent, feeling the familiar sense of loneliness trickle through her mind which unlocked the memories of her dad. It had been almost seven months now since she last saw him. Seven months since she hid in her bedroom to avoid talking with him. Remembering that day brought a familiar ache in her stomach. She wanted so desperately to see him again. She needed to apologize for so many things. She needed to set things right with him. She could only hope he was still alive to do so.

Marie opened the door to the lab and winced when she realized how late she was. The crops were coming in fast, and Marie spent a ton of hours in the gardens over the weekend. So much that on Monday she was halfway to the gardens before she realized it wasn’t the weekend anymore, and she needed to be at the lab.

Siby and Percy were chatting as John sat reading a book. The three of them looked up when she walked in.

“I’m sorry. Lost track of time.” She sat down, giving her teammates a sheepish grin.

“No worries, Marie,” Siby said, straightening some notebooks. “Okay, let’s start off the brainstorming.”

“I’d like to put an idea out there,” Percy said.

“Okay, go for it,” Siby said.

Percy sat up a little straighter. “I think we need an inventor on the team. We’re a bunch of chemists who can only do so much, but an inventor would give us the much-needed creativity in order to get the formula over the wall.”

Siby nodded. “I like that. Do you have anyone in mind?”

“Yes. I got to know these two brothers while gardening, Will and Orv Wright, and they were talking to me about some ideas. They’ve been wanting to figure out how to build airplanes again.”

Marie cocked an eyebrow, impressed. She’d heard stories about crazy awesome inventions from the time before Musical Land. One of them was airplanes, contraptions that could fly in the sky like birds. But anyone who knew how to build one was killed off in the war over forty years ago and the blue prints burned.

“Our trouble is the formula is precious and would be best carried by a person. These brothers, if they get their way, can fly over the wall completely and not even touch the sensors that trigger the knockout gas.”

Siby smiled, impressed. “Well, we should get them on the team immediately! See what can be done!”

Percy nodded. “I’ll get on that.”

Siby leaned back and smiled before it began to flicker. Marie assumed they were thinking the same thing. They wanted to get across the wall, but they didn’t want Josef to. And though she thought airplanes were an awesome, old time invention, they would also be threatening to the people of Musical Land. If an airplane were to fly into Musical Land, the clearing might as well declare war. The familiar twist in her stomach formed.

Marie glanced out the window of her apartment, watching the sky darken and the trees rustle in the early summer breeze. She felt incredibly homesick. She wished her father was here. And her friends. Then they could live quietly in the clearing while Josef and President Arnold duked it out.

No, it would never be that easy. She was starting to think maybe life in Musical Land wasn’t really that bad. Whenever her mind dared to wander that direction, she had flashbacks to the fearful look in Mr. Edison’s eyes whenever she so much as hinted of fighting back against President Arnold. She remembered how her friends and father were in danger. Life was bad in Musical Land, and she needed to stop it. But she also knew Josef wasn’t the answer to that anymore.

“Marie?” Saca asked.

Marie jumped, so engrossed in her homesickness and her thoughts that she forgot she had a roommate.

“Oh, hi. Hi Saca. Everything okay?” Marie asked.

Saca frowned. “I was going to ask you that.”

Marie waved her hand. “Fine. I’m fine.”

How long had Little Sam been in bed for the night? What time was it? Saca sat down next to Maire. “How’s the lab work going?”

Fear trickled through Marie as she thought about her work. “It’ll be fine. We’ve got another plan. It… it shouldn’t be long now.”

A light filled Saca’s face. “That’s incredible! Why don’t you look excited about it?”

The happiness on Saca’s face hurt worse, somehow. Marie covered her head in her hands. “I feel so conflicted, Saca. I started out just wanting to get back to Musical Land to get my dad back. And honestly, I still do. I just want my dad back. I don’t want to start a war.”

The happiness in Saca’s face began to dim.“I know. I think about that with Sam, too. I just want to take my little family and run. Run far.”

Marie nodded. “I’d join you in that run, Saca.”

“But let’s say we get across the wall tomorrow.” Her face turned serious. “What’s your plan to get your dad back? He’s probably either a hobo, or under high security. Do you think going up to their building, knocking on their door, and telling them they need to return him is going to work?”

Marie felt tears burn her eyes. “No.”

There was deep empathy in Saca’s eyes. “Marie, taking a prisoner back from the S.E.A. could trigger the war already. Musical Land is already unstable, with a paranoid leader at its head.”

The twist in Marie’s stomach became worse. Marie forgot which leader she was talking about before she remembered Saca still had no idea. How could Josef fool so many people? How could he have fooled her?

The truth demanded to be set free. Saca was such a good listener, and Marie had no doubt Saca would believe her, but Marie also remembered Siby’s warning. Marie gathered every last ounce of acting skill inside her. “You’re right. Musical Land needs to be stopped. Thanks, Saca. For the chat. I should get to bed.”

Saca gave a smile. “Sleep well, Marie. I know I am.” Her face brightened. “I might be seeing my husband any day now!”

The smile was contagious. Marie knew Saca didn’t often allow herself such thoughts, because it made things harder, but with everything progressing so fast, she very well could.

But her smile faded as she got up and headed to her room. Saca would see her husband, then a war would be declared. Little Sam might still grow up not knowing his father. The very idea twisted her insides so tight that she slid to the ground against the door. A wave of internal pain hit with every thud of her heart. Was no one else in this place terrified of war?

Marie felt the sensation of running without feeling exhausted. She didn’t hear her panting breath or her feet hitting the pavement, she just moved. And it wasn’t fast enough. She needed to get out of Musical Land, but her physical body didn’t have the strength, despite her endless amount of energy.

Somehow she knew she was being chased. A whole group of people were with her now, not only her dad and Sophie, but Albert, Abe, and Billy. Even Mr. Edison was there. They were all running faster than her toward the wall.

“Yes! Go to the clearing! Be safe!” She didn’t say or scream it, but somehow she communicated her intentions to them anyway.

They found themselves at the wall without knowing how they got there. Marie wordlessly urged them to them to climb the ladder and for them to be safe in the clearing. The S.E.A. agents watched them, but for some reason didn’t chase after them. The last person was on the other side of the wall before she began to climb.

The agents finally shouted and started climbing at the base of the ladder when Marie made it to the top. She found herself on the bottom of the other side quite suddenly and felt a darkness enclose her in a sense of security. She took three steps before she saw Josef. He stood there, his back to her, laughing manically. She saw all of them, Sophie, Albert, Abe, Billy, Mr. Edison, and her dad dangling from tree branches, ropes around their necks. They were all dead. As though to taunt her, she saw her dad’s face up close, his neck at a weird angle, eyes sightless. It was less than a millisecond, but it burned into her memory. She began to panic. No, this was a nightmare!

Marie gasped as she shot out of bed, grabbing her hair at its roots and forcing herself to reorient herself through pain.

“Just a nightmare.” She took a steadying breath as some of the details already started fading away. “Just a nightmare. Not real.”

She took another deep breath when her door opened.

“Marie?”

Saca was already at the foot of her bed when Marie shook her head.

“I’m fine, Saca. Just… just a nightmare.”

Saca looked deeply concerned. “This isn’t normal, Marie. Have you told anyone else about these?”

Marie closed her eyes, feeling the chill of the night cool her sweating body. “I’ve told Josef.” Her stomach lurched, and she thought she was going to throw up. “Honestly, Saca. I’m fine. Please, go to sleep. I promise I’ll be okay.”

Saca frowned, looking like she didn’t want to, but got up from the floor. “You will let me know if you need anything, right?”

Marie pulled the covers off her. “Yes. I’m going to drink some water. It’ll help.”

There was a hesitancy in Saca’s movements before she nodded and left the room. Marie got up and went to the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water. She placed the cold glass against her cheek and closed her eyes. The image of her father’s dead face popped back into view and she tore her eyelids open.

“Not real.” Her stomach twisted as her mind couldn’t adequately convince her heart that it was fake. She had no idea what was going on with her father. Either he was locked in the basement of the S.E.A. skyscraper or he was a hobo. Both options weren’t a promising place for good health and a comfortable life. She tried again not to blame herself for his predicament, as Siby often said to her in the beginning months.

Marie drained the glass of water and returned to bed. The nightmares were getting worse. Maybe she should check in at the lab for an hour tomorrow morning. She didn’t want to sleep there if she didn’t have to, especially since she knew Josef was watching her, but if she did an hour or two of work, maybe her subconscious would believe she was doing everything she could for those she left behind in Musical Land.