Albert was riding the metro home. He and Billy were chatting about their internship while Poe was staring forward. Despite the crowd in the metro, Poe helped create a nice, comfortable space as people went out of their way to give him the room to brood. Albert and Billy didn’t mind the perks.

“So it’s definitely happening, then?” Albert asked.

Billy nodded. “The Grand Theatre approved it! I’ve been chatting with Mr. Miller from Presley, and we’re drastically changing my sophomore year for this. My playwriting course might just be me spending time at the Grand Theatre.”

Albert frowned. “So, are you skipping a grade for this?”

Billy glanced up at the ceiling of the metro in thought. “Possibly. Very possibly. We haven’t talked about that yet. Bye, Poe!”

Albert hadn’t realized Poe got up to leave for his stop. Billy and Albert waved. Poe barely lifted his hand in acknowledgement, not even looking at them before stepping off the metro.

“Poe always seems so distant,” Albert said.

“Are you kidding? For him that was an extremely sincere wave,” Billy said.

Albert gave Billy a pained look. “Really?”

“You should feel honored.”

Albert chuckled and shook his head. “Right. Well, congratulations. You’ve already got a job at the biggest theater in the city, and you haven’t even graduated high school,” Albert said.

“It certainly is humbling,” Billy said.

“And you don’t suspect anything from it?” Albert asked, glancing around. With Poe gone, people were starting to close in.

Billy gave the smallest hint of a smile. “No. I don’t. I can tell when Walt is trying to get me to reveal something, and this isn’t it. He’s genuinely impressed with my play.” Billy stood up as his station was called. “See you tomorrow, Albert.”

Albert waved. The crowded metro always felt more lonely with his friends gone. It was weird thinking about his friends’ families. They had spent so much time this past year, what with them all living in the same apartment, that he almost forgot they had parents to go home to. He directed his annoyance toward President Arnold, though. That man was trying to keep him and his friends from their parents.

Albert got off at his stop and headed down the street. He didn’t get far from the station when a pair of hands grabbed him and pulled him into the alleyway.

“What-” Albert started to say before he was rammed against the brick wall. “Ow!”

“Shut up,” Adolf said. “I just want to talk.”

Albert instinctively threw Adolf’s hands off him and rubbed the back of his head. “Macbeth, Adolf. You could have just talked to me at the S.E.A. Why are you following me home? Don’t I see you enough at the internship?”

Music started to fill the alleyway, and Albert winced.

“Seriously, Einstein?” Adolf asked with deep anger and annoyance in his voice. “Are we going to have to sing this conversation?”

“I don’t want this any more than you. You started this whole thing,” Albert said quickly before they had to sing.

“Me? Why me?”

“You honestly think grabbing me from a darkened ally after everything you’ve done to me wouldn’t trigger the chip? I thought you were smart enough for the internship.”

Lyrics were syncing up as the opening of the song finished.

“I just wanted to talk,” Adolf said through gritted teeth.

“Well next time you just want to ‘have a chat’, don’t wait for me in a dark alley until I walk by and ram me against the wall!” Albert snapped, getting ready to push Adolf.

Adolf, quicker than Albert would have thought, grabbed Albert’s arm, spun him around and pinned him to the wall. Albert grunted as the grooves of the brick dug into his face.

“Look, I don’t want this any more than you do, but-” the music swelled. Adolf let out an annoyed breath before he started singing. “But I’ve got to make sure you know your place.”

“You don’t know me, you never will,” Albert sang.

“You’re just a bully that wants me to be erased.”

Albert managed to break out of Adolf’s grip, keeping his bully at an arms length.

“I don’t want to spend another minute here,

“So I’ll make this quick and completely clear,” Adolf began to sing.

“This internship is my big break, I’m getting into politics,

“And I don’t want you to ruin it with your back of tricks.”

Albert glared at Adolf.

“My bag of tricks? Are you being serious?

“When your cronies beat me you must have been delirious.

“Stay out of my way, leave me alone.

“You don’t need me for your true colors to be shown.”

Adolf dug a finger into Albert’s chest.

“You will not take my position from me,

“I know that fills you with glee,

“I will be an official in the S.E.A.

“And when it happens, it will be a glorious day.”

Albert shook his head, just wishing this song would end.

“I think it’s clear that neither one of us want to cross paths,

“You want your goal, and I don’t want your wrath,

“So let’s part ways, promising to leave each other alone,

“Even though your actions I do not condone.”

The song faded away as Adolf glared at Albert. “I am not a deranged individual. You got what you deserved last year.”

Albert straightened, trying not to give away how scared he was of Adolf. “You honestly believe that?”

Adolf narrowed his eyes. “I do. And as long as you don’t bother me this summer, I won’t bother you.”

“Fine,” Albert said, feeling sick to his stomach.

Adolf turned to leave, and Albert tried to force his mind to forget this ever happened. He should stop Adolf, because his bully from school was the kind of person he did not want in any sort of position over other people, but he had no doubt Adolf would tear Albert apart if he tried.

Albert crossed a few more streets before he got to his apartment. He opened the door and walked into the stairwell, going up the stairs to the top floor before unlocking the door and walking inside.

“Albert! Come in! How was your day?” he heard his mother’s chipper voice call out.

“It was fine,” Albert called back as he finished taking off his shoes. He shook his head, hoping that would help dispel the awkward encounter with Adolf as he rubbed the back of his head. “Everything’s fine.”

***

Tom opened the door to the room he and Marie’s dad shared. Marie glanced up to see him awkwardly walking with crutches before holding the door open so Marie’s dad could pull out a makeshift invention. It looked like a bulky treadmill, but there was no electric cord.

“What’s this?” Marie asked.

“Alice and Charles want me to exercise too,” Tom said. “So I made this to help both of us keep moving in this place.”

The embarrassment was there, but Marie figured the others would find out. This basement was so cramped she didn’t expect secrets to stay secret for long. Marie’s dad set it up in the corner, and Marie walked over to look over it better.

“How does it work?” Marie asked.

“These will move as you move your feet across,” Tom said as he got on it, holding onto the bar and stepping on the thick circular rolls beneath. There was a squeak as the rollers started slowly spinning, moving Tom’s foot down the length of it. “It’s not the prettiest contraption, but it’ll do its job.”

“Thank you,” Marie said, not sure what else to say.

They heard a clunk and instinctively looked up to see the trap door open. Marie’s heart started to pound, going over the schedule, trying to remember who was expected today. Was anyone expected today? She let out a breath when Charles climbed down the ladder.

“We didn’t expect you today,” Marie’s dad said, clearly feeling the same as Marie.

“Yes, sorry. Stopping by before I head to work. I brought you a few more supplies.” Charles pulled out some vials filled with something. Marie’s dad took them, cradling them in his hand.

Sophie opened the door to their shared room and stuck her head out.

“Is everything okay?” Marie asked.

“I found Nik.” The lack of emotion on Charles’ face made it difficult for Marie to interpret what exactly that meant.

Tom glanced up, his eyebrows raised. “And?”

Charles let out a sigh. “He is hiding among the hobos. He also assured me he isn’t afraid of what President Arnold could do to him. He then… um,” Charles’ eyes flitted to Marie’s, then jumped over to Sophie’s who was still watching curiously. “He started talking about some of his theories of being able to stop the electricity traveling through the human body with the right instruments. I think… I think he’s implying he could literally drop someone dead with a touch. We, um, we didn’t have much else to talk about after that.”

Marie couldn’t help but suppress a shiver. Tom made a grunting sound. “Typical,” was all he said as he made his way back to his shared room.

“Pretty sure the guy doesn’t need our help to protect him if he has something like that,” Charles said.

Sophie closed the door quietly. Charles turned to Marie. “How was this morning?”

Marie dropped her gaze. “Worse. It’s getting harder to get out of bed. But I think this might help.” Marie pointed to the contraption behind her.

Charles seemed to notice it for the first time. “Ah. Yes, this looks great.” Charles checked his watch. “I need to get to work. Any more supplies?” Charles looked at Marie’s dad when he asked this.

He shook his head. “I have what I need. Just running more tests.”

Charles nodded, then gave a final look at the contraption. “Alright. I’ll see you all Friday for our meeting.”

They nodded as Charles quickly went back up the same way he came.

***

Abe sat on the couch of his somewhat newly built apartment. Somewhat, because this clearing was built on a small town from during the war. He could see where they kept the old walls, and where they added new ones from when it was bombed. It was a juxtaposition of old and new, thrown together by a group who found themselves desperate for survival.

The little town seemed to be thriving well. The town had about five hundred inhabitants, and about three hundred of them came almost at once last winter. Everyone had stories about how rough and uncertain the winter was, but now with plenty of crops and more people to shoulder the weight of responsibilities, Abe could honestly see this little town turning into a vibrant place to live. That is, if Josef wasn’t such a terrifying dictator.

Someone rapped softly on the door of his apartment. A jolt of panic tightened Abe’s chest as he slowly got up. He wasn’t expecting anyone tonight, and he hadn’t gone out on a walk since his encounter with Josef.

He opened the door a crack to see Sam on the other side, giving Abe a huge smile.

“Abe! I have news!” Sam said.

Abe opened the door a little wider, then glanced around his apartment. The safe house had cameras, was it possible Josef put cameras in his apartment, too? Surely he would have seen them by now. He had spotted the cameras in the safehouse, and so far he hadn’t seen anything like them in his apartment.

“Could we talk outside?” Abe asked.

Sam gave a slight frown and glanced around. “I’m not sure it’s safe.”

Abe again studied the corners of his apartment. “Is inside safe?”

“Probably better than outside,” Sam said as he made his way into Abe’s apartment. Abe closed the door, giving one final look at the walls before focusing his attention on Sam.

“Is there… are we…” Abe rubbed his head as he tried to find the words. His voice dropped to be as quiet as possible. “Would Josef bug someone’s house?”

Sam frowned as he glanced around again. He then motioned Abe over to the kitchen. He turned on the sink at full power and dropped some clean dishes in the sink before grabbing Abe and pulling him as close as possible. He began scrubbing the plate with a brush, then leaned close to Abe’s ear. “I’ve been working my way through the people in the clearing. I haven’t reached everyone, but I’ve got a group of ten people at least who are unsatisfied with Josef. Do you have anyone?”

Something inside Abe deflated. He was too busy trying to shake off Josef’s suspicion to do any sort of recruiting. “No.”

“That’s fine.” Sam’s voice dropped even lower despite the sink and the scrubbing. “I’m planning a meeting tomorrow night to talk more in detail to those who are unsatisfied. If those people can in turn get more people to come, I’m almost positive we can get most of the clearing to turn against Josef in a matter of weeks. I want you there to help them understand who Josef is.”

Abe frowned, starting to feel lightheaded. “Sam, I…”

Sam looked concerned. “What is it?”

At this point, Abe knew this was some sort of paranoia that made him glance at any possible place that could hide a camera before he turned back to Sam. “Has Josef shown any suspicion of you at all?”

Sam shook his head. “None.” His face dropped for a moment. “Why? What’s going on?”

Abe quietly told Sam about everything Josef has said to Abe. Sam listened, then rubbed his chin before resuming his scrubbing.

“This isn’t good,” Sam said. “He suspects you.”

“I swear I haven’t been doing anything suspicious. I’m just…” Abe struggled to find the words.

“Being yourself,” Sam finished. A feeling of defeat hit Abe’s chest. The plate was practically pristine now. “How comfortable are you in carrying the brunt of Josef’s suspicion?”

Abe frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean things were going a bit easy with this. Almost too easy. I was worried it might be because Josef is placing a mole in the group, but maybe it’s because he is more suspicious of you than of me.”

Abe winced. “I wouldn’t put it past Josef to also stick a mole in your group, though.”

Sam put the plate to the side and picked up a pot. The scrubbing sounded more like scratching, but it was better than nothing. “I’m still fully aware of that possibility. But maybe we can use this to our advantage. Josef doesn’t trust you, and you don’t trust him. The closer he is to you, the closer you are to him, and you can see if Josef has any spies or favorites among the clearing.”

Abe realized what he meant. “Right. Okay, so maybe I don’t try to bring others to your group. Maybe I will figure out who Josef’s supporters are.”

Sam took a deep breath then let it out. “Are you okay with that?”

Abe hesitated before giving a nod. “I will do as much as I can. I have a feeling I won’t be able to do this long before…” Abe couldn’t make himself say it. Marie had warned him about the sick, twisted leader who enjoyed torturing people in his “workshop.”

“I completely trust your judgement. If you feel this is too much, you can…” Sam trailed off, and Abe knew what Sam was going to say. If he felt unsafe, he could return to Musical Land. But he couldn’t, because he was dead there. Going back would put Albert, Billy, and Edgar in danger. The truth of it settled on Abe. He couldn’t go anywhere.

“If you don’t want to agree to this, you can-”

“No,” Abe said, cutting Sam off. “I knew what I signed up for when I volunteered to come here. We’ve got to take the power from both President Arnold and Josef. We’ve got to keep going until we achieve that.”

Sam gave a slow, sad nod. “Okay. I still believe it will take a couple weeks before we get enough people to stand up to Josef and his supporters. Do you think you can hold out for that long?”

Abe tried not to imagine even one more day of feeling the brunt of Josef’s paranoia, but he gave a determined nod. “I can do it.”

Sam gave him a pat on the back. “I know you can.” He set down the scrubber and turned off the sink.