The isolation tent had been sliced into ribbons, and Felix could see Toni, his eyes blinking, sitting inside the ruin of slashed plastic.

Both Sheena and Felicity had that blank look in their eyes. Like they’d gone away. Neither moving except to breathe. He remembered how he had felt as he stood over Bill Martin’s body. The Voice was probably telling them that it had to be done, as it had once told him.

Felicity, still blank-eyed, walked into the room, heedless of the broken glass, and reached around behind Gabarron’s body. She gripped the ax handle with her bloody hands and wrenched it loose from the dead woman’s spine. Then she turned and walked vacant-eyed to the hallway, stopped, and stood there.

From the remains of the isolation tent, Toni watched the entire event with large, dark eyes. He kept doing weird things with his face, twitching his lips, baring his teeth, scrunching his eyes. And he was making intricate gestures with his arms and hands. Felix caught a glimpse of the boy’s throat, and finally got a good look. Tony had red slits at the base of his neck and over each delicate collarbone. His skin was a peculiar shade of green, as if he’d been dipped in dye.

The girls in the hallway stood there. Like they’d just turned off.

“Hey! Hello.” Felix waved his hands in front of Sheena’s and then Felicity’s eyes. Neither reacted until he pushed Sheena, and she bumped Felicity.

“What are you doing?” Sheena asked, blinking, as if realizing where she was.

Felicity stared stupidly down at the ax where the blade still dripped blood. She seemed surprised to see it, confused even.

“Where did you get that?” Felix asked. “Was it in the clinic?”

“Mother’s lab,” Sheena said absently. “It’s for chopping bones and stuff. Backbone. Spinal column. Vital and armored.” Her eyes seemed to drift emptily. “The ax is for when we get to the com.”

Felicity started forward, heedless of the bloody prints she left with her right foot.

Felix figured she must have cut it on some of the broken glass.

“What about Toni?” he called as Sheena started after Felicity.

“He’s fine.” Sheena told him. “He’s all new.”

“Can he get down?”

“When he’s ready,” Felicity called back. “You coming?”

Felix hurried after the girls, followed them into the com center. The various monitors were showing views of the landing pad, the deck, the cafeteria where the adults were all seated at the front table, Michaela at the head. Looked like the grownups were as serious as ever.

Felix did a double take when he saw the Underwater Bay in one of the monitors. The entire floor, the sub, the UUVs, and most of the workbenches were covered with algae. When had that happened?