Michaela raised her gaze to the shredded isolation tent. Saw blood smears on the slashed plastic, glanced back down to the scalpel that lay in Anna’s blood. Noticed the child’s footprints under her feet as they headed out the doorway and into the hall.

“They killed Anna to steal Toni?” Kevina sounded on the verge of hysteria. “Who’d do this?”

“No one stole him!” Michaela snapped, fighting for control. “Look at the fucking tracks! Barefoot. A big child’s and a small one’s. Toni walked out of here with one of the other children.”

“He was comatose!” Mikoru had her fists knotted. “How could he?”

“You’re saying one of the children killed Anna?” Kevina’s eyes were slitted. “Don’t you dare blame this on Felix!”

“He’s not in his room,” Casey declared hotly as she came pounding down the hall. “Someone let him out.”

“Leave my son out of this.” Kevina turned on the woman, started forward, hands out like claws, as if to rip Casey’s eyes out.

“Hey! Stop it!” Michaela thrust herself between them. “Felix and Sheena are downstairs. The Underwater Bay is flooded, the pressure hatch was opened. The slime is pooling in the tube. Felix has a hatchet. And I don’t fucking know how they got there! Think, damn it, this is all crazy!”

Yosh and Odinga came at a trot from where the rest of the children had been left, both looking worried.

“Felicity and Sheena are missing,” Yosh announced. “Tomaya says the Song told them to ‘set their friends free.’ Whatever that means. And, it’s like, well, the other kids have been drugged. They’re listless, half-comatose, those swellings on their throats are worse, and I’d swear they’re turning green. Maybe Anna gave them something for their swollen . . .”

“Anna’s dead!” Mikoru shrilled. “Someone stole our son, damn you. We have to find him.”

“Who stole Toni?” Yosh demanded, his face working. “What do you mean, Anna’s—”

“Whoever stole Toni murdered her, you simple fool!”

Michaela raised her good hand, calling, “Hey, ease down. We’ll find Toni. He walked out of here. Look, Mikoru. Look at the goddamned footprints. I tell you, those are Toni’s. He was in here, and he walked out.”

Michaela pushed past the trembling woman, pointing. “Then he walked down the hall with someone else. A girl, I’m betting. They were both barefoot.”

Michaela led the way, pointing out track after track, as they got fainter. All but the girl’s. Her right foot left a splotch of blood with each step. Right to the com center where . . .

In the doorway, Michaela stopped short, took in the damage, and sagged. “This can’t be true.”

Yosh shoved in beside her, broke out in a string of cursing the likes of which Michaela had never heard him utter.