“Paxton has ordered me to bring you to him,” he says. “I don’t know what it’s about, but he says it’s urgent.”

“Can’t it wait until morning?” I start to shut the door, but Gabe plants his foot at the bottom.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “He’s ordered it.”

I take my time getting my shoes and coat, all the while my mind reeling about what this could mean. I look at the clock above the kitchen stove and see that it’s still a couple of hours before dawn.

The cold night air bites at any exposed skin as I follow Gabe across the street to the building labeled Headquarters. The bell jingles at the front door as we walk into a room filled with chairs. It looks like it used to be one of those old-fashioned diners. He leads me up a flight of stairs to the second floor where I see Ethan and Gilbert sitting in front of a large desk. The two of them look as disheveled as I feel. There is an empty chair next to Ethan, and Gabe instructs me to take a seat and wait for Paxton to come down. Once I sit, I turn my head and look at the back of the room. Gabe stands with four other armed guards who never let their eyes leave us.

“What’s going on?” I ask, turning to Ethan and Gilbert.

Gilbert shrugs and Ethan shakes his head. “We know about as much as you. They came and got us a few minutes ago.”

The sound of slow footsteps echoes in the stairwell. I turn back to look through the door and see Paxton staring at the ground as he approaches us.

“What’s this about?” Gilbert says, as Paxton rounds the desk and sits across from us.

“Why don’t you tell me, Gilbert?” Paxton says, staring at the desk. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want to give us eye contact.

“What do you mean? I’ve barely left my apartment the past couple of days.”

“Well, I know that isn’t true,” he says. “For any of you.”

“Some things have gone missing from our storerooms,” Paxton says. His voice is barely above a whisper. “Guns. Food. General supplies.”

“And you think we took them?” Ethan asks. “We don’t even know where your storerooms are.”

A clap of thunder erupts outside.

It’s beginning!

I didn’t think I could possibly conceive of how the vision of Gilbert could come true, but now I start to see it. I sit in silence as my heart slowly pounds. I feel calm but scared. I’ve got to change this somehow.

“It was me,” I blurt out. I don’t know if this is the best way but it’s something.

Paxton finally looks up at me and he looks puzzled. Ethan and Gilbert also look at me with wide eyes.