Logan waited for me by the heating vent near his bunk.

“What about your Pop Cop?” I asked.

“He thinks I’m sleeping.” Logan grunted as he squeezed into the vent.

I led him to Domotor’s room. It had been over a hundred hours since I’d been there and I hoped he was well.

Slumped on the couch, Domotor’s drawn face relaxed a bit when he saw me sliding from the vent after Logan.

“Where have you been? What’s going on? I’m a wreck, jumping at every noise.”

Dark smudges under his eyes stood out in contrast to his pale face. His uncombed hair hung in greasy clumps. An overripe smell emanated from his body.

He noticed my expression. “I didn’t want to be caught in the shower. I do have my dignity.”

“Not to worry,” Logan said. “I covered your computer trail just in time.” He aimed for the computer and pulled a chair close to the keyboard. “Trella, what are the passwords?”

For a moment, I felt as if he talked to another person and I didn’t respond.

“Passwords?”

As if waking from a dream, I cleared my head and repeated the ones we had figured out. “We still have three unanswered, but at least we’ll get some information.”

“What about the teeth one?” Logan asked.

“Forty-one.”

“I’ll plug in the others first and see what happens.”

Domotor struggled into his chair and wheeled it over to watch Logan. The images and numbers on the screen meant nothing to me. Trusting Logan would extract the needed data, I checked Domotor’s food supplies. Low. He would need more and soon. With so many RATSS I doubted the kitchen scrubs would risk discovery by filling the air shaft again.

Perhaps I could raid the pantry when everyone attended the hundred-hour assembly. But I remembered I would either be in LC Karla’s custody by then or perhaps I would be Outside. The strange thought of being somewhere else kept slipping away. With nothing to compare to, I couldn’t even imagine it. To me, Outside resembled Inside with no Pop Cops and with more space.

I planned to touch base with Riley, and coordinate the opening of Gateway during hour ninety-seven. But first, I needed to uncover it.

After cleaning Domotor’s washroom and bedroom as best as I could, I joined them. Huddled over the keyboard, Logan’s eyes were lit with a childlike glee and even Domotor seemed thrilled. They turned to me with identical grins.

“What?”

“We know,” Logan said.

“Outside. Look.” Domotor pointed to the screen.

My stomach boiled as I peered at the image. Green and blue jumped out, but I blinked and the details became clearer.

“It’s like hydroponics,” Logan said. “But the plants are huge and the sheep’s special grass is all over the place. Look at the ceiling, it’s blue and goes on forever.”

“Does anyone live there?” I asked.

“I don’t quite know. The text states numbers and details for things like breathable air mixture, compatible food source, mineral deposits, drinkable ground water and something called wildlife. Which, as far as I could tell, are animals without any real intelligence.”