Molly corrals Marcos and the Beginners into taking a final swig of water from their backpack canteens, and I guzzle the last salty bits from the trail mix Alan shared with me. As I tear open the plastic to lick the remains like a scavenging raccoon, Lacrishia summons me toward the chalk hearts on the wall, the torchlight igniting her flyaway hair with angelic warmth.

“I’m sorry I had to go against you like that,” I say, “but I’m glad you’re in charge.”

“Me too,” Lacrishia says, regarding the cavern wall with melancholy. She caresses my newly drawn CM + MC heart. “He’ll be a great boyfriend, if that’s what you want.” I groan without meaning to. Rebelling against violent zealots somehow feels less of a problem than navigating my optimism over whether Marcos will want anything to do with me after we escape. Lacrishia squeezes my wrist, kindly, as if she knows the detour my heart is currently taking. “He’s sweet, and he’s got eyes for you. He’s private, but…you can push him. You gotta be patient, but you gotta push him—but you gotta be patient.” Lacrishia see-saws her hands in the air as if balancing a scale. “Gonna be a lot of this.”

It’s bizarre that I’ve become the one who has to be patient and push a nervous boyfriend. Ario tried to balance this with me…hopefully, I’ll be more successful. After a tough swallow, I ask the only question that matters: “Is he worth it?”

Mischief sparks in her eyes as she whispers, “You sampled the goods, you tell me.”

“Lacrishia!” A scandalized giggle fit takes us over, but she quickly oscillates back to dire.

“I gotta ask a favor. When we get to the bunker, I need you two boys to go inside for Darcy.”

“Aren’t we all going?”

“The bunker’s too tight. Bill lives there, they use it for storage, there’s cages. Everything is dark and crowded, and I’m a big girl.”

“…Marcos is a bigger boy, though.”

She chuckles, admitting defeat. “There’s no damn room, and to tell the truth, it scares the shit out of me. It triggers the hell out of my claustrophobia, and I’m worried I won’t be able to help her the best.”

“Um…sold.”

“Darcy made me promise that if it was ever between saving her and getting these kids off the island, I’d leave her be and come back for her later, but…I gotta be okay breaking that promise.” Without any need to search, she taps another heart etched into the rock: DC + LS. Darcy Culpepper and Lacrishia Sims—another couple who enjoyed the all-too-brief privacy of the sanctum. Urgency floods her eyes. “We’ve been messing around this camp, gathering evidence, for way too long. It’s time to get her out.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll get her.”