“Not necessarily. It would depend on the approach the copter took.” We stop in front of a stark metal door boasting a steering-wheel type mechanism. It’s essentially a glorified doorknob, but a lot more complex-looking. This is one knob our Darkwood keys won’t open. “I guess once Gravelle was done raising us on Castor, he moved his operations here, to Pollux, to create and train the Duplicates.”

“Do you think Castor’s empty, then?”

“Maybe.” Levi shrugs, trying to make the wheel turn, but with no luck. We hear voices and footsteps behind us. Panicked, we dart toward some nearby equipment and are about to duck behind it when I realize who’s here. Pippa, Maude, Ansel, Theodora, and Pru. They all look uninjured, even Theodora. With a rush of relief, I run straight to them.

“You got past the guards,” I say. “Where’s Jago?”

I have to yell over the alarm to be heard. It’s a deafening sound.

“Two more guards showed up, and he took one for the team,” Maude shouts back. She gets to work trying to pry open the door. “This must use a combination… Dammit!” she cries out, more rattled than usual. But of course she is; Jago didn’t make it out of that room.

“He’s…” I’m afraid to ask.

“Injected,” Maude informs me.

I let out a breath. Not dead, but indisposed. Stuck in Gravelle’s portal. I’ve been there before; I was there last year. I know how terrifying those simulations can be. And now Jago’s suffering through them.

Theodora explains that Jago took a hit, but the rest of them managed to escape the room. With one Similar fighting two guards each, they made it out, grabbing a gun and shooting one of the guards in the leg.

“Where’s the gun now?” I shout.

“Here.” Ansel holds it up gingerly. I shudder at the sight of the gleaming metal weapon that holds so much destructive power. I know it’s necessary though; if they’re armed, we have to be too. Even with our super strength, we can’t be weaponless. Who knows how many guns the guards have stored up or how long this fight may go on.

“By the way, we’re not on Castor.” Levi starts to explain, but Pippa interrupts him.

“We know already! So this is Pollux?”

There’s no need to confirm, and no time. Ansel and Maude begin pounding on the metal door, shouting Ollie’s name, and my dad’s. Why hadn’t Levi and I thought of that? If Ollie and my dad and the others are inside, maybe there’s a chance they’ll open the door.