I feel myself holding my breath as we all join in. Ansel and Pippa grab a nearby table and try ramming it into the door, attempting to knock it down with their excessive strength. But it doesn’t budge. The alarm’s still blaring, threatening to drown out our cries. “We’re here,” we shout, offering reassurance. “Not the guards. It’s us. Maude, Theodora, Ansel, Pippa, Pru, Levi, and Emma!” But with each passing second, a lump forms in my throat. If I was wrong about this, and we’re no closer to rescuing them, and we’ve pissed off Gravelle with our stunt…

That’s when the door wrenches open.

Two guards stand in the entryway, aiming their guns right at us. One’s on his comm device, alerting Gravelle that we’re here.

But I’m not focused on the guards—I’m standing on tiptoe, straining to see around them. And what I do see guts me. Behind them is a truly grim sight.

It is a cage. A cross between a pen, where farm animals are held, and an enclosure that’s part prison, part zoo. It’s dimly lit inside, and there’s something dirty about it, but institutional at the same time. Sleek equipment lines the upper walls, where windows are noticeably absent. There is no natural light in this room at all. I gasp as I take in the full scene in front of me; it’s like nothing I’ve ever witnessed before. Figures lie propped up against the cement-block walls, and a literal cage—like the bars of a jail cell—encloses the entire space.

I scan the faces of the people on the ground in desperation, looking for my loved ones. I see originals, including Jake and Archer, as well as some of the DNA parents. They look lifeless and emaciated. My stomach roils with nausea.

Ollie, is all I can think. Dad. Where is he? Where are they? Where’s Jane?

“Gravelle sent us down here to visit our originals,” Maude sweet talks one of the guards, or tries to, anyway, over the still-blaring sound of the alarm. “He wants us to see exactly why we’re so much better than them. So much stronger and smarter.”

“Lies,” answers a guard, his finger trembling on the trigger of his gun. Before he can press it, Levi kicks the gun out of his grasp and tackles the guard. All hell breaks loose as Theodora, Ansel, and Maude take on the second one.