“Closet!” Ethan whispered, pointing frantically to a door across the room.

Maisie dove around the piles of electronics and jumped into the closet with Lennon. Boxes were piled high here too, and they had to squeeze together next to them.

Lennon pulled the door shut. She held her breath.

“Ethan.” The woman’s voice was much closer now, and full of disappointment. She was in the room.

“Hi, Mom. What are you doing up? It’s the middle of the night.”

“It’s almost eight.”

“Oh. Really? Wow. I guess that’s why it’s light outside, huh?” He laughed nervously.

Lennon shifted, and Maisie felt his hand on her arm, near her elbow. They were so close she could feel the heat of him.

“Who were you talking to?” Ethan’s mom asked.

“Myself,” Ethan said. “And the computer.”

“Did you stay in here all night again? I’ve told you that I don’t want you outside the compound all night.”

“I, uh—I lost track of time.”

“Maybe you should do something besides stare at that screen all damn day and night.” She sighed. “At least come make yourself useful.”

“What?”

“I’ve got to run to the market before they open, but the truck won’t start again. Come help me get it going.”

“The market? That’s a great idea!” he said, too enthusiastically. He was clearly thrilled that his mom would be safely away from the compound.

There was a short pause. “Do you want to come?”

“No! No. Thank you. I just, you know…we need food?”

“Ethan, just come help me. And seriously, hon, you should leave this room occasionally. You’re getting weird.”

“Right. Sorry.”

Maisie listened as footsteps shuffled out of the room and faded away.

“So do we stay in this closet or…” Lennon whispered.

“Let’s just wait another couple seconds to make sure she doesn’t come back right away.”

His hand was still on her arm, and she barely had to reach out to touch his chest.

“Maisie,” he said quietly.

“Yeah?” She could barely see the outline of him from the light filtering in around the sides of the door.

“I didn’t consider how bad it would be if I didn’t make it to the gate.”

“Are you losing faith? I know we’re cutting it close, but it’s just on the other side of the compound. It should only take a few minutes to get there once we’re inside.”

“No, I’m not, it’s just…” He pushed open the closet door a crack and looked around. “I think we’re in the clear.”

She dropped her hand from his chest and stepped out. She walked over to the computer, but the screens were blank now. Ethan must have hidden the images when his mom walked in.

“It’s just, when I insisted that we make that video, I wasn’t thinking about you guys in here,” Lennon said.

“I’m aware, Lennon.”

His face fell. “You are?”

She gestured at the computers. “It seemed voice-activated, right? Hopefully it’s not programmed only for Ethan’s voice.” She leaned a little closer. “Cameras two and seven.” They appeared onscreen. She called up the rest of them, and then glanced at Lennon. “You were sort of thinking of us. It’s true that they needed reassurance out there that you were okay.”