Eva shut off the tunic before it could finish its report. Her damp palms gripped the Omnipod tightly as she journeyed farther down the hallway. The trio would soon be arriving at the end of the hall—the location of Eva’s secret place. There was nowhere else to go. This was the only path out.

“Muthr?” Eva’s voice was hushed. She kept her eyes down on the Omnipod’s glow.

“Yes, dear,” the robot answered, rolling behind Rovender.

“Um . . . there is something you should know. Something I should have told you.”

“And what is that?” Muthr asked.

“You were right. I’ve been sneaking out of the Sanctuary and into here.”

Muthr was quiet as she slowed down to match Eva’s reluctant pace. They were nearing the halfway point in the corridor.

“And . . . well,” Eva said with a gulp. “I’ve been bringing stuff here, my old stuff, the stuff you told me to get rid of.”

“I know,” Muthr whispered.

“You—you do?” Eva looked up and stopped walking.

Muthr turned to her. “It is all right, Eva,” she said. “You needed your space. Even living in that big, lonely Sanctuary, you still required a place where you felt truly alone. Solitude.”

Eva looked down, processing this. “But if you knew, why wouldn’t you let me go find the kids in the other Sanctuary?”

Muthr put her arm around Eva. She could feel the warmth of the robot’s body permeate her clothing. Muthr’s voice was gentle. “Eva, our Sanctuary told me that the surrounding Sanctuaries, including this Sanctuary up ahead, were nonfunctioning—with a ninety-eight percent chance of non-occupancy. Now, if we enter and there are people present, I will be the first to apologize and tell you how wrong I was in keeping it sealed off. All right?”

Eva nodded, saying nothing more. They continued onward to the end of the hallway.

“Oeeah! I’d say you’ve been bringing things here, Eva Nine,” Rovender exclaimed, shining his lantern light on the accumulated objects that surrounded the door. “This is quite a collection.”

Muthr slipped past him to approach the damaged controls for the door. She lifted up the manual control plate and connected several of the door’s wires to herself. The red and green lights on the control panel flickered on. “Are you ready?” she asked, turning to Eva.

“Is there anything you want to bring with you?” Rovender bent down, examining the altar of possessions. Eva knelt next to him and picked up her stuffed Beeboo doll.

“I gave you that for your third birthday,” Muthr mused. “Do you remember?”

“I do,” Eva said, nuzzling the grungy doll as it winked and smiled at her. As she did so, its wobbly head rolled off, spilling yellowed stuffing out of it. Rovender gasped.