They shared what they’d each discovered out in the city streets during the new year’s parade.

Casey hadn’t found out much, but Max had investigated routes out of the city and into the outer-rim. Every day, garbage trucks left the tower-zone to deposit garbage in a dump in the outer-rim. More suspicious was that Max saw Samuel Archer talking with one of the city climbers who escorted the dump truck, which led Max to only one conclusion: whatever Samuel was up to it involved climbers entering the outer-rim surreptitiously through the garbage trucks every day.

“That’s crazy,” said Casey. “What do you think he’s planning?”

“I don’t know,” said Max. “But whatever it is, it can’t be good.”

“So what do you think we should do next?”

“We need to figure out a plan to get out into the outer-rim ourselves and follow those dump trucks,” said Max.

Casey paled and let out a long sigh. “We could go to jail for something like that. We could get expelled from the academy. We could lose our chance to take part in the final exam and—I can’t believe I’m the one to say this—we really should be studying and training for that right now, rather than investigating one of the strongest climbers in all of Zestiris.”

“So you’ll make me go out there on my own?”

Casey groaned. “I guess not, plus I’ve never been out there. I’m both scared and excited to potentially see the wondrous world of the outer-rim.”

Max’s memories of the place rushed back to him.

“Trust me,” he said. “You’re not missing much.”

“Okay, but we still haven’t figured out how we’re going to get out.”

“We’re going to figure that out right now,” said Max, walking back through the crowds of people waiting for the new year’s fireworks to go off.

“How are we going to do that minutes before the new years fireworks?”

“I know one person,” Max said, “who I think might be able to help us and I highly doubt she stopped her normal routine for new year’s celebrations.”

They hurried through the streets of the tower-zone as the new year’s fireworks exploded and flashed in the sky above and headed towards the city’s main library.

Casey was surprised when Max pushed the door open and it wasn’t locked.

It was as Max had expected.

The librarian girl was at her desk, pouring over a book as she usually was.

She didn’t take a day off even on December 31st.

“Oh, excuse me, we’re closed,” she said in a half-whisper. “Oh, it’s you.”

She clearly recognized Max and remembered him from when he was inquiring about books on the endless forest last time he was there.