"I'm not sure. Depends."

"On what?"

"On how good you are." I went over and tickled him until he bent over laughing, begging me to stop.

"Should we bring the water bottles?" Florina asked.

I shook my head. She raised her brows. "Sure?"

"Okay, just in case."

We all packed quietly, looking at our few possessions. Florina stood with her hands on her hips, no doubt wondering if her memories were worth the weight. Then she picked up something that caught my eye. It was a drawing of her, taped to cardboard.

I knew who had drawn it.

I turned away before she could notice. There was a moment, a frozen moment, but then I pulled myself back from falling into the abyss called pity. It was a place I refused to go.

The three of us went downstairs with our bags. Two younger Starters were leaning on the car. I waved them away, looked around to make sure no one else was hovering, and then opened the trunk.

"A car?" Tyler shouted.

I put my finger to my lips. I wanted to get out of there without having to dodge unfriendlies. I'd brought Emma's car, the least flashy one.

"Where did you get this?" Florina asked.

"Can you really drive it?" Tyler asked.

I closed the trunk and rushed everyone inside.

"Work loaned it to me," I said, after I locked the doors.

"Wow, that place is pretty cool," Tyler said.

As the seat belts whirred over their shoulders, both of them oohed and aahed at the interior. Even though this was Helena's least ostentatious car, it was still state-of-the-art. From the backseat, Tyler pressed every button he could reach.

"What's this do?" he asked, pressing a button on the door.

"It would open the door, but I have the childproof lock on," I said, looking at him through the rearview mirror. "Because we clearly have a child in the vehicle." I stuck out my tongue at him, and he responded in kind.

"Copycat," I said.

"Monkey-Face," he said.

I started the engine and pulled out.

"Look. Monkey's driving!" Tyler said.

At the hotel, Tyler and Florina stared at the luxurious lobby and its gigantic floral display. Helena hadn't let us down: she had led us to a top-notch hotel. The desk clerk looked at us strangely: all minors, one apparently rich, accompanied by two urchins with ratty baggage. But I asked for the manager, a woman Helena knew, and everything was easy. I showed her my ID with the name "Callie Winterhill," explaining I was Helena's grandniece. She was happy to take my cash and gave us a room on the fifteenth floor.

When I opened the door, Tyler's jaw dropped. It had been a long time since he'd been in a room this plush. It was huge, with two queen beds and a couch that opened to a third bed.

"Michael can have the couch," Tyler said. " 'Cause he's not here to claim a bed."

Florina and I traded a look. "If he shows up," she said under her breath.

Tyler went for a jar of nuts on a table. "Nuts."

"There's more than that. Look." I opened the minibar.

"Wow!" he said, grabbing a Supertruffle.

Florina came over and I handed her a bag of chips and a soda. She guzzled the soda and tore into the chips.

"I call the bed by the window," Tyler said, chewing the candy.

I held him back. "Just a minute, buddy. Bath first."

"With bubbles!" he said.

After he had his bath, Florina took a long shower. Tyler looked so thin in his underwear, it frightened me. I pulled back the clean white duvet and tucked him in.

"It's so soft, I'm going to float away," he said.

"You stay right here," I said, pinching his nose.

Seeing his little head against those fluffy pillows brought back memories of us being kids again, in our own rooms, in our own beds, with cowboy lamps and stuffed animals and parents who came in and kissed us goodnight.

It was a world that I'd long since left, but maybe Tyler still had a chance to return there. I felt a hole in my heart. I couldn't hold back the tears that followed.

"Hey, Callie. This is a good thing."

He took my hand. His was so bony.

"Really good," I said.

Leaving was harder than I had expected. I hoped to see Tyler again soon. And then no more leaving. If Helena kept her promise to pay me and give me a house, then my brother and I would be a family together again. I'd find him a good doctor and he'd get better every day. I always pictured Michael joining us, but maybe he wouldn't, now that he and Florina were close. It didn't seem fair. I'd taken off to earn money. Michael and I hadn't had a chance to see where our relationship could go yet.

Since Blake was probably lost to me forever, the thought of losing Michael as well was impossible to accept.

I gave Florina enough money for three nights at the hotel, and extra to cover room service. I snuck some money into Tyler's bag as well. He wanted me to stay longer, but I was aware of the clock ticking away and Helena needing my help. I was able to leave without a scene when Tyler conked out from an overload of food from the minibar raid.

As I waited out front for the hotel valet, Helena came back into my head and planned our next move.

I need you to go talk to a girl who may have some information about Emma.

"Where is she?"

Someplace you're not going to want to go.

My mind went through an inventory of bad places. A rough neighborhood? They were all rough now. She certainly wouldn't send me to the body bank; she'd begged me not to go there before.

"I give up. Where?"

Institution 37.

I felt a hitch in my breathing. I leaned back against the wall.

"Could I pick hell instead?"

I know. The institutions are horrible-prisons, really. I visited many, looking for Emma. I found out about this girl, Sara, who knows something. But the day I went, she was out on work detail.

"I can't. I can't go there. I could meet her outside, anywhere. Just not there."

No. If we did that, she'd have to have an escort. She wouldn't be free to talk.

My palms were wet. I wiped them on my pants.

You'll be all right. We'll go home first and get some clothes to donate. You're going to drive up in a nice car, well dressed and groomed. They'll treat you like any wealthy claimed minor.

This wasn't just someplace I didn't want to go. It was my worst nightmare. I sighed.

It will be all right, Callie. Just remember who you are-Callie Winterhill.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

I stood across the street, staring at the gates to Institution 37. I wanted to be anywhere else on the planet. Anywhere. It killed me to think I could be back in that fancy hotel with my brother and Florina.

Callie, why are you just standing there?

"You sure this is going to be safe?"

Face it, you're not safe anywhere at this point. But you're probably safest in there, because no one can get to you.

"That's so reassuring."

I had left the necklace at Helena's. She didn't want to use it too much for fear the body bank might notice my chip wasn't tracking. I crossed the street, balancing two shopping bags of designer clothes, many with the tags still on them. They came from Helena's closet, new pieces bought for Emma, never worn. Helena couldn't bear to give away the clothes her granddaughter had worn, even though she was never coming back.

A high gray wall surrounded the compound. I stood at the gate and spoke to the guard through a dirty metal screen.

"I'm Callie Winterhill," I said. "I called about donating."

The Ender guard scanned a list until he found my name. He pushed a button and the gate made a loud click before it opened. I froze. My feet wouldn't move.

Go!

I needed that nudge. I took a breath and entered. The gate closed behind me with a slam, metal hitting metal so hard it hurt my teeth. The road led directly to the administration building in front of me, with its dark gray walls. Back before the war, when there were public schools with admin buildings, they were never this frightening.

"Lovely," I said under my breath.

I walked down the path alongside the road. I slowed my steps, taking my time.

Don't go all the way. Turn right there.

Relieved, I followed Helena's instructions, heading toward the dormitory buildings, which had bars on every window.

"But won't they be expecting me? Back in the main office?" I asked Helena quietly.

Yes. But we have to find Sara first. I was told she's in this first dormitory building. Hurry, before someone stops you.

I climbed a few steps and pushed open the heavy doors. Inside, there were two hallways joined by a short corridor. A sour smell overwhelmed me. The paint was peeling, flecks of it littering the bare concrete floor.

"Now what?" I whispered.

Go down the first hallway.

I turned to the right and looked in the first door. Sixteen metal bunk beds were crammed into a gray room. An open wooden box was by each bed, holding a few meager belongings: a frayed hairbrush, a worn book. It reminded me of pictures of army barracks, with sad olive blankets drooping over the foot of each bed. Only this was worse, because these kids had no family to return to someday.

Everything they had was in those little boxes.

"No one's here."

Keep going.

I passed several rooms, all empty. I had come to the end of the hall and was ready to give up when I saw feet sticking out from under a bed.

I leaned down. A girl was lying on the floor, trying to hide. "Hello," I said.

She scooted backward, away from me.

"It's all right." I went closer. "I've brought some nice clothes."

I straightened up and waited.

"Clothes?" Her voice came from under the bed.

"Beautiful clothes. Pants and skirts and sweaters." I put down the bag and pulled out a sweater. "Here's a pink cashmere one."

"Cashmere?"

She crawled out and stood up. She looked about twelve, with a pretty face and a little gap between her teeth. Her uniform, a frayed white shirt and black pants, hung loosely on her bony figure. Her gauntness was typical for an unclaimed minor, but she wasn't living on the street anymore. It was clear they weren't overfeeding the kids.

Ask her what her name is.