Marie spent the week trying to relax. The first few days were hard, but toward the end of the week, she found herself sleeping better. She split her time between getting the ground in the gardens ready, helping out in the green houses, and tending Little Sam while Saca used the time to do what she needed.

In the winter, when there was an influx of refugees, Josef asked for people to get roommates so they could have more room in their run-down city for refugees. Sacajawea was not the first on many girls’ lists for a roommate because she had an eighteen-month-old son, but Marie volunteered. Marie figured she spent most of her time at the lab anyway, and Little Sam slept solidly through the night now. In fact, it was usually Marie that Saca needed to get up in the middle of the night to comfort. Not often, but enough for it to be extremely embarrassing. Saca was married to Sam Morse, one of the members in the underground still in Musical Land. Saca talked about how Sam had a great job at the S.E.A.’s art museum, which was why they still needed him in Musical Land as long as possible to get intel. Saca and her baby had to flee when Little Sam was only two months old.

On Friday night, Marie played with Little Sam while Saca was doing some cleaning in the apartment. Marie was running and chasing Little Sam. He shrieked with joy every time Marie grabbed him around his middle and gave him a tickle. The shrieks were so loud Marie almost didn’t hear the knock on the door. Saca opened the door and Percy stood there with a stack of notebooks.

Saca smiled. “Why hello Percy! Is it that time already?”

“Seven o’clock!” Percy returned the smile then turned toward Marie. “Are you ready?”

“Always!” Marie answered.

Saca scooped up Little Sam. “Thank you, Marie. You have fun!”

“We’ll try not to be too loud,” Marie said, knowing Saca was going to try and put Little Sam to sleep within the next hour.

“You brought more notebooks than usual,” Marie said to Percy as he situated himself at the chipped table.

“Yes. Siby wanted me to give these to you. They’re a compilation of the notes we’ve made so far of how to get the cure over the wall.”

Marie took the stack, which was quite heavy. “Wow. I didn’t realize we collected these many notes.”

Percy laughed. “Me neither. This is only part of it. She’s giving us all a portion to go over and we can start more brainstorming Monday. Now, I got your message about kinetic theory, and I think I have just the thing.”

Percy Julian was one of the first people to truly befriend Marie and take her under his wing. They had been placed on the same team. When they started out, he noticed Marie struggling to keep up with the more advanced chemistry they were using to crack the formula. But he also saw the gift she had, so he volunteered to teach her, since Marie’s schooling was vastly below what it should. She soaked in everything he taught her. He was the main reason Marie felt like she could at least contribute to the team. He was an older man, with a wife and two kids in the clearing with him, and Marie felt just as welcomed there as anywhere. She was indebted to Percy a hundred times over for his outreach and his schooling he had given her. They spent hours going over advanced chemistry terms and concepts. Sometimes they had gone to the lab to practice, other times they just sat and talked. Marie felt like it was a way for her to truly relax.

The hour came and went far too quickly, and soon Percy had stood up. “I best get back. My kids will be going to bed soon, and I better help my wife.”

“Alright, thank you again, Percy!” Marie said.

Percy zipped his jacket before he waved and closed the door quietly behind him. Saca came down the stairs and noticed the stack of notebooks on the table. “What do you have there?”

“Notes to study before I go back to the lab Monday,” Marie said.

“That week went by fast! I’ve appreciated your help here,” Saca said. “Though I’m excited for you all to start up again. Your team is doing the most important work other than basic survival in this town.”

Marie gave a sad smile as she watched Saca sit down and glance out the window. There were a few completed families, like Percy’s, who were lucky enough to all escape together. But there were others, like Saca, like way too many others, who had all left someone behind in Musical Land.

Marie dived into the notebooks, energized from the chat she had with Percy. She felt so refreshed after a week of not focusing on their work, but it didn’t take long for the exhaustion to settle back into place as she looked over the chemical formulas and the ideas that brought about dead ends. It was so frustrating. They were close to something. Almost like she could reach out and touch it, but a certain something was in the way. She had to identify what was in her way before she could move on.

Saca had long since gone to bed when Marie shut the third notebook and moved onto the fourth. What she expected when she opened it was more notes on chemical reactions, but instead she saw a drawing of a baby.

It shocked her so much, she just stared at the picture for a whole minute. It was a beautiful drawing of a child, forever captured. The baby looked so real; Marie was afraid to touch it.

She turned another page and saw the baby again, possibly a few weeks older. He had the largest grin on his face, and Marie could almost hear the baby’s laughter. Who was this baby?

Page after page, she watched this baby grow. After the first few pages, she saw a woman with the baby. The woman’s long dark hair covered most of her face as it tickled the baby, but it didn’t take long for Marie to recognize the woman was Saca. Marie realized the baby was Little Sam. But who drew these pictures? They were incredible! It seemed like every major moment of the child’s life was documented, from the smiles, to the teeth, to crawling, to standing on unsteady legs, to even walking into Saca’s arms. She turned the page and saw Little Sam sleeping so peacefully in his mother’s arms that Marie felt something stir in her soul.

“Saca! Marie!” She heard Siby’s urgent but quiet voice at the door. Marie got up, notebook in hand, as she opened the door.

“Siby?” she asked.

Siby’s eyes fell on the open notebook, then shot back to Marie. There was a fear in Siby’s eyes that Marie had never seen before. Siby entered the apartment and closed the door, peeking out the window before turning back to Marie.

“You weren’t supposed to find that,” she whispered, pointing to the notebook.

Marie cocked her head to one side. “Did you draw these?”

Siby bit her lip, then nodded, extending her hand toward Marie. “And I need it back.”

“These are beautiful!” Marie said.

“Thanks. Give it back.”

The quick retort threw Marie off guard. “What’s going on?”

“You already know Josef’s rule about anything to do with the arts,” Siby said.

Marie frowned. Josef had made it quite clear that the arts were not welcome in this clearing, but she’d never given it much more thought. Probably because it wasn’t too hard for her to follow that rule.

The drawing of Little Sam biting his plate with food smeared all over his face caught Marie’s attention. “Does Saca know you draw these?”

Siby nodded. “She was the one who asked me. I don’t often draw humans, since I deal mostly in plants and insects, but it’s worked out. Saca’s husband will often draw pictures of himself so his son won’t forget what he looks like. He always sends them in the letters the refugees bring over. But Saca wanted Sam to see his son growing up, so she asked me to draw him every few weeks as a gift to Sam when they’re reunited.”

“That is so sweet!” Marie said.

“Yes, sweet. And incredibly dangerous,” Siby said. “Not even Saca knows how dangerous it is.” Siby glanced down the hall to Saca’s room. The door was shut, which most likely meant she and Little Sam were fast asleep.

Something tugged at Marie’s heart. “This is sentimental. Surely Josef would make an exception for this.”

The fear that never left Siby’s eyes intensified. “It wouldn’t make a difference to him.”

“What?” Marie shook her head. “Josef is a reasonable man! He’d see why this was important.”

Siby said nothing for a few seconds, only stared at Marie. She broke eye contact and rubbed her forehead.

“You don’t know the real Josef,” Siby said. “You’re so incredible at science, and have little desire for the arts, but…”

A coldness kept Marie rooted at the spot. “But what?”

Siby still refused to say anything, instead studying her face closely. The longer the silence lasted, the more annoyed Marie got.

“Come on, Siby. I told you everything I experienced in Musical Land. Don’t you think I can handle this?”

Siby swallowed. “If artistic people were creative enough to find a way to oppress the scientists, then Josef wants nothing to do with them. He’s doing the exact same thing to artistic people as President Arnold does to scientists and mathematicians.”

A little laugh escaped Marie. “Except Josef would never use means like brainwashing and whatever else happens in the basement of the S.E.A. to force artistic people to become more like scientists.” The smile on Marie’s face quickly dropped when Siby turned a shade paler. “Right?”

Siby kept her silence, which made the coldness enter her stomach. She looked down at the picture. Something stirred in Marie’s soul when she saw it. “What will Josef do to you if he finds this notebook?”

With careful, trembling hands, Siby reached out and took the notebook. She closed it and held it close to her chest. “I don’t want to think about it.”

“If he’s as bad as President Arnold, why do you work for him? Why are you just now telling me this?” Marie asked.

Shame spilled into Siby’s eyes, mingling with the ever-present fear. “You’re far too young.”

Marie had a flashback of her science teacher, Mr. Edison, who said the exact same thing. Try as she might, she couldn’t keep the flare of anger out of her voice. “Forget my age. I’m part of a group helping Josef get back to Musical Land. I have a right to know exactly who I’m helping.”

There was a click before Marie registered Siby had reached over and locked the door. Her voice dropped. “My husband’s life is in terrible danger if I tell you. Are you prepared to take that risk?”

Marie’s eyes widened. Siby was married, but everyone Marie talked to said her husband had disappeared back over the wall. Why, no one knows for sure, but everyone assumed it was for a secret mission Josef sent him on. Percy specifically warned her not to ask Siby about him, because she was still emotional about it. “I won’t tell another soul. I promise.”

Siby sat down, elbows on the table, hands covering her mouth as she thought. Marie sank into the chair next to Siby. Slowly, Siby set her hands down on the table, glancing again at the hallway where Saca and Little Sam were asleep.

“My husband and I discovered Josef’s true colors about a month or two before you arrived in the clearing. We were one of the few of Josef’s trusted friends who still didn’t know about his, um…” Siby let out a sigh that sounded more like a groan. “He’s a mad scientist, Marie.”