Two different ideas of truth warred inside Marie. Josef treated her with kindness and respect. He welcomed who she was with open arms. He showed her nothing but acceptance the minute she stepped foot into the clearing.

And he was also, apparently, a mad scientist.

“I know. I didn’t believe it either,” Siby said. Marie glanced up, realizing Siby was reading her emotions as easily as if Marie had sung them. “I couldn’t. I didn’t. He’s hidden the madness so well, only showing us what we want to see. We all want to end President Arnold's reign.”

Marie swallowed, too frightened to ask her next question, but there was no backing out now. “What exactly does he do?”

Siby couldn’t look at Marie. “The safe house not far from the wall has video cameras. Josef installed them in order to watch who comes over from Musical Land. He weeds them out, those he finds who are truly here seeking refuge from Musical Land he welcomes warmly. Those he suspects as spies from the S.E.A., even just a hint of a suspicion, he takes to a different building in the clearing. One about a mile from here.”

There were tears in Siby’s eyes. “My husband and I followed Josef one day to the building. He said he was going to check one of the buildings in town, then proceeded to leave town completely. Isaac, always the curious one, suggested we follow him.”

Siby covered her eyes and took a deep breath. “He’s torturing them, Marie. Starvation, broken bones, expiriments with chemicals, everything. Anyone he suspects as spies of the S.E.A. get this treatment. He caught us spying on him, and he was so calm and collected as he welcomed us into this disgusting room, showing us around. Called it his workshop. He said he was going to show us eventually, but he wanted to make sure we were committed to the cause. And to see how committed we were, he shot one of them in front of us to see how we’d react.”

Marie’s eyes widened and a strangled noise escaped her mouth.

“I was horrified! He said his suspicions about us were confirmed. He locked Isaac in the recently vacated room, and is now blackmailing me. He calls it recommitting myself to the cause, but it’s blackmail. Don’t you think it’s odd that I am the leader of this group? Percy all but volunteered for the leadership role, but he singled me out because he wants to make sure I’m not doing anything against his wishes. I’m an entomologist, not a chemist.” Siby ran a shaking hand through her hair. Marie had the distinct impression she was the first person Siby told all this to. The pressure was beginning to crack poor Siby.

“He’s watching you, too, Marie.” Marie’s heart sank into the acid of her stomach. “You came here with nothing but Charles’ good word, and his good word was only given because you had some note signed by some guy who isn’t even in the underground. Since Josef can’t put video cameras in the gardens, he’s placed you on this team in order to watch you in the labs, and has me report every move you make. Every single time I find you in the labs, I hope you truly have been doing science. I can only assume you are, because you’re not in Josef’s disgusting workshop right now.” A shiver tore through Siby. “If he were ever to suspect what I do in my free time… if he had any idea I love to draw…” Siby clutched the notebook close, almost like she could make it absorb inside her. “He’s got Isaac. I don’t know in what condition he’s in, but I’m too terrified to do anything out of the ordinary. I’ve been trying to get out of this drawing obligation with Saca, but I can’t bring myself to do it.”

This was too much information, too much harrowing information. Josef was watching her. She hated having paranoid people watching her. She could never do anything right in their eyes. For now she was safe, but who knows what would happen.

“What about the other members of the team? Do they know about Josef?” Marie asked.

Siby shook her head. “No. Josef’s true followers are few, and mostly working in the gardens to keep an eye on the people. So far our need to survive hasn’t brought about a need for the arts, but before the winter, Josef and his small band have kept a strict rule on absolutely no arts of any kind, not even doodling or humming.” Siby shuttered. “My hands are tied, but you. You don’t have to do this. You can return to Musical Land if you want to.”

An idea stirred inside Marie as she stared at Siby. “I’m not going back to Musical Land without my memories. When we find the answer to getting our memories back, you’re going to have to lie to Josef, but let me cross over to Musical Land, and I’ll warn Charles. I’ll tell him about the kind of man Josef is, and… and…”

Marie bit her lip. She had no idea what to do after.

Siby gave the first smile since entering the apartment, though it was small and sympathetic. “It’s noble, Marie, but too dangerous.”

“It’s the only way. Josef is the only one who knows Sam’s code to communicate to the underground in Musical Land. I’ll have to talk to them directly. And that can only happen if someone has their memories back when they cross over,” Marie said.

There was a moment of silence before Siby nodded. “I’m coming with you.”

“You don’t think Josef will get suspicious if you leave?” Marie asked.

“He’s put me under a lot of pressure. It wouldn’t be too much of a leap for him to believe I ran back to Musical Land to forget,” Siby said.

An uncomfortable thought made Marie squirm in her seat. “Not too hard to believe you discovered how to keep your memories and went behind his back, either. What about Isaac?”

The chair groaned as Siby sank further into it. “You’re right. But don’t forget. Josef is still watching you. He’d be very suspicious if you suddenly returned to Musical Land too.”

Marie stared at nothing as she registered everything Siby told her. She needed to pull herself from the situation in order to look at it logically. President Arnold was bad, and from the sounds of it, Josef was doing exactly what President Arnold was doing, if not worse. Memories came back to her, little by little, of her time spent with Josef. She recalled him snapping at someone for whistling a merry little tune. The gleam in his eye whenever he talked about getting revenge on President Arnold. His suggestion of cutting someone open to put the vial of syrophil inside. She hadn’t given it another thought, other than it was an unusual one. However, she saw now how twisted that sounded.

Marie rubbed her eyes, hoping it would somehow cleanse Josef’s character. She didn’t see because she didn’t think anyone could be as bad as President Arnold. Especially someone who believed in the same cause as her.

“Siby, what if Josef wins?” Marie asked.

Siby glanced at her.

“What if we help him, and he overthrows President Arnold? You must have thought of a plan.”

Siby stared at the table, looking incredibly exhausted. “I’d stop him.”

“How?” There was a look in Siby’s eye that made the tips of Marie’s fingers freeze. “Macbeth, you’re planning to kill him.”

“If he overthrows President Arnold, it will make things just as bad, but on the flip side. If he doesn’t come to realize how disgusting and horrible his plan is, then I have a way.”

Marie shook her head, and she kept shaking it, hoping to throw the idea out. She didn’t want this. Part of her knew a war was brewing between Musical Land and the underground, but all she wanted was Sophie and her father back. She hadn’t planned much more ahead. Yes, maybe it was inevitable, but she was terrified. She didn’t want to fight in a war that would possibly leave so many of her loved ones dead. Even if the hobos regain their memories, they were still barely an eighth of Musical Land’s population.

The door clicked open and Marie and Siby both looked over to see Saca in a bathrobe, rubbing her eyes against the sudden light.

“Siby? Oh, that is you! What brings you here?” Saca whispered.

Siby looked more exhausted than Marie had ever seen her. “Just chatting about work with Marie.”

“We’re not being too loud, are we?” Marie asked. She felt nervous Saca had overheard everything, but it was clear Saca had just woken up.

“No, no. Just thirsty.” Saca went over to the sink and took a drink.

“I like your idea, Marie. We’ll work on a way to get someone over the wall,” Siby whispered. Marie couldn’t help but notice Siby didn’t specify Marie going over the wall. A little louder, she said, “I better be off. It’s getting late, and I have some work to do at the lab.”

Saca checked her watch. “Still? It’s almost eleven now.”

“I know, but it can’t wait.” Siby headed for the door, and Saca walked with her.

“Oh, all right. Don’t work yourself too hard. It’s what I have to keep telling Marie,” Saca said.

Siby patted Saca on the shoulder with a sad smile. “I will.”

Saca and Marie waved as Siby left. Marie got up before Saca could focus too much on her.

“I didn’t realize it was so late. I better get some sleep,” Marie said. Saca nodded, and they both went to their seperate bedrooms.

Marie closed her eyes as the door clicked shut. If she opened her eyes, all her tears would spill out. She had some thinking to do. Sleep would be impossible.

Everything Siby said danced around in her mind. It was so easy to join the underground, because she did not want anything to do with President Arnold and his reign in Musical Land. But now she was terrified of Josef. He was supposed to be the better option. He wasn’t supposed to be the textbook definition of a mad scientist. It took everything inside her not to give up. She never thought she’d admit that President Arnold was a better option. Why couldn’t there be a third option? She seriously considered it, but what good would it do? It would just fracture the already small population of the underground. There was already talk of war, and their numbers were already too few. Being able to win somehow without fighting seemed impossible at this point.

The thought of Josef watching Marie made her skin crawl. It was disgusting to her that she had to prove herself. It was even more disgusting to think that those who didn’t prove themselves were being tortured and killed. Someone she believed to be a leader, who she was following and doing what he requested of her, was going to some place and torturing people because they were possible spies.

Because they didn’t believe the same things she did.

Marie shivered as Little Sam started to stir. It was one of his rare times. Saca quietly whispered to him in the other room, and he started to cry. Saca started to sing softly to him. The melody was quiet and simple, and Little Sam calmed down almost immediately. Soon the crying stopped all together as Saca continued to sing softly. They were far enough away that Marie couldn’t understand the lyrics, but she realized this was the first song she’d heard in half a year. Marie closed her eyes, feeling a stirring in her soul, almost the same stirring as the one brought about by the picture. She made another startling realization, as startling as the one about President Arnold.

She missed the arts.

A deep loneliness encompassed her, one she had a difficult time explaining. She missed seeing artwork. This clearing helped her do what she wanted in life, but going to see a play or a movie every once in a while shouldn’t be a crime. She definitely couldn‘t contribute to the making of art at all, but couldn’t she at least appreciate it? She had a feeling Josef would ban all music everywhere, even the small melodies sung to children to calm them down at night.

Marie tried to remember the music she used to listen to while in Musical Land. She remembered watching plays and movies, seeing how every individual worked together to put on a seamless show. It was almost magical how she could get sucked in and forget everything for a little while.

She slipped out of bed and went to the window, gazing up at what little sky she could see through the trees. Things were supposed to be a clear black and white, but there was too much dark gray. She wanted to study math and science, but didn’t want to be forced to only study the arts either. She craved both, yet found herself forced to choose one side of a building war. Every time she thought of war, panic seized her. She wanted to get her father out of the S.E.A. before it was declared. Even then, there was a part of her brain that didn’t want to acknowledge it would happen, but finding out some way to get over the wall would certainly bring it about.

They had to find some way to get the cure across without Musical Land knowing.

Marie’s eyes widened. She had a strange idea. What if their focus needed to shift? Not get the cure across, but somehow make a way to beat the chemical formula while it was being injected into their bloodstream? That way the S.E.A. could still inject the chemicals but have no idea they were pointless.

This could change everything! They could sneak across without the S.E.A. knowing they still had their memories and… and…

They would still have no cure. But if everyone in the clearing snuck over, the underground would still have a lot more people to…

To start a war.

Marie frowned. It always came back to that. She hated the idea. She remembered her elementary school classes when they talked about history, going into detail about the horrors of war. It wasn’t something she wanted to start again. There had to be some other way.

But first things first. She would suggest this idea to the team Monday morning to see what they thought of it.