The door of Alice’s apartment opened as Billy and Edgar stumbled in. Billy collapsed on the couch, breathing deeply, and Edgar gripped his knees, taking in deep, steady breaths.

Charles immediately went to Billy. “Where’s the others?”

Billy shook his head. “We had to split up. It was safer.”

Albert again counted heads to see how many were left.

“When was the last time you saw Abe and Maire?” Charles asked.

Albert’s stomach gave a lurch at her name. Where was she? He glanced out the windows, trying to see if he could spot her. She and Abe might be running toward their apartment any minute now.

“Did we do it? Did we get to the basement?” Billy asked as he looked around the room to see if there were any new faces.

Charles shook his head and collapsed into the couch next to Billy. “It didn’t work.”

Silence descended on the group as their failure once again hit them all. Albert saw movement outside the window.

“There he is! Abe’s coming! Open the door!”

Alice ran to the door and opened it as they heard Abe running up the stairwell. As soon as he entered the apartment, Alice shut the door. Abe leaned against the wall, wiping the sweat from his face.

“Now we just have to wait for Marie,” Albert said.

Abe made a noise, and Billy glanced over at him. “What was that Abe?”

Abe took a few more deep breaths before facing the group. “Mr. Germain got her. She’s… she’s not coming.”

There was silence. Albert saw the color drain from Charles’ face. Billy looked somber. Albert felt surprised, then felt anger darken his thoughts. “You were there. You saw.” It was more of a statement than anything. Abe flinched.

“Yes. She’s been taken.”

Albert’s mouth fell open, his eyes growing wide. The anger clawed at his chest, wanting to get out. Abe wasn’t looking at him, but the way he was squirming let Albert know he was still feeling the hot glare he was giving him.

***

Marie held her father close, tears spilling out of her eyes. “Dad, I’m so sorry. For everything. I stumbled upon dangerous things-”

“Marie,” her dad said quietly

“-and I should have told you when I did, but I was afraid. I didn’t want you to get hurt!”

“Marie,” he said again.

“But I should have known they would have taken you anyway. I should have-”

“Marie, the place is bugged,” her dad said quickly.

The torrent of words spilling out of Marie’s mouth came to an instant stop. She honestly made the worst member of the underground. Marie looked at her dad’s face.

“Of course it is,” Marie said. Her dad gave her a smile, and Marie felt a sense of joy. Her father was in the basement of the S.E.A. for six months, getting who knows what done to him, and he could still smile. They hadn’t broken him. “I guess, in summary, I’m sorry. And I love you.” There was still loads to tell him, but for now that would be enough.

Her dad’s smile deepened as he pulled her into another hug. “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. Do you understand? Nothing. I love you too, Marie. I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

Marie felt more tears come and she hugged her father again. This time as she wrapped her arms around his torso, the muscle memory of her arms seemed to readjust. Her dad was much thinner than last time she saw him. She had noticed his unkempt beard right off, but this seemed to unlock a fear inside her. They were starving him. What else were they doing to him?

Marie looked up at him, still hugging him. It didn’t seem like he had any physical cuts or bruises, but she could see a hollowness in his eyes that wasn’t there before.

“Are you okay?” Marie asked.

“Better. I’m doing better.” The small smile disappeared from his lips as he looked around the room. “Were you trying to rescue me?”

Marie nodded. Worry returned to her dad’s face. He looked like he was about to say something when Marie saw movement out of the corner of her eye. A lump in the corner began to move.

“Who-” she started to say before the realization hit her. She took three strides and knelt beside her battered old science teacher. “Mr. Edison?” she asked.

He took a few labored breaths before meeting her eye. “I’m not your teacher anymore. Call me Tom.” Those couple sentences wiped him out.

Marie covered her mouth as more tears poured down her cheeks. Mr. Edison – Tom -- was in a bad condition. Her eyes traveled over his face and soon lost count of the cuts and bruises she saw. She was quite sure his beard was hiding some more. His shirt was torn in places, with nasty looking blood stains. His leg was laying at an awkward angle, and Marie found she couldn’t look at it long before feeling nauseous.

“What have they done to you?” she asked.

Tom said nothing. The simple greeting he said had wiped out his energy. He moved around a bit before letting out a soft groan. He looked just as thin as her father, which made her sick to her stomach.

Her dad knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her away. “President Arnold takes him once a week to torture him. They’re trying to get information out of him. I don’t know what, but President Arnold hasn’t left him alone. They took him just this morning and brought him back maybe an hour ago. He needs to recuperate.”

Marie wiped the tears from her face before giving her father another hug. “I was so scared I’d never see you again.”

“I’m here. I’m right here,” her dad said.

Marie nodded. “I still have so much to tell you.”

She heard her dad chuckle, though it sounded rusty, like he hadn’t laughed in ages. “I’m sure you do. Maybe in another place.”

“Then maybe you should tell me what’s been happening to you,” Marie said, once again taking in his thin frame.

Her dad’s smile didn’t return, but he nodded. They found a corner of the room and began quietly talking. When her dad was first brought here, he interrogated once a week, not to the point of torture like Tom, but almost. Then it seemed like they forgot he was there, except for occasionally giving him some food. He finally figured out that he was bait.

“For who?” Marie asked.

“Well, for you. They kept me here for you,” her dad said.

It seemed a little ridiculous until Marie thought more about it. She wasn’t sure how much her dad knew about the hobos, but she didn’t want to chance it. Her dad could have been a hobo, but if Marie did come back with the cure, then President Arnold would still hold a bargaining chip, in a way. He couldn’t leave her dad as a hobo and chance having her come back and rescue them all. He needed her to do exactly what just happened. Get caught while trying to rescue her dad.

“Are they starving you?” Marie asked quietly.

Her dad tapped his knee, not looking at Marie. “A bit, yeah.”

Marie frowned. “How can you be “a bit” starved?”

The barest of smiles flickered across her dad’s face. “President Arnold has gotten quite angry at Tom, and about a month ago cut our food rations. There is barely enough food for one person, so... we’re splitting it.”

Before Marie could fully comprehend two grown men on a diet barely sustainable for one person, the door opened. Marie and her dad turned as four guards spilled into the room. Mr. Germain and President Arnold followed soon after. Marie felt her throat tighten. She wasn’t sure why they were here, but she had a bad feeling about it. Marie stood up, and her dad stood just in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“What do you want with her?” her dad asked.

President Arnold laughed. “Simply to ask her questions. What happens if she doesn’t answer is a different matter entirely.”

President Arnold snapped his fingers and two guards came forward. One grabbed her dad, dragging him away from Marie, and the other grabbed her and dragged her in front of President Arnold.

“Leave her alone! Don’t touch her!” her dad said.

Marie heard a sickening sound of a fist hitting flesh and her dad cried out. Marie gasped and turned her head to see her dad, but the guard holding her grabbed her hair and forced her to look at President Arnold. Tears of pain stung her eyes. President Arnold glared at her.

“You are an obnoxious thorn in my side,” President Arnold said with no humor in his face. “But you have so much information to give. Tell me, did you work alone in this attempted heist?”

Marie swallowed. “Yes.”

President Arnold leaned closer to study her closer. “Then why don’t I believe you?”

“Okay, okay. S-Sophie was helping me, but it… it was just the two of us. I swear.”

President Arnold shook his head. “Maybe if you’d been a little more diligent in your studies as an actress, Marie, I might have believed that lie.”

He snapped his fingers and the guards started beating her dad. She watched him crumple to the ground after the first few hits. Marie shrieked, demanding they stop, but the guards held her back.

“Enough,” President Arnold called out, and the beating stopped. Marie was quietly sobbing, her shoulders shaking. “Where is Sophie?”

Marie didn’t know what to say. She was trying to calm herself down, but she was terrified. President Arnold folded his arms. “Take your time, Marie, because I want you to tell me the truth. You know what happens if you don’t.”

She could hear her dad breathing heavily not that far from her, and she felt her knees weaken.

“I don’t know.” President Arnold raised his hand to snap again, but Marie panicked. “I don’t! If one of us got caught, the plan was to hide somewhere where the other person doesn’t know. Just in case!”

President Arnold’s eyes narrowed. “I might believe that one. If I find you are lying to me, I will give your dad an hour in our torture room.” He straightened. “Now, how exactly do you still have your memories? Is there anyone else who remembers who they are?”

Marie felt bile creep up her throat. She had planned out how to tell her dad as softly as possible. It would still be impossible for him to swallow, but she needed to tell him softly. This was not how she planned.

President Arnold took a step forward, glaring at Marie. “Tell me how it’s done, mad scientist. Reveal your secrets.”

Marie felt tears sting her eyes. The silence lasted too long, and President Arnold snapped his fingers again.

“No! Leave him alone!” Marie screamed.

“It’s a simple request, Marie. Tell me how you did it, and I’ll stop hurting him,” President Arnold said.

“Marie, no!” her dad shouted before getting another punch to the face.

Marie felt her heart hurt. “I’ll tell you! Just stop hurting him!”

President Arnold raised a finger and the guards stopped punching her dad. Marie felt tears streaming down her face.

“Does anyone else have their memories?” President Arnold asked.

Marie couldn’t look at him. She stared at the floor as she shook her head.

“Not even Sophie?” Mr. Germain broke the silence by asking.

Marie paused, before shaking her head again. “I-” Marie started to say.

“Marie, no. Don’t tell them anything,” her dad said weakly.

She heard one of the guards kick him and she winced. “I’m the only one that remembers. None of the other hobos do. It’s just me.”

“Why?” President Arnold asked, looking impatient. Marie couldn’t keep his gaze, and she found she couldn’t look at her dad, either. President Arnold grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. “Tell me. Or I have them beat your father to a pulp.”

Marie felt a fresh wave of tears fall down her cheek. “I injected myself with a diluted form of omnitocsil.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her dad’s head snap up, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Marie couldn’t meet his eye. She was barely holding herself together as it was. President Arnold saw the reaction from her dad and frowned, letting go of Marie.

“What does that mean?” He sounded like he hated to be in the dark.

Marie opened her mouth to say it, but found the words holding fast in her throat, threatening to choke her. President Arnold glared. Marie tried again, but tears coursed down her cheeks. As much as President Arnold threatened, she couldn’t bring herself to explain.

“It’s a deadly poison,” Tom said from the corner.

President Arnold and Mr. Germain turned to see Tom struggling to sit up. He rested on one elbow, his hand holding what seemed to be a tender spot on his rib cage.

“Omnitocsil is known for its destructive properties, especially in the human body. It’s usually instantaneous, but since Marie said it was a diluted form, it hasn’t killed her. Yet.”

President Arnold returned to Marie, a frown evident on her face. “You could be lying to me.”

Instead Marie started to cry. She could still see her dad in the corner of her eye, and that alone brought a sob out of her. “I’m not.” She closed her eyes and looked away from her dad, knowing this was a torture in itself. “I’m not.”

Mr. Germain glanced at Marie’s dad, but President Arnold kept his eyes on her. When her sobbing calmed down, he asked a simple question. “Why?”

Marie looked at President Arnold in hatred. “Because Josef Mengele is insane, and I won’t follow him.”

President Arnold cocked an eyebrow. “So you agree with me about Josef. That he is evil.”

Marie refused to acknowledge it.

President Arnold took a step closer. “Then fight on my side, Marie. Stop fighting against me. You know how insane that man is. If he were to take control, Musical Land would cease to exist.”

“I will not replace evil with evil. I will get rid of him and you,” Marie said, surprised at how determined she sounded.

“I’m not evil,” President Arnold said. “I’m trying to help. Why don’t you join me?”

Marie glared at President Arnold. “Because you threatened to beat my dad to a pulp if I didn’t do what you asked.”

Tom gave a cough that might have been a laugh. President Arnold turned to Tom. Marie thought for sure Tom was going to get a beating like her dad. President Arnold instead folded his arms. “Josef is a cold-blooded killer. He tortures and kills people for sport. He’s dangerous, and I am nothing like him. I am not evil.”

Even in the dim light, Tom looked deathly pale. “That’s why you’re so dangerous. You keep thinking that you can do whatever you want, because at least there’s someone out there who’s worse than you. We want so little, Ben. We just want the freedom to pursue our passion.”

President Arnold nodded to one of the guards, who walked over to Tom and gave him a hard kick in the tender spot he was holding on his rib cage. Tom let out a scream and collapsed back on the ground. Marie gasped.

“Have you forgotten so quickly, Tom? Did you forget what it was like when people had this freedom? Do you remember the deaths and the pain? Arts are good. Science is evil. It’s that simple.”

President Arnold gave Tom a dark glare before leaving the room. Mr. Germain and the guards followed. Marie rubbed her arms from where she still felt the ghost of the fingers of the guard on them. The door slammed shut, returning them to a semi darkness.

Marie turned and faced her dad because she knew she needed to. He was staring at Marie, with a mixture of emotions. Blood was pouring from a split lip, his hair ruffled, his eye was almost swollen shut, but he looked numbed to it all as he stared at her like he was already seeing a ghost. In the six months of being in the basement, the S.E.A. couldn’t break him. But this? As she looked into his eyes, she saw the hope die in his eyes.

“Tell me it was a lie,” he whispered.

Marie’s throat refused to work.

“Tell me you had to say that to get them to leave. It can’t be true.” The controlled emotion in his voice was slowly breaking down.

“Dad, I’m-” she couldn’t bring herself to apologize. Apologizing to her dad about what she’d done somehow felt more real than actually injecting herself with the diluted formula. She had given herself a death sentence.

He noticed her struggle, and real pain filled his face. “You broke the unwritten rule,” he whispered. Marie didn’t dare speak. “You can’t die before me.” His voice broke. “You can’t ask me to bury you too.”

Marie took a few faltering steps and wrapped her arms around her dad again. As she squeezed, a sob broke out of him, and he clung to her like she was his lifeline in a sea of black.

“I’m so sorry, dad.” She knew how hollow those words sounded, and how final her death sentence felt. The small room filled with his cries of pain, and there was nothing she could do but hold him. She just broke her dad, and she wasn’t quite sure she could put him back together again.