In the After

for my presentation to the Guardians,” I bluffed, trying to follow Gareth’s lead. “I didn’t want to leave anything out.”
    “Of course not.”
    “Well, I have to get to class.” I turned to go.
    “Amy, I . . . ,” Dr. Reynolds began.
    “I’ll walk with you, Amy,” Gareth said, cutting him off. He nudged me so my legs would start working. I tried not to look back, but when I did, Dr. Reynolds had already disappeared into the Rumble Room. I exhaled with relief.
    “That man is creepy,” I whispered to Gareth.
    “You don’t know the half of it,” Gareth told me. “He must know you’re training with us.”
    “How?”
    “My guess is Marcus. . . . Kay has thought he’s a spy for Dr. Reynolds for a while.”
    “Why would he need to spy on the Guardians?” I couldn’t help but look behind me again, making sure we weren’t being followed.
    “When the Guardians started, Marcus was supposed to be the leader, no questions asked. Dr. Reynolds is smart, though. He saw that the citizens wouldn’t be happy with anything like a military dictatorship; no one wants to live under a police state.”
    “So Kay is in charge and Marcus reports back to Dr. Reynolds everything that isn’t quite right with the program,” I filled in.
    “Yeah, that’s what we think. We’re extra careful around Marcus and the Elite Eight, not that we do anything wrong to begin with,” Gareth said, shooting me a sideways glance. “Except for training you. Kay must have a grand plan to put herself at risk like that.”
    “Maybe Dr. Reynolds won’t care,” I offered.
    Gareth shook his head. “He sets the rules; he’ll definitely care about them being broken. But he may weigh the benefits.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Training you isn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things. If he puts a stop to it, he’ll expose his spy and lose an almost-trained Guardian.”
    We reached school and I turned to Gareth to say good-bye, glad to know he was someone I could trust. “Thanks for helping me out back there.”
    “Sure, just . . . take care of yourself, honey,” he said with a wink, back to his normal, teasing self.
    “I will.” I grinned, but my amusement faded as he walked away.
    After scanning the grounds, I spotted Baby and ran to her side, engulfing her in a giant hug. I kissed the top of her head and walked her to class, though I really wanted to take her in my arms and run away. But away to where?

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
    I wake up screaming. There are hands on my shoulders, holding me down, and another pair on my forehead, trying to calm me .
    “Amy . . . drink this,” Dr. Thorpe commands. She is at my side with a cup of water .
    “They’re here. The Floraes—” I yell as tears stream down my face .
    Dr. Thorpe flashes a light in my eyes, examining me. “You’ve just had a bad dream,” she assures me. “You’re safe here.”
    “We’re not safe!” I yell. “Where’s Baby? I have to save Baby from the Floraes.”
    “You’re having an adverse reaction to your treatments.”
    “Do you want to die?” I cry. “They’ll kill us.” She doesn’t understand the danger we’re in .
    “Amy, calm down.”
    “Let me go!” I yell at the top of my lungs, pushing Dr. Thorpe out of the way. I fall out of bed and crawl toward the door .
    An orderly stops me before I make it more than a few feet. He picks me up and drags me back to my bed. I scream and try to fight, but my blows are wild and powerless .
    He holds me down while Dr. Thorpe straps me to the bed, securing my wrists and ankles. She steps away, watching me as I struggle .
    “You paged me?” Dr. Reynolds enters the room, eyeing me .
    “Ms. Harris isn’t reacting well to her treatments,” she says loudly, upset. “The electroshock therapy has obviously worsened her condition.”
    “Please,” I beg. “Let me go.”
    “The trial treatments were a mistake,” she tells him, frowning .
    “How were we supposed to know that?” Dr. Reynolds asks calmly. “She seemed like a promising candidate.”
    “Perhaps we should continue with her original medication,” Dr. Thorpe suggests .
    “It was ineffective against her psychosis.” Dr. Reynolds glances at me. “Maybe if we up the dosage?” Dr. Reynolds scribbles on my chart before he hands it to Dr. Thorpe .
    She reads it and stops. “But that’s nearly twice the dosage!”
    Dr. Reynolds looks at her. “Do you disagree with my prescription?” he asks coldly .
    Dr. Thorpe flinches