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that anxiety with these crazy delusions of—”
    “Do you remember?” Logan asked. “Do you remember what it was like? The first thing about it, even? Your procedure?”
    “Not really,” Erin said. “You go in, it’s a clean room, they give you a spoonful of nanosleep, and while you doze off, they ask you a few questions about—you know, the . . . test, or whatever. Then you wake up and you’re Marked. People get nervous for it, sure, but honestly, people get nervous over any big event.”
    Logan stared for a moment. “You really can’t explain it, can you? No one can. Everyone gets this treatment, and no one can tell me what it’s actually like.”
    “I just did. I just did explain it.”
    “Not really,” Logan said. “You described a sterile room and a foggy haze. You have no idea what they actually did to you in there.”
    “That’s because it doesn’t matter ,” Erin said, suddenly impatient again. “It doesn’t hurt; you never think about it again . . . the specifics aren’t important.”
    “How can they not be? Doesn’t that seem weird to you?”
    “What seems weird to me is the idea that DOME would waste their time or money with anything more than a numbing shot and a nanoink tattoo.”
    “So there’s a shot?”
    “Well, yeah, in your wrist, so you don’t feel the Marking, but you’re already so dazed by that point—”
    “And what other details are you leaving out?”
    “Nothing! Seriously, Logan, why do I feel like you’re interrogating me? Just get the stupid Mark and I’ll see you when it’s over!” She dug into the ice cream now, distractedly.
    “There’s no question I’m Pledging,” Logan said. “That’s . . . mostly what I came in here to tell you. That I am going in for it, despite Peck’s warnings.”
    Erin relaxed a little. “Good.” She nodded. “That’s good news, Logan.”
    “But . . .”
    “What? What now?”
    Logan swallowed. “Lily’s alive, Erin. My sister is alive.”
    Erin stared at him.
    “Flunkees don’t die during the Marking,” Logan said. “They’re swiped. They’re sent off—”
    And Erin banged the table with both hands. Their spoons rattled against the sundae’s cup. “And here you go again! With this crazy conspiracy stuff! Do you hear yourself?”
    Logan pressed on. “The only people who know where they’re sent must be the Markers. And there’s only one way to talk to a Marker.”
    “Logan, no. This cannot be what you’re Pledging for. This cannot be your plan.”
    “I guess I shouldn’t count on your help, then.”
    “Logan, what could I even do?”
    “I don’t know.” Logan shrugged. “Hack into the system. Get me out if you had to.”
    Erin stared at him sadly.
    “I need to find my sister, Erin. You have to understand.” Tears filled his eyes quickly now, unexpectedly. “I miss her so much, Erin . . .” He wiped them with the back of his unmarked hand. “I’ve missed her so much . . .”
    Erin was quiet for a moment. “Logan,” she said as gently as she could. “Peck is manipulating you. He found your weakness, and he’s using it to manipulate you into doing something rebellious against DOME. Against Lamson and Cylis , Logan. He’s tricking you into doing his dirty work.”
    “I am not being manipulated,” Logan said. “These are my choices. My beliefs, now.”
    “Please,” she begged. “Don’t do anything stupid tomorrow. Go in there and behave , Logan! Or else you really will be in danger! You’re on thin ice with DOME as it is! It’s all they need for you to act out during your Pledge! Going off on some conspiracy rant, interrogating some poor Marker—”
    “If I’m wrong, I’ll know I’m wrong, and I can bury Lily for good. I’d still come out ahead.”
    “In a jail cell!”
    “And if I’m right . . .”
    “Logan, promise me you’ll go home and think about what I’m saying. All I want— all I want—is for you to come home to me tomorrow, smiling and Marked. And for us to enjoy Spokie as full A.U. citizens in Lamson’s name. In Cylis’s name. Together.”
    Logan smiled. In another lifetime, that would be all he wanted too.
    “I promise I’ll consider it,” Logan said. And he took her hand. “But I want you to promise me something too.”
    Erin waited for him to speak.
    “Don’t say anything about Peck to your father. Not about the warehouse, not about the other kids . . . let’s just . . . wait ’til after the Pledge to sort all that out, all right? They