Among the Enemy

Matthias froze, and Mike glanced around fearfully.

'We're still in hiding — remember?' he said.

'But — but—,' Matthias sputtered.

Mike glanced around again and seemed to decide no one was going to show up to investigate the noise.

'Try to understand,' he said. 'People have been living with the Population Police for a long time. It's like they've been trained to believe that the only way for them to survive is to do what the Government says. What good is a bag of potatoes if it means that you'll be hunted down, taken out at dawn, and shot? You see what we're up against, trying to win a little freedom. The people we're trying to win it for don't remember what freedom is.'

Matthias shook his head, still angry.

'Then it was all for nothing, what we did,' he said.

'You can't believe that,' Mike said, and an edge of anger had crept into his voice as well. 'We destroyed the I.D.'s, remember? Without destroying the food!'

Matthias looked down at the packed-dirt floor. He didn't think he could explain. Destroying the I.D.'s was complicated — what if the Population Police managed to dig them out of the ruins and continued with Project Authenticity anyhow? What if the Population Police had duplicate records elsewhere that made it possible for them to find and kill all the third children regardless of everything Mike and Matthias and the others had done to stop them?

But giving away the food had seemed simple. That had been his tribute to the memory of Percy, Alia, and Samuel. In their memory, starving people would be fed.

Only it wasn't much of a tribute if the hungry people had just given the food right back to the Population Police.

'I don't know what your life was like before Tiddy brought you to Population Police headquarters,' Mike said softly. 'But after Tiddy died, after the commander decided you were his surrogate son in Tiddy^ place, you had it made. You could have asked the commander for anything, and he would have given it to you. Most people in a situ^ ation like that would have eaten it up — all the gourmet food, all the luxuries the commander would provide. They would have done everything in their power to keep that cozy life.

'But you didn't,' Mike went on, his voice practically a whisper now. 'You walked away from all of that to do what you thought was right. You even risked your life to save a man everyone else had forgotten about.' He bent his face in close to Matthias's, and his voice became even more intense. 'You cannot say that was for nothing.'

Matthias shook his head, not to disagree, but because he was confused.

'Every time I try to do something good, it gets messed up,' he complained.

'That's life,' Mike said, shrugging. 'You in for another round?'

'What?' Matthias asked.

'I'm going to wait a few days, make sure everything shakes out,' Mike said. 'Then I'm going back to Population Police headquarters. Our job isn't done until every last person in this country is free. You coming with me?'

Matthias jerked back so violently, he almost knocked over another pile of junk. Go back to Population Police headquarters? He'd never dreamed that anybody would ask him to do such a thing. He'd never dreamed that it'd be possible to step foot anywhere near a Population Police officer without being arrested and executed on the spot. His stomach churned at the thought of being in the midst of all that evil and intrigue again, of having to smile ador' ingly at the commander while secretly hating everything the commander stood for.

But that wasn't the reason he shook his head at Mike.

'No,' Matthias said. 'There's something else I have to do.'

Chapter Forty

The truck chugged through the night, its headlights casting eerie shadows. Matthias had no idea where Mike had gotten the truck — or the slips of paper that passed for identification at every checkpoint.

'This is all we have,' Mike said apologetically each time the Population Police stopped them.

It’s all anyone has anymore,” the Population Police officers muttered back. “Just wait till we find those rebels. . ”

'I know what you mean,' Mike always said sympathetically. But as soon as the officers waved him on through the checkpoint, he'd start giggling. 'Did you hear that? We were right under their nose, and they didn't even know it! Man, I love these paper I.D.'s!'

Matthias couldn't join in Mike's mirth. He sat quietly, peering into the darkness, waiting for a small cottage to come into view.

He and Mike were wearing civilian clothes again. Mike's were ordinary jeans and a sweatshirt that one of his friends must have smuggled to him. But Matthias had on the sweater and pajama bottoms he'd worn the night he'd left Niedler School. He'd had them on under his Population Police uniform when he'd left headquarters. Some of his own blood had stained the sweater along with Percy's and Alia's.

'Want me to go in first?' Mike asked as they turned down a long driveway. 'Just in case. . '

Matthias knew he meant that the cottage full of friends might have been taken over by enemies. But Matthias shook his head.

'That's okay,' he said. 'I want to get this over with.'

They walked up to the door together, even though it wasn't the wisest strategy. Matthias saw the glow in the windows, just like last time, and it made his heart ache even more. Last time he'd been so frantic, so filled with hope and fear…. This time he stood still and let Mike do the knocking.

Mr. Talbot opened the door.

'Nedley?' he whispered.

'The same,' Mike replied, grinning. 'Back from another wild ride.'

The different name threw Matthias for a minute — was Mike's last name 'Nedley'? And was he, too, a friend of Mr. Talbot's? But Matthias couldn't think about any of that right now. He couldn't even stop to say hello to Mr. Hendricks, rolling down the hall toward him. He had a mission.

He stepped forward.

'Mr. Talbot,' Matthias said, 'I came back to apologize to you. I'm sorry I took your wife into danger. I know you didn't want to let her go, and I'm sorry about what happened. It's my fault. I cared more about saving my friends than anything else. I've been at Population Police headquarters since — since she was killed, and all I could think about was losing Percy and Alia. They're gone now, and I can't apologize to them, but I can still tell you…'

He had so much more to say, but his voice trailed off because Mr. Talbot wasn't reacting right. Instead of bowing his head in sorrow, he reached out and buried Matthias in a great bear hug.

'Matthias! What a relief to see you! But why did you think Theodora was dead?' Mr. Talbot asked in amazement. He held Matthias out at arm's length so he could peer directly into his eyes. 'She thought you were killed. She's right here. She and—'

Mr. Talbot gripped Matthias's shoulders and steered him toward the living room. Matthias's ears were ringing now, so loudly, he could barely hear Mr. Talbot's voice. He stumbled forward.

There, curled up on the couch before a cozy fire, was Mrs. Talbot, her red hair glowing. A boy and a girl sat on either side of her, looking healthy and happy, leaning over a book Mrs. Talbot had been reading with them. Only a faint scar still showed on the girl's forehead.

It was Percy and Alia.

Chapter Forty-One

For a moment, all any of them could do was stare at each other, then Percy and Alia ran to Matthias and fell