Chapter 63

PYRA EMPATHIZED WITH Will's troubled frown. She, Will, and Nift sat at the end of the gang's long cafeteria table. Sal, Atlas, and a few of the older members played with the younger children further down the table, allowing them to play keep-away with a spoon from one of the lunch trays. Con snored just beside them, oblivious to the children's small, excited shouts. The twins were perched not far from him, their hands interlocked, their collars gleaming under the cafeteria's dull fluorescent lights.

"You want to know if they can hear us," Will said. "If they can see us while we're in here."

Pyra nodded.

"This is a prison," said Nift. "They might call it a Containment Facility, but it's a prison. We should have every reason to believe they're keeping track of everything we say."

"Right," Pyra said. "The Hunter Guards aren't lazy. If there's word of a breakout or a riot, they'll want to hear about it."

"That's not what we're talking about, is it?" Will asked.