The guard leaves us inside the wall with his partner, leaving to make a quick phone call. I can't hear what he's saying, only the whispery tone of his speech. The other guard watches us with a very serious look, eyes never leaving Lexi.

"Alright, let's go," the first guard calls, waving us forward.

"Should I stay here?" the second asks.

"Yeah, man. We can't leave the gate unattended. I'll just drop them off and come right back."

Lexi has gone white, following behind me with her eyes on the ground. I want to grab her hand, squeeze it and assure her that everything will be fine.

Yet, I can't make that promise.

I have no idea what's about to happen.

The streets of the Working District are dead, mists of silence spreading over the deserted buildings and still machinery. The doors are closed, curtains pulled closed tight. The lights overhead cast bright white circles down on us. The moon is full above us, washing the remaining color out of my surroundings. I don't think I've ever seen the streets so empty.

We approach the Headquarters, where the electronic doors have been propped open for us. The guard waves us on.

"You'll have to go on your own from here," he says, pulling the door shut as we walk in, "I was told to leave you at the door. Upstairs. Straight to Kovach."

I nod, taking Lexi by the shoulder and leading her towards the single silver elevator.

"What's she going to do to me?" Lexi asks, voice echoing in the hollow space. Her voice shakes, and in her reflection in the silver, tears brim her eyes.

"I don't know, Lex," I whisper, looking away.

"Riley- I- I can't get reassigned. Mom- she'll- I-"

She begins to hyperventilate, tears streaming down her cheeks. I wrap both arms around her, and we fall into the wall. She doesn't hug me back but leans her head limply on my shoulder.

"I'll do everything I can to protect you, A," I say into her hair, squeezing her.

"How?" she manages to say, drool wetting my shoulder.

I don't answer, because I don't know what to say.

The doors slide open, the tenth floor like an open coffin waiting for us.

I hold Lexi's hand as we walk out, towards the looming door to room number six. The door itself is cracked open, a single shard to yellow light cutting into the dim hallway. I knock once, and the light is broken as the door shuts on impact.

"Come in, Quinn," Kovach says, her voice tense. I grab the knob and pull the door open, shedding more light on us.

Kovach sits behind her desk, all but glaring at the two of us. She wears a pair of pajama pants and a jacket; her hair is in a messy ponytail. Even though her outfit looks relaxed, the way she leans forward on her desk, propped up on her elbows is pure rage. Her ice blue eyes cut us into pieces as I lead Lexi to one of the leather seats. Her body sags as she sits down, blinking back the tears as she watches Kovach who has her eyes trained on me.

I take the seat beside Lexi, staring back at Kovach. I refuse to back down this time. Lexi will not be reassigned.

We stare at each other for what seems like an eon. She swallows several times, blinking back the liquid that brims over her lashes and clenching her jaw repeatedly. I blink when she blinks, squeezing the arms of the chairs until my knuckles turn white.

"Give in," I whisper, hoarse. She cracks, giving me a half smile.

"I've been staring criminals down for a lot longer than you have," she says, relaxing back in her seat and crossing her arms. "I could do this all night."

Lexi coughs beside me, making me jump.

"What were you doing on the wall, Quinn?" Kovach asks, ignoring the still crying girl.

"That's my business," I say, licking my front teeth.

"How dare you talk to me like that. I am your superior," says Kovach, incredulous. I smirk back at her, shrugging.

"I was under the impression that we were equals."

"We were, until this stunt."

"We were never equals, President Kovach," I whisper, looking down at the deep red of her desk. "If we were equals, you wouldn't be keeping secrets from me."

She lets out a long breath, and when I look back up at her, both hands are on either side of her head. In that moment, she looks like an old woman, the lines of her face being pressed into submission. I relent for a second, spirit wilting. She shakes her head at me, finally turning to Lexi who sits up straighter.

"You're being reassigned," Kovach says sternly, lowering her hands, "I've given you every chance I could to conform to the rules. Your father was one of the best colonels that ever served under me, and he would be absolutely disgusted and disappointed in your erratic behavior."

Lexi opens her mouth to say something, fresh tears welling up in her eyes, but Kovach holds a hand up to her.

"No arguing. I can't keep bending the rules and pretending you're special. Go home. The truck will pick you up first thing in the morning."

"Hey, wait, no," I butt in, grabbing Lexi's arm as she stands, "You can't reassign her. I veto that."

Kovach laughs, freezing the air between us.

"This isn't a democracy, Lieutenant," she says, still chuckling, "You don't have that power. Alexis broke the rules; she will get a strike. Ten strikes means she is automatically reassigned. Even a genius like you can't change the game."

Lexi pulls her arm away from me, looking at Kovach. She takes a deep breath, and I can see the fire in her eyes. For a moment, I think she might go off on her. The thought dies in my head though as she lets the air out, turning towards the door. I can read her posture and know what she's thinking.

What's the point?

She slams the door behind her as she leaves, though, a single bullet fired into the air.

"And you," Kovach growls. I turn back to face her, biting my lip. "You're getting two strikes."

"Two? What for?"

"One for climbing the wall," she says, ripping the first paper out of her spiral notebook with a jerk, "Another for arguing with me."

I sink a little farther into the chair, the weight of two new strikes pushing my anger down. It slips out of my ears, fading into the air.

I open my mouth to apologize, but for the first time, I think of nothing I've done wrong. She had it coming, attacking Lexi.

"This is your fault, though," I mumble, staring down at my hands.

"Excuse me?"

"I wouldn't have needed to scale if you or Rivers would have told me what's in the Repor."

"The what?"

I glance up at her, at the confused look on her face.

"The Repository. No one will tell me what's in there, and I just watched my friend disappear into it. Kicking and screaming, I might add."

Kovach blinks twice, her face relaxing. With a long sigh, she nods her head.

"Of course," she mumbles, pushing away from her desk. She stands, walking around towards the door. "You should have been informed to begin with. It's extremely classified, though, Quinn. Once I show you, you swear your life on keeping it secret."

I stand to join her, nodding.

What in world is so secretive that I would die for it? The sounds of Naomi's screams echo in my head, shattering whatever bit of anger was left in my heart. I follow Kovach down to Rivers' office without hesitation, looking at the screens.

Last time I saw the screens, only the compound 4 cameras were black. The 3 cameras were blurry, but today, they are black as well. The last two sets of computers are clear and alive, showing the forms of two sleeping compounds.

Kovach sits down in Rivers' black chair, scooting up towards his keyboard. She sighs as she pushes some of the papers away, making pictures of Jaelyn and her friends fall to the floor.

"This is the Repository," Kovach says, bringing up an image of the worn concrete building on the main screen. I nod.

"Yes, ma'am. Those are smokestacks, but I have never seen anything come out of them," I say, remembering to be more polite this time.

"It used to be a factory before the compound was built. We gutted it and brought the technology inside the wall. The smokestacks haven't been used since then."

"What is it now?"

Kovach looks over her shoulder at me.

"You tell me. What is a repository, Quinn?"

"A place, building, or receptacle where things are or may be stored," I recite, remembering the definition I found on my tablet, "It's a warehouse."

Kovach nods, turning back to the screens.

"What exactly are we storing in there, General?" I ask, wiping my sweaty palms on my uniform pants.

"The secret weapon of Compound 5," she whispers, a wild smile spreading across her face. "This will guarantee we win this war against the other compounds."

She watches my reflection in the glass screen as my brow furrows in confusion.

"Let me just..."

Her voice trails off as she types on the keyboard, switching to a different camera. I lean forward, both hands on the back of the chair. At first, I can't see anything but blurry shapes, long oval-like beings. It looks like bushes, maybe. Tall, scraggly trees.

The camera- or maybe my eyes- focus, and the forms take solid shape.

They are bodies, remnants of skinny humans. The figures closest to the camera are the clearest. One, a female, is missing an arm, her eyes and cheeks sunken into her face. I count the ribs on her naked chest and the vertebrae of her spine, tracing the lines of her kneecaps. I lean forward more, now standing beside Kovach, face inches away from the screen.

I've never seen anything like this. Not in real life, anyway.

"The infected," I say, breathless as I notice the jagged breathing and controllable shake in her body.

"Yes," Kovach says. Her reflection smiles at me, but I tear my eyes away, looking at the countless other mutilated bodies in the space.

"Are they alive?" I ask, although I already know the answer.

"Very much so."

"How?"

"We feed them," Kovach says, scooting away from the screen, "Normally, once a day."

As I stare at the woman, everything I know about the infected comes rushing back. They are fast, incredibly so, but they can't stand the sunlight. They live a while without eating, but at the very scent of human flesh, they come to life, tearing into humans twice their size with ease.

A realization slams me in the stomach.

"What exactly are you feeding them?" I ask, watching a man come into the direct camera line. His face droops, eye almost falling out of it's socket. There's an open wound running across his neck, yellow liquid oozing out.

"I think you know the answer to that, Quinn."

I glance at her, swallowing hard.

"Just say it," I snap.

"The infected need human flesh to survive. We provide for their needs."

My hands begin to shake, threatening to cripple under me.

"So, let me rephrase," I mumble, closing my eyes, "Who exactly are you feeding them?"

Kovach's answer doesn't come right away. She taps her fingers on the desk, the rhythmic sound filling the canyons between us. The urge to break her wrist builds up in me as I clench my eyes shut, facing away from her.

"Those who don't deserve to remain in Compound 5," she finally says, with a sigh, "We feed them the reassigned."

Discussion Question: So, Naomi is gone; that much is clear. Alexis has been sent to her death as well. What will Quinn do?