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Lillibeth came in to check my leg. It had begun to hurt again. After she injected the painkiller, I gave a long sigh of relief. She cleaned up and closed the medicine cabinet and gave her usual practiced smile. “I think your ankle has healed enough that you can travel a bit. Let’s have you take a short walk. Coltrane, would you mind grabbing the crutches?”
    “You bet.” He bolted out of the room.
    “Wait,” I said. “You mean outside?”
    “Of course not,” she said quickly. “Just out of our dwelling and into the tunnel, down to the corner and back. Let’s see how the tissue is responding to the medication.”
    “But—what if people see me?”
    She gave me a long look. “Why is it a problem if they see you?”
    “I’d rather not go out there,” I said, thinking quickly. “I…got the impression that NORA didn’t want to release us. Maybe if they knew I was here, they’d want to bring me back there.”
    Lillibeth actually rolled her eyes. “Nonsense. Even if that were true, none of us has contact with NORA. They don’t even know we’re here. If they did, they’d exterminate us. Believe me, we want secrecy as much as you do. Now, let me help you stand.”
    Her tone left no room for argument. It wasn’t like I could hide in here for weeks, especially if Lillibeth was expecting me to work off my debt. I’d just have to be very careful. Besides, after so long in bed, maybe a walk was just what I needed. I swung my legs carefully off the bed and sat up.
    Coltrane emerged with the crutches and adjusted the length, and then we were off.
    “Just be smart,” Lillibeth told us as we left. Coltrane nodded as if he knew exactly what that meant.
    Outside the hanging cloth was a long tunnel wide enough for three people shoulder to shoulder. The ceiling curved upward in what was now a familiar arch. A tall person would have to walk down the center to avoid scraping it. Now and then a flat vent poked through the dirt wall, whistling as it blew clean air into the tunnel.
    “We’ll go to the end of our quadrant and back. Just let me know if you get tired before we reach the corner.”
    “Quadrant?” My hobbling slowed as I brushed my fingers along the wall and then examined them. Reddish-brown dust. The walls were smooth like plastic, with not a crack in sight. Definitely not hand-carved. What machine could do that to dirt?
    “There are four quadrants and four exits,” he said, barely noticing that I had fallen behind. “We basically take up the entire valley above us. Remember that old town you were hiding in? It’s about a quarter mile northwest and fifty feet above us right now. We actually salvaged some of their underground water and sewer systems for our own use.”
    I wiped my fingers on my uniform pants—which desperately needed to be washed soon—and hobbled after Coltrane. “Aren’t you afraid this will all collapse on your head?”
    “Nah. The founders were scientists. Apparently one of them got the idea from studying ant farms or something. We have approved dimensions for tunnels and dwellings, spaced just so, and the ceilings have a very precise arch. In fifty years, we’ve only lost two dwellings to earthquakes, and that’s only because they were in an unstable corner of the west quadrant. It’s not perfect, though. We tried to cut a fifth section up in the hills a few years ago, but the soil was too rocky and it broke the excavator. Luckily my dad got it fixed again before he left.”
    “Where did he go?”
    Coltrane shrugged, although his smile faltered. “Nobody knows. He took a bunch of friends on a hunting expedition and never returned. My mom refuses to talk about him.”
    Then how do you know he’s alive? I didn’t dare voice the question. He was obviously proud of his father, and I had no right to take that away.
    A group of five women turned the corner ahead, chattering to each other, one holding an infant in her arms and a pack in the other. Their hair ranged from dirty