Among the Enemy

Chapter Twenty-Six

Matthias walked back to his bedroom in a daze, his hands reeking of ammonia. He started to walk in through the commander's office, then stopped.

"There's another door, isn't there?" he asked the guard. "I have to get something from my room, and I don't want to… disturb the commander."

"Sure," the guard said. "Over here."

He led Matthias down a short hallway off to the side. The guard unlocked a door, and Matthias stepped into his bedroom.

"Thanks," Matthias said. "Should I lock the door again when I leave?"

"It'll lock automatically behind you," the guard said.

That's useful information, Matthias told himself. Start pay^ ing attention again.

He walked over to his window and looked out. He was on the second floor, facing a courtyard.

If I need to, I can knot my sheets and climb down. I'll have to find out which of those windows below would be the safest to enter. That way, I can sneak out and nobody will know.

But he could see the shadows of guards standing by the windows below, their dark shapes humped over like vultures. The old despair threatened to overwhelm Matthias again.

It doesn't matter, he told himself. Right now, I don't need to get out without anyone knowing. I need to eavesdrop on the commander. Might as well start now. Unless the guard talked to the commander, he doesn't even know I'm here….

Blindly, blinking back tears, Matthias stumbled over to the door separating his bedroom from the commander's office. He pressed his ear tightly against the hard wood. Nothing happened, except that his ear began to hurt. He could hear soft murmurings, but he couldn't make out any words. The door was too thick.

Then he heard footsteps.

He scrambled away from the door and made a half dive for the bed. He was sprawled half on, half off the bed when the door opened. He buried his head in his pillow to hide his guilty expression.

The footsteps came closer.

"Oh, my dear boy." It was the commander. He sat down on the edge of the bed and began stroking Matthias's hair. "It's hard, isn't it?"

Matthias moved his head up and down, burrowing deeper and deeper into the pillow. Yes, this was hard. He shoved his hands under the pillow and hoped the commander wouldn't notice the ammonia smell.

"I don't think you should push yourself too hard," the commander said. "Going down to breakfast and then seeing Tiddy's memorial. . that's a lot for one morning. Several people have told me what you did. . They were all so moved. Do you know how many caps are down there now? Five hundred."

Great, Matthias thought. Not only do people watch everything I do, they report everything to the commander.

He wasn't particularly surprised. How else had the commander known Matthias was back in his room?

The despair came creeping back, ready to drown him. Who was he to think he could outsmart the Population Police? How could he and Nina and Trey and Lee — mere children — do anything when the Population Police had all the power? The Population Police had this grand head' quarters, storehouses of food, endless numbers of guards and soldiers stretched out across the entire country.

Matthias was choosing to side with starving people dying on the street.

And God. And goodness. And mercy. And hope.

The words came into his mind so strongly that he almost glanced around to see if Samuel or Percy or Alia were standing right there with him, telling him what to think. At the last minute, he remembered who was sitting beside him. Peeking out from his pillow, Matthias could see the commander's stiff black uniform, with the row of commendations along his sleeve. Commendations for killing people, probably, for ordering the deaths of children like Matthias.

How can I not fight back?

Matthias got an idea. He turned his head to the side. He hoped his face was red and anguished-looking enough.

"Tiddy wanted me to… take classes," he muttered. "I'm so far behind."

"There'll be plenty of time for that later," the commander said. He patted Matthias's back.

"Could I listen to tapes of the classes?" Matthias asked, trying to make it sound like the idea had just occurred to him. "With headphones, I mean, so I don't disturb you."

"Why, that's a splendid notion," the commander said. "Of course. I'll send for that right away."

When Matthias went downstairs for lunch a few hours later, he had a new note scribbled out to shove into Nina's hand: Will spy for you. Have headphones. Can you get listening device for me?