I wonder if fears ever really go away, or if they just lose their power over us.

We don't know what's happened out there since they put us in here, or how many generations have lived and died since they did.We could be the last people left.

There are no safe rooms, no safe truths, no safe secrets to tell.

I look older. Maybe it's the short hair or maybe it's just that I wear all that has happened like a mask. Either way, I always thought I would be happy when I stopped looking like a child. But all I feel is a lump in my throat. I am no longer the daughter my parents knew. They will never know me as I am now.

Don’t worry about me handling the pain," I say. "I’ve had a lot of practice.

Yes," I say. "Three of these flying birds." I touch my collarbone, marking the path of their flight - toward my heart. One for each member of the family I left behind.

If Eric thinks I did something right, I must have done it wrong.