Among the Betrayed

The children decide to wait before escaping to ensure the guards will not return. While Nina wants to leave immediately, Matthias suggests she lock them back in the cell. Nina thinks she could never return to the cell’s darkness. They wait for an hour, and Nina feels impatient and restless. The stolen food is spoiling, and an “evil” inner voice prompts Nina to escape alone and leave the children behind. However, she firmly refuses, and they all exit the cell. Matthias asks for the keys. Nina still distrusts him, thinking they could escape without her. However, Matthias quickly finds the right key for the outer door, and Alia steps out to check if all is clear. Nina notices their ease and thinks she is with a group of “professional thieves” (80). Despite not knowing them, she now feels safe with them. They arrive outside the officers’ suite and notice a security system of thin gray wires.

Nina panics about the security system, but the children remain calm. Matthias asks her how many more doors are ahead. Nina says there is only one more door to the interrogation room, and they could escape from the window. Alia climbs onto Matthias’s shoulders, takes out a knife, and starts cutting the wires. After she is done, they see that the door to the interrogation room is open. Nina runs inside and opens the window. They climb out and fall on the grass; then, they run until they reach the woods. 

They stop to look back at the prison. Nina can see that the prison has fences and barbed wire, just like the “hating man” said. The officers’ section is the only unprotected side. They see a dim light in the window, but nobody comes outside to look for them. Nina feels scared, wondering if Matthias left the window open or if Alia cut the right wire. She asks what will happen if the Population Police search for them, and Percy says they will stay hidden. Nina knows she could not have escaped without the children. When they ask her which way to go, Nina panics and says she does not remember how to find the woods.

Matthias, Percy, and Alia ask questions about the woods. Since it is close to Nina’s school, Percy asks what time of day she was transported to the prison. Confused, Nina notes the Population Police arrested her at breakfast. Percy asks if she remembers the sun’s direction when they drove her to prison. She says it was raining but thinks there was a glow in the sky, and she was on the left side of the car. Matthias understands it was sunrise—Nina has never seen the sunrise. Matthias concludes that Nina’s school must be north of the city. They must walk by the road, or they will be lost. Nina feels ignorant compared to the children and hopes her memory is right.

The children walk into the woods for hours, and Nina feels tired. Alia tells her they can sit and wait because Matthias and Percy have something to do. Nina asks Alia if she wants food. They share an orange, but Nina feels hungry again right after. She takes out a box of cereal and eats it all. Alia advises her to save some of the food for the trip. Nina asks where the boys are, but Alia says nothing. In a moment, she sees a light in the woods and fears it is the Population Police looking for them. Alia reassures her, saying it is Matthias and Percy making their signal. The boys appear with a flashlight, and Nina questions them about it. They say they were lucky. Nina is confused, knowing that flashlights are valuable, and nobody would leave one in the woods. Percy suggests they should rest and take turns to keep guard. Nina offers to go first, and the children sleep. 

Nina looks into the darkness of the woods, thinking about its mysteries. She looks at the children’s faces and realizes she has not observed them closely before. She focuses on Alia who looks sweet and childlike, and Nina recalls her confidence during their escape from prison. She notices Percy’s sharp facial features and sees that Matthias looks worried even in his sleep. As his eyes squint, she wonders what he is dreaming about. 

Nina suddenly feels scared and mistrustful of the kids, thinking they could betray her like Jason did and turn her in to the Population Police for a reward. She cannot believe, though, that sweet little Alia could do it. She stares into the sunlit woods, which feels terrifying to her. Despite her doubts, Nina knows she cannot survive without the children.

Nina awakens with a start in the morning, afraid something has happened. The children are still sleeping. In a while, they wake up, thanking Nina for keeping guard all night. She doesn’t reveal that she fell asleep during the night. Percy says they can make it to Nina’s safe place by night. The children share biscuits for breakfast when Nina realizes she is thirsty. She asks if people die without water. Raised under her aunts’ protection, she does not have the skills to survive in the woods. Percy hears the sound of a river nearby. Then, the three children clean up their traces with Nina wondering how they learned to do it. 

The children walk to the river, and the sound of the water makes Nina homesick, remembering that her grandmother always washed her. Nina declares she will take a bath. She does not know how to swim but says she will stay close to the edge. Being in the water makes Nina feel happy again, and she invites the children in. However, as she tries to swim, the waters carry her away. Soon, she finds herself at a shallower point and shouts back, telling the children she is fine. She realizes what she did was silly. Around the river bend, Nina sees a “Government-made” bridge and two men in uniform standing on it. They yell at her, saying she is not allowed to swim in the river, and demand to see her ID.

Nina wishes she could swim and escape the officers. She freezes, but soon she hears Alia’s voice. Alia arrives and tells the officers she is Nina’s sister and that they left their ID cards on the riverbank. Alia runs back and Nina thinks she will escape with the boys. However, Alia returns and shows two ID cards to the officers, with fake names and photos resembling her and Nina. Nina is speechless. The officer notes it is illegal to swim in the river, and the girls could be arrested for trespassing. Alia pleads with them, saying they were going to visit their grandmother and slipped in the mud. They were washing their clothes at the river but did not know it was illegal. The officers warn them to stay on the road because the Population Police prison is near. After the girls leave, Nina asks Alia about the cards, but Alia warns her to be quiet. Nina says when they meet with the boys, they should tell each other everything. Alia tells her again to be quiet.