Among the Betrayed

Nina falls asleep feeling miserable, while the children sleep cuddled on the other side of the cell. In the morning, the guard calls Nina, saying she is wanted for questioning. The children stand silent, terrified. The guard leads Nina into a space that is different from the rest of the prison—it has cream-colored walls and perfect carpets. They enter a room where the guard tells Nina to wait. Nina sees two windows and recalls that her school had no windows, and her aunts at home always kept the curtains closed to hide her. Nina looks outside and relishes the view: daylight and blue sky, grass, a lake, and woods on the horizon. 

The “hating man” enters the room, saying that the officers need some beauty amidst the brutality of their job. He invites Nina to dine with him. Nina marvels at the roast chicken and potatoes—it is a feast that feels like a dream. After eating, she says it was the best meal she has ever had. Instantly, she feels guilty thinking about the children in the cell. She ponders about stealing some food for them but does nothing. The man tells her that she has not succeeded yet in making them her friends. Nina says she is a stranger to them, and the children are hungry and scared. The man says Nina works for the Population Police now and should take her role seriously.

Nina returns to the cell and finds that the children are terrified. Matthias says Alia was worried that Nina might be in danger. Nina is surprised and feels bad for not bringing them any food. Alia says the Population Police have questioned them, too, but they knew what to say. Nina wonders how the children know how to respond to the interrogation, and Alia says that shadow children never reveal their real names to the Population Police. Nina recalls that she once told Jason her real name. She tells the children that she told the “hating man” they are hungry and believe the Population Police watch what they say. Matthias disapproves, saying they will not be able to trick the officers now, and Nina apologizes. She feels guilty that she did not react more strongly against the “hating man” or demand that he free the children. 

The guard leaves eight slices of hard black bread in the cell, and the children rejoice. Since Nina ate earlier, she cannot eat and says she is not hungry. While confused, the other children gobble the bread, and Alia hugs Nina, thanking her. Nina feels guilty.

Days pass, and the children lose sense of time. Sometimes, the officers take one of them for questioning, and the guard brings them food but never water. Their bathroom is only a corner in the cell that they all avoid. Matthias keeps a cloth bag from their food to let it soak up water that drips from the wall. Nina is disgusted and says it tastes horrible, but Matthias notes it will keep them alive. Nina realizes that the children had a harder life than she did. They do not complain about the cell’s darkness or the lack of food. Nina tries to sleep close to them but often finds them whispering on the other side of the cell when she sleeps. She becomes angry and suspicious and thinks about betraying them. She says she misses her family and asks them who they miss. They say nothing. 

Nina reports this to the “hating man,” afraid he might ask her about her own family. She thinks about her parents: Her mother’s name is Rita, her father is Lou, and her grandmother is Ethel. She worries that the “hating man” might already know their names and tries to remember if she ever mentioned them to Jason. She asks the “hating man” for more time, and he warns her that she cannot toy with the Population Police. He leaves her alone in the interrogation room, and Nina decides to steal some peanuts. The guard comes and leads her back to the cell without suspecting her. Nina feels hopeful for the first time.

Nina continues stealing food during her meetings but does not know what to do with it. Though she is starving, her stomach tightens when she is in the cell. She thinks about sharing the food with the children but cannot explain all the stolen food. She has an “evil thought,” thinking she could use the food to bribe the children into telling her their secrets. However, she cannot bring herself to do this and feels hopeless again. 

One day, the “hating man” gives Nina an ultimatum: If she does not learn everything about the children in 24 hours, she and the three “exnays” will be executed. Nina feels numb instead of terrorized. Suddenly, the guard enters, falling against the table and claiming he is poisoned. The “hating man” calls for help, forgetting about Nina. Nina spots the guard’s keys on the floor and grabs them.

Nina now has the keys and 24 hours to act. The “hating man” returns to the room and leads Nina back to the cell. She wonders if he will search for the keys, but he has his own set. When they arrive in the basement, the man realizes he forgot to bring the cell’s key. He tells Nina she can stay in the hall for the night. Now, Nina has food and the keys to all doors. She can escape.

Nina stands in the hall trying each key to open the door, striving to work quietly. Suddenly, she remembers Matthias, Percy, and Alia and wonders if she should take them with her. She has done nothing to harm them but has not helped them either. She knows that if she leaves alone, the children will die. Still, she thinks it will be easier to escape if she goes alone. Taking them might endanger her own life. Nina thinks about Jason betraying her and her friends who did not help her during her arrest. However, she also thinks about her aunties who cared for her and her mother who birthed her and kept sending money despite her absence. Nina picks up the keys and goes to the cell. She finds the right key quickly and calls Matthias, Percy, and Alia to escape with her.