I huffed, not sure if I should laugh at that or brace for the worst. "Okay?"
"I know what happened with Meri. He knows that I know, and most people have forgotten, butmywife? You were Meri's roommate. You're a constant reminder. He's convinced you're to blame somehow, or all women are. I'm not sure. What I know is he doesn't trust me, and Mr. Peterson is why I was promoted. Oh, and I'm heading back out in a day."
"Already?" I gasped.
He nodded slowly, then moved to sit on the bed beside me. "Callah, the code? It's 2-0-6-3. I'm not sure - "
"The year the compound was founded?" I asked.
He blinked and jerked back slightly. "What?"
"The compound was closed to the world above on April 4th, 2063. I read that in one of the books. The same one that told me how to get Meri banished, actually. That's why we celebrate the Sealing on that day."
"Oh. So they used the date for the code?"
I shrugged. "It is a four-digit number. It's something they were probably supposed to remember."
"Yeah, that makes sense," he admitted.
"But this is a good thing," I insisted. "We have the code. That means you can go, and I'll follow. That should let me out, right?"
"No."
Wait, what? "Why not?"
"You can't use the code to get out," he explained. "The mechanism to open everything is in a room beside the exit. Alockedroom. Only the elders and leaders have that key. I'm noteven sure all of them do, but the only people I've ever seen open it? Mr. Peterson and a few elders."
"Every time you leave?" I asked.
He nodded. "That's why the leader of the hunters doesn't hunt. He has to man the door. I have a feeling there's a guard posted there constantly."
"But if you can get out..."
"And die?" He sighed heavily. "If Gideon wants me dead, I'm as good as gone. He could use the chaos of a fight to gun me down. He could order someone else to do it, promising them my position once I'm gone."
"But that's murder!"
"Out there," he said gently, "the rules are not the same. Hunters know it's all a lie. We're the men they trust to keep that secret. The ones who've been good little boys, playing by the rules they set. That's why I was a gatherer, Callah, not a hunter. I asked too many questions and was too 'stupid' to be trusted to keep my mouth shut."
"And now there's just not enough men to be as picky," I realized.
He nodded. "Yeah. But all of this is a mess. Gideon is Mr. Saunder's successor now. They want to kick our wives and widows out, then replace them with wild women."
"In quarantine," I reminded him. "Women who don't need to be controlled because they're secured behind locked doors. Women who can be bred and killed, and no one will have questions."
Ducking his head, he groaned. "Because they want to kill your rebellion before it can even start!"
"No..." I breathed, realizing he had a point.
"They announced the changes right after you and Mrs. Worthington said you didn't need to heal anymore. You pushed, so this is their way of pushing back."
"Punchingback!" I huffed.
"Well, they do think men should not spare the rod. This is really no different. Their punishment isn't just. It's not fair. It's not to better things. They use it to keep everyone in line, and it's working!"
"But it's not," I said.
His head snapped around. "What do you mean?"
