“We have different values than you, so this is a time I don’t want to be lumped in with adults.”

Bea huffed and began to walk. Carl followed, and so did Agnes. As Agnes walked into the Lodge, she noticed a box of notepads, with pencils, just like her mother carried. She swiped one. There were new Rangers at the table. No one welcomed her into the room. Agnes took a seat and waited out the Rangers’ confused silence.

“It’s fine,” said Bea, waving her hand at Agnes. “She can be here.” But her mother shook her head all the same.

There were two Rangers at either side of the door, their hands folded in front of their belts, their legs apart. They are guarding the door, Agnes thought. Another was planted at a door in the back of the hall and another on the other side of the big soaring windows overlooking the lake. Agnes could see her Community out there. Debra and Pinecone swimming, others cooking and prepping dinner. Jake and the Twins were milling around in some bushes near the window, curious, maybe protective, until two Rangers escorted them back to camp.

Ranger Bob sat at the head of the table and made some announcements about the fire they’d smelled and about the movement of a wolf pack into the area. “In case you get lucky enough to see them,” he said. He was all smiles as usual and kindly-voiced. But he had someone next to him who gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes often. He was introduced as Ranger Bob’s boss, and he had one more stripe on his uniform than Ranger Bob. Just one, but it seemed like one made a big difference. Ranger Bob looked at him a lot. He clearly wanted to make the man happy, and it was unclear if he was succeeding.

Ranger Bob paused, then cleared his throat. “So, and this bit is important. The study has concluded.”

Carl and Bea blinked stupidly like deer.

“What does that mean for us?” said Carl.

“Well”—Ranger Bob smiled—“it means you have to go home.”

“To—” said Carl.

“The City.”

“What?” Her mother’s voice came sharp and angry. Even though she had just told Agnes that she had contingency plans for such a moment, she seemed utterly blindsided.

“Hold on,” said Ranger Bob. “We may have another option to offer you. But we’ll need something from you in return.” He shot a glance at his boss. “We’ve been battling a scourge for a few years. Something we wanted to keep from you. For the sake of the study. But it has come to my attention that you are no longer ignorant of the fact that we have some Trespassers in our midst.” Carl smiled, seeming happy they had used his term, but then he quickly scowled as if to try to hide his giddiness.

Bea made a surprised face and opened her mouth to express shock at the idea. But Ranger Bob held up his hand. “Save it, Bea,” he said. “We know about Adam.” Bea then looked surprised anew, as if thinking, How?

They told the same story Adam had told them, but this time it sounded much more real and plausible. A group of people—no one knew how large—had been living in the Wilderness for several years. Having most likely crossed over from the Mines, but possibly at other points. People who had disappeared from the City, who had been run out of the City or could not survive there, were now surviving here. In the beginning, their presence was half believed. Some Rangers thought it possible. Others denied it. Ranger Bob bowed his head sheepishly. He had thought it inconceivable. They eventually gathered evidence. Motion cameras in the woods caught videos of blurry images moving from behind trees in places far from where the Community would have been. They had enough evidence that they were not only here, but had been here for quite a while. And there were many.

“And what does that have to do with us?” said Carl.

“We would like your help. We haven’t been able to infiltrate this group. But we think that maybe you can.”

“What do we have to do?”

“What you’ve always done,” said Ranger Bob. “Walk, hunt, live. But in a predetermined place. We’ve pinpointed the quadrant where we think most are hiding. We will transport you there. And I will join the Community, pretending to be one of you. I’ll carry a tracker and alert headquarters when they are found.”

“And if we do this, we get to stay?”

Ranger Bob smiled. “No, not exactly. You get to stay while you make contact, of course. But once we have intercepted the Trespassers and rounded them up, then we will secure passage for you to the Private Lands.”

Carl laughed. “Fuck you, Bob.”

“I know it isn’t the Wilderness State but—”

“It’s bullshit is what it is. There’s no Private Lands.”

“I can assure you there is. And if you help us, you can live there for the rest of your lives and never have to return to the City ever again.”

Carl started to stand, angry, but Bea grabbed his arm and pulled him down to her. She whispered furiously in his ear, and as she did, he slowly sank back into his seat.

“What if we can’t connect with them?” Bea asked. “What if we try and fail? Do we still get to go to the Private Lands?”

Ranger Bob and his boss exchanged eyebrow raises. His boss scowled, and Ranger Bob turned to Bea and smiled. “We have no doubt you’ll find them.”

“But we’ve never found them before,” said Bea. “Adam came to us. Why do you think we’ll know how to find them now?”

“You found that dead guy,” spat the Boss. His eyes shifted from face to face, deeply distrustful of what he saw.

“He was one?”

“Yes.”

“But he was dead. He couldn’t hide.”

The Boss slammed back in his chair. Agnes didn’t understand what made him so upset. The Boss waved his hand at Ranger Bob, as though to say, Go ahead.

“We know they want to rendezvous with you,” said Ranger Bob.

“They want to steal our stuff,” said Carl.

“Very likely.”

“How do you know?”

“We have intel.”

“What intel? How?”

“That’s classified.”

Bea snorted. “Oh, come on.” But Bob put a hand up to quiet her, and she quieted, immediately.

“This is an important operation. We need to bring this trespassing to light. To send a message to anyone who thinks it’s a good idea to follow in their footsteps.”

“The message being, Stay out,” said Bea, filling in the blanks.

“Yes.”

Agnes looked out the window. She saw her Community and the vast Caldera ecosystem behind them. They were specks. And the Caldera was a speck on the map. It had taken them seasons to get here from the Basin, which they had spent seasons getting to.

“But there’s plenty of room,” said Agnes.

“What do you mean?” asked Ranger Bob.

“I mean, it’s a big Wilderness. So what if some people stay?”

“The Wilderness State is changing. It has a new mandate. No one can be here.”

Agnes scoffed. “How can you have a Wilderness without any people?”

The Boss answered. “The study has clearly shown that you can’t have a Wilderness with people.”

This struck Agnes as ridiculous. “You wouldn’t even know we were here if we hid. There’d be no trace of us.”

The Boss sneered. “Oh, if you hid, we’d find you and we’d round you up.”

Before she could say more, her mother hissed, “Quiet, Agnes.”

Carl said, “I have a question. Why don’t we just carry the tracker and press the alert button when we find them?” He looked despondent. Life as they knew it was over, and on top of that they had to work with the Rangers?

Ranger Bob and the Boss looked at each other, deciding what to say. Then Ranger Bob smiled. “We don’t trust that you’ll do it.” He shrugged. “Sorry.”

Agnes braced for Carl to rage at this, to feel babysat. But he sat there contemplating it, and surprisingly, he said, “That’s fair,” accepting the provisions. Adding, “Just as long as we are still in charge.”

Bob raised his palms, a sign of mild surrender. “Of course. I’m just there for the button.” He smiled. “And a little adventure too. I don’t mind getting away from the uniform.” The Boss rolled his eyes, his mouth sharp and disapproving, but Bob smiled through it.

“And what if we don’t help?”

“Well, we sincerely hope you do.”

“But what if we don’t?”

“Like we said, the study is over,” said the Boss. “You’ll fill out some paperwork. And then go home. To the City.” He crossed his arms. “Tomorrow.”