Wake up!” a man was saying. “You’re fine, kid. Walk it off, walk it off.”

Who let my father in?

“Wake up! Come on, I didn’t hit you that hard.”

Nat felt someone patting her cheek. Her forehead thundered, her ears rang. The tunnel. The escape. She flashed on Saunders, bleeding on the floor. She heard herself say, “It’s under the floor.”

“Wake up, professor. You’re gonna be fine.”

Nat opened her eyes. She found herself flat on her back on the prison driveway. Noise surrounded her. Firefighters, cops, and C.O.s ran and shouted. Shadows shifted everywhere around her. One face hovered above her, his features clear in the floodlights. Trooper Mundy.

“Good morning, professor. Now that you’re awake, you’re under arrest.”

“No, please, listen.” Nat felt herself hoisted to her feet. She fought the fog in her head. Warm blood ran down her face. She struggled to stand on wobbly knees. “There’s a tunnel under the floor. They were gonna get Williams out tonight. Parrat is here. He’s gonna—”

“You’re coming with me.”

“Trooper, just check it! There’s a tunnel under the floor! I started the fire to stop them! I messed up their plans! Parrat is going to get Williams out!”

“You started the fire? You’re a disgrace!” Mundy thundered, pulling her through the crowd. “I stuck up for you with Duffy. You made a fool outta me.”

“He’s wearing a fake cop outfit!” Nat writhed in Mundy’s grip, pummeling his arms, using every ounce of strength to get back to the entrance. “He killed the trooper! He shot Barb!”

“Fake cops now? You’ve lost your mind.”

“No, I swear, Graf is in on it, with Machik and—”

“I heard you called my office, asking for me, pretending you were a man. I don’t know your deal, but you’re effin’ crazy!”

Mundy kept pulling Nat away, but she couldn’t let this happen. God only knew what Parrat was doing now. She would lose her chance. Williams would go free. She couldn’t make Mundy listen. She couldn’t make anybody listen. Not her students, not her family, not her father. She felt a wellspring of anger bubble to the surface. Rage that had been building her whole life, spontaneously combusting. Gnat. Book smart. Why couldn’t she make anybody hear her?

“WILL YOU ALL LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE?” Nat screamed at the top of her lungs, so loud that her voice broke. She felt like the mouse that roared. “PARRAT IS GOING TO GET WILLIAMS OUT! THERE’S A TUNNEL UNDER THE FLOOR! SAUNDERS DIED FOR IT! I’LL SHOW IT TO YOU!”

Suddenly the pop pop pop of automatic gunfire crackled from the prison like an electrical current. The crowd exploded into movement. Cops and C.O.s ran for the prison from all directions.

“That’s Parrat! He’s inside!” Nat shouted amid the melee, and Mundy’s eyes looked bewildered, then furious.

“I cannot effin’ believe this!” he shouted, then he picked Nat up, threw her over his shoulders like a sack, and carted her to an empty police cruiser. He opened the back door and started to shove her into the backseat.

“No, lemme go, you gotta listen!” Nat writhed but she was losing the battle. Mundy stuffed her into the backseat, and when the car door almost slammed on her, she summoned all her courage and kicked him in the shins. Mundy hopped back for a split second, and she seized the moment to jump out of the car and take off toward the prison entrance. The trooper ran after her and clamped his hand on her arm.

“Don’t you ever stop?” he asked, exasperated, and just then a shout came from the front of the prison. The crowd edged backward, suddenly hushed. Nat was too short to see anything, and Mundy shoved her behind his broad back, but she peeked out.

And witnessed a nightmare.