Chapter Two: The Theater That Did Not Exist

"You come every night. You told us to remember a sentence." "Which sentence?" The rabbits pointed to the last row. The white umbrella waited there. "Six." Shen Yao ran to a side door marked EBBTIDE. Red thread had sewn it shut. Every time a lamp died, the umbrella moved one row closer. Memory protected truth with symbols, she reminded herself. The theater was an arranged performance. The children had been made to repeat something. The stitched door meant Lin Mo believed she was not allowed to leave. "Five." Shen Yao tore down the painted city. Behind it was a soundproof laboratory. Lin Mo sat at a microphone while a man in a white coat handed her a cue card. DON'T LET SHEN YAO WAKE.