Among the Hidden

On the first clear day, Dad goes to work the fields, so Luke flips on the backdoor light. When he doesn’t receive a response, he goes to Jen’s house. He once again rips the screen on the backdoor to let himself in. He goes straight to the alarm, which Jen taught him how to disarm, and turns it off, though he isn’t sure he did it correctly. 

Luke calls out for Jen, assuring her she doesn’t have to hide. He searches the house, but he can’t find her anywhere. He goes to the computer room and logs into the chat room. There are no chat logs for the day. No one has been active in the room. He types “Where’s Jen?” and sends it, but no one responds. He asks if anyone is there, but still no answer. He cries out, begging for answers. 

A voice behind Luke tells him to turn around slowly and demands to know who he is and why he’s there.

Luke turns around to see a man holding a small gun. He’s only ever heard of guns because they are outlawed for everyone except government officials. He realizes he’s looking at Jen’s dad. Luke tells the man he’s Jen’s friend and asks where she is. The man’s arm with the gun relaxes and he moves to the other side of Luke to turn off the computer. He asks Luke how he knows about Jen. 

Luke confesses to being a third child and reluctantly admits that he guessed Jen was there by watching the lights and windows of the house. Jen’s dad says Jen was careless, but Luke corrects him, clarifying that he was just observant. The man takes a seat and asks if Jen taught Luke how to disable the alarm, which Luke admits she did. Jen’s dad gets an automatic notification if the alarm is disabled while he’s away from home, even if it doesn’t summon guards. With Jen gone, he came home to investigate. 

The man asks what Jen and Luke did together. Luke says they talked, adding that Jen wanted him to go to the rally, but he was scared. Jen’s dad asks why Luke didn’t stop Jen. Luke says it would be “like trying to stop the sun” (127). Jen’s dad appreciates the explanation. He informs Luke that Jen is dead and shakes his head helplessly. Luke collapses to the couch in disbelief and grief. Jen’s dad expresses his own grief, revealing how hard it is for him to act like he didn’t just lose a child and mentioning how she couldn’t be buried in the family plot. He was privileged enough to get her body back, which only happened because he’s a government official. 

Jen and the other children who showed up for the rally were shot and killed. The government covered up the massacre. The blood was cleaned before the first crop of tourists showed up that morning. Although Jen believed there would be too many kids, almost a thousand, there were only 40 and they were easily disposed of. 

Jen’s father admits Jen had too much faith in her fellow shadow children and knows that nothing could have stopped her. He begins to sob and wonders aloud why Jen would organize the rally. He’s worked hard to inform Jen of the dangers of the Population Police. Luke believes that Jen thought the rally was a good idea at first, but by the time she began to reconsider, she was too deep in her plans. Luke tells Jen’s dad that it’s not that she wanted to die for others, but she wanted to live as freely as everyone else. Luke struggles to believe she’s really gone. 

Jen’s dad explains that Luke is in danger. The chat room is now on the radar of the Population Police; when Luke sent messages to the chat, it notified them. They’ll be able to trace the messages from Luke back to the computer. Jen’s dad offers a solution: He can get Luke a fake ID. Luke asks how. Jen’s dad confesses to working for the Population Police.

Luke panics at the realization that he’s face to face with a member of the Population Police. In his panic, he grabs the gun from Jen’s dad’s lap and points it at him, screaming. Jen’s dad talks Luke down and gets his gun back. He swears in Jen’s name that he’s on Luke’s side. 

Jen’s dad explains that he works within the system to sabotage efforts of the Population Police. He asks what Luke knows about history. Luke tells Jen’s dad about the books and articles Jen loaned him. Jen’s dad believes Luke only got propaganda from opposing sides. He says Jen believed in the articles so passionately because he wanted her to have hope for the future, but he never anticipated she would die for it. Jen’s dad believes the truth is in the middle of the propaganda, but the government has lied for so long that no one really knows the truth. 

During the famine, the government was overthrown, and a man named General Sherwood took power. He brought law and order back to the country, but at a great cost to human rights. Barons were allowed special privileges, which Jen’s dad feels embarrassed about. Government officials with the most powerful positions are all Barons. The government likes to keep everyone else in poverty to motivate them to work hard. Luke’s family just scrapes by because that’s how the government designed the system. Luke feels angry when he learns this. 

Jen’s dad doesn’t believe the Population Law is necessary. He believes food is unfairly distributed, but General Sherwood is too proud of his Population Law to acknowledge that it isn’t needed anymore. Luke realizes that there is a difference between legality and morality, and he feels better about his own existence. He wonders if he would’ve gone to the rally if he believed legality and morality were the same thing. He thinks Jen believed that. 

Jen’s dad must go back to work, but he says he can have the fake ID for Luke by tomorrow. Before they can finish their conversation, the Population Police bang on the door and demand Jen’s dad open up.

Jen’s dad grabs Luke and shoves him in a closet. He tells Luke there’s a secret door at the back, instructing him to use it. Luke feels his way through the dark until he reaches the back wall of the closet, but he can’t find the door. He can hear the Population Police stomping through the house while Jen’s dad uses his authoritative tone to tell them how incompetent they are. 

The Population Police came because of Luke’s messages in the chat room. Jen’s dad lies and explains that he put out a memo saying he would be doing an undercover investigation of the chat room. He claims that he sent those messages. He continues to berate the Population Police about missing his commendation and continued investigation into the chat room. 

Luke cannot believe what a good liar Jen’s dad is, leading him to worry about being able to trust the man. He wonders if Jen’s own father double-crossed her. In the back of the closet, most of the voices grow muffled, but Jen’s dad speaks loud enough for Luke to hear. Luke covers himself with a blanket, still unable to find the door. 

When the Population Police can’t find anything regarding the memo Jen’s dad claims to have put out, they say they’re going to search the house. Jen’s dad reminds them that Barons are entitled to sue if the search is found to be unlawful. The Population Police are skeptical, so Jen’s dad flings open the closet and invites them to start their search. Luke hears them search the closet for a moment before they move on and the door shuts again. He’s terrified they’ll come back and find him. He thinks about his family and how he wishes he could speak to them one more time. 

Once things are quiet and the Population Police are gone, Jen’s dad fetches Luke from the closet. He indicates that he cannot speak now. Using a piece of paper to communicate, he tells Luke that the house has been bugged and the Population Police will return if they hear him talking to someone. He writes that they only have a little bit of time before the Population Police find out he never filed a memo and come looking for him again. He asks if Luke wants the fake ID. He explains that Luke is probably not safe without one, but he isn’t sure. 

Luke wants to wait and think about it, but Jen’s dad explains that he has power right now. Luke wants a life outside the attic. He realizes with a fake ID, he’d have more opportunities to do something to help other shadow children in smaller ways than a rally. 

He comes to realize that he is capable of making a difference, and perhaps not being a Baron is a secret strength because he has no misconceptions about the kindness of the world. He writes that he would like the fake ID. 

Luke takes on the identity of Lee Grant, a Baron boy who died tragically in a ski accident. The family donated his identity to a network that helps shadow children. Lee Grant’s parents want nothing to do with Luke, so Luke will go straight to a boarding school for boys. Luke is given nice, new clothes like those of Barons. He tries to imagine he’s Lee Grant, looking at a foreign farmhouse, but he can’t fully get into character. 

Two nights prior, Luke told his parents everything. He confessed to sneaking out, and told them everything about Jen and ended with his decision to get a fake ID. His mother was distraught and tearful, and she tried to convince him to stay. However, Dad understood Luke’s decision. Dad doesn’t believe Luke will get another chance at living freely.

On the morning of Luke’s departure, Jen’s dad is still wearing a listening device, so Luke and Jen’s dad put on a show, speaking as though Luke is the runaway Lee Grant, who was found by a nice farming family that cared for him until he could be retrieved. Luke’s mom almost slips up while saying goodbye to him, but Jen’s dad taps his pocket to remind her they’re being monitored. Jen’s dad slips Luke the new ID card. Luke hugs his family goodbye. His mother cheekily tells him to be a good boy, but Luke can’t think of a response. 

In the car with Jen’s dad, Luke thinks about all he’s leaving behind. Most importantly, he thinks about Jen, whom he hasn’t had time to grieve yet. He whispers inaudibly to her, promising to make sure people hear her story. When the farmhouse disappears in the distance, Luke accepts his new life as Lee Grant.