When the large metal door slid open, he saw for the first time the open field that surrounded the complex. He was first transported here in an enclosed space at the back of a van, in a state of disbelief…

Tim flicked a blue marble into a red tin bucket and the clank made him wince. He touched his ears and found the devices and rotated the controls, then he tried again with another marble. This time it sounded just right; he could hear it no longer. …

Annie is seven and has upwards of twenty siblings. Her older siblings know with precision where they themselves were born, which is often one hospital or another that's named after a Saint. …