Sam woke to a bell the next morning. The breakfast served was similar to the one Terla had brought her the day before. After eating, the women were led to a different field where they again picked the pink pea pods. A night of rest and a few hearty meals had improved Sam's physical stamina and attentiveness.

While they worked Sam took a better inventory of the people around her. Many of the women appeared to be pregnant, a few of them clearly getting close to their due date. Sam estimated at least half of the women around her were visibly pregnant which seemed unusually high, especially in these working conditions. They were also all younger than Sam. Many appeared only about half her age, unless these women stayed younger looking for a long time. That was doubtful considering they spent so much time working in the sun. The guards were well armed but seemed to get bored easily, probably because they believed the women under their charge were docile and unlikely to run.

As they worked, Terla, Simir, Jaylean, and Farron stayed close to Sam, teaching her words and talking amongst themselves. These women giggled more than Sam would have expected since they were clearly prisoners. Sam kept her head down and avoided the guards, allowing her new friends to be her shield. After five days of picking beans, they switched to picking a vegetable that resembled squash. At dinner that night Sam discovered that although it looked like a squash it tasted more like a tomato.

Even though learning languages wasn't Sam's specialty, she was putting a great deal of effort into her lessons and they were paying off. Luckily the Assirian language seems to have straightforward rules, unlike English. Terla had told her friends Sam was from another camp, and Sam appreciated Terla's willingness to cover for her. Over dinner, Simir, Jaylean, and Farron asked Sam questions about her old camp. Sam kept her answers very general and, in a few cases, pretended to not understand them, emphasizing that her lack of understanding was because she was from very far away.

"How many sons have you had?" Jayleen tilted her head as she asked Sam.

Sam shook her head. "I have never had any children." All four women looked perplexed.

"None?" Jayleen looked bewildered. "Then how have you lived so long?" The other women clearly shared Jayleen's confusion.

Sam thought not having kids probably extended your life in these types of conditions, but she certainly didn't have the ability to explain that given her limited vocabulary. "I am very healthy."

The four women shared looks before Terla spoke. "If you were healthy then you would have birthed many sons."

Sam grimaced. "I'm sorry but I don't understand."

"Strong healthy women give birth to sons who live. If you give birth to sons who live, then you also can live."

Sam pulled back slightly as the implication filtered through her head. "What happens if you have a girl?"

"You are given one more chance to have a healthy son." Terla gave Sam a tight smile.

"And if you have another girl?" Sam watched their faces fall. "What if you give birth to a son but he is not healthy?"

Terla leaned forward, covering Sam's hand with her own. "Women who cannot provide healthy sons are a burden on society. There are too many women already."

Sam gasped at the implication. There were too many women? She had assumed she had been separated from her team and sent to a prison camp because she was a woman and had broken some rule or law, but was there something even more insidious going on than she had known? Is this why she had been lined up with all those other women for execution? Sam looked around the room again. These women were all young and pregnant. If fate didn't give them a healthy son, would they too be lined up along a mass grave they'd dug for themselves?

After dinner Terla pulled Sam aside. "You must hide."

"Hide? Why?" Sam was worried that admitting she had never had children had put a target on her back. Would one of these women turn her in?

"Tomorrow we will not work. We will go to the doctor. You cannot go to the doctor." Sam realized this many pregnant women would need regular healthcare. "You need to hide tonight while there is less attention being paid."

Sam nodded her understanding. She had been thinking through where she could hide and evaluating potential escape routes while working in the fields. There were several buildings to pick from, the women's barracks, the guard's barracks, the cafeteria, the main house, three barns, and two workshops, including the one she had originally hidden in. Sam decided it was best to not tell Terla her plan, not only in case Terla now felt differently about Sam after her revelation but also to protect Terla. She had risked her own safety to help Sam.

Sam waited until the room was filled with soft snores before quietly rolling out of her cot. She wrapped her thin coat around herself as she quietly closed the thick heavy wooden door behind her. Sam had decided to go to the workshop, wanting familiar territory for the night. She used the sparse moonlight to guide her, not willing to risk carrying a light that might be seen by the few guards assigned to night duty. When Sam got to the small wooden building, she looked in the window, confirming there were no lights on or movement visible. With her back pressed against the wall Sam slowly opened the door and slid inside.

Before the sun rose Sam decided to leave the safety of the shed and head out to the woods lining the farm. She wanted the freedom to run if her absence was noticed and being trapped in a building would make that more difficult. Sam watched the buses pull up in front of the cafeteria so the women could be loaded up right after breakfast. Most of the guards followed the women, leaving few people on the farm. After watching the buses leave, Sam decided this would be a good time to do a little snooping around.

Sam's first stop was the guards' barracks. It would be easier to move around if she didn't stand out. Unlike the women, each of the guards had their own small room. Sam looked through three rooms before she found one with clothes she thought would fit her. She used her own clothing to pad herself, making her curves less noticeable. She also added an extra jacket to the outfit, further concealing her femininity. She walked confidently from the barracks, heading for the main house. Sam had no idea what went on there but hoped she could find a way to send a message to the Hammond.

Sam headed for the back door, assuming guards wouldn't go in the front door, which looked very ornamental. There were lots of flowers and a couple statues lining the walk. The back door led to a large kitchen, which was busy even though so many people were gone for the day. Of course, Sam hadn't seen anyone from the main house leave so maybe things were continuing on like any other day in here. Sam saw a stairwell and decided to get out of the busy kitchen before someone talked to her.

The second floor appeared to be lined with offices, most with people working inside them. Sam kept her head high and used her peripheral vision to examine her surroundings. Guards weren't supposed to be nosy; they were supposed to mind their own business unless needed and she didn't want to stand out. After determining which offices were empty Sam decided to go up to the third floor. This floor appeared to be more domestic, with a sitting room to the right of the stairs and a bedroom to the left. Sam quickly feared her presence would standout, so she headed back down to the second floor.

Nobody seemed to care about her, but she remained on high alert worried someone would ask her what she was doing there. Sam found a small empty office. She closed the door behind her, turning the lock slowly to minimize the noise. Sam left the lights off as she moved over to the desk. Sam picked up the small tablet lying on the desk. She had learned to speak some of this language, but the words looked foreign to her. She slid the tablet under her vest. Sam pocketed a letter opener, which she could use as a weapon in a pinch, and some paper and a pen. She didn't see anything else helpful, so she slipped back out into the hall. Sam decided she had pushed her luck as far as she felt comfortable. She headed back down to the kitchen, where she swiped a sandwich and some fruit.

Sam took her food back out to the safety of the woods. She took off the guard clothing, deciding to hide it so she could use it again. The bus came back in time for dinner. Sam moved back to the shed while the buses were unloading and was ready to join the crowd of women as they moved into the cafeteria. The women were more animated than usual that night, but Sam could only catch about half of what they were saying. The words she caught mostly revolved around their hopes that they would be granted a son. After dinner Sam asked for help identifying the letters she saw on the tablet. Her need to be able to read the documents she had found was gnawing at her. She had considered asking Terla to read to her but decided it was too risky. She instead used a bit of the paper to write out a few words, keeping the tablet her secret.

While they worked in the fields Sam would use her fingers to draw symbols in the dirt and ask what letters or words they represented. At night Sam would slip out to the forest and use what she was learning to begin deciphering the documents on the tablet. Based on what she could figure out, most of the information on this tablet dealt with acquiring tools and supplies for the farm and negotiating the sales of the food being grown. That wasn't especially helpful to Sam.