Internment

Layla is led away to the camp holding cell. She is alone in a tiny windowless room with a single cot. In an attempt to calm herself, Layla tries to just breathe and stay strong. Nevertheless, she is despondent: “There is no wishing anymore. No imagining and no pretending. The stars have all gone out. Only darkness remains” (302).

At some point, guards escort her to an interrogation room where the Director waits. He is simmering; spit flies from his mouth, and Layla smells whiskey on his breath. When he talks, it is more like a “deep animal-like growl” (310). He wants the names of her accomplices. He squeezes Layla’s throat when Layla stays quiet. At that moment, another guard, a friend of Jake’s, interrupts and cautions the Director that higher-ups are on their way to check on civil rights violations. The Director releases Layla’s neck, and the guard takes her back to her cell. Along the way, the guard whispers that she is not alone.

Sometime later, guards come back, handcuff Layla, put a cloth bag over her head, and lead her away. As she stumbles along, Layla realizes that perhaps the glorious ideas she had been taught about America may all be lies. This, she thinks, is America now. This time, the Director shows no patience. He wants to know who is helping her, who is writing the internet posts, and who is getting them out of camp. In return for her cooperation, the Director assures her that “no one needs to suffer on your account” (321). Layla declines to cooperate. The Director slaps her hard and then pulls roughly her hair. Her “infantile stunts” are over, he says, adding that Layla has no idea what he is capable of doing. When the guard escorts Layla back to her cell, the same guard from before tells her the camp is nearing a tipping point, and that they are all sitting on a “powder keg” (327).

Later, as Layla sleeps in her cot, the Director bursts into her cell, pulls her from her cot, and starts to rant about how Layla and her little band of “freedom fighters” (333) have ruined his model camp. He taunts her by claiming that her pranks have only given the detainees false hope. America, he lectures her, is willing to trade freedom for security—America wants to be protected from her. If Layla begs for her life, the Director says he will spare her. She says nothing. Enraged, the Director throws her to the concrete floor. At that point, Jake bursts in and tells him his actions are a violation of the Geneva Convention because Layla is a minor.

Jake escorts a shaken Layla out of the cell. They meet with a doctor sympathetic to Layla’s cause. The doctor assures Layla the Director will be charged. Jake carries Layla back to her trailer. He tells her the video of her interrogation has been leaked and that the entire country is demanding the camp be closed. Even the President, always driven by poll numbers, has backed off from defending the camp. Despite these positive developments, when Layla arrives at the trailer she is stunned to find her parents gone. Jake has no idea where they have been taken. Layla faints.

The next morning, other internees show up at Layla’s trailer to show their support. One even quotes a poem from her father: “We shall bear witness / On the Night of Destiny” (350). Layla knows what she must do. She rallies the internees and says they must head to the main gate and demand their release. Some dismiss the idea as a “death wish” (352), but many agree to follow her. She tells them to grab anything that can make noise—pots, pans, spoons—and head to the gate. By the time they reach the gate, they are more than 50 strong. “From many,” Layla thinks, “we are one” (354). Before they reach the gate, Layla is given a bullhorn to address the crowd. She gives a fiery speech: “We are Americans. We make America great. This is our country. And we are taking it back” (355).

The Director emerges from his office, disheveled and angry. He taunts Layla and her “mob,” telling them they are the people America needs to be protected from; they are “the enemies of the state” (360), he adds. With disdain, he brings out Layla’s parents and orders Layla and the crowd to disperse. Though relieved to see her parents, Layla does not move. Enraged, the Director orders the guards to shoot Layla. Jake steps forward and tells the Director he is in violation of international law and must stand down. The Director then brandishes a small handgun. He fires at Layla, but Jake steps in front of her and is shot instead. As the Director is led away, Jake, cradled in Layla’s arms, dies.

Within hours, the Director is arrested and the internees are told they can leave. Layla and her parents head uncertainly back to the train that will take them home where David is waiting. She knows she will never be free of the camp and its memories. She is determined, however, never to allow the ghosts of Mobius to distort her life. She will find her true north: “I may not know exactly where I go from her, but I’ll find my true direction” (373).