Over three weeks, Luke Ellis drifted through a sedated routine: eating, sleeping, television, playground time, and irregular cycles of tests and injections that rarely made him sick. He spent time with other kids—Harry and the twins favored violent sports and cartoons; Helen Simms had volatile mood swings; Luke dominated chess until he intentionally threw games. He limited online chats with George and Helen, rebuffing questions about why they remained in Front Half, and concealed his grief from staff used to depressed children, while holding to Avery Dixon’s image of Luke as a canary meant to escape.

Memories of Luke’s murdered parents cut through his haze, sharpening his resolve to plan escape. He scrutinized the Institute’s operations, noting lax maintenance of hallway cameras—especially in the West Wing—suggesting oversight had grown careless. He adopted a compliant facade, kept his head down, and listened for useful gossip: Dr. Evans’s awkward interest in Dr. Felicia Richardson; caretakers Joe, Chad, and Gary using tokens for alcohol from the canteen; and staff outings to a bar called Outlaw Country in Dennison River Bend.

Luke cataloged real names—James Evans, Dan Hendricks, Tony Fizzale, Gladys Hickson, Zeke Ionidis—and fantasized about future testimony against them. With staff occasionally leaving him unattended on C-Level, he took short, seemingly aimless walks; when caught, he received only mild reprimands. During one such foray, he found an elevator key card hidden under a monitor in the MRI room and pocketed it without alarm.

Testing the card later, Luke discovered it worked on multiple levels. When Dr. Richardson found him looking into the immersion tank room on D-Level, she did not punish him; instead, she gave him a token and escorted him back, asking about his pain. Luke confirmed the card granted access to E-Level’s mechanical areas, but lower levels F and G denied entry, refining his sense of the building’s structure.

During a solo EEG session on C-Level, Dr. Evans abruptly left, and Luke approached the door just as Tim Jamieson Stackhouse arrived from the elevator with paperwork. Instinctively, Luke hid in an equipment alcove until Stackhouse left, avoiding being seen alone in the room. Evans rushed back anxious about Stackhouse’s reaction; Luke explained his concealment, framing it as protecting Evans from trouble.

Relieved and grateful, Dr. Evans rewarded Luke with a dozen tokens, praised his discretion, and asked to keep the incident a secret. The exchange confirmed to Luke that staff like Evans could be manipulated by perceived loyalty and that overall vigilance remained slack, further supporting his escape planning.