I blink to clear my vision, but for a moment I can only hear distant voices and machinery around me. My body thrums, a slight vibration running through it from the floor. Something loud thuds nearby. Am I back in the present? Did it work?

Slowly, the world comes into focus. Adam, Trent, Zoe, and Chris all stand nearby, looking as dazed as I am. The walls of the metal dome stretch around me, and the door’s already open. That must have been the sound I heard. The others stumble through, and the people outside cheer. Bright-white spots still cover my vision, but I take a step toward the door, legs wobbling.

Outside, scientists in lab coats gather around the accelerator, clapping. In front, Dr. Kapur stares at us with eager eyes, like he’s excited to pick apart our brains. Above him, I spot the giant clock on the wall. Only thirteen minutes have passed since we went to the future. And yet, in those few minutes we were gone, I lived an entire day.

Dr. Walters gives us all a proud smile. “You’re back,” he says, and he sounds relieved. I picture his older self, frail and trapped in his bed, racked by coughing fits and regret. I can’t look at him the same now that I’ve seen the man he becomes.

Lynne beams at us like a proud mother, and my mind flashes back to her body lying on the ground, gushing blood from the hole in her chest. I just watched her die and yet here she is, alive and unaware of her fate in thirty years.

Chris glares at everyone, while Trent and Zoe just look around like they’re lost. Adam takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes, standing a little apart from the others. He slips his glasses back on and meets my gaze. He mouths my name, but I look away quickly, his betrayal still as sharp as the pain in my ribs.

Some of the scientists rush forward to take our backpacks. They yank mine off before I can stop them, and only then do I realize I never emptied mine out. There shouldn’t be anything too bad in there, but I hide my hands behind my back and peel off my fake fingerprints. I don’t know if they’d still work now (are they electronic?) but they’d lead to too many questions. I slip them into my pocket, and my fingers brush over paper—the reports we stole from Aether’s headquarters. I dropped Zoe’s sketchbook during the fight over the case, but I still have these.

The case! I glance over, but Adam’s backpack is gone, taken away like the others. Aether has the cure now, and there’s nothing we can do about it.