My muscles protested as I started walking. It’d been forever since I’d worked out, especially counting the time I spent in cryo. I’d never gone this long without exercise before, but I knew it didn’t take long to lose endurance. I knew I should take it easy, but then I hit the button to speed it up to a jog.

And then I hit it again to move into a run.

And then I hit it again.

And again.

I lost track of time. I felt at home pushing myself to move past my limits. The small aches from unused muscles smoothed away. Seeing how far and how fast I could go was a game I’d played all the time. I wished I’d had some music to listen to, but I didn’t. So, instead, I listened to the air in my lungs, and let the sounds of the gym fall away. I closed my eyes.

The sound of the air rushing through my lungs started to remind me of the push and pull of the waves on a sandy shore, even though I’d only seen them on vidscreens and recently in my dreams.

I started to picture the ocean. Clear turquoise water. Golden sand. Two suns in the sky, one an orange-pink color, the other a bright white. And I could almost see someone walking toward me.

I breathed out long and slow.

“Amihanna!” Lorne’s mirth-filled voice was all I could hear. “What’s that mess of sand you’ve got there?”

I couldn’t stop the grin. “It’s my beautiful castle.”

“Beautiful castle?” Lorne’s laughter filled my mind, warming me from the inside. “I think I got here just in time. It looks like a melted whale.”

I picked up a handful of sand and tossed it at him.

He held up a hand. “Hey! Not my fault you’re terrible at this.”

“I’m a kid. You’re supposed to help me.”

Lorne bonked my nose with a finger. “I was supposed to come get you for dinner, but I guess I can help you first. Let’s see if we can fix this mess.”

I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming. I could still feel the treadmill under my feet, but ever since cryo, my mind kept coming back to this same dream. Which made me wonder if it was a dream or something else.

I never got to see how it ended. There was always—

The treadmill slowed suddenly, and I opened my eyes, grabbing the rails around me to keep from tripping.

“What the—”

“Hey, girl.” Santiago was grinning as he leaned on the rails of my treadmill. “I was wondering—”

“No. You don’t want to hurt yourself by having any kind of complicated thoughts.”

A snort came from the other side of me, and I turned to find Ahiga two treadmills down, running a fast and steady pace.