The man pulled to a stop, eyes big, hands raised. And in an instant, a transformation came over him. His rage vanished, replaced by fear. His lips trembled and he fell to his knees.

“Don’t,” he whimpered, the most pathetic of sounds. “Don’t shoot me. I’m…This is my only hope. I’m out of options. I need this body.” He lowered his head.

Michael slowly got to his feet, keeping the gun trained on the man. And then that sense of familiarity solidified, turning into recognition.

“You visited me at the jail,” Michael said, stunned by the revelation. He couldn’t believe it hadn’t come to him sooner. “You came in there, talking about what’s real and what’s not, how we can never know. That we could Lift a thousand times—”

“And still be in the Sleep,” the man interrupted. “Yes, yes. How can we ever know? We can’t. We can only live, boy. And I want to live, more than anything else in this godforsaken universe. Please don’t take that away from me.”

“Who are you?” Michael asked, not so much a question as a demand.

The man still acted timid. “I’m the friend you’ve always had—something I guess you’ve never realized. And I’m your sworn enemy.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“It’s me, Michael. It’s Kaine.”

The world shifted at Michael’s feet. He had to steady himself. “You think I’m stupid?” he asked. But the threat was empty. He wanted to pretend that he didn’t believe him, but he did. Kaine the Tangent had stolen a body and was kneeling before him. He knew it was true.

“Don’t go judging me like you always do,” Kaine said. “This man I took wanted to end his life, had even written a suicide note! I didn’t do anything to him he didn’t want already.”

“Nothing surprises me anymore,” Michael said quietly, half to himself. He stared at the floor. “I was just…”

“It’s how my plan works. Every two weeks, I downloaded the latest version of myself into this man. Just in case things didn’t quite work out in the Sleep over the last year or so. It’s my own…insurance policy. And by the looks of it, I’m thinking it was the wisest thing I’ve ever done.”

“What do you mean?” Michael asked, looking Kaine in the eye.