The shadows suddenly coalesced into one large spot, right in front of Michael, just inches from his face. The orange light pulsed around the spot—it was an oval and almost a foot in height, positioned vertically. Darker shadows formed within shadows. Michael gasped and almost hurtled himself away from it, terrified, shivering in virtual chills.

A face.

Two eyes. A nose. A thin mouth drawn in a line. Cheekbones. A chin. All vague, but there. A face of shadows looking out at Michael as the light of the pod pulsed and the thrum of a deep heartbeat vibrated around him.

Michael’s chest hurt. His body felt like a block of ice. What was this? Was he confronting the essence of Jackson Porter, whose body—whose life—he’d stolen? He didn’t understand. He didn’t understand any of this. And yet he couldn’t look away.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, as absurd as it seemed. The dark, blurry face dissolved back into indistinct shadows, scattering throughout the inside of the pod.

“I wanted you to see this,” a voice said from behind him.

Michael yelped, so startled he spun around and swung his right arm out, hitting nothing but air. Helga—now in the form he’d known her his whole life, the Helga from home, his nanny who’d been like a second mother—floated a few feet away, with Bryson and Sarah behind her. Michael didn’t know when or how she’d switched her Aura, but he had to admit it calmed him on sight and made him feel a little better.

“What’s going on?” he asked, wanting to take all the frustration and angst that had built up inside him and throw it at someone else. “What’s the point of all this? You’re telling me that Jackson Porter is stored inside this pod? Like some kind of living, breathing data file? What, do I just tap in a password and he slides back into my brain? Is that why you brought me here?”

It came out in a rush, and the hurt look that crossed Helga’s face made him wish he could take it all back.

Almost as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, though, and her no-nonsense, I’m-in-charge face returned.

Sarah flashed away from Helga and to Michael’s side in a blur and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. “Sorry we lost you there for a while,” she said softly. “I just tried to stay close to Helga and figured you’d be with her, too.”

Michael took her hand but didn’t take his eyes off Helga.

“It was really important to me that you come here, Michael,” Helga said. “I know it took a lot of effort and more than a little risk. But this place is real, and it has to be seared inside your mind so you understand what we’re up against and what our purpose is.”