“What are we up against?” Michael said, ashamed that his voice came out a little angry. “What is our purpose?”

“Yeah,” Bryson added, distancing himself from Helga so he could look at her straight on. “Those are some great questions.”

Helga gestured with outstretched arms toward the massive Hive around them. “These pods are filling up at an exponential rate. And honestly, we can’t even tell if it’s all Kaine’s doing at this point. There’s still a lot we need to figure out. But these are people, Michael. People. Stolen from their bodies. And I know we agree on one thing—that’s about the most sacred thing in the universe you can mess with. It’s as bad as what Kaine did to you, playing with your life, your mind, your feelings, like it was all some kind of VirtNet game.”

“I want to help, but how?” Michael snapped, feeling worse by the second. He didn’t understand why, but it felt like his heart was breaking. “Or maybe I should just give up. Jackson can have his stupid body back. I don’t care anymore. How do I do it?”

Helga sighed. “Michael, you’re missing my point completely. I didn’t bring you here to make you feel bad. I’m glad you want to do something about this. It’s about saving these people and stopping it from happening to others. Righting the world—both the real one and the virtual one—before it falls apart beyond repair.”

“Okay,” Michael said. “So we already know we have to stop Kaine, and I want to go back to the Hallowed Ravine. I think we need to go back there to destroy the Mortality Doctrine program. But I don’t see why you had to make me face the kid whose body I stole. If you wanted to make me feel worse, mission accomplished.”

Helga didn’t respond at first. She just looked at him for seconds that felt more like minutes. Finally, she broke the silence. “You disappoint me, Michael. Let’s go back and Lift out.”

She disappeared from the center of the orb before Michael could reply. Which was good, because he had no idea what to say.

5

The journey out of the Hive wasn’t nearly as bad as the horror they’d experienced to get in. Helga explained that the difference had something to do with using the path that they’d already established. A path that was still painfully fresh to Michael. When Michael finally opened his eyes back in the Coffin, he wanted to cheer despite the embarrassment of how he’d acted at the Hive.

He climbed out of the NerveBox and started pulling his clothes back on, doing his best to avoid eye contact with anyone. Even Sarah, whom he needed but couldn’t quite face yet. He felt stupid and miserable and just wanted to sleep for a few days—maybe weeks.