Maybe this is more hypnotherapy than surgery, but if there’s any chance it could help—any chance to ease what I’m feeling—I’ll try it.

I just want the pain to stop.

I focus on the burn in my leg and imagine it fading like the last embers in a fire. I picture the metal leaving my body, healing the wound, and leaving smooth, unmarked skin in its place.

I tell myself everything is as it was. Pain doesn’t exist anymore.

The ache fades like a mist giving way to blue skies and sunlight. I feel—

Yeong’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “Not bad for a first-timer.”

My eyes flash open, and I see Theo and Yeong smiling at me. When I look down at my leg, the wound has vanished.

It’s like it never existed at all.

I press my fingers to my skin before hooking my thumb through the small hole in my pants. The tear is crisp at the edges, seared by the bullet that made me fall asleep. But there’s no shrapnel—no pain—no evidence beyond the frayed bits of cotton.

I press my hand to my forehead, realizing some of the headache has faded too. “How did you do that?”

“Actually, you did it.” Theo is beaming like someone with a secret they can’t wait to share.

Yeong nods. “Pain is just a habit you haven’t learned to break yet.” He tilts his head to the side and points to his temple. “You can make the headaches go away too, but they sometimes take a bit longer. We don’t know why, exactly—maybe it’s the trauma of death. But that pain is different from the pain the Residents force on us.”

Theo looks at Yeong warily. “That bullet didn’t look like anything they’ve used before. If it’s new, it means they’re adapting. Do you think it’s something to worry about?”

“Yes,” Yeong replies almost forcefully. “They’re adapting faster than the rest of us are learning to control our consciousness, which is… unsettling, to say the least. It’s like studying for an algebra test only to show up in class and realize they’ve changed the test to trigonometry.”

“How do we beat that?” Theo asks.

“We adapt too.” The woman with the yellow scarf and braided hair stands in the doorway. There’s strength in her stance and power in her voice. It makes me shrink into myself, suddenly aware of my own vulnerability.

I have no family here and no way of knowing how to survive this new world.

For better or worse, I am at the mercy of these strangers.

The woman flicks her head toward the door, ushering Yeong and Theo outside. They move away from me quickly, and I know this woman isn’t just someone they listen to; she’s someone who leads.