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Back Unleashed Save as PDF
Chapters (56)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Part One
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. Part Two
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. Part Three
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. Part Four
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. 34
  43. 35
  44. Part Five
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. Epilogue
  54. Acknowledgments
  55. About the Author
  56. Back Cover

What is this place? I’m in awe. “Oh wow,” I say out loud.

“Lacey? Lacey, what is it?” asks Zora, her voice crackling in my ear as the signal dips in and out.

“I don’t know. It’s like a dream world.” I take a few more steps forward, moving away from the door so that the others can enter beside me. There’s a succession of gasps and a couple of curse words when they follow me through, as the rest of my friends struggle to process what we’re seeing.

Ashley reaches out and grabs my hand, Jupiter wagging his tail beside her.

“This place is unreal,” she says. “Look over there!”

I follow her gaze. We’re standing at the top of a grassy hill, giving us a fantastic view of the interior of the dome. Everything under the bubble is green and fresh, the trees full with leaves that whisper gently in the light, warm breeze. There’s grass underfoot and bursts of color from spring flowers growing nearby. My brain is struggling to take in what I’m seeing, having some sort of understanding-disconnect after coming from a world of frost and snow and bare branches. The forest continues all the way down to the shores of a beautiful lake, so still that the water shimmers like diamonds in the sun. I don’t even know how to swim, but I want to dive in—it looks so inviting. There’s a wooden plank dock anchored in the middle of it, and I have an image of us all diving and jumping off into the water, spreading our towels out on the dock, and watching the fish swim underneath us. It would be idyllic.

“Can we stay here forever?” jokes Kai. Even Oka looks happy, rolling around in the grass. “If we could have a winter without a winter, that’d make Canada practically the perfect place to live.”

“But Kai, aren’t you on the ice hockey team?”

“Yeah, so? Doesn’t mean I don’t prefer to sunbathe!” He stretches out his arms, basking in the weird fake light.

“Can you even get a tan from a sun that isn’t real?”

“Even better! Warmth without the cancer danger!” He fist pumps the air and I roll my eyes. Still, I can’t help but smile as we shed our jackets. There is something oddly satisfying about this place. It makes me feel…

It makes me feel happy.

Instantly the thought sends a shiver down my spine.

28

It’s Christmas Eve, not the middle of the summer, I remind myself. This is just…a movie set. An illusion. None of it is real.

I wonder if this too is part of Team Happiness. It’s unbelievable what Eric Smith has been able to achieve.

I grit my teeth and concentrate on the mission. Find Monica Chan. Stop the update from happening. Fix Mom.