Pain pounded in my heart as I searched the sensations hovering at the corners of my mind, trying to figure out whether the one I wanted was there. They pulled at me, jostling and making it difficult to wade through them, but finally, I found the one I was looking for.

  Equal parts terror and relief exploded within me as I gripped it. I was correct. The world I was in didn’t feel right because it wasn’t, and that was such a relief to know for certain. I hadn’t even noticed it happening, but I must have entered the wrong place by mistake when I was fleeing Hugo. That was good. It meant there was nothing going on with me, and I wasn’t seeing things. It just wasn’t my real world. The world I was in was wrong, not me, so when I went back there, everything would be okay.

  Well, not okay. I would still be trapped in the car with my mom, and we still had far too many hours ahead of us, but it would be better than whatever was happening in the world I was in. It would be normal. Once I went back there, everything would be fine. I could just sit there and do nothing for the next… six hours or so.

  It might be more than that, actually. I wasn’t sure how long we had left until we’d get home, but I could probably manage it. Or maybe I’d go back to the Academy. My loneliness was crushing. It was suffocating, but I could cope with it. I’d explored the alternatives, after all. Every other world was awful, so maybe it would be easier to deal with feeling a bit alone.

  Or I could make friends with the other people there, the trainees who were already out of the Induction Wing. Obviously, they were terrifying, but that was fine. I’d dealt with terrifying things. If I could manage that, if I could face Anya and watch Phoebe die, I could talk to a person I’d never met before. They were probably really nice, anyway. They seemed it.

  A smile played around my lips as I tightened my grip around my real world and pulled it towards me. I waited expectantly for it to surge forward, as it always did, and consume me, but it didn’t. Confusion rose within me as I tried again, tugging at the world and trying to will myself to feel dizzy, but nothing happened. My vision stayed in focus. The car around me refused to spin, and the air stayed in my lungs. I didn’t even feel a hint of vertigo.

  It didn’t want me. The world refused to drag me in. It just stayed stubbornly where it was, and I pulled at it harder, trying to force my way out of the world, but it didn’t work. Absolutely nothing was happening, and the dizziness refused to reach out towards me. It seemed to be fighting against me.

  I couldn’t leave. For some reason, I was trapped in the world, tethered to it. I could almost feel the shackles that had been tightened around my wrist, holding me in place and slowly dragging me deeper and deeper into the world.

  My eyes flicked from side to side, watching as the world became more realistic, more solid, around me, and my heart began to race. I didn’t want it. I didn’t want to be stuck in that world. It terrified me, and I didn’t know what was happening there. There was something, something strange about it, but I didn’t know what.

  Why was everything the same? Why were the people dressed in matching outfits, and why were there only three different types of cars? The screens, I remembered, my gaze snapping towards the rapidly changing advertisements that continued to cycle continuously. What was happening with them, and why did no one care?

  I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure of the answer to any of those questions, and I didn’t want to know. I wanted to leave the world, run far away from it and never look back. It was cowardly. I knew that, but that didn’t matter to me. I was used to feeling weak, used to being scared, and I wanted it to stop. The version of me who lived in that world, whoever it was, could deal with it.

  Or not. Maybe I’d die there, but there was nothing I could do about it. Not really. Even if I were to stay in the world forever, I doubted there was anything I could do to prevent myself from being killed. It was more likely that I’d just be stuck there alongside the other version of me, forced to endlessly suffer and die.

  Desperation rose within me, clawing at my throat, and my heart thudded in my ears as I reached towards the familiar dizziness one more. It was a frantic, hopeless attempt, but a sob threatened to escape as I tried to pull it towards myself, but I could barely even feel the real world. I couldn’t feel the car moving around me. Mom’s music, which I knew must have been blasting in the real world, was too distant. It was too far away.

  My eyes darted around, searching for something, anything, that would help me leave the world, but I didn’t find anything. There was nothing. I was trapped there, and I didn’t know what to do. I just knew I needed to find a way to get out before it was too late.

  What would happen, I asked myself. What would happened if I didn’t manage to escape? Would I be trapped there forever? Was that even possible? It couldn’t be. There was no way I could be sucked into another world and not be able to get away from it. That couldn’t happen to me. The other worlds weren’t real. They were just a figment of my imagination.

  A black car drove past the rear window, and my gaze snapped up to the mirror, watching it as my chest heaved. The driver, a woman in a navy button-down dress, didn’t look at me. Her eyes stayed fixed on the path ahead of her, but I stared at it until it reached the exit of the car park and pulled out onto the road beyond.

  It could work, I thought, chewing my lip as an idea came to me. Maybe… There were a few cars moving around the car park. They weren’t going particularly quick, but… perhaps it could still work. If I timed it right, if I chose one that was going faster than the rest and jumped in front of it, the pain might be enough to catapult me out of the world.

  That happened sometimes. It had worked before, at least. That was what did it in the world where Phoebe died. I wasn’t even really trying to leave the world, but I’d gotten shot. That was what had thrown me from it, and I didn’t even realise it was happening. My mind didn’t need to reach for home. I didn’t have to pull at the unyielding dizziness. I was forced to return.

  My hand twitched towards the door handle before freezing as another realisation slammed into me. There was no guarantee that it would work. Pain didn’t always cause me to leave a world. There were some where I’d experienced agony, where I’d been tortured and endured so much suffering, but I’d stayed there.

  Anya’s face floated behind my eyes, and I flinched away from her. I knew she was just in my head. She wasn’t really there, but the flare of terror she sent through me felt too real. The pain she had caused me was more intense than anything I’d ever felt before. It had made bile burn in the back of my throat. My vision had become clouded, and my hearing faded. I could barely breathe as my body was set alight with sheer agony, but I’d stayed there. I didn’t leave the world until my alarm went off, tearing me from it.

  It could happen again. If I were to leap in front of a car, to feel my bones crunch and shatter, it might not work. I could be forced to stay in the world, able to feel everything as I lay on the rough tarmac with people shouting around me, screaming for someone to call an ambulance.

  I could almost hear it. My imagination was so strong. The voices felt so real for a moment, and it was as if I’d actually done it, as if I’d thrown myself from the car without even realising.

  A shudder tore through me, and I blinked, shaking my head. I couldn’t do it. The thought of killing myself in that world turned my stomach. It felt so inherently wrong to end the life of a version of me, even if it wasn’t the real me. Regardless of whatever was happening there, of whether it actually existed or was just a figment of my imagination, the world felt real to that version of me. It felt like a life, and I couldn’t bring that to a close. I couldn’t stop them from existing just because I was scared and wanted to leave the world.

  That would make me a monster. If I were to kill a version of myself, even if they were just in my mind, it would be wrong. If someone did that to me, I’d be furious. I’d be heartbroken, and I knew that it was different. I was the real me. I was the original, but still. There was no way I could do it.

  I took a deep breath, trying to get my panic under control. It was probably unnecessary, I told myself. I could just be getting worked up over nothing. That happened sometimes. Quite often, actually. My mind was prone to panic. It was familiar, comfortable, almost. That was what I knew. Whenever something went wrong, it was an immediate automatic reaction, but it wasn’t needed.

  Perhaps there was nothing strange happening in the world. I couldn’t access all of my memories yet, so maybe I was missing something important. It could be completely normal for people to drive the same cars and wear the same outfits.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Maybe it was a rule, actually. A law. There might have been a limited number of outfits that people were allowed to wear, so it made sense that so many people were wearing that dress or the jeans and white shirt. If they only had a few items they could choose from, of course, some people would be dressed matching. That was probably why they were so unbothered by it too. The people of that world most likely ran into others wearing the exact same outfit all the time, so it was normal. It wasn’t a funny coincidence, like it would be in real life.

  Control. That was probably what it was, I told myself, ignoring the hysterical edge to my thoughts. Perhaps the government, or whoever was in charge, wanted to limit individuality and personal expression. They strived to make everyone the same, to prevent anyone from standing out.

  That made sense to me. It sounded vaguely familiar, and I wasn’t sure if that was because it was true in that world or if I’d just read a book where that had happened before. There was definitely a story I’d read that had a super restrictive government that controlled all aspects of life within the country. Actually, there were many books like that, I realised. I was pretty sure I could recall one that limited what people could wear, though. Perhaps that inspired my imagination and caused it to create the world I was in. Or maybe it had happened in another world I’d been to previously. That could have been where I recognised it from.

  I wasn’t entirely sure. Everything was starting to blur together, but it made sense. I was probably just overreacting, and there was no need for it. Everything was fine, and I was sure the moment I calmed down, I’d be able to go home. That was probably what was stopping me, anyway. It was hard to focus or think rationally when I was panicking.

  My eyes fluttered shut, and I inhaled slowly, holding it for a few seconds before exhaling. That seemed to help a little. I could feel my heartbeat starting to slow, and I took another deep breath, waiting until I felt more under control to open my eyes again.

  Immediately, my gaze found the screens lining the service station. Confusion washed over me as I stared at them, cocking my head to the side. Something had happened whilst my eyes had been closed. Every single one had turned white.

  Even in the daytime, they were blinding. It seemed as though they were actually emitting light, and I felt my eyes begin to water, but I couldn’t look away from them. I was sucked it, drawn into the hypnotic brightness, just like everyone else in the car park. They’d all stopped moving and turned towards the screens. Their eyes were fixed on the white rectangles.

  The cars had come to a stop too. The road beyond the station was busy, but every car in the car park, even the one idling near the exit, was motionless. I could see them out of the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t turn my head. My body was frozen in place.

  Anticipation seemed to buzz in the air, creating an incessant whine that vibrated against my skin, filling me with restlessness. Something was about to happen. I could feel it approaching, drawing ever closer, but I wasn’t sure what it was. It wouldn’t be good, though. Somehow, I was certain of that.

  I was too nervous, too on edge. The calmness that I’d so briefly felt danced out of my reach, being replaced with anxiety. Something was coming, and I needed to act. I had to do something to prepare, to ready myself for what was coming.

  But it was too late. All screens seemed to flicker for a moment before turning black, and I blinked rapidly, finally able to look away. My gaze scanned the world around me, trying to figure out what was happening.

  A power cut, that was most likely what it was, a small voice in the back of my mind tried desperately to cling to reason. But I could see through the windows of the service station. Apart from the screens, everything else looked normal. There were lights on in there, so there couldn’t have been a power cut.

  Unless they were on a separate circuit, that voice suggested. That would have made sense. They probably used a lot of power, so maybe they had a separate source, and something tripped a fuse. Or they could have been faulty. They were acting strangely before, so maybe there was some kind of error with—

  My thoughts ground to a sudden stop, and my breath caught in my chest as my eyes snapped back to the screens. A single word had appeared in the centre of each one, the font large and impossible to miss. It alternated over and over, creating an endless string.

  Run, Grace, run.

  I stared at it, feeling my horror balloon. My heart was beating so fast that it threatened to burst free from my chest and follow the instructions on the screen in front of me without bothering to wait for my body to catch up, but I couldn’t move. My body felt numb. A ringing sound echoed in my ears, and I knew that I had to move, but I couldn’t. I was trapped.

  The doors at the front of the building opened silently. A wave of people, dressed in black uniforms that I’d seen far too recently, swarmed towards the still-motionless crowd. They moved as one, their steps perfectly in time, and the bright sunlight glinted off the guns strapped to their hips.

  They were coming for me, I realised. The screens told me to run, and that was why. They were trying to warn me, to help me, and I should have listened sooner. That realisation was enough to snap me out of my frozen state. My hand shot out, closing around the door handle, and I threw it open.

  A bang filled the air as it slammed into the door of the car parked beside me. A huge dent marked the red panel, but the man seated in the car didn’t react. He didn’t even look at me, I realised as I began to back away. His eyes were still fixed on the screens, which were still telling me to run.

  I spun around, sprinting towards the forest. It was the safest place to go. It was the best option, I decided, as the tarmac skitted under my feet. I couldn’t go towards the road. That would be stupid. I’d get hit by a car, and I could try to flag someone down, but they probably wouldn’t stop. Even if they did, I doubted they’d be able to help me. No one could fight against the people following me.

  Plus, the road was too straight. If they got bored and decided to just shoot me, it would be too easy. At least in the forest, there was cover, I realised as I reached the edge of the paving and plunged into the dense trees. That was better. They wouldn’t be able to get a straight shot at me, so maybe I’d be able to get away.

  And then what?

  The question came out of nowhere, and I didn’t have an answer to it. Even if I managed to escape them, where would I go? I had time. They were moving slower than me, and I’d had a bit of a head start, so potentially, I could get away from them, but what would I do then?

  I had nowhere to go, and they wouldn’t stop looking for me. I knew that too well. There was nothing I could do that would make them give up their hunt, and I was alone. My mom was back at the service station. I’d just left her behind.

  Had they killed her?

  Fear crashed into me, causing me to falter. My foot caught on a root, and I was flung forward. My already tender shoulder slammed into the trunk of a tree, and my phone shot out of my hand, disappearing into the undergrowth. I grit my teeth, trying to hold back a grunt of pain as tears streamed down my cheeks, and I forced myself to my feet again.

  They probably just left her, I lied to myself. They knew what my mom was like. They would have been fully aware that she wouldn’t wait for me to reappear, and she wouldn’t search particularly hard to find me again. She wouldn’t interfere with their pursuit.

  I started to step forward before stopping again. She would try to call me, though. My eyes flicked towards the dense layer of slimy, decaying leaves that seemed to line the forest floor. Once she realised I wasn’t there, she’d phone me. If I answered…

  The desire to root around for my phone pulled at me. I hadn’t even realised I’d been clutching it as I ran from the car, but I must have brought it with me instinctively. I had to leave it, though. I couldn’t waste time looking for it, and even if I did find it, it would be no use. My mom wouldn’t be able or willing to help me, and there was no one else I could call apart from my dad. He’d come after me immediately, but I’d just be putting him in danger. It was better not to, and at least if I didn’t have my phone, they couldn’t track it. It would be slightly harder for them to find me.

  A crunch came from somewhere behind me. A twig snapped, and I took off again. My shoulder throbbed with every step as I sprinted through the dark forest. The thick canopy blocked out too much light, making it hard to see where I was going, and thin branches drew blood as they whipped against my skin.

  I dodged around tree trunks and leapt over fallen logs that seemed to appear out of nowhere, trying to ignore the stench that filled my nose, making it hard to breathe. Death. I knew the scent. I was familiar with it, and I wasn’t sure which world that had come from. Was it the world I was in? I still knew so little about it. It didn’t matter, though. I thrust the question out of my mind, needing to use all of my focus on making sure I didn’t trip or run into anything.

  The forest was treacherous. The underbrush seemed filled with thorns and vines. They reached up towards me, wrapping around my legs and threatening to trip me. The trees were spaced too close together, and I slammed into too many as I squeezed through gaps that had seemed far wider as I approached.

  It was getting darker too. I risked looking away from the route in front of me to glance up at the leaves far above my head. They hadn’t grown any thicker, I didn’t think, but somehow, the forest was getting darker.

  I could see it happening. The shadows were growing thicker and more ominous. Out of the corner of my eye, shapes seemed to flicker within them. Silhouettes. People hid in the darkness, watching me as I blindly sprinted onwards.

  Why weren’t they attacking me? They should have been. Their cries should have filled the air, turning my blood to ice, as they joined in the chase, but they remained silent and still. They were watching me, I realised as I turned my head to look at one. The shadow burst into smoke under the weight of my gaze, but the rest remained. They continued staring at me, their eyes boring into my skin, burrowing beneath the surface in search of something.

  My foot came down hard, and I tipped forward as it sunk into the ground. My arms flailed desperately as I fought to keep my balance. The forest floor shifted beneath me, and I staggered unsteadily. I stared down at my feet, trying to work out what I’d stepped in, but my mind couldn’t process what I was seeing. It wasn’t possible. It didn’t make sense.