“It’s good to see you,” Sarah said, smiling herself.
Bryson looked like he might explode, either from happiness or from wanting to say a thousand things at once. “I’ve been worried sick about you guys. Not a single word from you, Michael—not since the Path. And, Sarah, where have you been the last few days? Are you guys trying to make me die of stress before I hit twenty or something? Think of all the women in my future, devastated.”
“Aren’t you going to ask us about our ingenious disguises?” Michael replied.
Bryson snorted. “Don’t need to. I’m not an idiot. I’m trying to hide just as much as you guys.”
“But your Aura …,” Sarah started to say, but stopped when Bryson held up a hand, an enormous smirk on his face.
“Give me some credit,” he said. “Look a little deeper into my code. I’m programmed so that only you two can see my old Aura. Everyone else sees an entirely different guy. Boom. Amazing, I know.”
Michael took a closer look, and sure enough, his friend had pulled it off.
“Wow,” Michael said. “You truly are amazing. The most amazing man I’ve ever seen.” In truth, he was really impressed.
Sarah brought them all back to reality. “So what have you been hiding from? Did something happen? Or are you just being careful?”
Any sign of joy on Bryson’s face slowly faded. “I was kind of screwed up for a few days. It took that long for me to get back to myself after freaking out on the Path. I don’t know why I did that. Everything just hit me at once.”
He paused, and Michael thought it best to wait for him to say more. Or maybe Michael just wanted more time before he had to explain what he’d discovered about himself. Bryson might not be as accepting as Sarah had been.
“And then I heard from Sarah about what happened to her with the lava,” Bryson continued. “And we didn’t hear from you.” He glanced at Michael. “It seemed like you just … poof! disappeared. We couldn’t find you anywhere. When Sarah went silent, I’d had enough. I went to stay at my uncle’s place, a cabin in the boonies. I’ve been using my cousin’s Coffin, mostly hiding in the Sleep ever since, hoping you guys would find me. I know something must be going on, and I know you’re about to talk my ear off about it. So you might as well get to it.”
He gave a limp smile that disappeared quickly.
So much for the cheery mood, Michael thought.
“Well,” Sarah said, “one thing’s for sure. We’re definitely about to talk your ear off.” She looked over at Michael. “Maybe you should start?”
He didn’t want to, but he knew better than to disobey Sarah.
Michael lost track of time as he told the story. He started with Sarah’s death in the lava caves. He just stared at a spot on the wooden table and let it all come out, every detail. Even about meeting Gunner Skale, the legendary gamer. Bryson flinched in disbelief at that part, but not when Michael told him about being a Tangent, being fake, his whole life a sham. And Michael would never forget that. He would never forget that Bryson didn’t flinch.
“Your whole life’s not a sham,” Bryson said, scoffing, as if the idea were utterly ridiculous. “You’re sitting right in front of us. You’re the same goofy Michael I’ve always known. Who’s to say we’re not all computer programs, layers upon layers upon layers? Or in a dream? Maybe I’m an ugly old hag in Iceland daydreaming while she drools into her oatmeal.”
Michael cracked a smile. Miraculously, and not for the first time, Bryson had made him feel better.
“I’m just sayin’,” Bryson went on. “I don’t give a crap if you’re a Tangent or a really smart llama. You’re my friend and that’s all that matters.”
“That’s what I told him,” Sarah offered. “But he’s stubborn.” She took Michael’s hand under the table and squeezed it.
Bryson leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, like he’d just closed a huge business deal. “I do feel sorry for that Jackson Porter kid. That’s gotta suck, to have your brain vacuumed out and replaced with someone else’s. But it’s not your fault. All we can do is try to stop it from happening again. But first things first. We need to find out more about Kaine, about this Doctrine thing, and try to end it. Right?”
“Right,” Michael answered. He liked that. Focus on the future. That was all he could do. Not for the first time since starting his story, he wondered if he should mention Jackson’s girlfriend, Gabriela. But for some reason he just couldn’t bring it up.
“So here’s the big question,” Bryson said. “What do we do next? The Trifecta to Dissect-ya has reunited in all its glory. We’ve got a wild and crazy computer program bent on taking over people’s minds. Oh, and on killing us if we don’t help him.”
“Which,” Sarah added, “is not an option.”