Instead of more torture, Dr. Rodriguez sends me back to my cell. I'm pathetically grateful for the reprieve, and thankful that no one can see me when I'm this damaged.

My body is as weak as a kitten's after the shock therapy, and for a long time all I can do is curl in a ball and think about the potential future I just saw, where Strand executives build the company's success on the backs of the Throwbacks they imprison and torture. All while innocent children die at the sadistic hands of Dr. Rodriguez.

A selfish part of me wishes that Addie could find me here, like she did when I was in the pod, so she could comfort me. I feel as broken as I did after Nic died, as if all the progress I've made since then has been erased.

When the door to my cell opens, I can't muster the energy to sit up. Lexi enters and approaches my bed, staring down at me with an odd expression on her face. I roll over so that I don't have to look at her.

"I'm not here to fight with you. Yes, you shouldn't have said what you said on set the other day with Tressa. But you've more than made up for the trouble you caused by the information that you gave Dr. Rodriguez today."

Is she trying to...praise me? The thought makes me sick.

"I've told you before; I'm not the enemy, Joan. The truth that I think you're starting to accept is that it's far better to work inside the system than outside it. The more you cooperate and make Strand successful, the better your life will be. If you're looking for proof, look no further than me. I was hired twenty years ago to play the part of the Throwback face of Strand, and now I'm at the helm of the company, steering this great ship."

I think of the executives in the vision that I had, Strand's Board of Directors, and I know that Lexi is wrong. For so long, she's been the villain of my story. If I took her down, the rest of Strand would crumble with her. But I'm starting to suspect that she's more of a figurehead than an evil mastermind. She may not realize it, but she's a puppet dangling from Strand's strings, like the rest of us.

"What are you here for?" I finally ask, ready for her to leave. Even my curiosity, which has always kept some small part of me from giving up in my worst moments, is gone. I don't feel like a person any more.

"I'm here to give you advice, because I think you're finally ready to hear it. Turn your determined mind to the task of looking into Strand's future and help us ensure that we continue to grow and succeed. I believe that if your cooperation is freely given, rather than forced, the results will be far better for Strand. And I promise, the more you help us, the better your life—and the lives of your friends and family—will be."

In spite of myself, there's a part of me that is tempted to listen to Lexi. Escaping with Lozen and taking down Strand is an enormous risk. We'll probably fail, and die in the process.

If I stay here, I could use my visions to guide Strand down a path that keeps them successful while also making Throwback lives better in very real ways. It would be slow progress, but far more certain than waging a war against the most powerful company in the world.

"I'll think about it."

***

Another day passes, judging by the three meals that are delivered to my cell after Lexi leaves. During that day, I barely leave my bed.

Some distant part of my brain knows that I should be planning how I can help Lozen execute the escape plan. Our abilities are remarkably similar, and maybe if I practiced, I'd be able to see future possibilities as well as she can, and aid in our escape.

Instead, my mind circles around old memories of my childhood, from before I knew my Status—Addie making chicken soup when I had headaches, my parents taking me to the beach when they were sober, making a vision board with my best friend, Ava. Back then, I relished a challenge and never dreamed that I wouldn't conquer every obstacle.

Now I know what it is to fail. And fail again. To lose friends, and to take a life. To disappoint everyone I respect. And to know that my spirit is so weak that it took less than a week for Dr. Rodriguez to break it.

This time when my cell door opens, it's Lozen, and she's pissed.

"Do you want to tell me why all of the sudden all my visions are showing Strand's stock climbing and all of us stuck down here serving our evil overlords?"

I force myself to sit up. "They strapped me to the wrong bed. I couldn't escape when it became too much. Your vision was wrong. Maybe all your visions are."

"My ability doesn't work that way."

"You don't know that! We're all still figuring it out!"

"The Joan I know is a fighter. The minute you entered my visions, everything changed. There's a world where this company is no longer the puppeteer controlling the lives of millions of Throwbacks."

"It's a long shot. If we cooperate and give them what we want, maybe we can also slowly sneak in some ideas that help Throwbacks. Convince them not to activate the H2IV virus in anyone else, or show them a future with a non-lethal option for Throwbacks who can't work anymore. It's not as exciting as taking down Strand in a blaze of glory, but at least we could do something real to make a difference in people's lives."

"That's the fear talking, not you. I remember the early days of the torture, and it makes you want to give up. But that's not an option. You're coming with me."

Lozen drags me from my bed. I don't resist as she pulls me down the hallway. There are three unconscious guards on the ground near my room, and I feel a flicker of curiosity about how Lozen disabled them this time.

We enter Dr. Rodriguez's corner of his lab of horrors, and my body shudders involuntarily when I glance into the main part of the room. "What are we doing here?"

Lozen pulls out Dr. Rodriguez's tablet and starts tapping. "It's the easiest place for us to get access to the internet. And you need it if—"

"Joan?" Harriet's voice comes from the tablet, and I yank it out of Lozen's hands.

"How are you? Is everyone OK? Did you get my message about Mav?"

"Everyone's safe out here, and Mav and his friends are being watched every second so they don't try to be heroes. It's you and whoever is locked up in there with you that we're worried about."

"Harriet, there might be a way for me to protect all of you. And make a difference for Throwbacks. But it will mean working with Strand."

Harriet slowly shakes her head, her eyes never leaving mine. "I know what you're doing. And sacrificing yourself for everyone else doesn't work out. You already learned that lesson the hard way."

Her words hurt, because they're true. "It's not sacrificing myself—Lexi promised that I'll be safe, and can even get out of here after I prove my worth."

"She's saying that because she's scared. A lot has been happening out here since you've been gone. After the episode where Lexi activated your H2IV went live, viewers of reality series exploded. People are starting to believe that Strand might be behind the attacks on Throwbacks activating their H2IV."

"We've managed to entertain the Evolved—that's exactly what Strand made us for. It doesn't mean anything will change."

"It's so much more than that. There's a nationwide boycott of Strand that is gaining momentum. Evolved all over the country are joining Throwbacks in protests and rallies against unfair laws. Things are finally going to change. Even Aft says he's never seen anything like it."

"Are we really going to bet the future of millions of Throwbacks on the success of one reality series? It could lose popularity tomorrow."

"Things aren't happening just because of the reality series, Joan. Aft has been raising awareness on Throwback rights for years. And then Leo released the vid of the National Guard executing Throwbacks on Day Zero, and Evolved reporters wrote articles on injustices of Throwbacks all over the country and we won the Annex court case. We can't give up now, when we're so close to real change."

Harriet's words bring me out of the fog that I've been drifting in since that awful session with Dr. Rodriguez. "You're right. I know you're right. I'm just so tired of fighting, Harriet. I thought I was strong, but I'm not."

"Yes, you are. You have been from the day I met you on that elevator at Seattle Secondary. And if you need another reason to get your ass out of back here—take a look."

Harriet flips the camera on the tablet so that it points away from her. Justus is pacing by the door of her office, biting on his thumbnail. His hair is greasy, like he hasn't washed it since I've been down here. He's so focused on whatever is going on in his head that he doesn't even notice that Harriet's filming him.

The camera turns back to Harriet. "He needs you. We all do."

"Okay," I say, my voice hoarse. "I'll do my best."

"Want to say anything to him?"

I shake my head. My mind feels so fragile that if I open up the floodgates of my feelings for Justus, I might break apart into a million pieces.

"I'll talk to him soon—in person."

Harriet releases a breath, and I know in that moment how scared she was that I wouldn't find the energy to keep fighting. "That's my girl. Now stay alive, kick ass, and come home."

"She's coming home all right," Lozen says with her signature grin. "Tonight."