Chương 56: Chapter 56: Defense

It'd been days since Nikhil had heard from 14, and he was starting to get anxious. Where had they taken her?

The thought of losing his only link to reality tortured his every waking moment. His mind hadn't felt this clear in years, and he was terrified of falling back into the swirling jumble of disconnected memories that threatened to swallow him at every moment.

14 had been helping him to remember, teaching him to pick out what was true from what had been implanted, to discern what experiences had taken place in his real life versus what had been scripted for him on the shows.

It'd been two nights now since he'd heard from her, and already he felt himself slipping back. He didn't want to lose himself again.

And the hunger didn't help, either. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten - everything he did, everything he thought, felt slow. He was running on empty, literally.