The white coat placed two electrodes at my temples, flipped a switch on the machine-thing and left the room. Again, I struggled against my bindings with no success. I imagined what the School would make me do, now that they would have me under their control. They might have me go find the others, even though I honestly didn’t know where they could be hiding. Fang and Iggy could have them outside the country for all I know--oh, but they didn’t have my credit card. They might go hide amongst the--

Pain, pain! The electricity flowed through my entire body, mostly frying my brain. I couldn’t feel my body, only the cold-hot energy. Images flowed through my eyes: flowers, faces I didn’t know, random words…. I didn’t know what any of it meant.

Then it stopped as suddenly as it’d come.

--birds.

I laid there, gasping for air, staring up at the white ceiling. I had a throbbing headache, my eyes hurt, my body felt numb. There was a ringing in my ears until it faded away to someone calling my name.

“Max!” came Jeb’s voice over a PA system. “How do you feel?”

I turned to find a large window where Jeb and Oliver white-coat could watch me. “I feel like shoving your face into the dirt,” I said breathlessly. He turned and said something to Oliver, then it started again.

It was even more painful, which I could barely imagine. Most of the electricity was centered in my head, which felt like it was going to burst like another brain attack. I felt my body stiffen and jerk violently as more images flowed behind my eyelids.

Something was different. For every new image that popped up, another image would disappear. The face of a golden retriever and it’s young owner replaced me and Fang fighting each other, reluctantly coming to a draw. Instead of everyone celebrating Nudge’s tenth birthday there were now sand dunes being hit by wind. The pain never ceased as more emptiness seeped into my brain and even erased my chosen birthday from memory.

This shock wave lasted so much longer that when it was over, I could barely breathe. I couldn’t open my eyes anymore, but something leaked out of them, something syrupy. I felt someone wipe my eyes, prop open a lid and shine a light, but I couldn’t see it. There were some muffled voices, but the only thing I could focus on was to breathe. Keep breathing I said to myself. But why should I? Why not just let myself die? I couldn’t remember why this was happening to me. There were others… what others?

Someone was shaking me. I managed to open my eyes to see the man in the white coat. “What’s my name?” he asked. His voice sounded far away.

I tried to speak, but I felt like I was going to choke. When I cleared my throat, something burned and I moaned. Everything ached, even my eyes, so I closed them.

“No more,” said the man. “Restart the program and pull up the file. She’s ready.”

“Yes, sir,” replied another.

I felt the man lean closer. “Soon, Max, you’ll be my girl again.” I felt him put his hand on my forehead, but it hurt like he’d hit me and I moaned.

And who was Max?

Before I could try to think more about it, the pain resumed.