He’d been in and out so many times that he’d lost count. Was it the forty-seventh or fifty-sixth? Corey would likely know... not that it mattered.

  Like before, the scenes he witnessed were a haphazard flurry of images—some from the past, some from the future. The latter he would spend more time studying; but though intriguing, they never showed him anything that seemed useful.

  It was difficult to pull away, even when he saw something from the past—especially if it involved his precious Lucy—but he remained focused. He had a mission to accomplish. Billions of lives depended on him. Every time he was tempted to linger, he would think about that until it chilled him enough to pull the line.

  The system was simplistic—much to Bellem’s distaste—but it did the job. They’d tied a rope to Halden’s waist, and he tugged on it whenever he wanted out.

  He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but he suspected he would know when he saw it.

  A new image formed, and he felt the blood drain out of his face.

  The creatures were all around him. With fangs covering their bodies. A sickening green ooze drooled from their eyes as they marched on, ignoring him. Could they not see him?

  Halden noticed a nearby opening and hurried through. It led to another, narrower hall, but this one was empty. His heart was beating fast as he considered his options. This felt like a scene that could be useful, but he wasn’t sure how.

  A light down the hall drew his eye. He made his way there and peeked through another opening.

  There were different creatures here. These were smaller and had smoother skins, with four antlers instead of hair. They wore tight-fitting uniforms with strange colors unknown to him... Was that even possible?

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  This felt significant—it was like nothing he’d seen before—but he needed more information.

  If the fang-beasts had not seen him, likely these here wouldn’t either. Perhaps he could just walk in and study the room?

  Well, it wasn’t such a big risk. If things got heated, he could always pull on his lifeline and he’d be out of here quicker than it’d take to bat an eyelid.

  With a deep breath, he stepped into the room... and the image melted, swirled, shifted into a billion strange colors.

  “No! Not now, damn it!”

  Before he could take another step, the colors coalesced into a new form. A woman. With long black hair that fell to her waist. She was sitting in an odd room with pulsating red walls. When she turned her head, he saw her face and it troubled him. He had seen her before, though he could not have said where.

  “Hello?” he called out. “Can you hear me?”

  She jumped to her feet and looked all around her, alarmed.

  “Who said that?”

  He waved his hands. “Can’t you see me? I’m over here!”

  The woman continued to scan the room. It was strange that she could hear but not see him. This was different. The experience was unsettling. The whole thing was. There never seemed to be any pattern, any rules. You would go into the beam and anything could happen. How was he supposed to make any sense of it?

  Halden took a step forward and some of the colors—the reds and the yellows—began to blend. He froze.

  Not again! I need to know who this is. How do I know her?

  “Hey,” he shouted. “What’s your name?”

  When she did not respond, he grunted.

  “It’s all so blurry, damn it!” Every step he took toward her, she became more indistinct—as if going nearer took him further away. “This is ridiculous. Can you still hear what I’m saying?”

  He saw her lips move—at least he thought it was her lips—but heard no sound. Was she responding?

  “I’m trying to get closer,” he said. “I can’t seem to get inside the room you’re in, and I can’t even hear a word you’re saying!”

  A pit opened under his feet, and he felt himself falling into an abyss of brightness.

  “The lights! Oh, the lights! Can you see this?”

  He’d experienced this many times before. It was a recurring occurrence within the Fault, but it still dazzled and enthralled him every single time.

  When the colors took shape again, he was back at the IAS, and he saw Marthus waving at him with a smile.

  He tugged on the rope.