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I feel like I’m seeing the world through new lenses. Everything seems more clear than before. The haze is gone, but, most importantly, my mind feels free. The jumbled confusion that was there is gone.

But there is an awareness there. A tickle at the back of my mind prompts me, and I see a look on Di’s face that mirrors what I’m feeling. Instinctively, I grab the only weapon I can find at the moment, my old baseball bat from when I played in high school. The grip still feels familiar.

“Someone’s coming,” I say, and Di nods in agreement.

“We should get to my car.”

“Where are we going?” I ask as Di starts toward the door.

“We’re going to the source,” she says without turning around.

“Wait, what?”

I chase her into the hallway and stop her.

“What are you talking about? Why would you want to do that?”

“It’s the only way to stop it all. We end it now. If we don’t do something now, John will win, and he will take over the city. He’ll turn everyone into the hive.”

I consider her words momentarily, but the tickle at the back of my head is what convinces me.

“Let’s go,” I say.

I can feel it. Someone’s nearby and intent on coming after us. It feels familiar, too.

“Let’s take the back way, though.”

Di nods in agreement. I lead us to the fire escape that runs down the back of the building. The clanking of the metal stairs echoing in the alley sounds like gunfire drawing attention from everyone nearby.

Di’s car is parked on the street in front of the building, so she peeks around the corner to see if anyone is lurking. Convinced that no one is waiting, we hurry to the car and hop in.

I twist my head as we speed off and see two men emerge from the front door. The prickle at the back of my neck confirms what I thought initially. It’s the two men who attacked me earlier.

Di speeds through the city, heading for the outer perimeter where MacIntosh Pharma is. I’m staring out the window as block after block passes by. They’re all being controlled. That’s all I can think about. Every face I see is, or will be, connected to the hive mind before long.

Di assures me that we’re cut off from the hive mind, but they know her car, so they’re likely tracking us that way. John knows we’re coming.

When we arrive at MacIntosh, the gate is open, but there’s a swarm waiting for us. The entire parking lot is filled with people. A whole sea of them. I’ve never seen so many people gathered in one place like this.

I look over at Di and see that she’s gripping the steering wheel tightly. I feel the car surge as she stomps down on the accelerator.

“What are you doing?” I scream.

“There’s only one way to make it inside,” she replies.

I know it’s the only way in, but I still want to protest. Everything inside me wants to scream out, “Stop,” but I can’t. I only brace myself against the dashboard.

I feel the first thunk of a body on the hood of the car. It’s quickly followed by several more. Eventually, a body crashes through the windshield, spiderwebbing the entire glass.

The car begins to lose momentum, and I realize that we’re not going to make it to the entrance of the building. As the car comes to halt, we’re surrounded by countless numbers of hive mind beating against the windows and trying to crawl in through the windshield.

The windows give way, and hands reach in to grab us. I try to beat back the hands by jabbing them with the end of the baseball bat, but there are just too many of them. Hands grab and tear at my shirt, clawing at my face.

“Stop it,” I yell, knowing that it’s futile.

Di is struggling next to me. She has the gun, but it does no good in our current situation.

I feel a sharp tug on my arm, and suddenly I’m being pulled through the window and out onto the pavement.

“Stop it,” I yell again.

A heavy stomp to my gut knocks all the breath out of me. I’m being pummeled by countless feet and fists. I’m starting to feel my consciousness slip. The edges of my vision blacken.

“Stop,” I yell so hard that my voice cracks as my vocal cords fail.

Everything instantly stops. All sound. All movement. Everything except the heavy panting of me trying to suck in air. I can only lay on the hard pavement, staring up at a forest of humanity.

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