The lines between the simulation world and reality have blurred in my mind. Walking feels strange, as if my body is now heavier than it was before the Kofali put me in that world. I can't stop thinking about what I saw in there; the colors, the sounds, the creatures. But now my eyes have nothing to take in but white walls and bright lights. Being on the ship feels almost too quiet and too loud at the same time. No noises of birds or insects, just background noises of people talking and walking.

If anything, it makes me realize I've spent too much time on this ship. I miss being outside. Even when there was the threat of danger, my body felt some peace being out in the open. Awakening back on the ship also meant that I now had to confront what I'd experienced as well. Now that I'm out of the test I can't hide from the fact that Alfie got ejected, Tyler wants to speak to me, and I'm about to find out if I made it to Level One.

Walking back into my room in a daze, I grab another electrolyte drink from the fridge and sip it while my thoughts slow down. I don't know where to start. My instinct tells me that Alfie is being brainwashed again, maybe tortured too and I may not have any time to stop it. I also sense that Tyler is starting to piece things together, and if I don't intervene he will suffer the same fate. All of it is so overwhelming I feel the urge to lay in my bed and do nothing. But I can't, the part of me that cares about my friends is too strong.

A wave of nausea passes over me, and I sprint to the bathroom just in time to heave out all of that drink. My head begins to pound. I don't know if this is from stress or the simulation or both, but I use it as an excuse to contact Elliot with my tablet so he will come to my room. It's an innocent enough message that if a Kofali bothered to spy on it, they wouldn't care.

Elliot arrives promptly with some medicine that somehow immediately makes me feel better. He informs me that it's just what they call "simulation sickness" and I will be fine as long as I eat today. In the privacy of the bathroom, I explain to him what happened in the simulation and how Alfie is in trouble. The fear and concern on his face is evident, but he quickly stifles it and looks off into the distance. Thinking.

Since I've begun to feel better, he urges me to talk to Tyler as soon as possible and try to keep him out of trouble. While I do that, he will try to get in contact with one of our Kofali allies and see what they can do to help Alfie. I hope that even if we are too late, he will be safe and the worst of it will be losing his memory again. That's something I think we could work with, because at least he's not dead.

I text Tyler through my tablet, and to my relief he is ready to talk. He gives me his room number and I set off with a handful of the simulation sickness medication just in case he doesn't feel well. As soon as I knock, he answers and welcomes me inside.

"What's with the pills?" He raises a brow in confusion.

"I got sick after being in that simulation, they're supposed to help. Are you feeling alright?" I ask.

"Oh, I'm fine." He assures me. "Guess I got lucky."

"So, um....what did you want to talk about?" I can feel my heart thudding against my chest but I try my best to seem calm.

"Yeah, I....I just can't help but feel like something is wrong after being in there. Alfie-" He starts, and immediately I fear what he could say next and if the Kofali could overhear. I make some excuse about needing to puke and dash to the bathroom, knowing he will follow me. I shut the door and turn on the sink so the water will drown the sound of our voices.

"I don't want anyone to overhear." I explain, and his face goes stiff.

"Good idea. You really think they would?"

"Better safe than sorry." I shrug.

"Um...my thoughts are kinda all over the place so I'm sorry if I don't make a lot of sense. But while I was in the simulation, I kept getting these weird dreams. And you were always in them." Tyler's eyes don't waver from mine.

"You were in mine too." My voice barely rises above a whisper as I shudder. I watch as the gears seem to turn in his mind, the world as he's known it for the past few months starting to crumble.

"That can't just be a coincidence, right? And Alfie being pulled out from the simulation....saying he remembered something?" Tyler sighs. I don't answer, frozen in place. "Something is wrong. Maybe the Kofali don't trust us enough. Maybe they're worried we won't work with them."

"What else can we do? We've done every test they've asked." I tell him, trying to follow his train of thought.

"Find some way to talk to them? I don't know. Maybe there's a way I can talk to a Level One commander...and they can talk to the leader of the Kofali." Right, the leader. Cole and Kira's mom. Despite his good intentions, Tyler being on her radar couldn't possibly be a good thing.

"Or we could just let it be. See if we pass, and work hard as Level Ones and show them we support them." I offer. He scoffs.

"They should know we support them. We're devoting our lives to being soldiers." He looks at me and his face darkens. "Why are you afraid? I wouldn't have expected you to be, that's why I reached out to you."

My breath catches and I force myself to swallow. He continues before I can try to answer him.

"Do you know something I don't?"

"I....I just..." I stammer, feeling panic light every one of my nerves on fire. Tyler looks away from me and frowns. I'm losing him. Again. "I worry that if you push, the repercussions could fall on your family."

"Maybe, but all I have here is my parents. I'm not super close to them. If the Kofali don't let me see them anymore, fine."

My mind registers a few things. Tyler doesn't think the Kofali would hurt him or his family. He hasn't quite grasped how far they would go no matter how loyal a human seems to be to them. And he says he's not close to his family. I remember seeing him happy and smiling with his parents close to his side. I assumed his bond with them was just like the bond I share with my parents. I assumed his life was finally happy and complete, and if he started to remember me or anything about the rebels, it would be ruined. Maybe that's not the case.

I can feel my body working up the courage to tell him everything I've been holding onto for so long. All I wanted was to protect him and let him live a happy life without the darkness and danger from before. But life isn't magically perfect no matter how much you erase...how much you forget. The part of me that feels he deserves to know the truth is taking over.

"What do you know?" He asks again, pushing me further. I meet his eyes and feel mine well up with tears.

"Ok...I'm telling you this because I want you to trust me," I start, my voice shaking.

"I do." He assures me, nodding.

"And I do feel like you deserve to know. I was scared because I didn't want something to happen..." Now it's my thoughts that are jumbled. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. "I think I know why we kept showing up in each other's dreams. And why our earlier simulations made us fight each other. It's because you and I know each other. We know each other from before. And the Kofali erased it."

Author's Note: If you enjoyed this, please vote and/or comment! Thank you for reading :) Your support means a lot and keeps me going.