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I start to panic as the penguinsrao away And when I turn es follow, because they’re in et them out and I can’t make it stop

I rip the flexi off like a Band-Aid and feel soes and sounds disappear ier to go away Thank God it’s over I lean back against the tire, breathing heavily No way in hell aain

Adam moves to sit beside me “You okay?” he asks, too softly for the others to hear They’re all too involved in whatever they’re seeing and hearing anyway

“Yeah” I rubto clear my vision Cold sweat drips downat first But you’ll get used to it”

I stay silent Everyone else see their flexis Zoe has hers set to look like purple butterflies fluttering across her te bolt on his; and Chris has a barbed-wire design that matches a tat on his arm Adam’s kept his flexi clear, but it’s obvious he’s an expert with it already I don’t want to ad out

I’ve never been good with couess Once I went into foster care I mostly used the computers at school or the library If I was really lucky, my foster home would have one, but it was usually shared between all the kids, so I never got to use it for long I didn’t even have a cell phone until a fewthem for their temporary kids, but the Robertsons insisted we each have one, even if they’re ancient ain,” Adaing et used to it”

I stretch the flexi between et I want to throw it into the road and never use it again, but Ada me, and I don’t want him to think I can’t do it

“Fine” I smooth the flexi back on my face and it connects to my new profile This time I braceI knowAdam’s words in mind For a few minutes, I learn how to control the device, and it starts to make a lot more sense It really is intuitive once you have soo into anyto blend in I probably need a flexi design too I scroll through the options until I find a basic design of five tiny, black stars scattered around the eye Perfect—not too in-your-face, and it matches the star tattoos on my left arm

Once that’s done, I call up an Internet search It’s really strange how I can see both the search box and the truck at once, but I’ to like that Itthis I enter my name, and millions of hits pop up for different people named Elena Martinez I had no idea h them, but there’s too much info, and none of the hits seem to be me

I don’t have anyone else to search for No real fah to visit in the future I could look for Papá, but the thought makes me want to throw up Besides, if he’s still alive, he’ll be in prison, serving out his life sentence No help there

Instead, I search for Aether Corp I find their website immediately They’re still around and have an office in don LA So as the research facility here in the desert abandoned?

“I’,” I say “There are too many hits for people with my name”

“Yeah, me too,” Trent says “This is impossible”

Zoe’s head snaps up “I think I found my sister! She has a website or a profile or whatever they’re called now”