***
And suddenly my connection to Vex is severed. I’m back in the real-world, still spread-eagle on the cot. The cuffs hum, pumping electrical currents into my arms and legs. I arch up, shrieking in pain. Fire flows through me, burning every nerve.
I hear the others beside me, their agony matching mine. The goggles of my headset are dark. I can’t see anything except the indistinct fuzz of the lightbulb.
The cuffs go silent, the flow of electricity snapping off. I sag onto the mattress, gasping for breath. My body is limp and rubbery.
“Was . . . was that some kind of Touch?” I ask, my voice raspy.
“No,” Billy whispers. “No, that was—”
I don’t get to hear whatever it is he says. Blue light flares in my goggles. Helpless, I am sucked back into Vex.