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Chapter 49

Despite the tremors, Sands focus remained on the tubes. Bodies were now growing in them. "Won't be too much longer," he said. His voice held a note of deep satisfaction.

Richard stood beside him in awe. It was impossible not to be impressed by the spectacle. In the tube on the left floated a perfect teenage version of himself.

The room shook again. An alarm sounded in the distance.

"Entrance breached," Morris announced. He looked up from the Tablet in his hand. On the screen was a diagram of the lab – a section at the top of the image flashed red. "I'd say we have a half hour before soldiers are down here."

"That was fast. Is there power to the elevator?"

"None. They're stuck with the stairwell."

"Security?"

"Active but it won't stop them all."

"Works for me!" Sands showed no panic. He wandered over to a blank glass wall beside the right tube and placed his palm on it. A countdown clock appeared. It read ten minutes. "Let's get prepped!"

Richard watched him cross the room in his stolen body and felt a sting of contempt. No one deserved Ev's fate.

At the eleventh hour, when he was about to get exactly what he wanted, that thought shifted everything again. This was a complete surprise – the type of epiphany his old self would have ignored.

Such complete disregard for her life made Richard angry.

It was clear Sands only cared about himself – the consequences of his actions irrelevant. He had destroyed countless lives to prove a point and it didn't bother him a bit. People were expendable.

Being Homesick had made Richard immune to such a horrible truth. With its grip weakened by disgust that was no longer the case - and reflex took over. Sands had his back to him, so he seized the opportunity, pulled the Swap Box from his pocket and sprinted across the room. In one hand was the plug, in the other the power button.

With a single, deft movement Richard slammed the cable into the Hotwire Port and pressed the button. With only one end plugged in he had no idea if it would work or what to expect.

Sands body stiffened. His hand shot up and groped at the back of his neck. He spun. Richard could see fear in his eyes. Then they turned white. A puff of smoke rose from the Hotwire Port. After that he collapsed.

Richard watched him fall and began to shake. It was a conflicting sight – Sands was dead – the horror conquered, but now there was blood on his hands.

He stared at the body on the ground. Panic rose in his throat as the shakes became tremors. Nausea swept through him. He wasn't sure whether to cry or scream.

Then he heard laughter. And the whole world was turned on its head.

It started as a cackle behind him, then grew into a deep belly laugh.

To Richards surprise it was Morris, doubled over, laughing in Gorman's body. His face was red and spittle flew from his mouth. "You should have seen your face!" he gasped while trying to catch his breath. "Priceless. No one could ever fake a reaction like that. So natural."

This made Richard look at the body on the ground and back up again. Something was wrong.

"You really think I'd be so easy to beat?" asked Morris. He moved toward Richard. "And by such an amateur?"

Confused, Richard stood his ground.

Morris smiled. "Come on! You still haven't figured it out?"