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Neil’s eyes. When I relive joint memories with Neil, my own point of view takes over. It’s too strong because I remember the scene too. But I don’t remember this, so that must be why I relived the memory from Nate’s point of view even though I was present.
    Nate kept going on about a mystery girl. Gracie. I have to ask Neil about her. I look up at him, and see him pushing Nate again. “What did you show her? Tell me now!” he demands.
    Nate chuckles. He seems to be heartily enjoying himself. “See for yourself, Little Brother.” He offers his palm to Neil, and in the few seconds it takes for the transfer, Neil spasms and shakes.
    “What kind of trick is this?” Neil sits down next to me, and I lean my head on his shoulder. “We didn’t die?” he asks. He sounds as stunned as I feel.
    Finally I come out of my daze. “If we didn’t die in the crash, when did we die?” I ask Nate.
    Nate shrugs. “How should I know? We lost touch. I had my own problems.”
    “But you have more memories of us? After the crash?”
    “The memory I shared is one of many,” Nate confirms.
    “But why don’t I have them?” I ask in a small voice. What happened to mine? And more important, how can I get them back? If Nate’s memory is real, then my death was a lie, and I don’t know what to believe anymore.
    “Show us the rest, then.” Neil tries to grab Nate’s arm, but Nate slaps him away.
    “Level Three is all about detachment.” Nate’s tone is preachy, like he has finally decided to act like a mentor or something. “What happened on Earth doesn’t concern you anymore. I was wrong to show you what I did.”
    Neil scrambles up, using my shoulder as ballast. “You’re only saying that to rile me up.” He glares at Nate as though he’s three seconds away from punching him. We’re attracting curious stares from our fellow students. I want to see the memories too, but it’s pretty clear Nate won’t show us any others.
    I stand up and step between Neil and Nate, and kiss Neil on the cheek and take his hand. Then I whisper into his ear. “We need to talk. Alone.” To Megan I say more loudly, “Thanks for the tour.”
    “Oh, it’s not over yet.” Megan takes hold of both Neil’s and my free wrists so that we form a tight circle. “I have so much more to show you.”
    “Can we pick it up later?” I ask. “Neil and I are going to go back to our rooms now to rest.”
    She gives us her glinting, gap-toothed smile. “Sure thing!”
    “Separate rooms? Really?” Nate breaks in, waggling his eyebrows.
    Neil merely scowls at him, and Nate grins widely and winks. “Ah! I get it. Want to keep your options open, eh? Can’t blame you. The afterlife has a lot to offer.” A couple of girls walk by as if on cue, and Nate salutes them.
    Neil trembles beside me. He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “You don’t know anything about us.”
    “If Felicia gets lonely, she can room with me.” A mischievous smile lights up Nate’s face. Now that I’ve been inside his head, I know he probably can’t help himself.
    Neil tenses up again. His brother loves to push his buttons. I squeeze Neil’s hand. Long, long, long. Short, short, long. It’s the only Morse code I learned from Neil. It’s the letters O and U , short for “open up.” And, curiously, it was also the password for opening all the doors in Level Two. We used it as a signal after the fall of the Morati for when we wanted to make a swift exit from a conversation and for when we wanted to be alone. Not that there was any privacy after all the hives disappeared. Endless fields of wildflowers are pretty, but not practical for long-term habitation.
    Neil understands my meaning immediately and squeezes back. The strength of our connection makes me giddy, and I throw my arms around his neck. “Neil’s the only roommate I’ll ever want.”
    Level Three may not be the safe haven we expected, but at least I’m here with Neil. We smile at each other, and