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composure.
    “Okay,” he said. “What’s up?”
    Realm didn’t want to say any more. He wanted to walk out the door, run away. But he was here because he couldn’t live with what he’d done. He had to face this.
    “I was a handler, Anthony. I was your handler in The Program.”
    Anthony furrowed his brow, staring back at Realm in confusion. He licked his lips and leaned forward, trying to work out what that meant. Realm took a breath and continued.
    “I was embedded, and I was assigned to patients who were high-risk, who they thought would fight. I was assigned to you.”
    Anthony straightened. “And what exactly did you do as my handler, Realm?” he asked in a strained voice.
    “I gathered information, clarified memories. And then I fed them to the doctors to make sure they targeted the right things.” Realm stopped, lowering his eyes. He had a flash of a memory.
    One night when they were playing cards, Anthony told him about his brother Josiah. He said that Realm reminded him of his brother because he was everyone’s friend. But then Anthony broke down, cried right there at the table. Josiah had poisoned himself with QuikDeath. He’d begged Anthony to do the same before The Program got to him.
    “But I wasn’t brave enough,” Anthony had told him. “I was a fucking failure because I couldn’t be big and bad like my older brother. He tried to save me from this. And now nothing will ever be the same.The Program will take it all.”
    He was right. They did.
    Realm wouldn’t keep any more secrets. He sat in Anthony’s living room and told him everything, every detail he could remember. His old friend listened, eventually sliding down to sit on the couch cushions, holding back any tears that threatened to fall. And when Realm was done, Anthony kept his eyes downcast, unable to look at him at all.
    “I . . . um . . . I brought you a file,” Realm said, standing up and reaching into the messenger bag. “It covers everything I know.” Anthony made no move to take the file, so Realm set it on the coffee table. “I should go,” he said, but Anthony stood quickly.
    “Why did you do this?” he asked. “What if you made me sick again?”
    Realm had considered that possibility before setting out on this mission. But the truth was, he didn’t believe the knowledge would harm them. The Program’s pressure fed the epidemic—not the memories. And even if he was wrong, telling someone their memory was far different from them experiencing it. The threat was no longer there. “I’m here because you deserve to know who you were,” Realm said. “And because . . . I wanted you to know how sorry I am. Truly.”
    Realm started toward the door and he heard Anthony behind him. When he turned, Anthony Winters pulled him into a hug, tight and full of hurt, but a hug nonetheless.
    “Thank you,” Anthony whispered. “Thank you for giving me back my brothers.”
    Realm’s breath caught, the forgiveness in Anthony’s voice overwhelming him. He hugged him back, and then Realm walked out the door and into the sun, tears stinging his eyes. He hurried to the SUV and got in, sniffling and wiping his nose. James turned to him.
    “I’m glad it went well,” he said quietly.
    “Yeah,” Realm replied, looking out the window. “Me too.”

CHAPTER NINE
    THERE WERE STILL THREE PEOPLE on the list, but James hadn’t been able to track them yet. He and Realm decided to head back to Oregon, even though Realm was eager to get this part of his life over with.
    “We could stay longer,” James offered while the Escalade climbed the Siskiyou Mountains toward home. “I can call Sloane later and tell her—”
    “Why?” Realm asked, looking sideways at him. “Why would you do that?” Although James had told him a little about his fears with Sloane not remembering, Realm couldn’t understand why he wasn’t trying harder. Why he would stay away.
    James didn’t talk for a moment, his jaw working as he considered his