Jenna holds her ground. "We've all changed."

Kara takes another step so she and Jenna are just an arm's length apart. "But you think you're something ... more than me?"

"No, I didn't say--"

Piece by piece, the mask falls away. Kara's voice grows soft and condescending, almost like she is talking to a small child. "But of course you're something more, Jenna." She turns and walks over to a cot that's against the wall, and sits like she is testing it for comfort. "You're Jenna Fox. There's a whole standard named after you. The Jenna Standard. I can't imagine a whole law named after me, but then I'm not the entitled Jenna Fox. If there was one for me, I suppose they would call it the Kara Manning Freak Law."

I step forward to go to her, but Jenna puts her hand out to stop me. "No. Let her talk," she says.

Kara looks at me. Her eyes narrow. "We don't have to talk about what came after the accident, do we, Locke? We have every dark moment memorized. We were there for each other. Always there. That's what real friends do. I was there for you." Betrayal fills her eyes, my betrayal, and I see all the ways I fell short for her, all the ways I didn't love her the way she wanted.

Now I'm the one who's cracking. I feel like a house has landed on my chest. I know she expects me to hate Jenna the way she does, but I can't. I never have. Jenna was my survival too. "Yes, Kara, you were always there."

Her eyes flash back to Jenna. They're as cold and icy as I've ever seen them. Her smile returns. "Did he tell you what it was like? Being forgotten in a black silent box for all those years?"

Jenna is rigid. I watch her temple pulse and the breath rise in her chest.

I shake my head and walk over to Kara. "We don't have to--"

She jumps up from the cot before I reach her. "Tell her!" When I take hold of her arm, she shakes me away.

"I know what it's like," Jenna says.

Kara walks around Jenna, nodding her head. She circles back to face her. "You're almost amusing, Jenna. But I guess with your outdated Bio Gel, it's to be expected. Locke and I are BioPerfect. Perfect. That means everything about us is more perfect than you, more human than you."

Is this the venting and throwing things that Jenna said would come? Is that why Jenna is tolerating it? I know Jenna wants me to let Kara talk, but I don't know how much more I can stand. I'm watching the three of us die right before my eyes, like who we were to one another never existed.

Jenna doesn't blink. She is staring into Kara's eyes like she's looking for something hiding behind them. "I'm sorry for what you've been through, Kara. I am truly sorry."

Kara stands there, her face calm and blank, not even breathing, just staring back at Jenna. She leans closer. "You will be," she whispers.

Jenna's eyes ice over, as cold as Kara's, and that's what does it. I don't plan it. I don't even realize what I've done until I see the chair flying across the room and crashing into the wall.

"Stop!" My voice echoes off the concrete walls.

They both look at the cracked wall and shattered chair, then turn to look at me. I stare back, not trying to hide whatever they're seeing in my face. I don't care. I just want the nightmare to end. Kara tilts her head slightly like she is processing my reaction, and I watch the slow arching of one eyebrow, the shimmy of her hair at her shoulders as she nods, and then she lunges at Jenna, holding her tightly, her lips pressed to Jenna's ear. Her shoulders shake, and I hear hoarse sobs.

She pulls away and shakes her head. "Jenna." She chokes down another sob. "I'm so confused. It's been so hard." She pulls close to Jenna again and sobs. "Forgive me. Please. I need to rest. That's all. I've said horrible things. Please, forgive me."

Jenna returns her hug and pats her back, but I see the cool, dry distance in her eyes. "Go rest. You're right. You need to rest."

Kara steps back. "You forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive."

Kara nods. Her tears are real. Her worry seems real. But the mask is back. Her face is a thousand blank planes, each one like the next.

Kara.

She glances at me, but that's all I get. No words. Nothing else.

"I'll walk you back to the house," Jenna says.

"No." Kara wipes at her eyes. "I know the way. I'm just going to go lie down for a while. I know I'll feel better after some rest."

Jenna nods. "Of course."

I step toward Kara. "I can walk you--"

"No, Locke. I just need some time. Really." She walks up the stairs, her feet heavy and shuffling.

Jenna watches the stairs even after Kara is gone.

"Are we--"

Jenna lifts her finger to her mouth. "Shh." There's a tiny sound, like a string of beeps, and then it fades away. "She's gone." She sees my confusion and adds, "We have sensors outside the greenhouse." She doesn't explain further but quickly moves to the back wall and places her hand against it. A door seamlessly appears, and Jenna races through it into another room, calling for me to follow. Once I walk through the door, it disappears behind me. It's just like the door I saw at the train station when I arrived. Jenna hurries to a Net Center that is spotless and fully operational. She presses her hand to the table, and a screen appears.

"Allys," she says. Nothing happens. "Hurry." She leans forward, impatient, but it is only about twenty seconds before Allys appears.