That night Thomas couldn't sleep.
The room was silent, filled only with the breathing of Daniel and Akira. The empty bed seemed to be watching him.
He got up and walked over to the large window. The luminous barrier pulsed in the distance.
The stab of pain in his back returned every so often, softer but constant. As if something inside him were waking up.
He thought about Sunny. About her "don't forget me." About the real fear he had seen in her eyes.
He thought about his father. About the phrase: "they had always been here."
And about the two figures on the beach: "You are one of us."
A soft sound made him turn.
Daniel was sitting up in his bed.
—Can't sleep either, huh?
Thomas shook his head.
—This is crazy —Daniel whispered—. You got here one day ago and half the world is already talking about you.
Akira, from his bed, spoke without opening his eyes.
—It's not only outside. It's inside too.
Thomas frowned.
—Since you arrived, the building feels… different. Like it's paying attention.
Thomas looked back out the window. The barrier pulsed harder.
At that moment the mark burned with sudden intensity. He closed his eyes.
For a brief instant he saw the room from outside his own body. He saw his back. The mark glowed with a soft blue light, lines shifting shape.
He blinked. Everything returned to normal.
Daniel and Akira were staring at him.
—Are you okay? —Daniel asked.
Thomas swallowed.
—Yeah… I think so.
But he wasn't sure.
Because for the first time he felt that the Impossible City wasn't only outside.
It was beginning to move inside him too.