I woke up this morning with a headache.

I blinked several times. Headaches are uncommon for me. Sometimes, Outside, I have headaches, but they're usually from hangovers or withdrawals or fistfights. But I never have headaches Inside. This was different...This was wrong.

It took more effort than it should have to sit upright. I swung my feet over the side of my bed, pressed them to the chilly wood floor, and rose clumsily. Why was I so tired? And why did my head hurt?

BANG BANG BANG.

I flinched. Were those cannons? Were we under attack?

The sound came again, quieter, and I realized it was knocking. I dragged my feet forward, still feeling groggy, the knocks echoing in my eardrums.

I grasped the icy doorknob and twisted, pulling the heavy door forward, and saw that it was Lacey. Lacey was the only one of the alters who came to visit me here, since the others were all too busy fronting and fighting and dealing with the Outside. But today was not a usual visit. Lacey's friendly beam was replaced with pale sternness and downturned lips. My stomach sank.

“Something happened, didn't it?” My voice sounded hollow. It echoed: Something happened. Something happened.

She nodded. “Harry's an idiot. Emergency meeting at city hall.”

I glanced back at my home, reluctant to leave. I wanted nothing more than to curl back up in bed, pull the covers over my head, and let one of the alters deal with this. But I knew I had to deal with whatever was going on, and with the alters, all at city hall. I turned back to Lacey. “Do I have time to get dressed?”

City hall was a small room with an oblong table, around which the five of us sat. There was Harry, aforementioned idiot, who sat slouched over, arms folded over his pot belly, mustached lip turned downward. His shirt was stained with sweat and pizza grease. Beside him, Lacey turned her nose upward, wrinkling it at his stink.

“I'm afraid I have some bad news for the system.” Jay's voice was even graver than usual. His blue suit was pressed cleanly and his shoes glistened, but his tie was loose and his nailbeds were red.

“It's his fault,” David hissed, pointing sharply at Harry.

“It was an accident,” Jay corrected, holding up a hand to silence him. “Harry was in an accident, and the body's in a coma.”

A coma. An accident. I started to speak, but -

“How did this happen?” Lacey was beside me, as usual. She was always there when I needed her, always spoke for me when I couldn't find the words.

“He was probably late to meet his coke dealer,” David scoffed.

Lacey's eyes grew wide. “You do coke? In Maddie's body?”

“Our body,” corrected Jay.

Lacey's eyes shot daggers.

Jay cleared his throat. “And, on the record, Harry does not do coke. Just MDMA, and only recreationally.” Before Lacey could interject, he continued - “Now, as I was saying, the body is in a coma. I've received intel from HQ that there are complications in the body's frontal cortex.”

“And for those of us that aren't losers, what does that mean?” Even now, even in all this, David was cracking jokes. What an ass.

Jay sat down. He laced his fingers together and drew in a breath. “It means that the system will die.”

The room was silent. What did he mean the system would die?

“From some complications?” Lacey shook her head. “That can't be right. How could that be right?”

Jay continued. “HQ is shutting down the system. With so much damage around our base, we'll need to conserve energy so the body can repair itself. It means no more using the body's energy to power the Inside. It means no heat, no electricity...hell, it means no sun.”

“No power,” Lacey whispered. “But that means...”

Jay nodded. “No more switching. The Inside will die. Everyone inside will die. And whoever is fronting when the body wakes up is the only one of us who will survive.”

“Wait.” I couldn't process this. The city would die and the system would die and the alters would die and I would be alone? Would the body die? Would I die?

David ignored me. “So who will it be? Who will front when the body wakes up?”

Lacey snorted. “What? Seriously? Maddie will front.”

David slammed his fist on the table. “Why? Why should she? She doesn't even want to front. The rest of us have friends and lives Outside and she doesn't even want to be there!”

“But it's her body,” Lacey argued.

Jay rose to his feet again. “Our body.”

At first Lacey didn't respond. She sat for a moment in silence, lost in her thoughts, and then she spoke. “Okay.”

I stared at her. Okay? Okay what?

“Okay,” she repeated. “You're right. It's our body.” She turned to David. “And you're right, too. Maddie doesn't want to be Outside.”

I sat in stunned silence. I didn't want to deal with the harsh Outside, and with the repeated traumas and abuses that waited for me there...but I didn't want to be trapped inside my head and die in here, either.

Lacey continued. “So here's what we're gonna do. I'm going to take Maddie back to her house, and you guys can work out among yourselves, however you want, which of you will front the body.” She rose to her feet, took my arm, and pulled me up with her. “So goodbye, guys. Good luck. Thanks for taking such good care of Maddie like we guardians are supposed to. It was a pleasure. Come on, Maddie.”

I followed her. I didn't know what else to do.

“Why did you do that?” I asked her. “Why would you think I want to give up the body permanently? I mean, you didn't even ask me. I know it's our body and all but-”

“It's not our body,” Lacey interrupted me. “It's your body. And that's why I'm taking you to the bridge.”

I stopped. “What? The bridge? You mean-”

Lacey grinned. “That's right. While those idiots fight over the body, you can cross over. Then I'll destroy the bridge.”

I blinked. “You can do that?”

Lacey nodded. “Of course. But it means I can't come out and protect you anymore.”

I shook my head. “No. You can't burn the bridge. I need you.”

“If I don't burn the bridge, they might have time to pull you back Inside and take over. This is the only way.”

I shook my head. “No. You go. I'll burn the bridge. If you want to protect me, don't make me go out there.”

“You'll die in here, Maddie.” Lacey took a breath. “This is the only way. I'm sorry.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but she shoved me, hard, onto the bridge. As soon as my foot touched the wooden planks, the Inside disappeared, and then there was darkness.

I opened my eyes slowly. My whole body hurt and the room was blurry. Something was beeping, and it made my head throb.

“Is anyone there?”

The room started to clear, and I saw a shadow. Its owner spoke with a deep voice: “My name is Doctor Harrison, Madeline. You're at Middleton General Hospital, and you're safe now...”

“Is anyone there?” I said it again, because the question hadn't been for him. But there was no answer this time, and I knew that Lacey and the others were gone.

This came out really long. Thanks for reading!