"Okay, it's finally working!" 

I sighed with relief at the sight of the Insertion mechanism sputtering to life before me. Staring at the beams of orange electricity sizzling between the two metal arms jutting out of the wall, I couldn't bring myself to think that it had really been thirty years since I first stepped through that very gateway, entering the Code world beyond. 

Oh, the irony of it all. I'd been through so much to escape the Program, only to come right back with my daughter. 

"Now, I need you guys to step through the field. I know it doesn't look very safe, but it'll get you into the Program, which is where the ship is." 

They looked just as skeptical as we, the original Glitches, must've looked twenty years ago. Surprisingly, Lillae was the first to approach the field, tapping it gingerly with the tip of her long fingernail. Her desire to go home seemed to outweigh her distrust of the unknown. Slowly, she reached through the crackling electricity with her whole hand, and when she was certain that it wasn't nearly as painful as it looked, she stepped through. The others gasped in surprise as she disappeared from view. 

"I'd better make sure she's okay," Zaliana charged into the Program after her best friend within seconds. I looked behind me to see Lerrel speaking softly to Sparrow, probably trying to allay her fears about the mean-looking strands of electricity before us. I turned my attention back to the entrance, realizing that if I went through, it would probably give the younger children a bit more confidence. 

Oh, I had doubts about this. I definitely had doubts about this. Did I even remember how to manipulate the Code? What if the Program had changed unrecognizably since the Glitches had first escaped it? What if I hadn't completely rebooted it and what awaited us on the other side of the Insertion mechanism was nothing more than an endless, black expanse of digital oblivion? But two of us were already inside. Our best chance was to follow through. Wiping my sweaty palms on the sides of my thin pajama pants, I stepped through the portal into a world long forgotten. 

In that moment, suspended in midair as the billions of particles in my body were taken apart and rearranged in a much smaller, more controlled universe, I felt something in my chest that I hadn't felt for many, many years. Something that had once burned strongly inside of me but that had been dulled by years of mind-numbingly predictable court life. I was taking a risk... and I was enjoying it. 

As the Program was reconstructed before my eyes, pixel by pixel, I found myself gently floating down from the dark, frigid sky, drifting aimlessly toward the snow-covered ground below. A jarring chill shot straight through my body as my feet sank into the soft white blanket. My flimsy silk pajamas and fuzzy slippers were not meant for this. Looking in front of me, I saw Lillae and Zaliana crouching over the ground, huddled together in a shivering clump. 

"C-coat..." Lillae croaked at the sight of me, reaching out with a quaking hand. Lerrel and Sparrow, who had tumbled through the Insertion portal after me just as it sputtered out of existence, were in a similar state. First things first, we needed to find a way to keep ourselves warm. 

"Everyone, huddle together and inflate your Auras as much as you can. It'll help you maintain body heat as we walk." 

The kids did as I said, too shocked, tired, and cold to argue. I drifted to the front of our group, doing my best to use the size and strength of my own Aura to wrap a protective layer around them. 

"I don't think she's doing too well." Lerrel gestured to Sparrow, who had crumpled into a quiet heap at his feet. I rushed toward her, easily scooping up her tiny body in my arms, and sighed softly at the sight of her frosty breath and slightly blue lips. As a Lessaenite, I had almost forgotten how less fortified humans were against the cold. To us, the Alaskan winter was merely a hindrance. To Sparrow, this could be a life or death situation. 

Lillae almost smirked at the sight of Sparrow, limp in my arms, but her expression quickly became serious. Clearly, even she knew better than to make a snide comment about the superiority of her race. 

I held Sparrow so close that I could feel her faint heartbeat against my own chest. She didn't have much time. 

"We have to walk," I said with resolve, forcing one foot in front of the other. "Stay in a group. Hold each other's hands if you have to. We can't afford to lose anyone." 

"Speaking of losing anyone, has anyone seen Nemesis and Swan?" 

I stopped in my tracks at the sound of Lerrel's question. 

"No...I... didn't they come in with you?" 

"I thought they went in with Lillae and Zali!" 

My hands flew up to cover up my gaping mouth. It had happened too neatly to be a coincidence. Nemesis had quietly disappeared with my Swan while I was firing up the Insertion mechanism- a moment when she knew I'd be distracted! 

But if she wanted Swan dead, she would've killed her already. I forced myself to think reassuring thoughts. Now, in the middle of the snowy landscape with nowhere to go, was not a good time to break down. There was nowhere to go in the Module- it couldn't be larger than a total of four thousand square feet. Swan couldn't get lost... if anything, she was much safer than we were. 

I turned over my shoulder to see the exit to the Program- a Coded doorway hidden in the northern lights- as clearly as I'd seen it twenty years ago. I could go back for my daughter, but there would be no guarantee I'd be able to get back in. Then, we would really be stuck. 

It was at that moment that I made what would be one of the hardest decisions of my life. 

"We have to keep going."