Mara’s laptop fan roared. The cursor moved on its own, scrolling faster than she could blink. Page by page, Iesys crawled out of the comic—first an arm, then her hollow smile, then the buzzing static that served as her voice.

The last panel of Download39 was blank except for two words in the center: “Insert Reader.”

The Last Page of Iesys

Page two: her hand broke through.