Panic rushes through her anew, thick and heavy this time, rather than the sharp and stinging blast of it she'd felt when she first woke up. Imaginary friends? Is he saying that the MDR department was just something that came fully formed out of her severed mind? For a moment, there's a part of her that almost believes him. They're certainly not here now – but why would they be? If this is a Lumon punishment, there's no reason they'd put them all in it together, not after what they did when they were left to their own devices. Helly's heart pounds, her head swims.

He's just trying to scare her. He's trying to make her think something that isn't true, because it's easier for him if that's how she feels, or because he just wants her to feel entirely unmoored from her own reality. But she knows what's true, she knows. You can't imagine the feeling of an electrical cord yanked tight around your throat; that isn't the sort of thing you just make up. And suddenly, lying on top of her panic and fear like oil on water, she feels angry. She feels furious.

"I haven't had any psychiatric episodes. I'm not insane." It comes out through a clenched jaw, her voice trembling a little. "I know what's real. This is bullshit. You're bullshit."