_Chapter 5: As if things weren’t bad enough_
 
 
 
          “Ron!” cried Jill, who was the first to see him enter the room.  She
ran to him and hugged him furiously, while Kim slipped off to find the rest of
the family.
 
          It had taken them only a few hours to get home, since they could now
fly together, and in a direct route.  Kim had worried about how the cat would
get home, but Ron told her not to concern herself with Jessica.  Sure enough,
Jessica had been waiting for them when they’d arrived.  This was Kim’s first
sign that the cat was not normal.
 
          By the time Ron disentangled himself from Jill, the rest of the
family was present, and many hugs were shared.  Everyone was relieved to see
him.  And Linda had a surprise for him.
 
          “You’ve lost a little weight,” Ron said in fun.
 
          “Tammy?” Linda called quietly.  Tammy came over, carrying the baby,
and put it in Ron’s arms.
 
          “I know you probably wanted a boy…” Linda began.  Ron just looked at
her and smiled.
 
          “I didn’t really care which it was, Linda, but she’s beautiful!”  He
stared down at his new daughter, Mary Christine Chaffey.  Well, there could be
some dispute, legally, over that last name, but no one here would argue the
point.
 
          Ron cuddled his daughter for several minutes, and no one objected,
even though they wanted to know what had happened while he was gone.  Kim
tried to detach herself, not wanting to interfere, but Ron carried the baby
directly to her, and she finally realized that she was, truly, a full-fledged
part of the family now.
 
          Finally, the baby started to fidget, and Ron handed it over to
Tammy, who had imposed upon herself the job of helping Linda care for her. 
Ron could see the pain in Tammy’s eyes, and he knew what it was from.  Telling
her was the easiest way to get the message out.
 
          “Don’t worry, Tams.  I know how to find the girls, now.”
 
          One little sentence, and the entire family nearly came unglued. 
There was a chorus of questions, and a lot of confusion.  Ron noticed that the
cougar, who had come into the room with them, was settled quietly in a
corner.  Ron tried to calm the group.
 
          “Guys, guys!  I can’t answer you all at once.  And, I need to
apologize, because I should have thought of this three weeks ago.”  Now that
he had everyone’s attention, he could continue.  “Jess!  Come here, please.” 
The big cat rose from its spot and padded over to her friend.  “Kim, did you
wonder how Jessica knew so precisely where I was?”
 
          “I did find it a bit curious.”
 
          “Well, I know this is going to be hard for all of you to swallow,
but this cat doesn’t just remind me of our friend Jessica.  She *is* our
friend Jessica.”  He was getting blank stares, so he figured he’d better press
on.  “She’s not reincarnated, or anything like that.  She exists in the Spirit
Realm, she keeps an eye on all of us.  This,” he said, indicating the cat
before him, “Is just her physical form here on Earth.  I know, I know, this is
all whacked, but that’s how it works.”
 
          It took a while before anyone could speak, but Tammy finally asked,
“How does that help us find Nikki and Dawn?”
 
          “See, where Jessica really is, there are a lot of people observing
the Earth.  They’re called ‘Watchers’.  And I’m willing to bet they know
exactly where the girls are.  We just have to get them to tell us.”  Ron knew
they weren’t really “people”, as such, but why confuse the issue?
 
          “Well, how do we do that?” Sandra asked.
 
          Ron turned to Jessica.  “Jess?  Can you ask them for me?”  As he
half-expected, she shook her head in the negative.  “Okay.”  To the rest of
the family, he said, “Looks like I’m going back to the Spirit Realm.  Remember
when we tried to save Kumiko?” his voice almost didn’t crack when he said
that, which was an improvement, the others thought.  “I went into the Spirit
Realm then.  I need to go again, to find Dawn and Nikki.”
 
          “What do you need us to do, Master?” Jill asked.  Her question
brought something to his mind.
 
          “Cindy didn’t make it, did she?”  It wasn’t really a question, and
Jill shook her head “no.”
 
          “Damn.  Jill, I need you to set up a quiet space around here
somewhere, where I won’t be disturbed.”
 
          She nodded, and moved off to do as she had been told.  Ron looked at
Tammy, and gave her a smile.  “We’ll find them.”  Ron waited where he was,
resting and looking around at the facility, while the rest of the family moved
off.  He took little note of Linda and Sandra talking quietly with Kim.
 
 
 
          “So?” Linda prodded.
 
          “So, what?” Kimberly replied, playing dumb.
 
          “Come on, Kim!  Don’t torment us!”  Sandra insisted.
 
          “He is a very wonderful man,” Kim said, “And, I am now a woman.”
 
          Nothing else needed to be said.  Linda gave her a warm hug, and
Sandra gave her a kiss.  “Welcome to the family,” she offered.
 
          “Sandy, it was… unbelievable.  Nothing in my life has *ever* felt
like that!”
 
          “Two psionics together… I imagine that is special.”
 
          “Especially when there’s love involved,” Linda mused.
 
 
 
          The room did not take long to prepare.  Jill had turned her
celebrity arrogance into authoritative competence, and she was always listened
to by the residents of the shelter.  Ron was led to a comfortable, if slightly
damaged, chair in a secluded section of the shelter.
 
          “Is there anything else you will need, Master?”
 
          “Not right now, Jill, but I’ll need something to drink when I come
out of it, and there should always be someone here with me, just in case
something unexpected happens.”
 
          “What should we do,” Tammy inquired, “if the unexpected happens?”
 
          “If I knew *that*,” Ron answered with a chuckle, “then it wouldn’t
be unexpected!”  He lay back in the chair and closed his eyes.  He let the
outside world drift away from his consciousness, and he focused his mind. 
Turning his energy back in upon itself, once again he found himself in the
Plane of the Watchers.
 
          “Hello, Master.”  He had expected to be greeted by Jessica.  After
all, that was who *always* greeted him here.  He was not ready to be greeted
by someone else.
 
          “Megan!  What are you-  No, never mind, I know what you’re doing
here.  You look very nice.”  Ron embraced her, and held onto her for some
minutes.  Unlike last time, he realized that minutes here were bare seconds in
real life, and so he took the time to enjoy the sensation.
 
          Finally, she released him, and he backed away.  “I need to see one
of the Watchers, Megan.”
 
          “Yes, Master.  Jessica told us as much.  I will take you to them.”
 
          “*Us?*” Ron inquired.
 
          “Cindy is here, as well.  All of your family will wait for you here,
until it is time for your passing.”
 
          “But… you didn’t make a conscious decision to be with me, I forced
you to.  So, you’re stuck with that for the rest of eternity?”
 
          “No, Master.  When I passed, my mind was freed from your control.  I
was shown my life before you, and after you, and was given a choice.  I chose
to remain.”
 
          Ron was completely speechless with that pronouncement.  He didn’t
know what to say, and so he said nothing, but hugged her again.  When he let
go, he had only one doubt left.  “And Cindy?”
 
          “Master, her life before you was so horrid as to be something you’d
rather not know.  Though her time with you was short, it was the most pleasant
period of her life.  She, also, has chosen to remain with you.”
 
          Ron was moved beyond words.  He would deal with these emotions at a
later time, when he could afford it.  “Thank you for telling me, Megan.  You
can call me Ron, now, if you’d like.”
 
          “You were, are, and always will be my Master.  And, sir, the
Watchers are waiting for you.  We should get going.”
 
 
 
          The small committee of Watchers met Ron at the seashore.  He had
come to understand that everything in this Realm was some kind of metaphor or
analog to what it was used for.  He didn’t waste much time considering why
Earth was represented by a vast sea of swirling and roiling currents.
 
          The lead Watcher stood from his place in the sand to greet the duo. 
He then returned to his spot, and motioned them to sit as well.  Ron sat
slowly, as the man looked remarkably familiar to him, but he couldn’t place
the face or voice.  The man, seeing this, cleared the matter up for him.
 
          “I am Sarcerion.  I am also a child of Calliope.  The family
resemblance is what has you confused.”
 
          “You were… removed from Guardian Hall?”
 
          “Not exactly.  I chose not to take an active part in what was going
on around me.  I am not a fan of battle, and so I do what I can for the Earth
Realm.”
 
          Ron took that at face value, and sat down on the warm sand.  The
five Watchers observed him for some time before anyone spoke.  The one woman
in their group was the first to speak.
 
          “What can we do for you, Master Chaffey?”
 
          “Excuse me?  Master?”
 
          Sarcerion explained, “It is a title given to all of the Earth Realm
who hold a position of import.”
 
          “Ah.  Well, I thought Jess would have explained this to you.  My
sisters have been kidnapped by the enemy forces, and I would like to get them
back.”
 
          “An understandable feeling,” another said, “But how can we be of
help?  We cannot enter the Earth Realm.”
 
          “No, but you can tell me where they are, can’t you?”
 
          “Ahhh,” said a fourth.  “You seek from us information.”
 
          “When you need something, you go to the best.”
 
          “Flattery will not aid you in this endeavor, Master Chaffey,”
Sarcerion said with a smile.  “However, in this matter, we can be of help.  We
have been given direction to be as helpful to you as possible.  You are highly
regarded in the Spirit Realm, especially among the Guardians.  Also, you have
gained the respect of certain Centurions, and that is not an easy task.  Let
us consult, and see if we can locate the information you seek.  Please wait
here.  We shall return as quickly as possible.”
 
          “Thank you.”
 
          The five rose, and walked swiftly into the sea.  They disappeared
rapidly, and Ron and Megan were left alone to wait.
 
          “I was troubled when you left home, Master.  I worried for you.”
 
          “I was worried for me, too, Megan.  But things are a little better
now.”
 
          “Yes, we know.  She is very special to you, isn’t she?”
 
          “You’ve been watching me since you got here, haven’t you?”
 
          “Yes, Master.  And I will continue to do so, unless you would rather
I didn’t.”
 
          “I don’t mind, Megan.  But, when Kim and I made love… it’s never
been like that before.  I can’t even begin to describe how that felt to me. 
The emotions and thoughts and movements… it all swirled together.”
 
          “And you love her.”
 
          “Yes.”
 
          “Then I am happy for you, Master.  I knew that I would never hold
that place in your heart, but I always wished that someone would.”
 
          “How come you never spoke this way when you were on Earth?”
 
          “On Earth, I was fully under your control, Master.   Your
programming did not permit me to speak my wants and wishes.  Here, I am not
under your control.  I have merely chosen to remain as your servant.”
 
          “Oh.  Megan, I’m sorry.  When I chose you at CAMP, well… my
intention was merely physical.  I chose you because…”
 
          “Because, Master, I was a bitch.  And you felt I needed taming.”
 
          “Well… there was also the fact that you’re a total fox.”
 
          Megan blushed.  “Master, I do not regret the time I have spent with
you.  My life before you was far worse than anything you did to me.  Even that
day when we were first together… when you…”
 
          “Yeah, I still remember that day.  You sure did wriggle around a
lot, stuck in mid-air.”
 
          Again she blushed.  “I hated you that day.  I am sorry for that,
Master.”
 
          “Don’t worry about it.  It’s not important.”
 
          “Cindy wanted to be here, but she needed to keep an eye on something
or other, I’m not sure what.”
 
          “I would have liked to see her.  Tell her that I miss her, please?”
 
          “She knows, Master.  We all know how you feel about us.  You have
not hidden those feelings from us.  We all love you, you do know that?”
 
          “Yes, Megan, I-“  Ron was interrupted as the five emerged from the
sea again.  They did not retake their seats.  Ron wondered why the illusion
did not carry over to them being sopping wet after walking out of an ocean,
but dismissed it as irrelevant.
 
          “We have located your family.”
 
          “That didn’t take long.”
 
          “Actually, it took us three days.  Time in there,” he indicated the
ocean, “Moves at a different rate even from the other portions of the Spirit
Realm.  Anyway, I will show you, mentally, where you must go now.”
 
          A map was burned into Ron’s memory.  He would not forget this
location.  Useful images were also passed along, showing Nikki and Dawn, held
confined, but in good condition; not unduly mistreated, but merely imprisoned.
 
          After the images, Sarcerion said, “You should know that there is
another person there that you are familiar with.  After consultation, we
decided it would be best *not* to tell you who it is.  But, we will tell you,
this person’s presence there is not a trick or a trap.  This person is
genuine, and you can believe what they are going to tell you.”
 
          “O…kay…  Thank you very much for the information.”
 
          “You are welcome, Master Chaffey.  If we are needed in the future,
we stand ready to assist.  However, you should know that frivolous requests
cannot be fulfilled.  We are very busy.”
 
          “I understand that.  I don’t anticipate needing your help again
soon.  But I appreciate knowing that you are here if I need you.  Again, thank
you.  I will be going now.”
 
          “Good luck to you.”
 
          Megan walked with him back to his point of arrival, and she gave him
a warm good-bye kiss.  “I wish you could stay longer, Master.  We will be
together again, someday.”
 
          “I love you, Megan.”
 
          “I know, sir.  And I will always love you.  Go now, and rescue your
sisters.  They need you now more than I do.”
 
          Ron waded into the ocean, and soon he was returned to his own body. 
The family was gathered, and waiting, but they were calm as Ron took a large
drink of the juice by his chair.  This sort of trip always took a bit out of
him.
 
          “Okay,” he started, after letting the juice trickle down his
throat.  “I know where they are.  It’s not heavily defended.  I think Kim and
I can handle this alone.”
 
          “Are you sure, Ron?” Linda said.  “We don’t want to lose two more
people.”
 
          “You won’t.  The Watchers showed me what we need to know.  We can
get them out of there.  We’ll rest here tonight, and leave in the morning.  It
should be about a two day trip, out and back.”  To help ease some feelings he
knew the family had, he added, “And, by the way, Megan and Cindy said hi.” 
Not strictly speaking the truth, it was close enough, and had the desired
results.  A few small smiles broke out in the knowledge that, though they were
no longer present, they were still okay.
 
 
 
          They departed early in the morning, flying northwest away from the
sun.  It was a long trip, and it took them several, thankfully uneventful,
hours to get there.  They landed a mile away from the place the girls were
being held, and paused to get their bearings, to make sure no one was
watching, and to rest a bit.
 
          “There is something I haven’t told you yet,” Ron said as they sat on
a fallen log.
 
          “What’s that?”
 
          “The Watchers said there was someone else here that I knew, but they
wouldn’t tell me who it was.  They only assured me that this person, whoever
it is, isn’t a trick or a trap.  So, we’ll have to do a little extra looking
around after we rescue the girls.”
 
          “Where you lead, I will follow.”
 
          “Now you sound like Megan,” he said, half-playfully.  “Are you
ready?”
 
          “As ready as I’m ever going to be, I suppose.”
 
          “Okay, let’s get going, then.”
 
          They crept the last mile.  It took them over an hour to reach the
small house where the girls were being held.  From the outside, it looked
normal enough, but Ron was sure it would be fairly heavily secured.  They
could see no one watching out of the windows for them, and no one on the
porch.  Then Ron spotted a door down to the basement on the side of the
house.  He pointed.
 
          “Most likely, they’d be keeping them in the basement for security. 
If we go in those doors, maybe we can avoid some trouble.”  What he left
unspoken was that this was most likely to be the most heavily defended door,
but he really didn’t care at this point.
 
          The pair waited until night fell, and then they ran, in a crouch,
across the yard to the hatch-style doors that led to the basement.  They
paused, and each tried to sense if there was someone on the other side of the
door.  Slowly, they increased their psionic output, until they were certain
there was no one within twenty feet of the door.  Nor was the door locked. 
This made Ron horribly suspicious: this was far too easy.
 
          Nevertheless, the pair pressed on.  Even if it were a trap, they
could hardly turn back this close to the objective.  Ron opened the door
slowly, hoping like hell it didn’t squeak.  It didn’t.  They slipped in and
closed the door behind them, locking it so that no one could sneak up behind
them.
 
          Ron led the way down a short hallway that then branched into two
directions.  He looked both ways, and saw no one, but he saw that the one
hallway turned again.  He led them down the shorter hallway first.
 
          The door to each of these rooms was open, and empty.  This worried
Ron.  Could they have moved the girls?  Perhaps they had somehow found out he
was coming?  But that wasn’t possible, was it?  No one but he had known just
where he was going today.
 
          Quickly, they moved into the second hallway.  The doors here were
closed, and locked.  This was more promising.  Kim picked the lock on each
door, careful to keep her psionic energies focused.  The first doorway swung
open silently, to reveal someone… that Ron didn’t know.
 
          “Who the hell are you?” he whispered hoarsely, as Kim kept guard.
 
          “Jack Tiner.  I used to live in Dallas.”
 
          “Why are you here?”
 
          “Well, quite frankly, they captured me, and wanted some computer
codes.  I gave the codes to them, and then they threw me in here.”
 
          Ron’s mouth set in a frown.  A traitor.  But he couldn’t kill the
man just for saving his own neck.  “Fine.  You will wait at this door, and you
will leave with us.”  The man nodded, and then Ron thought to add something
else.  “You betray us, and I will kill you before I fight them, understood?” 
The man nodded vigorously.
 
          Ron and Kim moved on to the second door, where Kim repeated her lock
picking skills.  This door squeaked slightly, and they all froze, but no one
came to inquire on it.  The door went the rest of the way silently.
 
          “Ron!” Nikki half-whispered in astonishment.
 
          “Anybody like a ride home?” Ron asked.
 
          Nikki rushed to him and gave him a big hug.  Dawn remained on her
cot.  Finally, she said, “So, I suppose you are now going to whisk us away
back to *your* headquarters.  Shit.  What makes you any better than them?”
 
          “Stuff it, Dawn,” Ron responded.  He was in no mood, and had no
time, to deal with her just now.  He was behaving as a soldier, and had no
energy to spare on her ramblings.  “Kim, keep guard here.  I’m going to take a
look around the corner.”
 
          Kim nodded, and Ron moved quietly off to the corner.  When he looked
around it, he saw three guards in front of one room.  *Now, who could possibly
be in that room to warrant *three* guards?*  The answer came pretty quickly:
there had to be a psionic in that room.  And that meant the guards would be
heavily focused on what was *inside* the room, rather than anyone approaching
it.  He proved this by stepping into the middle of the hallway.  He wasn’t
directly in their line of sight, but anyone who was wary of intruders would
have been more alert.
 
          Kim heard the sizzle of psionic energy, and knew that the blast must
have been rather impressive.  She wondered why it was necessary, but didn’t
dare move from her post without being called.
 
          The guards died without ever knowing what killed them.  Ron moved
down to the door they’d been guarding, to find that it was not just locked,
but triple-locked, with one of them being a fairly complex combination lock. 
He blasted through all three of them with a single focused burst of energy. 
Not as fancy as Kim’s work, it did the trick.  The door swung open with a loud
groan.  Obviously, it hadn’t been used much.
 
          What Ron saw inside the room made him draw back.
 
          “You- You can’t be here!” he nearly shouted.
 
          “Ron?” she said, unsure of what she was seeing.  When she’d first
come here, they’d played many games with her mind, and, though they’d quit
that after a month or two, she was still wary of anything she saw that was out
of the ordinary.
 
          “No!  You cannot be here!  You’re leading *them*!”
 
          Michelle rose from her cot, stiffly and slowly.  “When she captured
me, she rummaged through my head.  I wasn’t good enough to stop her.  She
gathered information about you, and CAMP.  And then she changed her appearance
to look like me.  I’ve been stuck down here ever since then.”
 
          “Oh, shit, Michelle.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t-“
 
          “You couldn’t have known.  Let’s get the hell out of here, though. 
Wait, if you’re not here for me, then-“
 
          “They kidnapped Nikki and Dawn.”
 
          “Oh, shit.  Are they all right?”
 
          “Yeah, we’ve already got them unlocked.  Come on, we’ve got to go
before someone knows we’re here.”
 
          “They probably already know that, Ron.”
 
          “Could be, but is there a benefit to hanging around?”
 
          She agreed there wasn’t, and then followed him down the hallway.  As
they moved around the corner, Michelle and Kim got their first look at each
other.  It was an immediately competitive atmosphere.  Each one instinctively
knew what the other’s presence meant.  Ron hadn’t caught on to anything yet,
mainly because his concern was getting the hell out of Dodge at this point.
 
          “Kim, bring up the rear.  Nikki, Dawn, get moving!”  Without even
thinking about it, he gave them a mental push to make sure they cooperated. 
Jack fell into line without being bidden, and they all quickly made for the
basement door.
 
          They made it outside and into the woods without the slightest hint
of trouble.  The longer they went without encountering difficulty, the more
Ron worried.  They stopped about three hundred yards into the woods, to take a
quick breather.  He turned to Jack.
 
          “You’re out of here.  I don’t trust you any further than I can throw
you.  I’m sure as hell not carrying you along with us.  You’re on your own.”
 
          “I understand that.  You want to wipe my mind of where you are?”
 
          “Wouldn’t do any good.  Just get moving.  Go that way,” Ron
pointed.  “It appears to be safe, and it should eventually lead you to a
city.  We will go… in some other direction.”
 
          He waited until Tiner was out of sight, and even outside a low
psionic scan, then they moved off in a direction at a right angle to Tiner’s. 
They walked for two hours, both because they didn’t want to use any
unnecessary psionic power so close to the house, and because Ron was a bit
worn from the stress of the previous day.
 
          They reached a small meadow, and that’s where Ron stopped.  “We’ll
camp here for the night, and then we’ll fly home in the morning.”
 
          “I don’t see a fucking airport around here anywhere,” Dawn said
acidly.
 
          “We don’t need one,” Ron replied coldly, “Now go to sleep.”
 
          Whether it was because he was tired, or perhaps because he didn’t
want to deal with it, Ron’s brain never registered the looks that were passing
between Michelle and Kim.  They each slept beside Ron, on opposite sides, and
no more than five feet away from him.  Deep in his subconscious, Ron knew
there was a problem, but he thought it would keep.
 
 
 
          The morning turned out to be a very rude awakening.  Ron bolted
awake to the sense that there were others nearby.  He saw that Kim and
Michelle were both awake, too.  *So it wasn’t a dream.*
 
          He pulled the five of them into a defensive posture, his sisters in
the center, protected by the three psionics.  Ron debated whether to use his
energy to search for the enemy, or to remain silent, in the hopes that the
enemy did not know where they were, and wouldn’t find out.
 
          His debate didn’t last long, as the trees on the edge of the small
clearing they were in were blasted away by mental fire, and a team of eight
Russian psionics poured into the opening they had made.
 
          *Death Squad,* Ron thought.  His shields went to maximum.  He
couldn’t sustain this level for very long, but there was almost nothing that
would get through it.
 
          The eight Russians blasted away at the shield, which became visible
as their energies impacted it.  Kim and Michelle used their combined strength
to take down one of the Russians.  But the strain was more than Ron could
take.  These were not merely psionics: they were among the best of the Russian
team.  All of them were level 14, by CAMP standards, or higher.  Death Squads
were few in number, Ron knew, but wherever they went, they killed with
impunity.  *Not here, and not now!* Ron raged.
 
          Ron quickly switched to offense, firing off a blinding blast of
light, to disorient the attackers.  He quickly moved his team to the far side,
hiding behind trees not so much for protection as to confuse their location. 
He lanced a mental blast at the lead Russian, and he fell, his body twisting
in the pain induced by overloaded synapses.
 
          The Russians were firing back blindly, their eyes still not clear of
the flash-blindness caused by Ron’s trick.  He raised his shields quickly as
an errant blast strayed near him.  It missed wide.
 
          Michelle, angry with the Russians for her captivity, blasted all her
energy at the nearest soldier, severing his head clean from his body.  The
count was down to four, as Kim had also scored, but now the Russian’s were
learning: they used their televiewing to see, instead of their eyes.  Their
return fire was much more accurate.  Michelle ducked behind a tree, just
narrowly escaping a return volley from two Russians.
 
          Ron focused his thoughts, and immediately four hundred glowing
butterflies appeared in front of the enemy.  Because these were “real”, having
physical appearance, this interfered with televiewing as well as normal
vision.  Kim took the opportunity to charge her nearest opponent, a mere ten
feet away.  A flip and a scissors-strike, and her foe was lying dead on the
ground, his neck snapped cleanly.  She retreated back to cover before anyone
could catch her, but the mental fire was right on her heels.
 
          Ron was running out of tricks.  He could take on one of these
Russians, easily.  Two with some difficulty.  But three were just beyond him. 
And neither of the ladies could stand up to them one-on-one.  He let the
butterflies fade, and he zapped another of them, watching him fall to the
ground.
 
          It was that momentarily lapse in concentration, while he was
watching his vanquished foe, that caused him the greatest harm.  A bolt of
energy sliced into him from one of the two remaining soldiers.  His shields
kicked in almost automatically, but the force of the blast was enough to throw
him backward.
 
          Ron hit a large oak tree with a great deal of force.  He heard the
snapping and popping of breaking bone.  He knew they were his, but he couldn’t
feel any of it.  He marveled at the warm sensation flowing over his body. 
Then he felt a very hard surface connect with his left temple.  After that,
his unconscious form felt nothing at all, as it slid to the ground.
 
 
 
          Kim saw the attack, and the result.  A battle cry welled up from her
inner being and escaped out her mouth as her body flew towards the offending
person.  He was still winded from using so much power to take down Ron, and he
was hardly ready for a berserker charge from this female.  Her shields were at
maximum, and her mental energy crackled around her like lightning.  She lunged
at him, and her hands, and her energy, clasped around his throat.  The
momentum of her charge brought her in a swinging circle all the way around her
opponent.  She was immensely startled when his head actually tore free from
his body.  She released him, using her kinetics to flip her back to her feet,
and ignored the dead body as it fell to the ground.
 
          There were now two very pissed off women facing one remaining
Russian soldier.  He had seen the look of rage in his girlfriend’s eyes often
enough to know when leaving was the better part of valor.  He bolted straight
upward, leaving the scene as fast as he could.  Both of them considered
following him, but for only as long as it took to remember that Ron was lying
in a heap over by a tree.
 
          They rushed over to him, to find Nikki already kneeling over him. 
Dawn was sitting off by another tree, resolutely not paying any attention to
her brother.
 
          “Nikki, is he…” Kim couldn’t bring herself to finish the question.
 
          “He’s still breathing.  But he’s hurt bad.  His arm’s at the wrong
angle, and I don’t know what else might be damaged.  Can’t you… fix him?”
 
          Kim shook her head, and then looked to Michelle.  “Can you?”
 
          “No.  I never got good at healing others.”
 
          “We’ve got to get him back home!”
 
          “We will, Nikki, we will.  Can you fly, Michelle?”
 
          “Barely.  There’s no way I could carry anyone with me.”
 
          “Damn.  And I can’t carry three people on my own that distance.”
 
          “I’m not ‘flying’ anywhere with you people,” Dawn interjected from
her tree.
 
          “You’ll do what you’re told, remember?” Kim said, rather
forcefully.  Michelle looked at her in utter astonishment.  “But in this case,
she’s right.  We’re going to have to walk.  We can carry Ron between us.”
 
          “It’s several hundred miles back to Ron’s house, if that’s where
we’re going.”
 
          “Eventually.  But, if I recall my map correctly, there was a PPA
unit not too far from here.  It’ll probably take us several days of walking to
get there, though.”
 
          “Why go there?  Why not call them here?” Michelle challenged.
 
          “You want *more* Russians after us?  If they knew there was an
unprotected unit, carrying the PPA commander… Christ, they’d be on us like you
wouldn’t believe!”
 
          “But the PPA would be all over us, too, wouldn’t they?” Michelle
responded.
 
          “Not fast enough.  How long do you think it would take a hundred
soldiers to take us out?  Twenty seconds, and the battle’s over!”
 
          “Alright, Alright.  Which way?”
 
          Kim oriented herself, as she had been taught to do in the
ShadowDragon.  Then she pointed.  “That way.”
 
          “Okay, you go first.”
 
 
 
          Ron found himself standing on a hill.  The hill was a chalky white
color, with sparse grass growing up through depressions in the rock…
 
          Was it rock?
 
          Ron knelt down to look at the ground more closely.  He picked at a
loose section.  It came free.  He turned it over, and found a human skull
staring back at him.
 
          Ron screamed.
 
          The jaw of the skull fell open.
 
          Ron threw the skull, and tumbled backwards.  He rolled over the edge
of the hill, and began tumbling downward.  He hit his head, and the world went
back to black.
 
 
 
          It was a long walk, and they stopped only seldom.  No one spoke for
the first hours, until they paused for lunch.  Lunch turned out to be whatever
they could collect from the path they had walked.  Being winter, very little
edible plants were around.  They managed to gather a few small items.  It
would have to do until they could either find better food, or some kind of
civilization.
 
          Once again, they began to walk.  Kim took the lead, with Michelle
walking behind her.  They levitated Ron between them.  Nikki walked slightly
off to one side, so that she could keep her eyes on her brother.  Dawn walked
aimlessly behind them all, not giving a damn whether they got where they were
going or not.  *How did I end up surrounded by these goddamned psionics!!!*
 
 
 
          Ron came to slowly.  He didn’t know you could pass out in a dream. 
He knew this was a dream, or some version of one.  He knew this because, first
off, he had no Ability here, and second, that fall should have killed him. 
Since he wasn’t seeing any Guardians or Judges nearby, he assumed he was not
dead.  

          *So, I’m dreaming.  How deep is this dream?  What is the last thing
I remember?*
 
          That line of questioning brought a fierce, fiery stab of pain to his
head.  It hurt so bad that he dropped to his knees and closed his eyes.  The
pain only subsided when he consciously decided to stop thinking about
*before*.  He would worry about before, *later*.
 
          He rose from his position, his head clearing slowly of the blinding
pain.  He was standing with his back to the… hill… and he saw before him a
valley, bathed in the red glow of a setting sun.  Or was it rising?  How to
tell when you have no orientation for time or space?
 
          *Now what do I do?*
 
          It appeared as if, down in the crux of a river below him, was a
large house.  It seemed to be somehow lit up, as if there were rays of
sunshine that played upon it, and it alone.
 
          *Well, slick, it’s your dream.  Might as well get walking.*  He
thought, as he went along, how much easier flying would be.  But he’d already
tried to levitate himself, and it just didn’t work.  He was normal again, here.
 
          *A little late.*
 
          He walked slowly and steadily, not wanting to tire himself, if that
were possible in a place like this.  *Hey, if knocking yourself out in a dream
is possible, anything is.*  He walked endlessly, and it almost appeared as if
he wasn’t going anywhere.  He looked down at his path, and it appeared as if
it were actually moving backward, or as if it was growing before his eyes.  He
noted, for the first time, that the scenery around him wasn’t moving past as
it should.  He was on a damned treadmill!
 
          He leaped sideways, into the brush.  He rolled down an embankment,
and ended up laying against something soft.  He rolled to see what it was, and
found dead human eyes staring back at him.  Once again he screamed, and the
blackness engulfed him.
 
 
 
          Michelle managed to catch a small rabbit before dinnertime rolled
around, and Kim managed a small fire, to warm them, and to cook the food.  The
fire was a danger, but they had to do it.  Neither of the normals had any
winter clothing, and the clothing that the Russians had been wearing was
simply too big to be of any use.
 
          Dawn sat close to the rest of the group only because that’s where
the fire was.  Nikki sat next to her brother, lying on the ground still
unconscious.  Kim and Michelle had spoken very few words to each other all
day.  But without any activity, their minds went into work, and their emotions
came to the fore.
 
          “He used to be mine, you know,” Michelle said quietly.
 
          “Yes.  I have heard many things about you,” Kim replied.
 
          “Perhaps he will be mine again.”
 
          “He loves me.”
 
          “He told you that?”  Kim nodded.  “Well.”
 
          Their conversation stopped at that point, and the group settled back
into silence for the night.  They had at least two more days to walk.  It was
obvious that it would not be pleasant.
 
 
 
          Ron awakened after another fear-induced nap, but was awake enough
*not* to open his eyes right away.  He could still feel the soft… body…
resting next to him.  He rolled away, and stood up before opening his eyes,
slowly and carefully.
 
          *What the hell *is* this place?  Am I the only living person here?*
 
          *>>What if you are?<<*
 
          The thought came from somewhere outside his dream-self, and scared
him right down to the very fiber of his being.  The sky, which up to now had
been a mild overcast, became dark and forbidding.  It was almost a twilight
darkness now, powerful and menacing.
 
          He didn’t want to, but Ron knew he had to face that body again. 
When he turned, he realized that his initial impression was right.  It was
Kumiko’s body, lifeless and broken.  He turned away, looking toward where he
knew the house to be.  If he was to find any answers in this place, he knew
they would be found there.
 
          *>>But do you want answers?<<*
 
          That voice was starting to get to him already, and his knees wobbled
as he moved off, through the brush, to get to the house.  It couldn’t be all
that long a walk, if the damned environment would just let him get there.  He
stumbled on through the forest, getting scrapes and cuts that he would
normally have healed without a thought, and now he had to put up with.
 
          Finally, he broke from the forest, and was able to see the whole of
the valley.  Strange that the house to which he was headed was the only one in
sight.
 
          *It’s a dream, dumbass.  Things don’t have to make sense.*
 
*          >>But if this is just a dream, how come you know it’s a dream?<<*
 
          That voice again.  It sent shivers up his spine, mainly because he
knew it was right.  He’d never been able to dream lucidly.  He was normally so
engrossed in his dreams that he didn’t stop to realize they *were* dreams. 
But this time…
 
          *Is this really a dream?*
 
*          >>If you don’t know, how can I tell you?<<*
 
          Ron moved on quickly toward the house.
 
 
 
          The next day progressed very much like the first, the four girls
speaking only when necessary.  They’d found an abandoned farmhouse with some
canned food still in the pantry, and so they at least had nourishment, if you
liked canned beans and V-8 juice.
 
          The tension between Kim and Michelle was becoming palpable, but no
one wanted to mention it.  They sat down quietly for their mid-day meal, and
Nikki tried to get Ron to swallow some nourishment.
 
          “That ain’t going to work, Nicole,” Michelle said.
 
          “What’s the harm in her trying?” Kim rebutted.
 
          “Mind your own damned business.” Michelle retorted.
 
          “Anything that happens to Ron *is* my business!”
 
          “Maybe some of us don’t see it that way.”
 
          “The way *you* see it isn’t really important to me!”
 
          “No, I suppose a boyfriend-thief wouldn’t worry about such things!”
 
          “I did not steal him from anyone!  He was unattached when I met him!”
 
          “*Unattached!*  I’m not dead!  I wasn’t dead then!  And you have the
unmitigated *gall* to say he wasn’t attached?  I have seen some arrogance in
my life, but *you*-“
 
          “I speak the truth!  If he were so damned attached to you, how come
he wasn’t looking for you, hmm?  Why did he let you rot in that place?”
 
          “He thought I had turned on him!  He thought that Zinaida was me,
you stupid bitch!”
 
          “And, if he was so enamored with you, how come it is that he
couldn’t tell differently?”
 
          At this point, Nikki had enough of their bickering.  “Shut the fuck
up, both of you!  I can’t believe you two!”
 
          “Mind your business, Nikki, or I’ll-“ Michelle began.
 
          “You’ll *what*?” Nicole demanded.  “You’ll hurt me?  You and I both
know better!  You harm me in any way at all, and Ron won’t just *banish* you
when he gets well, he’s damned well likely to *kill your ass*!  And you
fucking well know it!
 
          “I can’t believe the two of you can stand there and argue over whose
*boyfriend* he is, when we don’t even know why he’s unconscious!  He could be
dying for all we know, and you two are fighting over the remains!  You’re both
sick!”
 
          “Eh, let ‘em go at it, Little Sis,” Dawn spoke for the first time in
two days.  “At least it’s entertainment.”
 
          “You!  You can just go fuck yourself, *Big Sister Dear.*  You
deserted us long ago!  Why should I give a flip what the hell you want?  You
turned your back on all of us years ago!  You made your bed, but when you
couldn’t deal with it, you came back home crying your eyes out, and bitching
about every minute of it!
 
          “Wake up and smell the shit, Dawn!  Ron ain’t responsible for this
war!  And he’s not responsible for all the crap you’ve gone through!  You have
got to be the biggest fucking *coward* I’ve ever met!  You ran away from your
family!  We really could have used your help these last couple of years!  So
don’t you *dare* try to tell me what to do!
 
          “All of you need to be whacked upside the head with a two by four! 
Ron is lying there, broken bones and unconscious, and you all are caught up in
your own fucking petty problems!  How dare you!  Now, we’re going to get back
on the path, we’re going to keep moving, and we’re *going to get help for my
brother*.  NOW MOVE IT!”
 
          Nobody dared speak a word.  Even Michelle, who felt somewhat
superior to Nikki, was somewhat afraid to cross her at this point.  For one
thing, she was right: if anyone hurt Nikki, they’d be lucky to survive the day
of Ron’s awakening.  The two psionics resumed their burden, and the small
group moved on resolutely.
 
 
 
          Lars really didn’t need any more on his plate.  The last four weeks
without Ron had been a disaster.  He’d lost over 2,000 troops in just that one
month.  He’d watched sixteen more cities fall.  The Russians were working over
medium-sized cities now.  Still New York and Washington, D.C. stood, though no
one understood why.  They were the only large cities remaining, possibly in
the world.  

          When a major came tearing into the command tent, Lars was trying to
get some much-needed rest.  His eyes came open immediately at the major’s
words:
 
          “General!  We’re going nuclear!”
 
          Lars was immediately galvanized into full alertness.
 
          “What the hell are you talking about?  What’s going on?”
 
          “Sir, we’ve been keeping an eye on the President as you ordered. 
The VP has just talked him into ordering a nuclear strike!  The countdowns
have begun, sir!”
 
          “Oh, shit!  Can we get to him in time?”
 
          “Negative, sir!  We don’t have any mentspecs close enough, with
enough strength!”  The major was referring to a “mental specialist”, a psionic
whose primary skill lay in the mental, rather than kinetic, powers.
 
          “Understood.  I want you to gather all the kinspecs you can, and
then communicate with all nearby units.  We can’t save the Russian people, but
by God we’re going to save America.”
 
          “Yes, sir!”  The major left the room at a dead run, to carry out his
orders.
 
          Lars had the unfortunate privilege of having to consider this
possibility for Ron some months ago.  They had wondered how to deal with it if
the President decided that a nuclear first strike was better than whatever was
happening at the time.  Lars had come up with a plan that even he found
cockamamie, but it was also the *only* plan that had ever been dreamed up, and
so they would have to implement his impractical, at best, idea, and hope like
hell it worked.
 
          Fifteen minutes later, the senior officers of the PPA command staff
were gathered in the command tent.  Lars began his briefing by saying,
“Gentlemen, we have a little problem.  Five minutes ago, the United States
launched a nuclear attack on the Russian state.”  He had to raise his voice
over the gasps.  “We cannot help the Russians.  However, in about thirty
minutes, nuclear missiles are going to be falling all over the United States,
as Russia will immediately counterattack.  We’ve been informed that the
massive strike the US has begun cannot possibly be misinterpreted, and that
the likelihood of the Russians *not* countering is roughly… um… six hundred
billion to one, I think was what someone said.”
 
          “Sir,” asked one of the generals, “What are we going to do about it?”
 
          “Glad you asked, Brad.  Here’s the plan…”
 
 
 
          Ron was trekking through an unpleasant patch of marshy land. 
Strange that he had not seen it from the hill; it seemed to have sprung up out
of nowhere.  His feet sloshed as he slogged through the muddy water-land
mixture.
 
          He came upon a large section of raised ground, and happily removed
himself from the muck.  The ground was much easier going, and he made good
time.  It was almost as if there were a path for him to follow.
 
          Then he turned a bend in the path, and froze in his tracks.  Dawn
was standing before him.  It was the pretty Dawn, the quiet Dawn, the peaceful
big sister he’d grown to love.  But she had a python wrapped around her, from
her ankles to her neck.  The snake was larger around than Ron’s thigh.  He
could tell that it had begun to squeeze.
 
          “Rrrroonnn….  Hhhhhhhhhelp meeeeee….” Dawn said, as the serpent
constricted more and more tightly.  Ron tried to pry it lose, but he couldn’t
budge even a single turn of the snake’s enormous, muscular body.  He watched
his sister’s beautiful face contort into horrible pain as he heard bones
snap.  The sound was sickening, and he wished he could turn away, but he would
not leave his sister to die alone in this hell.  His eyes conveyed the pain
his words never would.
 
          Dawn’s face turned a sickly purple, as the blood in her chest was
squeezed upward and downward, filling her other extremities.  More cracks and
pops were heard as her body was rent by the crushing power of the behemoth
serpent.  Ron could not bear to see his sister in such pain, and he began to
beat upon the snake, wanting to tear it apart.
 
          *Oh, if only I had my Ability!*
 
*          >>But isn’t that what got us into this in the first place?<<*
 
*          *That voice again!  Where did it come from?  Who was it?  These
questions distracted his mind, but unfortunately not his eyes, as his sister’s
mouth flew open, and breathed just one last time.  The hiss of air leaving her
lungs was the most hollow sound he had ever heard.
 
          Ron turned from the scene, and walked down the path, which quickly
returned to the marsh, allowing him to slog on through his misery.  He had
failed his sister; he had failed his follower; he had failed his nation.
 
 
 
          The four girls had walked on, sleeping as they had the night before,
and rising to meet the sunrise, only to continue their journey.  Kimberly
moved with assurance, but Michelle grew more and more concerned about their
lack of destination.
 
          “We’re lost,” she said, almost with a jeering tone.
 
          “We are not,” Kim replied matter-of-factly.  “We will find what we
are looking for if we continue in this direction.”
 
          “Why are you keeping up the act?  Admit it!  You haven’t the first
clue as to where we’re going.”  The taunt in her voice was quite obvious.
 
          “You sound as if you want to fail, Michelle,” Kim said.  “Perhaps
you’d care to go off on your own from here on out?  Perhaps you can find the
path that I have missed.”
 
          “I think it’s *you* who needs to leave, Miss Priss.  This bullshit
has gone on long enough!  You walk into my life, tell me you’ve taken my
boyfriend, and *then* proceed to tell me what to do!  What right have you got?”
 
          “I was given the right to lead both by my experience, and by *him*,”
she responded hotly, pointing to Ron, whom they had settled to the ground.
 
          “He only took you because he thought he couldn’t have me!”
 
          “That is, perhaps, something we will never know, but I do know that,
at this time, he loves me.”
 
          “You stay away from him, you conniving little bitch!”
 
          With that, Michelle lunged at Kimberly.  It was immediately a
wrestling match, the two grabbing and twisting each other in painful ways. 
Kimberly threw Michelle in a classic judo move, only to see Michelle roll out
of it, and come up in a swinging roundhouse kick to the head, which utterly
failed to connect as Kim ducked out of it and followed through with a backfist.
 
          Michelle blocked Kim’s move, and countered with a flurry of punches,
all of which were blocked by Kim’s superior martial skill, not to mention
greater amount of practice.
 
          When Michelle finally grew frustrated at her lack of accomplishment
in the physical, she accompanied one of her kicks with a mental push. 
Kimberly blocked, but went flying anyway.
 
          Kim picked herself up off the ground, and stared daggers at
Michelle.  She took only a moment to notice that the two sisters had moved
themselves off the battle ground.
 
          “You want to tangle with me, bitch?  We’ll see which of us is
stronger!”  With that, Kim lashed a mental whip at Michelle, who ducked out of
it, but was caught in the reverse swing.  Her head snapped over, and she
tumbled to the ground, a welt raising on her cheek.
 
          Michelle countered with a strong blast toward Kim.  A quick roll
moved Kimberly out of the way, but she felt the sizzle of it going past her. 
She snaked her extension out, quickly sweeping over the ground and sending
Michelle flying off her feet and to the ground again.
 
          Michelle rose, raising a medium shield, and preparing for her next
attack, waiting for Kim to make the first move.
 
 
 
          Back at PPA headquarters, Lars had gathered together all of his
kinspec, or “kinetic specialist,” psionics.  He had explained the plan to
them, and up until now, they had only been waiting for confirmation.
 
          “Incoming!” shouted a soldier keeping tabs on NORAD, the North
American Aerospace Defense Command, buried deep in Cheyenne mountain,
Colorado.  The missiles were over the horizon, and were now valid targets.
 
          “Begin!” shouted Lars.  All at once, the kinspecs focused their
energies on the incoming weapons.  Already, they had separated from their
boosters, and even their warhead bus.  They were now coming down as MIRVs:
Multiple, Independantly-Targetable Re-Entry Vehicles.  A multi-hundred pound
warhead with a shell of Uranium, and a thermonuclear bomb in the middle.  

          The psionics amassed their power, and started to slow the warheads. 
It took three psionics for every warhead, because they were moving so fast. 
Once a warhead was stopped, it was pushed back out into space, and then
launched on a trajectory for the sun.  But there were a great many warheads,
and Lars worried that they would not stop them all.
 
          For several minutes, they fought the forces of nature, mental power
versus gravity, will versus momentum.  They could only hope that the Russian
psionics were doing the same, or there was going to be a bleeding sore upon
the face of the Earth for a very long time to come.
 
          What Lars’ plan failed to consider, because he did not thoroughly
understand the concepts of nuclear warfare, was that not all warheads were
intended to reach the surface of the planet.
 
          It was only one, and they almost got it.  They cleaned up all of its
brethren afterwards, but that was of little consequence to those who were
blinded by the flash.  Outside the atmosphere, a single warhead exploded.  The
flash of it was seen from New York City to what was left of Seattle.  To most,
it was merely a horribly bright spot in the sky, almost a second sun.  To
those right under the blast, it was a blinding, disorienting flash of light
that made the sun look like a dim flashlight bulb.  Although there were no
blast effects, nor any radioactive contamination, the electrical devices in
the area immediately surrounding the explosion took note, and, one by one,
began to shut down.
 
 
 
          Ron kept pushing his way through the muck until it finally gave way
to firmer soil.  He pushed himself onto the roadway, but paid close attention
to whether he was actually moving.  This road seemed to get him where he
needed to go.
 
          But where that really was, or what it represented, he did not know. 
Ron had seen a hill of skulls hundreds of feet high.  He had seen the dead and
broken body of his beloved Kumiko.  And, worst of all, he had watched his own
sister asphyxiated by an unstoppable serpent.
 
          *What does it all mean?  What am I *doing* here?*
 
          *>>What makes you so sure it means anything?  It’s just a dream,
remember?  Or have you changed your mind?<<*
 
          Onward he walked.  Continually he checked his progress, but, while
he was definitely moving forward, it still did not seem as if that house in
the distance was coming a bit closer.  Finally, night fell, but Ron did not
bother stopping.  He was no more tired now than when he’d begun, and he felt
that he should reach the house as quickly as possible, to get this nightmare
over with.
 
          *>>Don’t you know that nightmares never end?  You only hit the pause
button when you wake up, and sooner or later, you revisit it.  If you run from
this nightmare, it will be waiting for next time.<<*
 
          That fear drove Ron onward even faster.  Was he running from the
nightmare?  Or was he working toward the nightmare’s end?  The only way to
beat a nightmare is to finish it without waking up.  Ron’s fear was that his
nightmare *was* waking up.
 
          On and on he walked.  The hours passed on, and the moon set, but the
sun did not come.  The sky never lightened.  Thick clouds rolled over the sky,
and a heavy, despairing rain deluged the valley of Ron’s dream.
 
          Finally, as if to surprise him, Ron’s destination was suddenly very
close.  Only mere yards away.  And suddenly, lightning cracked.  But it was
the brightest flash of lightning he had ever witnessed, as if looking upon a
nuclear fireball, and he wondered why there was no thunder.  Then he began to
wonder if he had been the one who was struck.
 
 
 
          Michelle circled round, trying to catch Kim off guard.  They had
been fighting for what seemed like hours, but was certainly only a few
minutes.  They moved with blinding speed, flying more than running, and barely
touching the ground, for it was not safe to be on the ground where the other
could remove it from beneath your feet, and then you would be at a
disadvantage.
 
          The other difficulty was that both women had been combat trained by
the same expert.  That expert was currently an unconscious witness to their
struggle for supremacy.  Not unlike lions fighting over a pride, the girls
fought for primacy of place beside their leader.
 
          Kim lunged suddenly, unexpectedly.  Michelle swiveled aside, and
Kimberly missed, but a sharp pain sprang up on Michelle’s side, as a deep gash
appeared.  Her clothing was in tatters, as was Kim’s.  Michelle took the
single moment when Kim had her back turned, and lasered a vicious attack.  Kim
was caught in the middle of her back, and fell to the ground, momentarily
disoriented.
 
          But Michelle was not quick enough to take advantage of this. 
Kimberly rolled over, and whipped her hands out, forming a flaming ball of
energy which she hurled at Michelle, who tried to duck it, but it was a guided
weapon, and it followed her every move.  She moved behind and between trees,
but it dogged her every turn.  It finally caught her, and fried off the
remaining scraps of her blouse, leaving her top clad in only a bra.
 
          Michelle was familiar with these techniques as well, and she formed
her own ball of energy.  This one, however, was a feint, and when Kimberly
went to duck it, she ran straight into the real attack, an invisible energy
wall, which caught her and threw her roughly to the ground.  She was
immediately on, and then above, her feet, floating and ready for the next
attack.
 
          Michelle readied herself, but before she could begin, a flurry of
doves flew at her.  She ducked and swerved before she realized that the doves
were nearly transparent, and could not be real.  That was of little comfort as
she felt a mental blast rock through her body, and her powers seized for just
a fraction of a second.  It was long enough for her to fall fifteen feet to
the ground.  She let out a loud “oof”, but rolled to her feet.  Kimberly was
ready, and she plunged down out of the sun…
 
          But was it the sun?  Wasn’t the sun over in the other direction?
 
          The light grew brighter until Michelle could no longer look at it,
her eyes closing automatically.
 
          Kimberly was luckier, faced only with the reflection of the light…
but that reflection was off *snow*, an almost perfect mirror for such
brightness.  She was completely blinded, and she plowed into Michelle, taking
them both to the ground.
 
          Michelle felt an impact, and was amazed at just how heavy sunshine
could be, until her head contacted the ground, and she passed out.  Kimberly,
similarly unconscious, remained on top of her, their fight, at least
temporarily, over.