We carried in the bags,Joe went off to check his e-mail, and I headed to the bathroom. I tooka quick, dried myself, and as I looked into the mirror wh...le I toweledmy hair dry, I was suddenly, inexplicably transfixed on what I saw.I'm aware that there's no way of explaining the feeling of staring atthe reflection of an image which, according to every instinct onepossesses, shouldn't be there, something that is utterly different fromwhat had been there the past three decades, so I won't even try. It seemed like Samuel also held the same opinion of the Council as me, which was pretty low at this point. For an organisation supposed to protect the interests of the Untethered on this planet, I’d think they would do a better job at checking the histories of who they inducted into the Council. I didn’t think anyone who would kill their brother out of sheer envy was necessarily good candidates for the position.Samuel and I proceeded towards Frank, eager to see him released. Frank was still. But she wasn't particularly disturbed. She tugged a braid as she walked, looking down at her feet, feeling the grass poke between her toes. Her T-shirt felt uncomfortably tight until she realized that it was because her nipples had grown larger. This was something new to her too. She'd noticed the phenomenon a couple of times while bathing. But now with the soft cotton rubbing, rubbing, rubbing, she thought she might go crazy if she couldn't fling off everything and roll in the prickly. “‘Love… love… love’ – that’s all they fucking talking about, these God-freaks. But at least they’re not talking about beating women and abusing kids…” From her position close to the door, Alison could, much to her embarrassment, hear Claire moaning from the behind the door to the toilets. “Oh Jesus,” Alison thought, “if she wants to fucking jerk off, can’t she do it quietly? Last time I take her anywhere…”Who will separate us from the love of God? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or.