As Lone Star Patrolmen piled out the loudspeaker on top blared out, "Stay where you are and put up your hands!" Of course we didn't. I didn't want to ...e arrested any more than the rest of them did. Mr. Johnson seemed to pale at the sight. It was noticeable even in the low light of the closed warehouse. He started back towards us still carrying the briefcase when the Mage sent a bolt of some kind at him. It hit him and exploded, knocking him even closer to us. Like a good leader Blake dragged. ."Christina said, "She's just like the rest of us. She wants to matter to someone and have that person matter to her. Weren't you ever nervous?"He laughed. "How can you ask? Surely you remember. I was worse with Cynthia than I was with you."I laughed and said, "Sure you were. You were so nervous that it took you two years to ask me out after I was already married. How long did it take him to find you Christina?" We talked a lot and I thought I must have smelled bad. Maybe a month or two before. We loaded the Jeep with some trade goods, like gallon jugs of water and canned foods in case we found some survivors. Also some dry foods like instant potatoes and such.We got everything packed and racked, with no slack."Alright everyone. Bedtime. And we're on lockdown tonight." Got a couple snickers on that one."I'm serious. We need to be up bright and early and ready to go."I was left unmolested that night, which was good. I got some pretty good sleep. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Chapter 7. .. somewhere...Noise filtered into my existence.It was a scratchy, annoying kind of noise that was accompanied by my worst enemy... ... the beeping machine ... Beep ... Beep ... Beep...Death hated me. I know that Death hated me, because that beeping machine followed me here.Wherever here was, was where that damned beeping thing turned up.But then again, if I was hearing that blasted beep, then I was no longer dead. Aliveness had replaced my dead-li-ness, and I knew that consciousness usually.