’ Lacie had no idea how long she hung from the machine, weakly talking to her loving, wonderful delusion. It seemed like an eternity. Lacie’s eyes...stayed closed the entire time, knowing the moment she opened her eyes, the illusion would be dispelled, and she would be alone again. Hours passed. Then, just after another few minutes of agony, Lacie heard something new. Hammering sounds, a rapid, deep thudding, almost seeming to come from the ceiling above her. Lacie could hear something from. ” she waved back and forth between Dad and herself, “were as willing to have another person on a long-term basis.”“Mom, she’s our friend,” Morgan explained. “I think we can tell the difference between a friend and a lover.”“I’ll help,” I said. Everyone looked at me like they didn’t understand. “Clean the guestroom,” I explained. I guess I was a little behind the conversation.Tuesday afternoon after my drawing class, Kendra took me to her dorm room. Lots of people were hustling around and I was. The food was delicious and bountiful and made me worry that if I stayed too long I would end up looking like Alexander the Great. Oh well, the strenuous activity of battle should keep me in decent shape. We were entertained by jesters and minstrels making the meal a truly memorable experience.After our meal and entertainment, which lasted several hours, we retired to the royal chambers to get some much needed sleep. Being king, I could command that we, all five of us, would sleep together in. "Jim said, "Another thing is that we haven't found any survivors in the area. I know this area. Jax had a lot of people, but this area, to the west between Jax and Lake City, didn't have a whole lot of people. Hell, there is over 200,000 acres in the Osceola National Forest. Most of the towns around here are tiny and most of those are surrounded by corn and dairy farms. This area should have scores of survivors. I know some would have left but where are the rest?"Jim made sense. The briefing.