Sarge stomped the brakes locking the wheels catapulting anyoneunprepared into the next seat. My backpack launched itself into theback of the seat in f...ont of me. I had to brace myself to keep fromdoing the same. Normally I would have waited for the bus to emptybefore getting off but today I couldn't. Today was Shelly's turn to dothe morning announcements. If I wanted to see her before PE, (and I did) I'd have to catch her in the next few minutes. I stood up andsqueezed into the press of bodies.. The long months at the gym, the early morning jogging, the sessions in the sun and on the sun bed had paid off... She answered the intercom on the second ring. Distorted by the phone her voice sounded husky and uncertain,'Hello, this is Flat 1F1.'He spoke slowly trying to put warmth and friendliness into his voice,'Good afternoon, Mrs. Fenwick, this is Daniel from Health Services. I called about your order. May I come up. Can you press the buzzer?''Take charge', he said inwardly, ' take hold of. The next day followed the same pattern. I was getting used to all the jibes now. I could hardly refute their comments as they heard Helen and me each evening as we went through the same routine in the bedroom. Helen was also starting to flirt more openly with my friends, probably because of their obvious advances towards her. She would touch or rub up against them at the slightest opportunity and had started to let the straps on her swimming costume drop as she sun bathed leaving her breasts. "He paused, evidently looking around the arena to share his triumph."He has lasted longer against a Morling than any being in known space."That was small consolation, in my view. I tested my left arm. It hurt like hell, but the fracture wasn't compound. Blinking through the agony, I felt myself lifting the chair up off me. I was never going to be able to push it off all the way; my hope was to simply gain enough room to let me roll over."The story of his death will be told on planets across the.