Eyes closed, I walk my home labyrinth through my bedroom, to, and down the stairs, past my dining room, and into my kitchen as my brew’s soothing sc...nt reaches out for me with its captivating tendrils. The time on the coffee maker is flashing 12:00 over and over.I’m guessing the power failed, but when? The carafe is nearly hot, so I’ll deal with it later, since that isn’t part of my daily ritual. On auto pilot, I fill my mug and inhale the slightly tangy, coppery scent of the spectacular brew. "Bye, baby."When she closed the phone her eyes clicked with mine. "Alan, She WON'T change things between us. You and I have HAD this conversation. We made it through Christmas." I know, love, but this is open-ended."Tina's brow knit. Her 'I'm NOT moving' look. "And I knew, Alan Addison, that YOU had a daughter before we got married. And I knew that you'd be part of her life. And I learned that I wanted her to be part of MY life, too. This is a GOOD thing, at least for US." What about you and. .. Drusa carried the sword through its arc with perfection, gasping with satisfaction as the third head was taken cleanly off, to roll, blinking at her, then settle with its face showing the bliss of freedom she’d awarded it.Trellis squirmed on the road as the stark yet serene smiles of the heads were shown to him by Drusa, Garma, and an equally sadistic looking companion, lifted in spiteful triumph and the pleased expressions shown the sneering contempt of all the women there, he knowing extra. “Of course I brought it. I’ve been waiting for this thing to come in for weeks.” Drew rolled his eyes as he opened his backpack and pulled out a vial with clear liquid inside.“What exactly is this shit and how do you know it works?” Brad asked as he examined the vial.“Not exactly sure. It was developed by my dad’s company. I overheard him talking about it with some of his co-workers at a company picnic. He said it was nanotech or some shit. They finally sent samples for it yesterday. .