Jan had loved him that much, knew him that well. And now Sherry, an extension of Jan’s devotion, wanted him. If he lost her it would be like another...death. Sam wandered down the hall and stopped in the bathroom. The humidity from a recent shower hung in the air. A wet towel lay on the floor. He picked it up, and smiled. ‘She’s not a neat freak.’ The hinges of Sherry’s bedroom door complained briefly as he peeked in. The air conditioner muted the sound. She lay on her stomach, facing away,. Despite being surrounded by water he could not swim. He believed that his hatred of water actually kept him alive. Keep out of the stuff, as well as away from it, and you will be OK, that was his motto. Yet here he was, surrounded by the sea, and despite his hatred of water, he conversely loved the ocean. His ex-wife thought he was mad, and as if to prove it, she left him. He sighed at the memory of her. But not too deeply, for he was in reality far happier on his own, a realisation he had. There might have been more light if a man was ambitious enough to trim the mantles, but nobody cared enough to do that little chore.The Ghost checked out the roof and found the hatch that led inside the building. The hatch was down at the end of the roof opposite the place where the men were gathered, so he would have little trouble sneaking in when he was ready. This hatch was loose, so he would be able to open it whenever he wished. The Ghost wanted to wait a little longer to give the gang. It seems whoever you are, you seem to have a flair for hyperbole. Several eons later, your isolation is broken by the sound of a pressure lock disengaging. All around you, the four accursed walls slide ever so slightly off their hinges, permitting a shearing knife of glorious sunlight to penetrate your little iron box. All at once, the walls fall aside, revealing four much thinner (and more importantly, much more transparent) glass panels in their place, leaving you stood in a box not unlike.