” “You did that?” “You will be here for your allotted time. Not longer, but also not shorter.” “Then, if I cannot take you with me, then I...stay!” I took her in my arms. “Once we had an earth…an outsider who convinced the queen and he could stay….but he got very sick.” I had heard of the nuclear tests that the US and France had conducted in the Pacific Ocean in the 1950’s and 60’s. Maybe that was the reason for the cloud cover and the compass anomalies. It could even explain the tattoo patterns:. She had focused on the worst parts of her old life, dismissed Jordan as no more a friend by proximity, and thought about her sister only as the uptight and awkward girl who strangled any sort of fun that might have been possible at the old compound. But she knew she was fooling herself. Her friends may not have been perfect, but she had a connection of loyalty and love with them that hadn't been severed. That was the one thing, in all this pleasure, that she was missing.A familiar scarlet hue. Fifth wedding anniversary gifts are, by tradition, made from wood, but I realised then that she couldn’t give a wooden nickel for our marriage. An odd expression that I’d picked up from an American film, I beg its pardon, I mean movie, some years ago.Sadly that expression seemed very apposite. I’d already bought her a necklace with an absolutely exquisite gemstone that was a cleverly polished piece of petrified wood, suspended from a solid gold chain. Together they had cost me about £350.. " He snapped his fingers at his team. "Bunny tape!" Oh, I've got that." Bunny pulled out his phone and started clicking. "Bunny fucked in the hall, Bunny fucked in the john, Bunny fucked on the stair."Nosey glanced over his shoulder. "YouPorn?" Yeah."Nosey tsked. "The ones on RedTube are better quality." What the hell are we talking about?" I demanded."Your boy's been making a name for himself." Merchelli said as Nosey handed me his phone. "The one of you and him in the hallway is getting a lot.