The Dark One

THE LATEST VICTIM…

"Max! Help!" Isabel didn't have enough breath to scream. She was going to suffocate right there in her own kitchen.

No! Isabel would not let that happen. She jammed one of her fingers down her throat. If she could just get a little of the mold out, she'd be able to get some oxygen in.

And then her throat was clear. Her nose was clear. It was as if the mold had never been there. As if it had been a horrible… nightmare.

But she was awake. Wide awake. And she'd been awake the whole time. This is what happened to Max when he began to enter his akino, she realized. Heightened physical sensation. Physical sensation-like touch, like smell.

Isabel lowered her head into her hands. Max would tell her not to worry. He'd tell her that connecting to the collective consciousness and sharing your life with all the beings of the home planet-living and dead-was awesome.

To Isabel it sounded like prison. Always being watched. No privacy. No choice about who you let into your life.

And Isabel would rather die than be in prison.

[ Version History]

1.0 – scanned, formatted, and spell-checked from mass-market paperback. ISBN: 0-671-03563-0

2.0 – July 12, 2004 – The_Ghiti – proofed in detail against deadtree format.