." Stay away!" the woman screamed, her hands coming up to fend off the wraith that reached for her.Niko dropped to his knees before her, wanting to ta...ke her quaking form into his arms, crush her slender body to his. Instead, he let his hands fall against his thighs, his mind searching for words that would soothe her and finding none. All he could do was watch her face and see the horror that clouded her eyes."You two okay?" Olan asked from the open door.Niko growled at the intrusion, snaking. Even our lovemaking wasn’t what it should have been, especially after almost four months without. Spring break was even worse. She said she had an important project for class and that she needed the time to work on it. And if I went to New York, she would end up spending all of her time with me and none of her project would get done. That was the big red flag warning me, but while hindsight may be 20/20, love is often blind. Some time before the end of school, I phoned her to discuss our plans.. Her short affirmation to the void on the other end of the phone quickly became her self-appointed turning point. Until she heard her name called behind her.“Maddi!” Mary’s voice shrilled. “Do you remember me?”Maddi shrank. Her ex-girlfriend’s slender white sundress barely clung to her boney shoulders as she closed in with a sense of urgency.“Do you remember me?” She repeated. Even though she was in arm’s length, Mary still preferred to yell. “DO YOU?!?”“Of course, Mary.” Maddi scowled. “Please. .. hell, follow me."The rating led me out the door and down the hall a couple of doors. We entered a room filled with odd shapes and warning signs. I stood next to the door, looking around with interest, but not touching anything. This was an engineering space in a spaceship. I didn't want my clumsiness to open a hatch to vacuum.The rating spoke to the wall briefly. After a bit, he opened a cabinet door and pulled out a swatch of fabric. "Here, put this on," he directed.I took it. It was, no.
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