His heartbeat thumped slowly in my ear, and I closed my eyes to listen to the soothing sound. His hands came up to stroke my back, and I practically p...urred."So what was it this time?" he asked, dragging me from my reverie."Hmm? What was what?" I lifted my head so I could look him in the eye."What drove you back to Earth?" he clarified.I blushed, and he gave me an intrigued look. "Nothing. It just occurred to me that it had been a while since I'd gone back, and I was worried it would happen. The gate installation had taken only a couple of hours. They were all gone well before dark. There was no plan for any of them to return. ‘Hello,’ Roger said into the cop cell phone. ‘It’s Hillary. I have spotted a woman who is not on the list. She appears to be a college student. The names of those provided to us were mostly unemployed men and women, who were hired as contract employees. Why her name was not included is a mystery. One that is going to require some further investigation. I. Her hands shot up and clutched her head ... She moaned so quietly I could barely hear her... "My head..." she hissed softly.I hopped off the table to help. I grabbed her head under her chin and tried to raise her face to mine."Are you okay Sarah?" I asked.She shook her head ... and winced. "No ... can't think ... my head is killing me." Suddenly she jerked her head away from my hands. With a moan she collapsed onto her hands and knees, and threw up all over my basement floor. The putrid smell. Before I could really register what had happened, both the clothespins went flying through the air.It seemed like it took Sara's body a moment to react as well, as she stood uncertainly, as if knowing something had happened, but unsure how to react. But then, like a volcano erupting after long lying dormant, her body twitched, and then began shaking with such force that her feet left the ground. At the same time, the wild animal shrieks that had built with such force before reached their.