"... and we'll go away," Beth was whispering in his ear. "We'll pack everything and go far away, where we'll never see these men again. Nick. Please. Oh, please keep me with you." "Going away won't settle anything, sweetheart. They'll always be there, just outside the door. I've got to do something..." He broke off suddenly and it flicked into his mind like a film of the past, like a memory. The soft face of the girl, her hair a golden color against the backdrop of the ochre mountains ... the softness of the pale blue-green tree... She spun away from him, the loose, filmy blue dress whirling about her trim ankles ... then she was coming back to him, arms outstretched ... kissing him lovingly... He shut it off, clamped it from his mind. A memory! A memory that made no sense at all. A tremor of fear ran along his spine and trembled in his flesh. What did it mean? What was happening to him? "Nick?" It was Beth. "What is it, Nick? You look pale and frightened." "Nothing. We'll go away." She beamed. "I know just the place. The cabin. Far up in the mountains. No one will know we're there. We'll learn to love each other again." "You have to work," he pointed out. She nodded. "That's true, still _you_ could go up there and try to puzzle this all out. I can come up in the evenings, and on weekends." "Might be a good idea," he admitted, thinking that at least, he'd be safe from prying eyes. "Then it's settled. You go sit somewhere and I'll get things packed." She whisked away, almost running up the stairs to pack some things for him. He walked to the kitchen, without turning on a light, and poured himself a glass of water. Outside, through the window, he could see the twilight fading into evening, the heavy purple clouds of night sweeping steadily across the sky. A star winked later and he knew it. Venus. He stood there in the darkness and picked out many of them as they flickered into being. Mars. Sirius, Vega and others. There were... * * * * * ... She came into his arms and talk was insignificant and quite unnecessary. The soft, white arms wound about his neck, tugging fingers pulled playfully at his hair and she smiled at him. His lips moved down against hers and they were lost in themselves. He could feel the taut pressure of her breasts playing against his chest and the firm roundness of her thighs working against his.