"This place~~was home~~ to dis-si-dent groups. We~~~ annihil-lated them~~and made this~~~land unin-habit-able," the krestge said. "There-fore~~, our sur-roundings~~~can-not exist."

"How did you do a thing like that?"

"Of all~~peoples, hu-mans~~~must know."

"Yeah," Adrianne said a little above a whisper. Her mouth went dry, and she thought of Earth. The krestge stared at Adrianne as if it could sense her discomfort.

"Do not~~look so con-cerned, hu-man. It is no~~more than they de-served. The~~~dis-si-dents commit-ted~~much worse atroci-ties~~~in their time."

Adrianne leaned back and rubbed her face, then looked away for a minute and said, "Why do you suppose they are doing all of this?"

It thought for a moment. "At this time~~in our history~~~, my people are reexamin-ing~~our relation-ship with~~the hu-mans~~~. Man-y dis-agree.~~Previous to~~this, soldiers such as yourself~~would not have been~~~kept alive."

Adrianne wiped her hands on her numb legs, stood to walk around to get the feeling back into them, and said, "So if we are not here, where are we?"

Adrianne walked out to the edge of the encampment. The moons shined high in the distance, and she was surrounded by shades and the irregular shapes of the rocks and the barracks. There was a chill. A wind had shifted over the horizon, causing a distortion in the landscape. An apparition of dust formed a glimmer of green in the distance. She thought she saw something move - floating high above, dipping and swooping.

She went into the barracks and watched her brother sleep for a while. Antoine was such a beautiful man. It was hard to believe that his mind had been so damaged. She missed his wit and charm, his quick comebacks and jokes. She missed talking to him about her fears and hopes, and the way he gave her comfort with his strength. Those late-night conversations when they dreamed of their world free of the krestge, humankind once again building cities filled with people and art and music. She took a few moments to compose herself and thought, better to risk it all than rot here.

She shook Antoine awake. His eyes opened wide in fear.

"Shh," she whispered, covering his mouth. "We're getting out of here tonight. Help me with the others."

"Hey," a voice behind her said. Adrianne couldn't see the source, but she knew it must be Jolly. She could feel his male bulk. "What's going on?"

"Get your things together. We're leaving." True to his nature, Jolly didn't question. He simply helped gather the others.

"Where's Steven?" Adrianne asked.

"He's left already."

"What?"

"He said he had to do something," the one-who-didn't-talk-too-much said.

"I~~wish also~~to come with~~~you," the alien prisoner whispered in his bunk.

"No way!" Jolly nearly screamed.

"Shh!" Adrianne said, and thought, if they left it behind, it could raise the alarm, and they would be caught before they even left. And it could be useful if they managed to get out of the camp with its intimate knowledge of the krestge.

"It comes with us," she said. She held up her finger to Jolly. "There is no negotiating this. We have a long night in front of us. Let's go."

They crossed the boundaries of the yard without notice. The group traveled in the silence and the dark for what felt like hours with no one behind them. It was strange that it was so easy to escape. She was ready for a fight that seemed like it was not going to come. The moons' failing light left them unable to see. The alien prisoner trailed behind. They waited as it shuffled over the dirt. When it approached them they said nothing and continued on together long into the night.

Before them appeared a large wall. It was old and seemed abandoned and was crumbling in several areas. It stretched from horizon to horizon with turrets every mile or so. It looked like her ancestor's wall. But it couldn't be, Adrianne thought. That wall was back home on Earth. She looked up into the empty sky and saw no stars, no moons, only deep, deep indigo as far as the eye could see.

A trench ran parallel the long distance before the wall. It would make the climb to the top even harder. Adrianne sighed and began to trudge forward when the ground began to rumble. A vibration that could be felt deep in the heart. Adrianne turned to see the guards coming for them. Shifting, flittering, more shadow than form, riding on the wind.

"Come on!" Adrianne called as she scrambled frantically over some rocks. Everyone ran. Jolly was way in front and arrived at the wall first. He stopped to help the ones behind him over the loose stones, screaming "Hurry up!" as if it were necessary. From where Adrianne stood, all there was to see was a haze of green. She could hear voices coming from the other side of the green. Antoine stood beside her, frozen, waiting for her to tell him what to do. Adrianne pushed Antoine over the wall and into the green. She looked around at the oncoming brood then jumped.

10110001101100011011000110110001101.

She fell wrong on her foot, onto wet soil. Above her, running feet scuffled on the wooden planks. Her ankle hurt like hell, but she had to keep on moving. She was surrounded by slimy, smelly, nasty things. There was no time to think or feel or be scared. Only time to run and hide. She silently moved among the leaves. Lights were peering down from above. She was sullied with mud and muck as she went deeper and deeper into the reeds and mess. Someone jumped down, then someone else. She kept moving. Then a flashlight was on her. They grabbed her. She fought like a cat. All went dark.

... one one zero zero zero one one zero one one zero zero zero one one zero one one zero zero zero one ...

... light and colors with unfocused edges. Adrianne blinked several times and still she could not see clearly. She had a terrible headache, one that she felt on her ears and on the bridge of her nose. The fuzziness focused.

** BREAK **

10110001101100011011000110110001101.

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00011011000110110001101100011011000.

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11000110110001101100011011000110110.

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Twelve people surrounded her. Four were best friends. Two were more than that. One had curly-red-hair-that-was-slowly-turning-auburn. One was the Alien. One had gray-eyes-and-didn't-speak-too-much. One was a direct descendant of Dionne Maiter. The last was Antoine.

"She's coming to ..." one said.

"Hey, there, we thought you were a goner ..." said another softly.

"We made it, Adrianne," Antoine said then laughed.

"We made it because of you," Jolly said.

"Evidently~~~, you were correct about~~~the pro-jected enviro-ment," the alien said. "No-thing~~in the camp~~~was real."

"I always knew you'd survive," Helen said. Adrianne touched Helen's face to feel the breath from her nose and mouth. She drank in her warmth.

"But ..." Adrianne said, "something is wrong ..."

"Nothing is wrong," Helen said. "Not with us. Everything is as it should be."

"Everything ..." Adrianne touched the nape of Helen's neck, caressed her ear, then whispered tender words too deep to recall. She kissed Helen on the tip of her chin. Smoothed her eyebrows. Touched the back of her head and the softness of her hair. "Everything ..."

Behind them Adrianne could see all the stars in a familiar nighttime sky with a single waxing moon. She had no words. This was Earth. She was home. She had always been home. Then, high in the distance, she noticed the smallest dot of green.

The wind tasted of salt and the sea as moist air sailed through the window. The warmth of soft sheets and a thick blanket surrounded her. She stretched, feeling the crinkle and gentle pop of her muscles unstiffening. Then the smell of hair perfumed by lilac-scented shampoo. Adrianne reached over and held the warm body next to hers and sighed deeply. This was an amazing fantasy.

She felt Helen get out of bed, leaving the place where she once lay empty and warm. She watched her go into the bathroom and heard the sounds of the water pouring down. The cat made his appearance, jumping onto the bed, mewing and demanding his breakfast.

"Come on, little guy," Adrianne said as she slipped out of bed.

She and the cat went into the kitchen where she opened a can of food and emptied it into its flat ceramic bowl with the picture of a rotund kitty in the center. The cat ate hungrily, and it smacked and purred with delight.

A warm light came through the open kitchen window as a breeze flowed in. She could see the wall in the distance. Broken in areas, but still sound and strong against the cruel forces on the other side. Helen entered the kitchen in full military dress of crimson and copper shielding. She was buckling a belt around her waist.

Adrianne handed her a cup of coffee and poured one for herself. It had been so long since she tasted something this wonderful. It filled her with peaceful pleasure.

"We don't have much time before I have to be back on duty," Helen said. "The war is not going well."

"The war ..." Adrianne said. So far away. Meaningless to her only hours before. Now it was everything.

"Then let's make the most of the time we have," Adrianne replied. She took Helen by the hand, and they sat down. Adrianne kissed her deeply. She tasted the sweet saltiness. The slip and moistness of her tongue in her mouth. Then she thought - she remembered - that this was wrong. None of this should be happening.

Helen pulled out of her arms. "I think you need to stay home and rest today."

"Don't worry," Adrianne said. "I'll take it easy."

"Good. I'll see you later on tonight, okay?"

This was not the Helen she knew. Her Helen would never don a uniform or patrol the wall. Adrianne smiled and held onto Helen's face for a moment longer, then let her go.

"When did you join the war effort?"

"Since after you went away," Helen said.

"I thought you hated the fighting."

"Really? You thought that about me?" She touched Adrianne on the chin. "I've always understood that it was necessary."

"I see."

She watched as Helen picked up the harness for her wings. They shinged as she lifted them.

"Helen."

"Yes?"

"You know that I've always loved you."

Helen smiled. "You don't even have to say it." Then she turned and marched out the door.

Alone in the kitchen, Adrianne spoke aloud, "I only wanted to tell you one last time."

Her favorite clothes lined the closet. Items that she remembered being long worn out or stained hung perfectly intact, ready for her to wear. She picked out an outfit and laid it on the bed and stared at it. Then she pulled out of her dresser some sweatpants, a T-shirt, and a warm pullover, put them on and was out the door.

Antoine was waiting for her on the front porch. He smiled when he saw her and hugged her like a bear.

"Where we going today, Adrianne?"

"We're going home, 'Twone."

He laughed.