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hope for a miracle. She just needed, above everything to rest ... to sleep this whole nightmare away--
    --a pop-flash! strobe of pain!--
    And a stumble, and she fell, and began to roll down a steep grassy hill, and then suddenly the grass disappeared, and then she was covered in--
    Rolled to a stop.
    "Uhhhhnnnnnnn... okay, 'kay... I give, I give...let's be friends, do-over, do-over..."

    And she laughed.
    Sure.
    Why not?
    Go for it.
    Drowsy realization, there, on her back, on the--
    Beach.
    Beach?
    I ran all the way to the beach.
    Wow.
    Sounds good to me.
    "That's far, I think. That's pretty darn far." And then, with a sigh--she started to slip away, so exhausted, to fall asleep...
    ~ ~ ~

    Bliss.
    Kirsten settled back into the cool sand.
    "Yessss," she said, hissing with incalculable, immeasurable relief. It felt so good, lying there... seemed to push the pain... out... somewhere. Reduced it to a low-vibrating numbness. "Oh yesss..."
    Kirsten curled, slowly, to a fetal position. Somehow, being compacted with all her wounds and bruises, felt better for some reason. Like all things that feel temporarily good, she mused ruefully, she was probably doing herself more damage in the long run. But she didn't care. Later was later, but now, at least ...
    ... bliss.
    ~ ~ ~

    (white noise)

    Her eyes popped open, as if launched from their sockets. Her body, suddenly ravaged by shudders, clenched ...even as she tried to sit up...
    Clenched, man.
    Kirsten blinked through goopy tears, looking around in the darkness. Strange, jagged shadows...where? She moaned, trying to focus her eyes, her mind. A stab of panic, then...
    Why do writer types have to be so... weird?
    I wonder if I'd have my top on right now if I went out with that guy?
    Wonder if he'd write about it?
    Suddenly--a series of cruel shudders.
    Still--he seemed--
    (clench)

    Still--he seemed nice--
    (clench)

    -- seemed--
    (CLENCH)

    "--niiiiice!" she gasped, laughing and crying at the same time.
    The shudders increased--then, just as suddenly, lessened, and she began gently calming herself down. She wiped away the sand from her face with her good hand, trying to clear her vision. Her eyes adjusted, a little, though for Kirsten it was like watching a 3-D movie without the glasses. Her good hand gripped her bad shoulder--she wanted to force herself awake, shove clarity into her skull, so she could figure out what, if anything, her next move might be...should be...
    "Focus," she insisted, gritting her teeth. "C'mon, girl."

    Focus.
    She felt so hot, so cold at the same time. Occasional quivers- instead- of- full- shudders. Thick blankets stacked high in her brain.
    "Focus," she commanded, staring unblinkingly at a small, particular shadow somewhere on the horizon. "This is kinda, you know... serious. For what that's worth..."

    It took a few moments, and more effort than she thought capable of, but her mind slowly began to clear... and she became less aware of her own being and personal pain... and more aware of the shadows around her... the sounds of the night, the sounds of... the sounds of...
    "Well, well, well. What have we here?"

    Kirsten froze -- her heart double-clutched. But she never lost her smile.
    Ahh Mr. Edward! You're... here! So we meet again!
    What a nice surprise.
    How are your balls?
    "Look at you, pathetic. Girl, I can't believe I bothered to get you drunk."
    It was as if there was no other sound at all. No wind, no birds, no echo, no ambient sound of any kind. She let her eyes flutter open, and--
    Eddie, with his wild, blazing demon face, those gotcha! eyes, laser-sharp with evil intent. Up at the top of the sandy dune. Limping. Scratched where she'd scratched him. Kicked where she'd kicked him. Wounded where she wounded him.
    Carrying a rusty crowbar.
    Ohhh, look, how sweet--he brought me a gift.
    She thought about trying to crawl backwards, away. Trying to stand up, that was out of the question.
    Ahhh, why bother.
    Still topless, huh?
    Well, at least I'll go