'This shouldn’t be happening,' he thought. 'It’s too late, it’s not right...'

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He didn’t know who these people were, in their suits and ties, the identification wallets flashing around. He did know that they shouldn’t be here, doing whatever it was they were doing. They were about to gum up the entire works, and nothing he tried to do could get rid of them. They didn’t see him, and he turned to look at the little girl behind him. She was crying, clinging to the dress of the woman at her side, but still, the suits were pulling her away. Couldn’t they see they were frightening her?

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Why did her mother cry instead of fighting them off? Was she just going to allow them to take away her child? He tried once again to push the men away from the child. He had no effect whatsoever; it was as though he couldn’t touch them.

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He felt the rage consume him. He tried to fight it; it wasn’t helping him to lose control. But it was too late; he could feel himself drifting away, backing away from this house, from the woman and her little girl, away from the suits. It was like being pulled backward through a black pipe, until only the grey light at the opening was left. Too far away to see what happened to the little girl. Too far away to do anything about it. Too weak to cry out in frustration.

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They were exhausting, these dreams. He felt bone-weary, and it angered him that the cold always came back afterward. He didn’t like the cold. But he could relax now; he heard other sounds around him, and they were familiar to him, comforting after his ordeal. He let himself drift away, this time to a more peaceful rest. He was already forgetting the little girl and the badges...

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He dropped quickly down from one cloud to the next one, a very nice buzzing sensation taking him over, and he thought he could feel Cheryl’s fingers combing through his hair. He imagined her peppermint-flavored breath on him as he tried to draw in a deep breath. Even that was too much work for him, and he gave up on thinking...he needed to not think...for a while...

Shades of Grey