A stage of evolution that dear Doctor O hadn’t prepared for, or part of his plan, I don’t know.

I watched him watching me. He seemed frightened at first. HIM frightened by ME! Cowering behind a tree for a bit. Then he came around. We stood there, him about five metres from the window. And I don’t know why I did it, or where the courage or stupidity came from, I think I was just numb by that point, but I put my hand on the glass like he’d done the night before. Pressed it so that my palm turned white and a little fog formed around my fingers. I felt a feverish sort of desperation. My heart rose into my throat and I began to cry. Thought I was all cried out, but I guess you never are. I wanted contact so badly. His expression changed as he watched my display. His eyes softened and his shoulders slumped as he took a step toward me, an arm reaching out. He could see my pain and it touched him, I think. There was no way he was putting on an act, for he’s not that sophisticated. I began sobbing then, and I placed my other hand on the window, the mangled one. Bracing as my broken bones burned like fire. Reaching toward him as he reached toward me.

Another few steps and he’d closed the distance by half and was still coming. To do what, I had no idea and didn’t care. Then I heard and saw a crashing in the woods behind him. He turned as a couple of the wilder ones came through, hopping with their arms out wide like chimps do when playing or about to fight. My protector, as I think of him now, unleashed that growl of his again. Like a throttling engine, puffing his chest and holding his arms out wide. And they had a little standoff, like. Seeing which would back down first, but none of them would. The two wilder ones, hair like a bramble on their heads, naked except for a little thong over their genitals that seemed more for protection than modesty, advanced. So did my protector. And then they clashed in a ferocious battle, a noise like you hear when a pack of dogs engage in a real fight, not a pretend one. A fight for death or survival.