Read Global Warming Fun 5: It’s a Dry Heat Page 21
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While the others considered issues at the bar, Ed snuggled with Mary as she slept and shared thoughts and senses with his favorite local falcon. The bird flew higher and higher to stay within the last remaining warmth of the sun but it was in the end useless, for the sun at last disappeared, leaving only a fading glow on the western horizon. Ed released her so that they could both descend into the quiet darkness below to seek much needed rest.
For a long time Ed pondered over the strange visit to Jerry's space project that hadn't yielded any useful information at all, as far as he could tell. He was tempted to phone Jerry to tell him that he didn't really have anything to tell him but that seemed silly. Jerry could wait, particularly since there wasn't much of anything to tell him as far as Ames was concerned. Besides, the Rumsfelds were on vacation.
Ed was much more concerned about Mary. Through the Stone-Coat implants he checked her vital signs one more time before drifting into a deep restful sleep himself.
He dreamt that he was in a great forest, and was for some yet unknown reason running to catch up with an enormous Stone-Coat giant that walked ahead and away from him, taking twenty foot strides as it carefully dodged around great trees that towered over it. The giant stepped over man-tall ferns, bushy undergrowth, downed trees, and rock outcroppings as if they weren't there, but Ed struggled mightily to gain passage, even though the giant's ten-foot long footprints helpfully crushed and flattened many obstacles. The Giant, oblivious to Ed's struggles to move through the forest, continued without pause, steadily becoming further and further ahead of Ed, despite Ed's efforts to catch up.
"Mary!" Ed shouted in the dream. He could clearly see that she was sitting on one of the giant's stone shoulders, but both she and the Giant were deaf to his shouts. "Wait for me," he shouted again and again without effect. Fortunately the way was mostly downhill, otherwise Ed would have totally lost contact with them. In his sleep state it never occurred to him to use his implant to try to communicate with either the Stone-Coat or Mary.
He was relieved for a moment when he finally broke out of the forest and onto a broad beach that was relatively flat and free of obstructions except for giant footprints. But he was horrified when he saw Mary still sitting on the Giant's shoulder calmly, even though the creature already stood waist-high in the cold choppy Pacific and was moving steadily into deeper waters.
Mary looked back at him as he stood shouting helplessly from the edge of the beach, standing in waves that battered him nearly off of his feet. She waved at him smiling as she and the giant both slowly sank below the waves and out of sight! She was gone!
The horrible shock of it woke him with a start, sweating and shaking. He was greatly relieved to find that he still lay next to Mary and that she slept peacefully. He couldn't deal with the thought of losing Mary.
"ALL IS WELL," said the ever watchful Wheels quietly.
"IS IT REALLY?" Ed asked rhetorically, before returning to uneasy sleep.