FROM THE black, vast emptiness, pulses of life asserted themselves, insisting that Lacey wake up. She tried to push them back, but black gradually faded to gray, and then to daylight. As consciousness returned, and the pure horror of being alive dawned on her, a mighty scream erupted from her throat and landed in the room in a raspy croak. "What happened?"

She turned her head and saw Jana through blurred, distorted vision. Her daughter leaned over to kiss her and slipped a small piece of ice into her mouth. Lacey sucked on it and gradually her mind cleared. She recalled the crisis that had so terrified her fellow travelers; she remembered the detachment she had felt about her own impending death, mixed in with regret that her darling girl was in danger too; she remembered slipping into the arms of death on that awful Mexican hillside, and the peace that had enveloped her with the knowledge that at least she would not have to face any more suffering.

Jana's wavy image came close. "Mom?" she said.

"What happened?" Lacey repeated.

"Oh, Mom, I'm so sorry," Jana cried, holding Lacey's hand.

"I tried to stop them, but they took you away and there was nothing I could do. I was so weak. By the time they released me from the Consulate, you were gone. They airlifted you home."

Lacey held tight to Jana's hand. Her head ached and one eye felt fixed and big.