Dinah walked by the cliff's edge, looking at the waves breaking. It could happen, she thought. She and Albert. She was no doomed to be forever atoning for her mistakes. She could escape the prison her mother had built for her. She could have a normal life.

She could hope to be happy.

-0-

"So, Adam got out", Danny grumbled. "And Professor Romney blamed me for carelessness. But he was not there. He was not taking care of an overgrown baby with no sanitary facilities. An overgrown baby that had picked the monkey trick of throwing his feces around. Of course, I did not check that he was well locked up. Maybe I did want him to get out. Amos was out of it, because it was daytime, and Heather… well, I am sure that Heather wanted him to get out, so that she could tell Romney to take him away before worse happened."

"So he got out. And that's when he ran into me", Dinah said.
-0-

She stood there on the cliff. On the edge. The edge between happiness and misery. She could seize her happiness at last. But she was afraid. What if it did not work out? What if Albert did not love her? What if she was not what he expected? What if she…

The creature sprang in front on her, gibbering, trying to reach her.

-0-

"You have to remember what Midler had built. It was not a handsome actor with glued on scars. It was a patchwork. Midler wanted it to be a showcase over his victory over tissue rejection. So, he made it from different parts. One leg shorter that the other. One hand too big for the arm. One too small. And some white skin, some black, some brown. A true patchwork. And then his mind…"

'Yes, it was a baby, but a baby that could reach to get the shiny things in front of her. A baby that was no held in check by bigger people. He had a baby's sense of entitlement. What he wanted he wanted. Add to it that he had sexual urges, because Midler had used adult parts. So, he wanted Dinah."

-0-

Dinah ran, screaming, vowing that she would carry a gun from now on if she survived this. She felt the creature move faster, making arousal noises. Why did she have to wear pumps instead of running shoes? She was not going to escape…

There was a thump. "It is OK now," she heard Heather say.

She turned. The creature was down, with Heather standing over it with a tranquilizer gun. "I am sorry you go involved with this."

"What is this?"

"Professor Romney's project. But it ends here. He will come to take it away."

"But what…?"

"I imagine that Romney will tell you if he feels like it. Never mind. It is over. No more problems."

"Is Amos involved?"

"He and Romney have an understanding. But as I say, this mess will be gone."

-0-

"And so, it was."

"You engineered it, of course" Dinah said to Heather.

"Romney need a convincing, and I could not just hit him over the head. He had no idea how difficult it was for us. For him it was all fascinating… Also, he wanted to pump Amos for Information on himself. Romney dealt with other vampires but they were not that willing to be answering questionaries, or providing samples of themselves for analysis… Romney was closer to Midler than he wants to admit it. He is quite ethical, certainly, but he needs to FIND OUT about anything. And Amos was quite willing to let Romney use him as a guinea pig. Well, but in the meantime, Adam was getting out of control, and Danny and I were TIRED of dealing with him. So, we gave Romney a reality check. Reminding him that the last thing Amos needed was another investigation. So yes, suddenly Romney had the transportation and the facilities and that was it. "

"What happened to Adam?"

"Romney got him talking and trained. He works as a janitor at Romney's lab and is doing a lot of reading. Yes, he got a normal life, or whatever you call it… As I say, Romney is a lot more ethical than Midler."

"And in the meantime, I started having nightmares again." Dinah sighed.

-0-

The hideous creature chased after her. "Do not run away. Look at what you did!" the creature shouted.

"I do not know you!" Dinah screamed.

"You put that bomb in Trenton. This is what the bomb did to me. Look how your idealism mangled me! I had a life, a family. I had dreams…I was thinking about attending community college…Look at me! You stole my future!"

"I… I am sorry"

"And now you want to marry this Thatcher, and forget about me. But I will not let you forget!"

Dinah kept running. Had to keep him from catching her.

And there was this door stopping her.

She tried to force it open… because if she could she would escape him…

But the door would not open.

-0-

Dinah woke up screaming.