Before:

     A loud knocking woke Trevor out of a sound sleep.

     His first question to himself: my leg. How bad does it throb right now? Am I going to have to swab it immediately?

     His first answer to himself: not bad. I can get mobile quick if I need to.

     "Bye," he said, then disappeared.

     Someone shouted as they continued to pound on the front door. 

​     Trevor dressed and grabbed his cane, turning both it and his clothes as invisible as him.

     Trevor heard Lyveth respond to the shouts with a soft, yet firm tone.

     By the time he got to the living room, the ladies were all headed for the door, in a rush, grabbing this bag or that cloak.

     They shut the door after them, leaving Trevor alone.

     He opened the door, then slipped outside. He looked around to see if anyone noticed that the door seemed to open all by itself. No one. Good. The streetlights were all as dim as in Trevor's room. He'd always assumed they were all, somehow, part of some sort of integrated, telepathic organic entity. The orbs could be controlled by anyone in their own homes, but, if left unattended, they all glowed with the same intensity throughout the district, brighter during the "day", dimmer at "night".

     The streets of their district stayed crowded during the "day".

     Now, Trevor still saw people, but far fewer.

     He looked around for the ladies.

     He couldn't see them, then did.

​     They headed for a home that others seemed headed for as well. 

     People crowded into this dwelling before and after the ladies entered.

     Too crowded for Trevor to get around with his cane and not bump into anybody.

     The door opened and closed every few seconds as people came in and went out.

     The door opened again, and this time it stayed open as a bunch of people exited. 

     My chance, Trevor thought.

     He watched as Cyveth went to the door to close it.

     No! Trevor hid his cane amidst a pile of stones.

     He hopped through the door on his one good leg before it shut and hoped like hell he didn't make a sound anyone would notice. 

     Once inside, Trevor saw the ladies and the family who probably lived there, a father and three children, two sons and a daughter. 

     The father looked worried, the children frightened.

     In another corner of the room, a bed, and, in the bed, a woman who looked sick and terrified in a manner that suggested she felt afraid she might die. 

     Around the bed, Lyveth and her three daughters huddled.

​     Lyveth leaned over the ill woman to more closely observe her.

     Lyveth muttered an inquiry. The ill woman muttered a reply.

     Myveth stood next to her mother to fire up the brokar pipe.

     First the smoke from the pipe enveloped only Myveth and her mother.

     Then, Lyveth leaned over and, by waving her arms to manipulate the smoke, enveloped the ill woman in the brokar. As she did, she whispered. A prayer? An incantation? Just speaking softly to the woman to calm her down?

     If that was Lyveth's purpose, it worked.

     The sick woman calmed. 

     The family, as well.

     Calm in general, filled the room.

     Then,

     KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! on the door.

     Everyone in the room went on alert as one.

     Trevor hopped to a corner.

     The youngest son went to the door to reply to whoever knocked.

     The resulting roar of a baritone response caused everyone on Trevor's side of the door to jump or twitch, startled.

     The young man unlatched the door and opened it.

     In marched four men.

     Two of them took positions on either side of the door.

     The other two went right to Lyveth and her daughters. 

     That's Bolock and his son, Trevor thought. The Club Commander.

     Bolock barked at Lyveth, and Lyveth barked back. 

​     The father yelled, a man with a club yelled, Lyveth yelled, and Trevor thought, this is all turning into pure fucking chaos. Am I going to have to step in to protect the ladies?

     As if reacting to that thought, the men and the ladies exited, leaving Trevor alone with the family.

     The last guy slammed the door shut.

     Damn! How was Trevor going to be able to join the ladies now? He couldn't just open the door and stroll through, not while he was still invisible and not supposed to be there at all.

     Another way out?

     A quick look around told Trevor probably not.

     People furiously argued on the other side of the door.

     Fuck! Were Lyveth and her daughters in some kind of trouble?

     He had to get out of there.

     The daughters and the youngest son went to their mother's bed.

     Their father went to the front door.

     To lock it?

     I'd really be fucked then, Trevor thought. It might be hours before someone opened the door again.

     Instead, though...

     The man opened the door wide, then stepped out on to the road beyond to catch the argument between Lyveth and Bolock along with everyone else in the neighborhood who was awake.

     Trevor hopped by him to get out on the road himself. without making a sound.

     He hopped over to where he hid his cane to snatch it back up. The second he did, the cane turned invisible again.

     Trevor took in the situation between Lyveth and Bolock.

     They stood nose to nose, both their faces twisted with fury, and they screamed at each other at the top of their lungs.

     Her three daughters stood behind Lyveth. All four women held their arms at their sides, fingers outstretched.

      If that's not defensive positioning, I don't know what is, Trevor thought.

     A half dozen men stood behind Bolock. They gripped their clubs tight as if they, too, readied for battle.

     Trevor got to within four feet of Lyveth and the Club Commander. He watched for signs of aggression from either side. If he felt, for a single moment, that the women were in any real danger, he'd spring into action. He felt pretty sure he could take out the men with the clubs in under a minute, if it came to that.

     The Club Commander shouted one last thing, Lyveth shouted one last 

thing, then they all dispersed, no one taking their eyes off anyone else until everyone was out of sight.

     The women conferred, then separated into two groups.

​     Lyveth and the youngest, Cyveth, returned to tend to the ill woman.

     Myveth and Nyveth returned home.

​     Trevor went with them. He'd had enough of being out in the neighborhood for one night.

CONTINUE

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