your check stub shows," the teller
said. "You want it all?"

"Yes."

"Just take this over to the table, there, and fill it in."

Oh, God! she thought.

She crossed to the table. Her hand was shaking. The free pen blotted.
She ripped out the check and crumpled it into a ball. Her breathing was
shallow. She found her own pen. Shakily she filled in another check.

The teller looked at it. He waved it dry. He held it up. "Just a,
moment, Miss. I'd like to verify the signature."

Her nails dug into her palms. She moved her feet uneasily. She glanced
toward the door.

She fumbled in her handbag for a cigarette. She found a stale pack,
shook one out. She lit it with a safety match and extinguished the match
with a nervous flick of her arm. She inhaled.

The invasion. For the first time since she'd left the hotel it
reoccurred to her.

Oh, Lord! she thought. How much time before that! She dropped her
cigarette and ground it out.

The clerk was bending over, comparing signatures.

I've got to do something about the invasion! I've got to tell somebody!
But ... but ... how can I ever convince anyone?

They'd think I was crazy. They'd detain me for questioning. They'd lock
me up. If they did, he could come upon me and I couldn't even run!

Her face was bloodless. If I had my powers back....

She began to pace. Two steps one way; two steps back; two steps the
other way.

I could ... I could show them how to operate on a human to make the
bridge; I could talk to a surgeon....

Could I?

Her mind was fuzzy. It was no longer easy to remember. So many
compartments were no longer available.

Do I remember how? You ... you.... She concentrated with every fiber of
her being.

"Your signature is shakey," the clerk said.

She whirled on him. Her lips trembled. She choked back hot words.

"I'm upset tonight," she said weakly.

He grunted.

_If he catches me_, she thought, _I'll be dead._ He'll kill me! I'll
never be able to convince anyone then!

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

"How do you want the money?" the clerk asked.

"Any way! Any way!"

He began to count bills.

If I stand still, he'll catch me! she moaned to herself. Even now....

She glanced toward the door.

"There," the clerk said.

Trembling, she stuffed bills into her handbag. She raced for the
entrance.

* * * * *

She burst from the revolving doors. She cried out to the taxi idling
across the street. The drive