152.
   For a moment I could do nothing. I stood staring at Claudia on the bridge as the creatures uttered their last gasp and went limp. Then I came to myself. I rushed up the embankment and leapt on to the felucca into Claudia’s arms. I kissed her on the lips. I kissed her ears, her eyes. I buried my face in her hair.

   “I told you we would see each other again!”, she smiled. She threw her head back and laughed. The bankers and the socialite folded around us as the sail fluttered in the wind.
   I hugged her tight. Tears filled my eyes. “How did you do it? How did you survive that thing?”
   She put her fingers to my face and traced the tears away. “I found Jesus!”, she giggled. “The one thing a crazed fanatic can’t resist is power over another human being. He didn’t land on top of the balloon when we hit the jungle. He got up and started hollering some more so I peeked out from under the banker skins and said, ‘I want to be saved!’. All the screaming to the heavens and stomping around suddenly stopped. His eyes widened. He clasped his hands to his chest and praised the lord. I told him I needed to accept Jesus into my heart and when he bent down to pray with me, I slit his throat.”
   I kissed her again. “Too bad I wasn’t there. We could have made a balloon for me.”