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1 " But this vast empty room was the loneliest, most awful place he had ever been. Its "
― Christa Faust , The Zodiac Paradox
2 " His mind immediately seized on this metaphor and when he looked down at his wet hands he saw that they had taken on the elongated, dual clawed form of an ant’s bristly pretarsus. "
3 " It’s not real. The image of his creepy ant-hands was nothing more than a standard, slightly silly hallucination. "
4 " Ant hands, he could handle. Pun intended. "
5 " He wasn’t about to let himself be distracted by irrelevant mental trickery. He needed to focus. "
6 " The water around his legs was the only thing that seemed real. "
7 " Belly?” he called. “Belly, are you here? "
8 " It seemed impossible that their first use of that particular blend had evoked such a power empathic connection, and yet this time, Walter was off on his own disconnected trip, unable to even see his friend. "
9 " Where the hell is Nina? "
10 " But she wasn’t there, leaving the unarmed Walter alone and unprotected. "
11 " Nina,” he said. “Nina, I hope that you can hear me. I’m going to do my best to verbalize what I’m experiencing. "
12 " I seem to be inside a kind of artificial environment. Almost like a... a simulacrum of Reiden Lake. "
13 " He ignored the disturbing ripple and tried to focus on the gateway. "
14 " What if he did just that? What if he went through the gate? "
15 " But, could he truly call himself a scientist if he were to pass up such a unique opportunity? "
16 " What about the danger? What if, in passing through, he was transformed into a radioactive monster like the Zodiac Killer? "
17 " He knew he would be crazy to take that kind of risk, but he’d also be crazy not to. "
18 " He took a sloshing step closer, fingers less than in inch from the undulating opening. That’s when he heard a terrified scream. "
19 " Nina’s gun was on the floor beside her, forgotten. "
20 " You hear it, too?” Walter asked. “Of course I do,” she snapped. “It’s real! "