Glancing out the window, her eyes focused on the familiar sight of the Rok-bot.
It was low tide, so its feet were out of the water... as it always was, but... something was different... she frowned as she concentrated... focusing on the feet.
Feet! The thing actually had feet... which she was sure she had not seen before.
At first she had thought of it as nothing more than an interesting rock formation... nothing unusual.
She couldn't explain what had happened... what had changed... but, for some unknown reason... she sensed that the thing was aware of her presence.
Shaking her head, she told herself that was silly... rocks did not... could not move... not on their own.
However, as time passed she began to feel uneasy... but she couldn't quite put her finger on the reason why.
Puzzled, she wondered what it might be capable of... and how keen its senses might be... if it could see or hear her... or how much it could understand.
But these were unknown factors and she intensely disliked the idea of unknown factors in her life.
She shook her head, telling herself it was all her imagination... or perhaps she was dreaming.
The wind had risen, as the approaching storm inched closer... she could hear it pushing against and underneath the door... it would be a bad one.
For the first time since she had been here, she did not feel like going to bed... and fell asleep in the old recliner, with a blanket over her legs.
She heard shuffling footsteps... saw the door opening... and felt the cool, night air on her face. The Rok-bot was standing in the doorway, "You must come with me."
Too terrified to speak, she could only clutch the blanket and shake her head.
"I am sorry. I have my orders. I cannot leave you here any longer."
Cold, hard hands gripped her arms, pulling her to her feet. "You must leave now."
A cold breath brushed her cheek...
"No... no... no," she cried. Afraid to open her eyes, she fell to her knees. The draft from the open door swirled around her... she wanted to close it but couldn't seem to move.
A scream came from somewhere as she was pulled to her feet... the blanket was thrown over her head and shoulders... and was forced to walk across the floor... out into the cold, wet rain...
