“Dory, remember what we agreed to about your leaving the facility,” the voice in the sky said.

Pouting, Dory looked up at the drone. She could just picture old Dr. Epimetheus, twisted and half-blind. His voice was an unctuous clinging to her thoughts like wax. Dory stamped her bare feet.

“I just wanted to go on a normal walk. You never let me do anything,” Dory wailed.

“Nurse Frankel fell into the elevator shaft and half of the security crew is hemorrhaging,” Dr. Epimetheus said gently.

Dory slumped. She’d hoped this time it would be different. She’d been hoping for millennia that this bad luck would stop. Forever young and lovely, Dora missed being in the world.From country to country every land she ran to there were earthquakes or plagues. Everyone she got close to died in some cursed way. Except for the very very old doctor. His plight was to live forever with Dory.

“Remember the Great Chicago Fire, Pandora? The Chichon eruption, Ukrainian famine. Already the radio is reporting a series of car pileups. Come back to the facility. We can watch Pretty in Pink if you like.”

Listening to the birds in the trees, Dory lifted her face to the sun. A robin fell from an overhanging branch stone dead. Dory turned and walked back.