"This isn't the kind of thing you can get distance from," Kathy said. "It stays with you. And the more you run from it, the more ways it finds to lurk around corners to surprise you. Believe me."

She scrubbed her face, perpetually tired. Unlike Ringo, this new version of Kathy wasn't getting a lot of sleep. Or food. Or...well, a lot of things.

"I'm sorry," she offered finally. "A lot of this is on me."