“It must have been so hard for you,” Susan said.
Darkness had overtaken them, only the two spotlights patrolling the night sky providing any light outside. Hooper had lit several candles and an oil lamp, switching off the main lights soon after dark.
“We can’t generate enough power to keep the lights on all night,” he said. “Usually most of us are in bed by now. We go to bed with the sun and we get up with the sun. But your story’s too interesting for us to stop now.”
Hooper and Susan’s daughter had joined them, and she sat curled up against her mother, a blanket wrapped around her and her long, blond hair splayed out over her shoulders.
“How long were you there for?” Will said.
“About eight months, I think. My dad came to see me sometimes, but not very often, and we never had much to
