We woke in a shady, Australian-style shack.
For a moment I thought I'd died.
Then I saw Dianne and Jack and realised they'd died too.
And then I saw the old Indian guy with the walking stick and it all came back to me - the struggle across Arizona.
And then collapsing.
Where were we?
What were we doing here?
"Oh-ho!" The old man chuckled.
He looked at least 90, with wrinkled, chocolate-coloured skin and a thin, fragile structure. He held himself up with a seemingly wooden, twisted walking stick and I could see many Voodoo charms scattered both around his house and on his neck.
He grinned at me as if he were a little child, and peered behind me to grin at Dianne, who was stretching her back, and Jack, who was gazing sleepily around.
"Where are we?" I found myself asking in a surprisingly croaky voice.
"Welcome to my humble abode," the man replied. "I am Reg Martin!"
I was sort of shocked that such an old man could have such a modern name - but hey, a lot of things were invented before you'd think.
Suddenly Dianne chirped in, "Are you the person who foretold the uprising of the robots?"603Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtE2WbHtQTY
Reg's face turned grave. "That is what you came here to me for?"
"Yeah."
"Then I am ready to tell you how to prevent the evil robots from destroying humanity," he replied. "But first, let's eat!"
He headed towards what seemed to be a kitchen while Jack and Dianne eagerly followed.
I wasn't feeling particularly hungry. I just sat and stared after them.
Reg peered behind his back at me.
Eventually I heaved myself off the bed and followed.
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