Heartfelt

Cutting through backstreets, Nick and his two companions kept up a fast pace - almost uncomfortably fast, from his point of view.

From trailing Margaret, he knew she could cover the ground at a remarkable speed. As he was discovering, Alice had the same improbable knack of moving along lightly and quickly. When he tried to watch their feet moving, his eyes seemed to blur. There was something so odd about it that his head hurt.

On a fence, they passed a stencilled piece of graffiti. NOT HELP ANYONE, said the words in an upside-down heart.

"Hah!" said Alice. "There's the whole problem, right there."

"How do you mean?" panted Nick. "Nothing for kids to do, making them vandalise property with graffiti? Or the sad message, with no hope of love, or helping other people? Or are you saying it's all the police's fault for not stopping them?"

"Nah," replied Alice. "Shocking grammar."



Part Two begins here.