This is the first fanfic that I wrote after I discovered the Internet. It was written in 1993, before the advent of the HLFIC-L list, and was originally posted on HIGHLA-L. I believe it's the first online "Watcher-becomes-Immortal" story. It's spawned sequels, and is now a part of a shared crossover universe (Tomorrow's Future), but it wasn't originally intended as more as my own, personal ponderings on what seems to have become a rather popular "what-if"....

Disclaimer: The Highlander Universe and concepts do not belong to me, but to Rysher and whoever else is involved. The story and characters are all mine, however.

A Change of Perspective
by Selma McCrory
Copyright 1993

She could hear the clash of the swords nearby. She quietly slipped past the rows of boxes to peek out the warehouse door. Outside, in the night, a man and a woman were furiously battling it out. Greer could not see the details of the swordfight well enough from where she was, and she dared not ease any further out for fear of being seen by the contestants. Although it was possible that they would not see her if she moved, she had been told enough times about others who had made that mistake and had gotten killed for their trouble. Observing in this setting, with no others around to keep her from sticking out, was very dangerous. However, she needed to record this fight, record it in writing for posterity.

Spotting a higher vantage point, she climbed onto a stack of small boxes. She was being very careful, since the lights seemed to be out in that section of the warehouse. The dark would hide her better, but if she was not careful, she could fall and seriously injure herself.

As she reached the vantage point, she missed the box that would have allowed her a sure foothold. She grabbed a nearby black cord for balance, and realized she had made a big mistake. For a few seconds, she was paralyzed, and then, nothing.

* * *

She could gradually see the light from behind her eyelids. She felt faintly sore, but that feeling was decreasing by the minute. Under her, she could feel concrete, except for her head, which seemed to be cushioned by something. She opened her eyes and saw the ceiling of the warehouse. She was lying on the warehouse floor, a fair distance from where the darkened area where she had last been. A shadow fell across her and she towards the source.

A woman was standing there. As Greer raised her head to look at the woman's half-shadowed form, the woman looked at her and smiled gently.

"Hello," the woman said. She was a delicate beauty, with long blond hair reaching down to her shoulders and sadness in her hazel eyes. She kneeled down by Greer, who struggled to remember that the woman's name was Alberta, and that she had been one of the participants in the swordfight outside.

"Hello," Greer responded. She tried to get up, but felt groggy. She saw the woman move in to help.

The woman gently hauled her up to a sitting position, and helped her stay up by holding a strong arm against her back. "You"ll be all right," the woman told her.

"What happened?" Greer asked her anxiously. "I was nearby, and I heard a loud crash. When I got here, you were partially on those boxes up there," the woman said, pointing at some boxes that were in disarray. Greer looked up and discerned the black cable hanging so innocently from the ceiling. She looked back at the woman. She thought, _What can I do? I can't tell her the truth._

The woman looked at her, obviously concerned. Greer brushed her bangs aside, pausing for a moment. "I was getting something from here. I climbed up to get a box, and I slipped. I grabbed a cable," she paused again, trying to look confused, not that she was having much trouble with that. "I don't remember anything after that, except when I woke up. I guess you saved my life."

"I didn't do much. Just as I said, I found you on the boxes, took you down, and made you comfortable." the woman said. Her smile then faded, replaced by a somewhat businesslike look. "What's your name?"

"Georgina Lewis, but I go by Greer," Greer told her. She felt in her pockets for her wallet. The woman looked briefly sheepish and handed her wallet back.

"Alberta Barrow."

Greer tried to keep her alarm from showing in her face. _Why is she introducing herself by Alberta, rather than her current pseudonym, Alicia Marriner?_ she thought. Then she knew. She covered up by saying, "Will you help me? I need to see a doctor."

"Greer, wait," Alberta said in a commanding tone. Greer had shifted to get up, but stopped at Alberta's voice. Her heart was pounding as she guessed what had happened to her, and what she knew. She focussed on Alberta as if the other woman were her lifeline.

"I need to talk to you. I need to tell you some things. You don't need a doctor," Alberta spoke almost to herself. Greer didn't particularly care to hear the words, but she did her best to shift somewhat forward, as if to listen to the woman's words. She reminded herself that no one else had heard the discussion before from an immortal, although she remembered several tales about how that information had been gleaned. Her thoughts helped.

"You'll excuse me, I've never had to do this before," Alberta said as she sat down, leaning her back against a large box.

"Take your time," Greer told her. She needed a moment herself to think about what was going on, and reconciling it with what she knew.

Alberta took a deep breath. "Well, you didn't survive the electrocution. However, you're still alive." Alberta held a hand up, although Greer had done nothing to indicate that she was going to. "I'll answer your questions later, so please don't interrupt ." Greer nodded to Alberta, who went on, slowly talking as if to chose her words carefully.

"When you died, you changed. There is only one way for you to die now. You can die if someone beheads you. You won't age, you won't get sick. You can be damaged, but you will always heal."

Greer cocked her head more in Alberta's direction. "And people will come after you, to kill you. You are now immortal. You are now one of us. And you are now part of the Game."

Greer didn't need any acting to be shocked. _I am a part of this now,_ she thought. _I didn't think this would ever happen._

Alberta told her about the Quickening, and the Prize, which Greer already knew about from her studies. None of it was new to her. Still, she wondered if she could take killing another person, threat or no. Her thoughts wandered off as she tried to correlate what she knew to what was happening. Alberta's voice cut into her thoughts. "Are you allright? Can you understand what I've said?"

Greer shrugged off her thoughts and responded. "I'm fine, and I understand you, but I'm having a little trouble with the idea."

"You'll have time to learn," Alberta said. Then she drummed her fingers on her chin, looking briefly towards the ceiling. "You'll have to learn to fight. I'll teach you."

"I know how to fight."

"With a sword?" Alberta asked. Greer involuntarily blanched. "Um, no."

"Well, if you know how to fight, that's good," Alberta nodded, then looked at her seriously. "However, you need to learn to fight with a sword. It's easier to decapitate someone with a sword than with your bare hands."

"Will I have to fight? To kill people?" Greer remembered, a long time ago, when she had seen her first swordfight, a bit before she had joined the group. The fight had been so savage. The two immortals had blood all over them. She had stood frozen in place, even when the one had decapitated the other and the park had exploded. She thought of the warning she was given later, during her training: that if an immortal ever spotted you watching during a fight, you might as well have been dead. She dragged her attention back to Alberta, and what Alberta was saying.

"Yes. Even if you don't go after anyone, people will come after you. It's best, sometimes, to go after those who would harm you."

Greer wondered if she was going crazy. She turned her head away, and studied a box on the other side of the corridor. _I read about swashbucklers when I was a child,_ she thought. She couldn't quite admit to herself that although she had long seen the swordfights realistically, she was still too much the romantic, she had always liked the good guys going after the bad guys. Alberta, according to her file, fit Greer's ideas nicely.

She looked back at Alberta, who was looking at her in a motherly way. "We'll talk a little more, when you have time to think. I know I have told you a lot of unbelievable things," Alberta said. "I'll help you home."

Alberta helped Greer up from the floor. She leaned down, grabbed the bundle of cloth that had been serving as Greer's pillow, and shook it out. It turned out to be a beautiful black trenchcoat.

Greer was briefly concerned that Alberta would notice that she had no car, but Alberta was cheerfully commenting to her about how she thought the weather was nice and warm that night. She was ushered into Alberta's car, a late 70's Firebird, which stood out with its red sports stripes against the white body. Alberta drove her home, and she would have been more interested in the woman's discussion if she didn't have her own thoughts to pursue. When she got home, Alberta looked at the place like she was fixing it in her memory. She was then asked for her phone number, which she gave quickly, only wanting her bed and an escape from the nightmare which she seemed to be going through.

* * *

Greer sat on the couch. She looked at her tattoo on her bared left wrist, and sighed sadly. She remembered the time when she had been so proud, staring for hours when she had not been busy happily tracking immortals. _I wish I could be so happy now._

Her friend, Matt, who was a fellow Watcher, had joked once that Greer would be lousy at anything but watching immortals. She knew this was true, since she was good at what she did, and seemed attracted to immortals. _Well, now I know why_, she thought. Her eyes were clouding up with tears as she remembered all the friends she had made, friends that shared a common purpose in life.

Who could she call upon for friends, now? She knew that immortals were fairly lonely people, outliving most of their loved ones. Indeed, Alberta was a typical case, although her loneliness was due to being stuck on the frontier, surviving through the attack that had killed her husband. Greer didn't know if she could be a friend to Alberta, since she was afraid that she would accidentally reveal her past to her.

Greer pulled herself out of her thoughts. She had plenty of things to do besides mope in her apartment all day. Just because she had become immortal didn't mean that she didn't need to run the dishwasher, or water the plants. Taking her watering can out of the cabinet, she filled it with water and stepped outside to water the spider plant hanging on her back porch.

As she was watering the plant, she stopped suddenly, looking around while keeping the watering can up. She looked around for the cause of the chill runnning down her spine again. She saw a man approach her, a handsome, lean man with brown hair and brown eyes, with tan slacks and a grey shirt. He looked oddly familiar, and then Greer was shocked to realize that the last time she had seen him, he had been wearing a trenchcoat and wielding a sword. _Leland,_ she thought, naming him out of old instinct. He stopped at the edge of her porch.

"I want to talk to you," he said. She backed up, and when he moved closer, tried to hit him with her watering can. The plastic did little damage, and he easily wrestled it from her grasp. He had her arm by this time, and it was Greer's only consolation that he had stepped within range of her overwatered plant, and was getting wet. He grimaced and hauled her inside.

Greer looked at him in terror. "Who are you? And why are you here?" Leland gave her an amused look as he let her go. He made himself comfortable on her couch, and looked at the water stains on his clothes. He looked back up at Greer, who was frozen in place.

"This is better. We can discuss business without any mortals peeping in."

_Mortals?_ she thought, then realized that he was talking to her as another immortal.

"Well, I should introduce myself. I'm Leland. Your friend Alberta will no doubt tell you about me. I know who you are. I investigated after I followed her and saw her take you here," he said. He got up, after he rearranged his clothes a little. "I will not stay long. I just want to tell you to tell your teacher that if she does not stop going for my head, I will take off yours first."

She backed towards the front door, and he followed her towards it. "You're mad!" she said, her eyes opening wide.

"This is the Game. Or hasn't she told you that part yet? If she hasn't, she should. This world is not a nice place."

He advanced upon her. Suddenly, she was enveloped in his arms. He kissed her. She quaked, and he smiled at her, like a benevolent monarch.

"I have always liked stealing kisses. Almost as nice as stealing Quickenings," he said, and then his smile dropped, and he started looking around. Greer caught herself doing the same, suddenly, as the chill sped down her spine again.

Alberta stepped through the open door. She saw Leland and pulled her sword out. Leland shifted Greer so that he was holding her in one arm as a shield while he got his own sword out. Greer started hyperventilating as his sword touched her neck.

In an instant, Leland lowered his sword and thrust Greer towards Alberta. He glared at both of them, and then went through the front door, slamming it. Alberta held Greer for a few moments while Greer regained her mental and physical balance. She was glad to see Alberta's concerned face.

"You're all right?" Alberta asked.

Greer nodded, but sat down on her couch. Alberta was nodding to herself, looking rueful.

"I should have known he'd do that. It's a common tactic, threatening your opponent's loved ones."

"Why?" Greer asked, confused. Then she nearly slapped her hand against her forehead as Alberta spoke.

"Because you make your opponent upset. If you are upset, the easier it is for you to make a mistake. If you make a mistake, you're dead."

"Why me? Why did this have to happen to me?" Greer asked the world around her. Alberta looked at her sharply.

"You are what you are. You can't change it. I've survived through centuries of this, and so can you."

"How old are you?"

Alberta smiled, and sat down on the couch beside her. "I just turned 235." Greer knew this, but put on a startled look. Alberta added, "You'll get used to it. Most of your opponents will be older than you."

Alberta opened her mouth to speak further, but the phone rang. Greer went to the kitchen and picked it up.

"Hello, Greer." Michael, her supervisor, was calling. Greer started to smile and relax, and then she remembered who was in her living room.

"Oh, hi, Michael. Just a moment." Greer put the phone down on the kitchen counter and turned to Alberta, blushing. "Um...could you step out for a moment? This is a private matter."

Alberta nodded, looking thoughtful, and walked out the back door, closing it. Greer picked the phone up. "I'm back. What's up? I have a guest."

"Well, a couple of things. Business first. Have you been keeping track of Alberta Barrow?"

"Yes," she said, managing to keep her voice professional. She was glad that he was not there, or he would be able to tell that she was lying. Somehow, he had always been able to tell.

"Robert lost Leland, but he was headed in your general direction. We know that he and Alberta Barrow are after each other, so you may see him. Contact Robert if you do."

"Ok," she said, calmed by the routineness of the request. However, she knew Michael too well to think that was it. "What else?"

"Robert says that someone made a tremendous racket in the warehouse during the fight last night. He also said that he saw you framed in the doorway. He also saw Alberta Barrow go in. Then he followed Leland, who ran away. What happened? Are you okay? Did she find you?" Michael's voice was warm, but concerned.

"I'm fine, except I'm just embarrassed because I knocked some boxes over and made noise. I saw her run in, but I hid and she missed me."

"But you're not hurt?" he asked, still obviously concerned. "Just my pride," she said, hopefully cheerfully. "That's good. If you keep up with this, you might have to be promoted to a desk position."

"That'll be the day I die," she told Michael, laughing. Since she had already died, she didn't have to worry about being promoted.

He laughed, obviously relieved. "Yes, it will. You have room for dinner in a couple of nights?"

"Yeah, I should be free by then. Going to propose to me?" "I just might, this time."

"OK, how about next Monday, at eight?"

"Sounds good to me. See you then."

"I will. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Greer hung the phone up, grinning. Michael always found a way to crack her up. She hoped that nothing radical would happen in her life before then, for she really wanted to talk to him face to face. Maybe she could convince Michael to remain a friend even though they were now on opposite sides of the line.

Alberta knocked on the glass door to the patio. Greer had temporarily forgotten about her. She flushed with embarrassment and let Alberta in. Alberta held a long, slim case in her hands.

"Sorry about that, Alberta."

"That's all right. Old boyfriend?"

Greer laughed. "Current boyfriend. We're having dinner on Monday." "Good for you." Alberta said, and smiled wistfully. She hefted the case she was holding. "While you were talking to him, I got the chance to run to my car," she told Greer, and held the case out to her.

Greer took the case from her and opened it, almost dropping it in surprise. Inside was a sword, a gold-tinged rapier.

"I took this from another immortal I defeated. I meant to use it as a backup sword, but it will do just as good for you. Guard it well. It has to become a friend, or you will never survive."

Greer continued staring at the sword. She tried to prevent herself, but she could not. _My own sword?_ she thought.

"Now, let's teach you to use it. Come on, I know somewhere we can practice," Alberta told her, apparently amused as Greer stared at it.

Greer was barely able remember to close the case back up. She automatically locked the back and front doors. Alberta hauled her to the car.

* * *

Alberta and Greer sat on the ground. Greer was tired. Alberta had taught her what she called the "basic moves," and Greer found that it was quite tiring work.

She now knew how to hold a sword. She knew how to block a swing, and she knew how to swing towards the right spot. She also learned what not to do, such as get enthusiastic and overextend. And for the moment, she had to deal with Alberta's sword coming near her neck every couple of minutes.

Greer wondered briefly if she was dreaming all of the things that had happened to her. She was always dazzled with the swordfights she had seen, although now she knew why the victors seemed so tired.

She listened to Alberta, who was lost in memory. She kept talking about Silas, her mentor. "He taught me how to fight, although he said I was good with an axe. Quite slow and clumsy, since I was used to hacking firewood, not people. You would have liked him. In fact, if he were still alive, I'd seek him out and have him train you."

"He's dead?"

"Yes. He died, in 1846. Leland killed him. That's why I'm after Leland. He has to be stopped. He's killed quite a few of us, all immortals who would have left him alone."

"1844," Greer muttered. She wouldn't have thought that Alberta's memory would be so bad. _Things must get blurry over two hundred years,_ she thought.

"Yes, that's right, 1844," Alberta continued blissfully. Then confusion crossed her face. "How did you know that? I know I didn't tell you." Greer was not expecting Alberta to draw her sword and place it against her neck. She stayed frozen while trying to come up with what to say. She finally sighed.

"Oh, dear," Greer said. "Alberta, I'm not your enemy. How I know, well, that's going to take some explaining."

The sword was removed from across Greer's neck, but it still stayed threateningly near. "This had better be good."

"Where do I start?" Greer wondered to herself. Then she had an idea. She pushed up her sleeve until the tattoo on her wrist was bared. She showed her tattoo to Alberta, who appeared puzzled.

"I am part of an organization called the Watchers," she told Alberta. "We have been watching and recording the history of the immortals for centuries. No one is sure where we started. We always record and do not interfere. We are trained to watch and to be inconspicuous."

Greer rested her hands on her knees so the tattoo was still in sight. "I watch for a couple of months, then am pulled off so that the person that I am watching does not spot me. I carry this tattoo, as I have for thirteen years, to tell other Watchers that I am one too. Or was."

She looked at Alberta square in the face. "I was assigned to watch you when you arrived here a couple of weeks ago. I know where you've eaten, what you've done, what has happened to you," Greer said, starting to wave her hands in the air, as she often did while talking. "I know about your history, since I read your file before I started following you. I also know about Leland. I know the Watcher, Robert, that's watching him." Greer fell silent, unsure what else to tell Alberta. She knew that she could not betray much more than what she had said.

Alberta looked down, and then back up, her face a mixture of curiosity and rage. "How long...how far do my records go back?"

"I think the records go back to 1788, although I know someone was able to piece together the date for your first death in 1783," Greer said. Inwardly she wondered, _how do you tell someone that they've been constantly watched for a couple of centuries?_

Alberta's expression was thoughtful, and she was silent for a couple of minutes. "So you are not watching me anymore," she said finally.

"No." Greer said. She spoke plainly and honestly, as she wanted Alberta to understand her position. "I stopped watching the minute I woke up again in the warehouse. However, they don't know that."

"But you're still reporting in."

"I'm feeding false reports. I really hate feeding false reports, but I have no choice, you understand?" Greer looked downcast and confused. "My closest friends are all Watchers. I wander around so much following immortals, that my friends all have to understand what I'm doing."

Greer rested her chin on her hands. "I've got a few friends that aren't Watchers, but it's hard to keep up a friendship when you're travelling all the time. I hardly get to see my family, except at odd times," she said, sighing. She thought of all the family meetings she had missed during the years.

"I've known Robert for the last 5 years, on and off, since we've worked together before. Ditto for Michael. He's my supervisor for this current job. We used to talk a lot about getting married. I wonder if I should talk to him. I guess I can't now."

"Maybe someday, you'll be able to talk to him." Alberta told her consolingly. Although it was apparent that she didn't know what to do with Greer, she had switched back into a gentler mode.

"Yes, I hope so," Greer said sadly. She looked at Alberta. "You believe me?"

"I think so." Alberta said, somewhat unhappily. "I hope you'll understand that I don't think well of your career choice."

Greer nodded. "At the moment, I'm not feeling too good about it, either."

"Good," Alberta said. She got up, dusted herself off, and stood there looking at Greer.

"Do you want to practice more?" Greer asked. She wasn't really ready for more practice, but she could do it if Alberta said so.

Alberta firmly told her, "This is enough for today. You really need to rest."

Alberta lapsed into silence as they walked back to the car, and stayed silent all the way back to Greer's apartment. Greer herself worried that Alberta might decide that the Watchers were a threat, and start eliminating them. If that happened, the more radical factions of the Watchers might take that as an excuse to start killing immortals again, just as they had a year ago.

* * *

Alberta had shown up the next day, and the day after that, to train Greer. She had explained to her that although she was not comfortable with Greer's past, it really didn't matter to her now.

Shortly after Greer had had her second day of training, Michael had called to inform her that Robert had found Leland. She had been tired, and some of it must have crept into her voice, since Michael had inquired about it. She told him simply that the woman had been very active, and she had been tired out from it. She almost told him about what had happened to her, but finally, she couldn't.

It was a warm, sunny Saturday when Greer decided to take a walk in a local park. She wore the trenchcoat that Alberta had given her. Hidden under the trenchcoat was her sword, since Alberta told her to carry it as much as possible.

Alberta had gone off to hunt Leland, and she had told her pupil not to follow her. Greer, not anxious to run into Leland again, had agreed. Besides, she had seen Alberta's expression. _She doesn't trust me yet,_ Greer thought sadly.

Greer stopped in a low valley. For a second, she didn't know why, but then she recognized the chill down her spine that meant that another immortal had come near her. She looked around, placing her hand on the hilt of her sword.

She swung around in time to see Leland coming down the low hill that she herself had come down. For a second, she wondered why he wasn't dead. Then she realized that Alberta hadn't caught up to him yet.

"Good afternoon," he said politely, as he came within ten feet of her. She took an involuntary step backwards. "I think we need to talk again."

"I don't need to talk to you," she said coldly. She still remembered his grabbing of her.

"Good grief, the woman's been infected by her," Leland said, waving his hands towards the heavens. "I'm not as bad as she paints me. I kill, yes. But so does she. And so will you. Do you find that wrong? Do you find me wrong?" he asked her. He then looked at her seriously. "She is bent on revenge, plain and simple. The worst thing I ever did to her was to kill her teacher, as part of the Game."

"But you did kill him."

"I killed him as part of the Game. I was challenged by him, and I won. That is the reality," he said as he drove his fist into his other palm to emphasize the point.

Greer shook her head.

"Now I have to play the card that I was given. I told her that you would be dead if she pursued her vengeance. Now I am forced to do so."

Greer whipped out her sword. Leland smiled. "I wasn't about to suggest that you stand there and let me lop off your head. Much as I enjoy Quickenings, I prefer to savor them after a fight. I like to keep up my skills," he said thoughtfully. "Too bad I never really got back into wars after Culloden in 1746. Who knows, I could have ended the American Revolution. Of course, I had some problems at the time. And these modern wars aren't much fun."

He took his sword out from under his jacket and held it at the ready. He bowed to her, and then swung. She was surprised by the bow, and almost brought her sword up too late.

She blocked the blow, and came back with her own attack to his side. He blocked it effortlessly. He then managed to connect with her left arm. The pain was ricocheting through her body, but she gritted her teeth to block it. She was not entirely successful.

Several times they circled each other. Leland definitely had the advantage, as he used maneuvers that she had seen, but had never known how to counter. She knew that she was slowing down from the pain, but she would rather live with the pain than stop fighting and be dead.

A wild thought occurred to her as Leland slashed at her. She managed to parry, and took aim at his sword arm. She didn't manage to hurt him much, but he was slightly distracted. While he was inactive, she whacked him in the head with the flat part of her blade. He reeled, and while he was off balance, she pushed him over. He lost control of his sword, and she kicked it away. He looked up, obviously in pain.

"Well, I haven't seen that kind of inventiveness in a long time." he said, grim but trying to laugh. He tried to get his sword by reaching out, but she blocked him. He attempted to get up. She maneuvered behind him and kicked him again as he grabbed his sword. The resulting reflex caused him to cut himself in the arm. He dropped the sword again and grabbed his arm. He looked up at Greer.

"Go on. I obviously have gotten rusty. And it will be my final piece of satisfaction, that she wasn't the one who finally defeated me."

She had raised her sword for the killing blow, but stopped. _Why am I doing this?_ she thought. _I don't want to kill him: that's Alberta's job!_

He sighed, apparently irritated by her hesitation. "I ask this of you. As a last request. Otherwise, I will get up and make sure you are dead."

As she trembled, he stuck his neck out. Greer, left without any choice, swung. His lifeless body fell down, and Greer felt like she was going to throw her lunch up.

After a moment, she didn't have to worry about that. Leland's body glowed white, and wispy tendrils reached out to her, striking her. She felt as if something had exploded within her body. It was sizzlingly painful, and yet she felt more joyful, more powerful than ever. She felt as if knowledge and wisdom were using power tools to engrave themselves in her forever. She fell down, because she had lost all care for her balance. Even as she struck the ground, it was made warmly inviting and dizzyingly painful.

Then the sensation passed. She longed for the moment to go on forever, but it was gone. Her sword had fallen to the side, so she reached out and grabbed it. She used it to lever herself to her knees, for her recent experience had left her rather groggy.

She looked up, and saw movement at the corner of her eye. She turned over to a copse of trees, and was momentarily startled when she saw Robert. _Of course he'd be here,_ she thought. _Why couldn't I remember that Leland was being observed?_

Robert had a stunned expression on his face, followed by one of fright. She held out a hand in a silent plea, but he stepped backwards and then streaked away from her, out of her sight. She suddenly found herself bawling. She sat there for quite a few minutes before collecting herself. She knew that she had a lot to do.

* * *

When Greer got back to her apartment, Alberta was waiting for her. She shot a look at Greer's bloodstained clothes. "Leland? He found you? Is he still alive?"

"He won't be troubling anyone anymore," Greer said calmly. _Except for me, and my peace of mind_, she thought.

"I lost him. I kept looking for him, and I missed him. And he challenged you, to keep from fighting me," Alberta said wistfully.

Greer nodded, and frowned. "What's the matter?" Alberta asked. "He told me that you were out for revenge." "No, I wasn't." Alberta told her, then paused. She wrinkled her forehead in thought. "Well, I was sort of out for revenge. After all, he killed Silas. However, I hunted him for another reason. If him or someone like him wins the Prize, I shudder to think of what will happen. The one who wins the prize will probably be very, very powerful."

"And that's why you were after him."

"Yes."

Greer sighed, looking at the lean woman with the tired and sunken face. Then she went to her bedroom, and pulled her large suitcase from the closet. Alberta followed her in, and watched her pull her clothes from the same closet.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm packing," Greer said abruptly. "I was foolish and forgot that there was a Watcher watching Leland. Now they will know that I am immortal. I have to get away before they can track me."

"Where will you go?" Alberta asked.

"I don't know," Greer answered. "Somewhere a long way from here." Greer added a few odds and ends, including a few books. Then she zipped up her suitcase and paused.

"I remember hearing rumors that one of us, the Watchers that is, started talking to an immortal. What was the fellow's name... oh, yes, Joseph Dawson. Maybe, after I've lost them for a while, I can go to him." Greer paused, trying to place the name. "I met him once. He runs an antique bookstore in Seattle. I drank coffee in his office one time last year, when I was tracking an immortal named Felicia Martins. Maybe I can see him again, and we can catch up when I feel safer."

Alberta came up and gave Greer a hug. "Do whatever you need to do. Glad I don't have your problems. You need to remember that life in not all that bad. Enjoy yourself. I know _I'll_ be finding some enjoyment," she said, smiling at some fond memory. "In fact, there is this fellow I want to see again. Haven't seen him since 1890. Wonder if he's busy?"

Greer smiled briefly. She then bundled envelopes, stationery, and stamps into the suitcase. Greer answered Alberta's unspoken question. "I have to take care of something."

Greer picked up the suitcase, and took it towards the front door. She was going to open the door, but Alberta beat her to it. Greer smiled gratefully as she maneuvered the suitcase out. After she locked her front door, Alberta walked to her car. She waved, with a sad smile, got into the car, and drove away. Greer watched her go. She smiled, and dumped her suitcase into the back of her station wagon. She drove away from the apartment building, and did not stop until she had reached the post office. Once there, she wrote a letter:

"Dear Michael,

I'm sorry this has to end this way, but it does. No doubt by now, Robert has told you of the events in the park. I never meant to deceive you, but I had little choice. I am leaving our group. Obviously now I cannot remain. I would stay for dinner, but I have discovered that I cannot stand to be observed.

Enclosed is the key to the apartment. You are welcome to keep anything you want, for I no longer care. Be assured that I love you, and would not do anything to harm you. I pray that someday we will be able to meet somewhere across the lines fate has decreed for us. Until then, we can only hope.

love,

Greer"

She put the key in with the letter. She had already stamped and addressed the envelope. She put it in the mailbox, where she thought she heard it thump.

After that, she drove away, not caring what direction she was going, only that she was going towards the future.

***THE END***