title: Kat, with a K
author:  Nelli Burk 
description: Nelli Burk is a retired biology teacher. She derives inspiration from real life and from the scientific literature, as well as from the SF&amp;F literature and media and from her own imagination. Other creative interests include knitting, costume construction, and folk dancing.
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  [Contents](0671577891_toc.htm)
  
  # CHAPTER SIX
  
  ## MENGNU
  
  When the guard came, Kati was instantly awake.
  
  Her head ached and she felt as if she'd not slept at all, yet apparently she
  had, for she was on the cot, a light blanket over her. The guard came in with
  a tray of food and put it on the table when he saw she was awake. "Someone is
  coming for you," he said, then left the room and closed the door again.
  
  She was ravenous. There was bread and cheese, a hot, grainy cereal with milk
  added to it, a small pot of tea. She wolfed it down greedily, drank all the
  tea, then relieved herself on the fancy toilet in the corner.
  
  She waited on the cot only a few minutes before there was a soft knock on the
  door and it opened slightly. A small face peered around the edge of it. A
  woman. An old woman.
  
  "Kati?"
  
  She nodded, and the woman came in, and instantly there was a presence in
  Kati's mind. _She is a Searcher_ , thought Kati, amazed.
  
  