Invasion

Reluctantly Fenton moved sideways, continuing to keep his beloved telescope in view. As he approached Beau and the others, it was apparent he was sick.

"He has the flu," Carlton whispered to Beau. "I didn't expect him to come over."

Beau nodded knowingly. "I understand," he said.

Fenton reached his boss's side. He was pale and feverish. He sneezed violently. Carlton introduced him to Beau and explained that Beau was borrowing portions of the telescope.

"Borrowing?" Fenton repeated. He was totally confused. "I don't understand."

Carlton put his hand on Fenton's shoulder. "Of course you don't understand," he said. "But you will. I promise you that you will and sooner than you imagine."

"Okay!" Beau called out while clapping his hands loudly. "Back to work, everyone. Let's get it done."

Despite Carlton's comments, Fenton was aghast at the destruction he was witnessing and voiced his confusion. Carlton drew him aside to try to explain it.

"I'm glad Dr. Hoffman was here," Alexander said.

Beau nodded. But he was no longer thinking about the interruption. He was thinking about Cassy.

"Tell me, Alexander," Beau said. "Have you been able to locate that woman I asked you about?"

"Cassy Winthrope," Alexander said. He knew instantly to whom Beau was referring. "She's not been located. Obviously she's not one of us yet."

"Hmm," Beau said pensively. "I never should have let her out of my sight when she made her surprise visit. I don't know what came over me. I supposed it was some vestigial romantic human trait. It's embarrassing. At any rate, find her."

"We'll find her," Alexander said. "No doubt."

The last mile was rough going, but Jesse's van managed to navigate the ruts in the poorly maintained dirt road.

"The cabin is just around the next bend," Jesse said.

"Thank God!" Sheila complained.

Finally the van lurched to a stop. In front of them was a log cabin nestled into a stand of gigantic virgin pines. Sunlight slanted down through the needles in startlingly bright shafts of light.

"Where are we?" Sheila questioned. "Timbuktu?"

"Hardly," Jesse laughed. "It's got electricity, telephone, TV, running water, and a flush toilet."

"You make it sound like a Four Seasons Hotel," Sheila said.

"I think it's beautiful," Cassy said.

"Come on," Jesse said. "Let me show you the inside and the lake that's out back."

They climbed stiffly from the car, especially Sheila and Nancy. All grabbed the meager belongings they had with them. Jonathan carried his laptop.

The air was clean and crisp and smelled of pine needles. The fresh breeze made a slight sighing noise as it passed through the tall evergreen trees. The sound of birds was everywhere.

"How'd you happen to buy this cabin?" Pitt asked as they mounted the front porch. The posts and balustrade were tree trunks. The deck was rough-hewn planks of pine.

"We bought this place mostly for the fishing," Jesse explained. "Annie was the fisherman, not me. After she passed on I couldn't get myself to sell it. Not that I come here that often, especially over the last couple of years."

Jesse wrestled open the front door, and everybody went inside. It smelled mildly musty. The interior was dominated by a huge fieldstone fireplace that went all the way to the peak of the cathedral ceiling. There was a galleylike kitchen to the right, with a hand pump over a soapstone sink. To the left were two bedrooms. The door to the bathroom was to the right of the fireplace.

"I think it is charming," Nancy said.

"Well, it's certainly remote," Sheila said.

"I can't imagine we could have found a better place," Cassy said.

"Let's air it out," Jesse said.

For the next half hour they made the cabin as comfortable as possible. En route from the city they had stopped at a supermarket and loaded up with groceries. The men carried them in from the van and the women put them away.

Jesse insisted on making a fire even though it wasn't cold. "It'll take the dampness out of the place," he explained. "And come evening, you'll be glad it's going. It gets cold here at night, even this time of year."

Finally they all collapsed on the gingham couches and captain's chairs that were grouped around the fireplace. Pitt was using Jonathan's computer.

"We should be safe here," Jonathan said. He'd opened a pack of potato chips and was crunching away.

"For a while," Jesse said. "No one at the station knew about this place to the best of my knowledge. But we ain't here for a vacation. What are we going to do about what's going on out in the world?"

"How fast can this flu spread to everyone?" Cassy asked.

"How fast?" Sheila questioned. "I think we've had ample demonstration."