Invasion

Pitt dashed ahead and ducked into the shadowy doorway of a building at the edge of the entrance to the supermarket's parking lot. Almost immediately the cars began moving and turned in his direction. As they gathered speed they formed into a single line. Pitt pressed himself back into his hiding place as the lights of the leading car swept across the front of him.

Moments later the first of the six cars passed within twenty feet of Pitt. It hesitated momentarily before turning out into the street, giving Pitt a fleeting look at the smiling faces of infected occupants.

Each car in turn passed. As the last car hesitated, Pitt caught his breath. A shiver of abject horror passed down his spine. Seated in the backseat was Cassy!

Unable to restrain himself and without considering the consequences, Pitt took a step forward as if he'd planned on racing to the car and yanking open the door. The low-level ambient light washed over him, and at that moment Cassy glanced in his direction.

For the briefest fraction of a second their eyes met. Pitt urged himself forward, but Cassy shook her head and the moment passed. The car lurched forward and quickly accelerated off into the night.

Pitt staggered back against the darkened door. He was furious with himself for not having done anything. Yet deep down he knew it would have been hopeless. All he could see when he closed his eyes was the image of Cassy's face framed in the car window.

17

5:15 A.M.

The dazzling desert night sky that had been awash with stars was fast fading to shades of pinkish blue as the promise of another day brightened the eastern sky. Dawn was coming.

Beau had been on the terrace off the master bedroom enjoying the night air since he'd heard the good news. Now he was impatiently waiting for the last few minutes to pass. He knew the meeting was imminent since he'd seen the car come along the driveway and disappear from view in front of the mansion.

Beau heard footfalls through the bedroom and the sound of the latch on the French doors opening. But he didn't turn around. He kept his eyes rooted at the place on the horizon where the sun was about to appear for a new day, a new beginning.

"You have company," Alexander said. Then he withdrew and closed the doors behind him.

Beau watched the first golden rays of sun sparkle forth. He felt a curious stirring in his body that in one sense he understood but in another sense he found mysterious and threatening.

"Hello, Cassy," Beau said, breaking the silence. Slowly he turned around. He was dressed in a dark velvet robe.

Cassy lifted her hands to shield the rays of the sun which silhouetted Beau's face. She couldn't see his features.

"Is that you, Beau?" she asked.

"Of course it is I," Beau said. He moved forward.

Suddenly Cassy could see him clearly and she caught her breath. He'd mutated further. The small patch of skin behind his ear she'd inadvertently seen on her previous visit had spread to the front of his neck up to the line of his jaw. Some fingers of it had even spread up onto his cheeks in a serpiginous margin. His scalp was a patchwork quilt of thinning hair and alien skin. His mouth, although still smiling, was now pinched and thin-lipped, and his teeth had receded and yellowed. His eyes were black holes with no irises, and they blinked continuously, with the lower lid rising up rather than vice versa.

Cassy shrank back in utter horror.

"Don't be afraid," Beau said. He moved up to her and placed his arms around her.

Cassy stiffened. Beau's fingers felt like snakes as they wrapped around portions of her body. And there was an indescribable feral odor.

"Please, Cassy, don't be afraid," Beau said. "It's only me, Beau."

Cassy didn't respond. She had to struggle against an almost irresistible urge to scream.

Beau leaned back, forcing her to again look into his transmogrified face.

"I've missed you so much," Beau said.

With a sudden, unexpected burst of energy, Cassy screamed and pushed herself free. The move caught Beau completely by surprise. "How could you say you missed me?" Cassy cried. "You're not Beau any longer."

"But I am," Beau said soothingly. "I will always be Beau. But I'm also something more. I am a mixture of my former human self and a species almost as ancient as the galaxy itself."

Cassy warily eyed Beau. One part of her told her to flee, another part was paralyzed by the horror of it all.

"You will be part of the new life as well," Beau said.

"Everyone will be a part, at least those who are not harboring some terrible genetic flaw. I just had the honor of being the first, but it was a random event. It could have been you or anyone else."

"So, am I talking with Beau now?" Cassy asked. "Or am I talking with the virus's consciousness through the medium of Beau?"

"The answer, as I've already said, is both," Beau said patiently. "But the alien consciousness increases with every person changed. The alien consciousness is a composite of all the infected humans just like a human brain is a composite of its individual cells."