Invasion

Beau reached out tentatively to avoid frightening Cassy any more than she already was. Compressing his snakelike fingers into a fist of sorts he stroked her cheek.

Cassy had to steel herself against the revulsion she felt to allow this creature to caress her.

"I must make a confession," Beau said. "At first I tried not to think about you. Initially it was easy because of the work that had to be done. But you kept creeping back into my thoughts and made me comprehend the beguiling power of human emotion. It is a weakness unique in the galaxy.

"The human in me loves you, Cassy, and I'm excited about the prospect of being able to give you many worlds. I long for you to want to be one of us."

"They are not coming," Sheila said. "As painful as that reality is, I'm afraid we're going to have to accept it." She stood up and stretched. It had been a sleepless night.

Through the cabin's windows the early morning sun could be seen bathing the tops of the trees on the western shore of the lake. The surface of the lake was covered with a mist that the rising sun would quickly dissipate.

"And if that's reality," Sheila added, "then we have to get our asses out of here before we have uninvited visitors."

Neither Pitt nor Jonathan responded. They were sitting on opposing couches, slouched forward with their chins craddled in their hands and elbows resting on their knees.

Their expressions were a mixture of exhaustion, disbelief, and grief.

"Well, we don't have time to take everything," Sheila was saying. "But I think we should take all the data and the tissue cultures that we hope are producing some virions."

"What about my mom?" Jonathan said. "And Cassy and Jesse? What if they come back here looking for us?''

"We've been over this," Sheila said. "Let's not make it more difficult than it already is."

"I don't think we should leave either," Pitt said. Although he'd given up hope about Cassy, he still thought Nancy and Jesse might appear.

"Listen, you two," Sheila said. "Two hours ago you agreed we'd wait until dawn. Now it's dawn. The longer we wait the more chance there is that we will be caught."

"But where will we go?" Pitt asked.

"I'm afraid we'll have to play it by ear," Sheila said. "Come on, let's start getting things ready."

Pitt pushed himself off the couch and stood up. He looked at Sheila, and his expression mirrored his great pain. She softened, stepped over to the couch, and gave him a hug.

Jonathan got up with sudden resolve and went over to his laptop. Flipping it open he began rapidly typing. After sending his message, he stared blankly at the screen. Within minutes an answer came back.

"Hey," he called out to Sheila and Pitt. "I just contacted Dr. M. He's changed his mind. He's willing to meet us. What do you say?''

"I'm naturally skeptical," Sheila admitted. "The idea of putting our lives into the hands of somebody we only know as Doc M sounds absurd. But then again, he's been sending us intriguing data."

"It's not as if we have a lot of choices," Jonathan said.

"Let me see his latest message," Pitt said. He moved over to Jonathan and read over his shoulder. Finishing, he glanced up at Sheila. "I think we should take the chance. I can't imagine he's not legitimate. Hell, Dr. M has been as scared about us as we've been about him."

"It's better than just going out on the road and wandering around," Jonathan said. "Besides, he's obviously connected to the Internet. That means we can leave a message here, so if my mom or the others come back they'll at least be able to contact us."

"All right, you two," Sheila said, relenting. "I suppose it is a compromise. We'll meet this Dr. M, but it means getting the hell out of here, so let's get cracking."

"Cassy, I know it is hard for you," Beau Said. "I don't look at myself in the mirror any more. But you have to get beyond that."

Cassy was leaning on the balustrade, looking out over the halcyon view of the institute's grounds. The sun had come up and the morning dew was just about gone. Out in the driveway there was a steady single-file stream of infected people who were arriving from around the globe.

"We are building an amazing environment here," Beau said. "And it is about to spread around the world. It's truly a new beginning."

"I was partial to our old world," Cassy said.

"You can't mean that," Beau said. "Not with all the problems there were. Humans had steered the Earth into a collision course with self-destruction, especially over the last half century. And that shouldn't be, because the Earth is an amazing place. There are innumerable planets in the galaxy but few as warm and wet and as inviting as this one."

Cassy closed her eyes. She was exhausted and needed sleep, yet some of the things Beau was saying did make a modicum of sense. She forced herself to try to think. "When did the virus first come to Earth?" she asked.