Transmission

Professor Brewster looked as though he was trying to gather himself to say that there was no problem, that it was all fine, but he seemed to be having trouble doing it. He was still trying to say it when the scientists the aliens controlled picked up a metal chair and started to hammer at the glass with it like a battering ram, all three of them working in concert as the sound of it boomed around the facility.

Cracks started to appear on the glass. Kevin saw them spread like a spider’s web over the surface, rippling out and joining with every blow. Ted leveled his gun at the scientists, but it didn’t make them stop, or even slow.

The glass broke, and they charged out. Kevin heard Ted’s gun go off, but it didn’t seem to make any difference. Kevin saw those scientists who weren’t wearing masks freeze in place, gasping as they grabbed at their throats, then straightening up. One lunged at a neighbor who was masked, ripping it away and then breathing out a clear mist that filled the space in front of them. In moments, that scientist was converted too.

One grabbed Kevin, ripping away the mask he wore. Kevin tried to hold his breath, tried to pull away, but there was no way to do it. A foul-smelling vapor stole over him…

…and nothing happened.

Luna smashed into the side of the scientist holding Kevin. She was small, but she’d had plenty of experience hitting people bigger than herself, and it was at least enough to make the scientist loosen his grip.

“Run!” Ted yelled. “Get to the bunker!”

He started firing his gun into the melee. It didn’t stop the scientists. Whatever was controlling them didn’t seem to care about human things like pain, or the damage being done to the bodies they held in their grasp. As Kevin watched, three scientists grabbed hold of Ted, dragging him down.

Kevin wanted to help Ted, wanted to dart forward and pull him out of the mess, but there was no way to do it, no way to even begin to help. The most that he could do was grab Luna’s arm and pull her clear, the two of them running from the advancing scientists.

Looking back, Kevin saw them transforming one by one. He saw Dr. Levin gasp, clutching at her throat as the gas got into her, then straighten up in a way that was far too calm, far too still.

He saw Professor Brewster shift in a matter of moments, the gas overwhelming him.

Some part of him thought that Ted would somehow fight it off, that he would break clear and come to help them. Kevin let out a heartbroken cry as he saw the soldier go still, then stand, joining in the others as they chased them.

They hurried together down the facility’s corridors, more and more scientists following after them with a determination that wasn’t human anymore, wasn’t even close to it. Looking back, Kevin could see Ted, Dr. Levin, and Professor Brewster, just as alien as all the rest. A part of him wanted to just collapse to his knees, broken by the shock of it. Only Luna’s presence beside him kept him running.

“This way,” Luna said, pulling him down a side corridor, then off through a series of rooms holding scientific equipment. They ducked down behind a series of large microscopes, holding still while, beyond the doors, alien-possessed scientists advanced through the facility, almost mindlessly, grabbing hold of anyone they encountered to convert them.

Luna knelt, and she stared at Kevin. “Let me look in your eyes.”

Kevin knew what he had to be looking for. “I’m not an alien.”

“No, you’re not, but you should be. I don’t know how you aren’t.” She shook her head. “What do we do?”

She seemed to take it for granted that there would be something they could do. Kevin didn’t. If his disease had taught him anything, it was that there were some things it was impossible to do anything about.

“Ted said to get to the bunker,” Kevin said.

Luna nodded. “Do you have the key?”

Kevin held it up.

“Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”

Kevin led the way, creeping through the scientific equipment, heading in the direction of the elevators. Every so often they would stop, and both Kevin and Luna would freeze in place, waiting while scientists moved past. There weren’t many now. Kevin guessed that they were probably moving through the rest of the facility, converting people as they went. It was a little like those days when they crept into places they shouldn’t be, and had to keep out of sight of adults, only really, it was nothing like that. They weren’t just going to be given a stern warning or told to move on if they were caught.

The elevators lay ahead, just beyond a room full of plants set out for testing. In front of them, half a dozen of the scientists stood waiting, as if knowing that the two of them would be going that way.

They probably did know, Kevin realized. From what had happened in the lab, it looked as though they had access to the thoughts and memories of the people they controlled, so why wouldn’t they know about the bunker?

“What do we do?” Luna asked.

Kevin tried to think. “We need a distraction.”