“What should we do?” Cassy asked.
“What we came here for,” Jesse said. “Hell, this makes it easier. I thought I was going to have to break into the place.”
The group moved forward tentatively and looked into the store through one of the broken floor-to-ceiling windows. It was eerily quiet.
“It’s a mess, but it doesn’t look like much of the merchandise has been taken,” Nancy said. “It appears that whoever did this was mostly interested in the cash registers.”
From where they were standing they could see that the cash drawers on all the registers were open.
“Stupid people!” Jesse commented. “If civil authority breaks down, paper money is going to be worth only what it’s printed on.”
Jesse took one last look around the empty parking lot. He didn’t see a soul. “I wonder why there is no one around here?” he asked. “They all seem to be walking around the rest of the city. But let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Let’s do it.”
They stepped through the broken window and headed up the central aisle toward the pharmacy, which was located in the back. The walking was difficult in the half light since the floor was covered with scattered cans, bottles, and boxes of food stuff that had been knocked from the shelves.
The pharmacy section was divided from the rest of the store by a wire mesh grate that rolled out of the ceiling and locked to the floor. Whoever had ransacked the grocery section had also been into the pharmacy. A rough hole was cut in the grate with a pair of chain cutters that were still on the floor.
Jesse held the jagged edges of the hole apart so Nancy could squeeze through. She quickly reconnoitered behind the pharmacy desk.
“What’s it look like?” Jesse asked from outside the grate.
“The narcotics are gone,” Nancy said, “but that’s no problem. The antiviral drugs are here and so are the antibiotics. Give me about ten minutes and I’ll have what I need.”
Jesse turned to Cassy. “Let’s you and I get those provisions,” he said.
Cassy and Jesse went back to the front of the store and got bags. Then they started down the appropriate aisles. Cassy selected the items while Jesse played porter.
They were in the middle of the pasta section when Jesse slipped on fluid spilled from a broken bottle. The fluid had made the vinyl floor as slippery as ice.
Cassy managed to grab his arm to help keep him upright. Even after he regained his balance, his feet continued to slide around, forcing him to walk with his legs wide apart. It was like a comedy routine.
Cassy bent over and looked at the bottle. “No wonder,” she said. “It’s olive oil. So be careful!”
“Careful is my middle name,” Jesse said. “How do you think I lasted thirty years as a cop?” He smiled and shook his head. “Funny, I’d been hoping for one big last hurrah before retiring. But I got to tell you, this episode is a lot more than I bargained for.”
“It’s a lot more than any of us bargained for,” Cassy added.
They rounded the corner and entered the aisle with all the cereals. Cassy had to push through an enormous pile of boxes which included some large cardboard containers. All all at once she sucked in her breath as if shocked. Jesse was at her side in an instant.
“What’s the matter?” he demanded.
Cassy pointed. In the middle of what had been a crude hut constructed from the boxes was the cherubic face of a young boy. He was no more than five years old. His skin was smudged and his clothing disheveled.
“Good Lord!” Jesse blurted out. “What’s he doing in here?”
Cassy instinctively bent down to pick the child up. Jesse grabbed her arm.
“Hold on,” Jesse said. “We don’t know anything about him.”
Cassy made a motion to free her arm, but Jesse held firm.
“He’s only a child,” Cassy said. “He’s terrified.”
“But we don’t know…” Jesse began.
“We can’t just leave him here,” Cassy said.
Reluctantly Jesse let go of Cassy’s arm. Cassy bent over and extracted the child from his house of cereal boxes. The boy instinctively clung to Cassy, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
“What’s your name?” Cassy asked the child while gently patting his back. She was surprised by the strength with which he held her.
Cassy and Jesse exchanged glances. They were both thinking the same thing: How was this unexpected event going to impact their already desperate situation?
“Come on, now,” Cassy said to the child. “Everything is going to be okay. You’re safe, but we need to know your name so we can talk to you.”
Slowly the child leaned back.
Cassy smiled warmly at the boy and was about to reassure him again when she noticed the child was smiling as if ecstatic. And even more shocking were his eyes. His pupils were enormous, and they glowed as if illuminated from within.
Feeling an instinctive wave of revulsion Cassy bent over to put the child down. She tried to maintain hold of his arm, but he was unexpectedly strong and twisted from her grip and scurried away toward the front of the store.
“Hey!” Jesse called out. “Come back here!” Jesse started after the boy.
“He’s infected,” Cassy yelled.
“I know,” Jesse said. “That’s why I don’t want him to get away.”
Running down the aisle in the half light was not easy for Jesse. The soles of his shoes still had traces of olive oil, making traction difficult. On top of that were all the cans, bottles, and boxes of scattered merchandise.
The boy seemed to have no problem navigating the obstacles and reached the front of the store well before Jesse. Positioning himself before one of the broken windows, he raised his chubby hand and opened his fingers. A black disc immediately levitated off his palm and disappeared out into the night.
Jesse reached the boy out of breath from all the slipping and sliding he’d been doing. He was also limping slightly from a bruise on his hip. He’d taken a fall near one of the cash registers and had collided with a can of tomato soup.
“Okay, son,” Jesse said, trying to catch his breath as he turned the boy around. “What’s the story. Why are you in here?”
Sporting the same exaggerated smile the child gazed up into Jesse’s face. He didn’t say a word.
“Come on, boy,” Jesse said. “I’m not asking much.”
Cassy came up behind Jesse and looked over his shoulder.
“What did he do?” she asked.
“Nothing as far as I can tell,” Jesse said. “He just ran up here and stopped. But I wish he’d wipe that smile off his face. I feel like he’s mocking us.”
Both Cassy and Jesse saw the headlights at the same moment. A vehicle had turned into the supermarket’s parking lot and was coming toward them.
“Oh no!” Jesse said. “Just what we didn’t want: company.”
It was immediately apparent that the vehicle was coming at a high rate of speed. Both Cassy and Jesse instinctively took several steps backward. A screech of tires against the asphalt heralded the car’s sudden halt directly in front of the store. The high beams flooded the interior with blinding light. Both Cassy and Jesse held up their hands to shield their eyes. The child ran toward the light and disappeared in its glare.
“Get Nancy and get out the back of the store!” Jesse forcibly whispered.
“What about you?” Cassy asked.
“I’ll keep them company,” Jesse said. “If I’m not back at the rendezvous location in fifteen minutes, leave without me. I’ll find another vehicle to get back.”
“Are you sure?” Cassy questioned. She did not like the idea of leaving without Jesse.
“Of course I’m sure,” Jesse snapped. “Now get!”
Cassy’s eyes had adjusted enough so that she could just make out indistinct figures climbing down from either side of the vehicle. The headlights’ intensity still precluded seeing any details.
Cassy turned and fled back into the
depths of the store. Halfway up the aisle, she turned momentarily to see Jesse stepping out through the broken window, heading directly into the blinding light.
Cassy ran as best she could and purposefully collided with the grate separating the pharmacy section from the market. Gripping it with her hands she noisily shook it and called out for Nancy. Nancy’s head popped up from behind the pharmacy desk. Nancy immediately saw the light coming from the front of the store.
“What’s going on?” she demanded.
Cassy was breathless. “Trouble,” she said. “We got to get out of here.”
“Okay,” Nancy said. “I’ve got everything anyway.” She came from behind the counter and tried to push through the hole in the mesh. The cut ends of the wires had other ideas, and she was snagged.
“Here, take this,” Nancy said, handing her sack of drugs to Cassy. Using both hands she tried to extract herself. She found it was not easy.
The light coming from the front of the store was suddenly dramatically augmented. At the same time a whooshing sound commenced and rapidly increased. When it reached earsplitting levels it cut off with such suddenness that its concussive effect knocked some teetering merchandise off shelving.
“Oh no!” Nancy moaned.
“What?” Cassy demanded.
“That was the sound when Eugene was consumed,” Nancy said. “Where’s Jesse?”
“Come on!” Cassy yelled. “We have to get out of here.”
She put down the parcel Nancy had given her and tried to pull back the edges of the wire mesh. Flashlight beams began sweeping around the inside of the store.
“Go!” Nancy cried. “Take the package and run!”
“Not without you,” Cassy said, struggling with the stiff wire.
“All right,” Nancy said. “You hold this side, and I’ll push the other.” Working together they were at last able to free Nancy.
Nancy grabbed the bag of drugs and together they began to run along the back of the store. They didn’t have a specific destination. They were merely counting on the store having a back entrance. Instead all they found was an interminable frozen food bin.
Reaching the far corner, they turned into the first aisle and headed forward. They thought that by running along the periphery of the building they’d eventually find a door. But they didn’t get far. Ahead a shadowy group of people rounded the corner. Most were carrying flashlights.
A simultaneous whimper of fear escaped from both Cassy’s and Nancy’s lips. What made the group particularly frightening was their eyes. They glowed in the dim light of the store like distant galaxies in a night sky.
Cassy and Nancy simultaneously reversed directions only to be confronted by a second group coming from behind. Huddling together they waited as the two groups closed in on them. When the people were close enough for the women to see their features, it was obvious they were equally divided between male and female, elderly and young. What they had in common was their glowing eyes and their plastic smiles.
For a few moments nothing happened except the infected people completely surrounded the women and pressed in on them. Cassy and Nancy were back to back with their hands clasped over their mouths. Nancy had dropped her bag of drugs.
Terrified at being touched, Cassy screamed when one of the infected people suddenly lunged for her and grabbed her wrist.
“Cassy Winthrope, I presume,” the man said with a short laugh. “This is indeed a pleasure. You have been missed.”
PITT DRUMMED HIS FINGERS ON THE STEERING WHEEL OF Jesse’s van. Jonathan fidgeted in the passenger seat. Both were anxious.
“How long has it been now?” Jonathan asked.
“They are twenty-five minutes late,” Pitt said.
“What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Pitt said. “If anybody was going to have trouble I thought it would have been us.”
“As long as we kept smiling, nobody seemed to care what the hell we did,” Jonathan said.
“Stay here!” Pitt said suddenly. “I got to check on that supermarket. If I’m not back here in fifteen minutes, drive back to the cabin.”
“But how will you get back?” Jonathan whined.
“There’s plenty of deserted vehicles around,” Pitt said. “That won’t be the problem.”
“But…”
“Just do it,” Pitt snapped. He climbed out of the van and quickly descended the bluff. He emerged from the trees on a deserted street and set out toward the supermarket. He estimated he had about six blocks before he’d have to turn for the final block.
Ahead an individual came out of a building and turned in Pitt’s direction. Pitt could see his eyes glowing. Suppressing an urge to flee Pitt coaxed his face into a broad smile just as he and Jonathan had done in the medical center. Having already smiled so much his facial muscles were sore.
Pitt found it was nerve-racking to walk directly at the changed person. He had to concentrate not only on the smile but also in keeping his eyes directly ahead. He and Jonathan had learned the hard way that any eye contact was viewed suspiciously.
The man passed without incident, and Pitt breathed a sigh of relief. What a way to live, he mused sadly. How long could they survive this cat and mouse game?
Pitt rounded the corner and approached the supermarket. The first thing he saw was a group of cars parked directly in front of the store. What worried him was the fact that their lights were on. As he got closer he could hear their engines were running as well.
Reaching the edge of the parking lot, Pitt saw a tight group of people emerge from the store and begin to climb into the cars. Soon the sound of slamming car doors reached him.
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 t
hat 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.