Invasion (16 page)

“Really?” Cassy asked.

“Absolutely,” Beau said. “Let me get him so you can meet him properly. He’s a great dog.”

Cassy nodded, and Beau left the room. Cassy took a deep breath. So much seemed to be happening. Heading for the bathroom to wash her face, Cassy noticed that Beau’s computer was running some weird, rapid program. Cassy hesitated and looked at the monitor. Data in the form of text and graphics was appearing and disappearing from the screen at bewildering speed. Then she noticed something else. Sitting in front of Beau’s infrared port was the curious black object that Beau had found a few days previously in the parking lot of Costa’s
Diner. Cassy had forgotten it, and remembering that the men had said it was heavy, she reached for it.

“Here’s the monster,” Beau called, diverting Cassy’s attention. Following Beau’s commands, King was happy to bound over to Cassy and lick her hand.

“What a rough tongue,” Cassy said.

“He’s a great dog,” Beau said, beaming.

Cassy patted King’s flank. “He is solid,” she said. “How much does he weigh?” She was wondering how many cans of dog food he’d need each day.

“I’d guess about one-twenty-five,” Beau said.

Cassy scratched King behind the ear, then nodded toward Beau’s computer. “What’s going on with your PC? It looks like it’s running out of control.”

“It’s just downloading some data off the Internet,” Beau said. He stepped over to the machine. “I guess I could turn off the monitor.”

“You’re going to print all that?” Cassy said. “You’ll have to get a lot more paper than we have.”

Beau switched off the monitor but made certain the light on the hard drive kept up its rapid blinking.

“So what’s it going to be?” Beau said, straightening up. “The Chinese take-out or the Bistro. It’s your call.”

BEAU’S EYES SNAPPED OPEN SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH
King’s. Pushing up on one elbow Beau glanced across Cassy’s sleeping form to see the time. It was 2:30
A.M.

Being careful to keep the bedsprings from squeaking, Beau eased his legs from beneath the covers and stood up. He patted King’s head before slipping on his clothes. Then
he moved over to his computer. A moment earlier the red light on his hard drive had finally stopped blinking.

He picked up the black disc and slipped it into his pocket. Using a notepad next to his computer he scribbled: “Gone for a walk. Be right back. Beau.”

After placing the note on his pillow, he and King silently left the apartment.

Beau exited the building and walked around to the parking lot. King stayed at his side without a leash. It was another gorgeous night with the broad stripe of the Milky Way galaxy arching directly overhead. There was no moon, and the stars appeared more dazzling as a consequence.

Toward the rear of the parking lot Beau found an area devoid of cars. Taking the black disc from his pocket, he placed it on the asphalt. Almost the moment it left his hand, it began to glow. By the time Beau and King were fifty feet away it had begun to form its corona and was beginning to turn from red to white-hot.

CASSY HAD BEEN SLEEPING RESTLESSLY ALL NIGHT WITH
anxiety-filled dreams. She had no idea what had awakened her, but all at once she found herself staring at the ceiling. It was being progressively illuminated by an unusual light.

Cassy sat up. The whole room had a peculiar, mounting glow, and it was apparent that it was streaming in through the window. As she began to slip out of bed to investigate, she noticed Beau was absent just as he’d been the night before. This time, however, she could see that there was a note.

Taking the note with her, Cassy padded across the floor to the window and looked out. She saw the source of the glow immediately. It was a white ball of light which was rapidly increasing its intensity so that the surrounding cars were casting dark shadows.

In the next instant the light disappeared as if it had been suddenly snuffed out. It gave Cassy the impression it had imploded. An instant later she heard a loud whooshing sound that ended equally abruptly.

Having no idea of what she’d just seen, Cassy wondered if she should call the police. While debating with herself, she started to turn back into the room when movement out in the parking lot caught her attention. Refocusing her eyes, she saw a man and a dog. Almost immediately she recognized Beau and King.

Certain he must have seen the ball of light, she was about to yell down to him when she saw other figures emerge out of the shadows. To her surprise thirty or forty people mystically appeared.

There were a few streetlights bordering the parking area, so Cassy could just make out some of the faces. At first she didn’t recognize anyone. But then she saw two people she thought she knew. She thought she saw Mr. and Mrs. Partridge!

Cassy forced herself to blink several times. Was she really awake or was this a dream? A shudder passed through her. It was terrifying to be confused about her sense of reality. It gave her an immediate appreciation of the horror of psychiatric illness.

Looking again Cassy saw that the people had all congregated in the center of the parking lot. It was as if they
were having a clandestine meeting. She thought briefly about putting on her clothes and going out to see what it was all about, but she had to admit to herself that she was frightened. The whole situation was surreal.

Then suddenly she had the sense that King had spotted her at the window. The dog’s head had turned in her direction, and his eyes glowed like a cat’s eyes when a light is shined in them. A bark from King made all the people look up, including Beau.

Cassy stepped back from the window in shocked surprise. All the people’s eyes were glowing like King’s. It gave her a shiver, and again she had to wonder if she were dreaming.

She stumbled back to her bed in the darkness and turned on the light. She read the note, hoping there might be some explanation, but it was completely generic. She put the note on the night table and wondered what she should do. Should she call the police? If she did, what would she say? Would they laugh at her? Or if they came would it turn out to be a big embarrassment if there were some reasonable explanation.

All at once she thought of Pitt. Snapping up the phone, she started to dial. But she didn’t finish. She remembered it was three o’clock in the morning. What could he do or say? Cassy replaced the receiver and sighed.

Cassy decided she’d just have to wait for Beau to return. She had no idea what was going on, but she was going to find out. She’d confront Beau and demand that he tell her.

Having made a decision, even a passive one, Cassy felt a little less anxious. She leaned back against her pillow
and tucked her hands behind her head. She tried not to think about what she’d just seen. Instead she made a conscious effort to relax by concentrating on her breathing.

Cassy heard the front door to the apartment squeak, and she sat bolt upright. She’d been asleep which made her wonder if she’d been dreaming after all. But a glance at the bedside table revealed Beau’s note, and the fact that the light was on told her it had not been a dream.

Beau and King appeared at the doorway with Beau carrying his shoes. He was trying to be quiet.

“You’re still awake,” Beau said. He sounded disappointed.

“Waiting for you,” Cassy said.

“I trust you got my note?” Beau asked. He tossed his shoes into the closet and started peeling off his clothes.

“I did,” Cassy said. “I appreciated it.” Cassy struggled with herself. She wanted to ask her questions but she felt a reluctance. The whole situation was like a nightmare.

“Good,” Beau said. He disappeared into the bathroom.

“What was going on out there?” Cassy called out, marshalling her courage.

“We went for a walk like the note says,” Beau called back.

“Who were all those people?” Cassy called.

Beau appeared in the doorway toweling off his face.

“Just a bunch of people out walking like me,” Beau said.

“The Partridges?” Cassy questioned sarcastically.

“Yeah, they were there,” Beau said. “Nice people. Very enthusiastic.”

“What were you talking about?” Cassy asked. “I saw you from the window. It was like a meeting.”

“I know you saw us,” Beau said. “We weren’t hiding or anything. We were just talking, mostly about the environment.”

A sardonic half laugh escaped from Cassy. Under the circumstances she couldn’t believe Beau would make such a ridiculous statement. “Yeah, sure,” she intoned. “Three o’clock in the morning there’s a neighborhood meeting on the environment.”

Beau came over to the bed and sat on the edge. His expression was one of deep concern.

“Cassy, what is the matter?” he asked. “You’re so upset again.”

“Of course I’m upset,” Cassy yelled.

“Calm down, dear, please,” Beau said.

“Oh, come on, Beau. What do you take me for? What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing,” Beau said. “I feel wonderful, things are going great.”

“Don’t you realize how strange you’ve been acting?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Beau said. “Maybe my value system is shifting, but hell, I’m young, I’m in college, I’m supposed to be learning.”

“You haven’t been yourself,” Cassy persisted.

“Of course I have,” Beau said. “I’m Beau Eric Stark. The same guy I was last week and the week before that. I was born in Brookline, Mass., to Tami and Ralph Stark. I have a sister named Jeanine, and I…”

“Stop it, Beau!” Cassy cried. “I know your history isn’t different, it’s your behavior. Can’t you tell?”

Beau shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t. I’m sorry, but I’m the same person I’ve always been.”

Cassy let out a sigh of exasperation. “Well, you’re not, and I’m not the only person who’s noticed it. So has your friend Pitt.”

“Pitt?” Beau questioned. “Well, now that you mention it, he did say something about me doing some unexpected things.”

“Exactly,” Cassy said. “That’s just what I’m talking about. Listen! I want you to see somebody professional. In fact we’ll both go. How’s that?” Cassy let out another short sarcastic laugh. “Hell, maybe it’s me.”

“Okay,” Beau said agreeably.

“You’ll see someone?” Cassy said. She’d expected an argument.

“If it will make you feel better, I’ll see someone,” Beau said. “But of course it will have to wait until I get back from meeting with the Nite people, and I don’t know exactly when that will be.”

“I thought you’d just be going for the day,” Cassy said.

“It will be longer than that,” Beau said. “But exactly how long I won’t know until I get there.”

9:50
A.M.

NANCY SELLERS WORKED AT HOME AS MUCH AS SHE COULD
. With her computer networked into the mainframe at Serotec Pharmaceuticals and with a superb group of technicians in her lab, she got more work done at home than in her office. The main reason was that the physical separation shielded her from the myriad administrative headaches involved in running a large research lab. The second reason was the tranquility of the silent house fostered her creativity.

Accustomed to absolute silence, the sound of the front door banging closed at ten minutes before ten got Nancy’s attention immediately. Pessimistically thinking it could only be bad news, she exited from the program she was working on, and walked out of her home office.

She stopped at the balustrade in the hall and looked
down into the front hall. Jonathan came into her line of sight.

“Why aren’t you at school?” Nancy called down. Already she’d made a mental assessment of his health. He seemed to be walking okay, and his color was good.

Jonathan stopped at the foot of the stairs and looked up. “We need to talk with you.”

“What do you mean, we?” Nancy asked. But no sooner had the question left her lips than she saw a young woman come up behind her son and tilt her head back.

“This is Candee Taylor, Mom,” Jonathan said.

Nancy’s mouth went dry. What she saw was a pixielike face on top of a well-developed female body. Her first thought was that she was pregnant. Being the mother of a teenager was like a high-wire act: disaster was always lurking around the corner.