Whistling under his breath, Charlie cracked open the door, pushed in his mop bucket, and pulled in his cleaning cart. With his hands on his hips he surveyed the room. As he’d expected, it only needed a light disinfectant mopping and dusting. He walked over to the bathroom and glanced in there. It didn’t even look as if it had been used.
Charlie always started in the bathroom. After putting on his thick protective gloves, he scrubbed out the shower and the sink and disinfected the toilet. Then he mopped the floor.
Moving out into the room, he peeled off the bed linens and wiped down the mattress. He dusted all other horizontal surfaces, including the windowsill. He was about to start mopping when a glow caught his eye. Turning to face the bureau, he stared at the valuables safe. Although his mind told him it was preposterous, the box seemed to be glowing as if there was an enormously powerful light inside it. Of course that didn’t make any sense, since the box was made out of metal, so no matter how bright a light was, even if there was one inside, it wouldn’t shine through.
Charlie leaned his mop against the top edge of the bucket, and took a few steps toward the bureau, intending to open the door to the box. But he stopped about three feet away. The glow that surrounded the box had gotten brighter. Charlie even imagined he could feel a warmth on his face!
Charlie’s first thought was to get the hell out of the room, but he hesitated. It was a confusing spectacle and mildly frightening, yet curious at the same time.
Then to Charlie’s amazement a shower of sparks burst forth from the side of the box accompanied by a hissing sound similar to arc welding. Charlie’s hands reflexively shot up to protect his face from the sparks, but they stopped almost the moment they began. From the point of sparking a luminous red spinning disc the size of a silver dollar emerged. It had seared through the metal, leaving a smoking slit.
Completely stunned by this phenomenon, Charlie couldn’t move. The spinning disc slowly traveled laterally toward the window, coming within a foot of his arm. At the window it hovered as if it were appreciating the vista of the night sky. Then its color changed from red to white-hot and a corona appeared around it like a narrow halo.
Charlie’s curiosity propelled him closer to this mysterious object. He knew no one was going to believe him when he described it. Holding out his hand, palm down, he waved it back and forth over the object to make sure there wasn’t a wire or a string. He couldn’t understand how it was hanging in the air.
Sensing its warmth, Charlie cupped his hands and slowly brought them closer and closer to the object. It was a peculiar warmth that tingled his skin. When his hands got within the corona, the tingling magnified.
The object ignored Charlie until he inadvertently blocked the object’s view of the night sky. The moment he did so, the disc moved laterally, and before Charlie could react, it instantly and effortlessly burnt a hole through the center of his palm! Skin, bone, ligaments, nerves, and blood vessels were all vaporized.
Charlie let out a yelp more in surprise than pain. It had happened so quickly. He staggered back, gaping at his perforated hand in total disbelief and smelling the unmistakable aroma of burnt flesh. There was no bleeding since all the vessels had been heat-coagulated. In the next instant the corona around the luminous object expanded to a foot in diameter.
Before Charlie could react, a whooshing sound commenced and rapidly increased in volume until it was deafening. At the same time Charlie felt a force pulling him toward the window. Frantically he reached out with his good hand and grabbed the bed only to have his feet go out from underneath him. Gritting his teeth, he managed to hang on even though the bed itself moved. The violence of the sound and the movement lasted only seconds before being capped by a noise vaguely reminiscent of the closing of a central vac port.
Charlie let go of the bed and tried to get to his feet, but he couldn’t. The muscles of his legs were like rubber. He knew something was horribly wrong and tried to cry out for help, but his voice was weak, and he was salivating so copiously that any speech was nearly impossible. Marshalling what strength he had, he attempted to crawl toward the door. But the effort was in vain. After moving only a few feet he started to retch. Moments later utter darkness descended as Charlie’s body was racked by a series of rapidly fatal grand mal seizures.
5
2:10 A.M.
AS FAR AS STUDENT APARTMENTS WENT, IT WAS RELATIVELY luxurious and spacious, and since it was located on the second floor, it even had a view. Both Cassy’s and Beau’s parents wanted their children to live in decent surroundings and had been accordingly willing to up their kids’ living allowances when they decided to move out of their dorms. Part of the reason for the largesse was that both had stellar academic records.
Cassy and Beau had found the apartment eight months previously and had jointly painted and furnished it. The furniture was mostly garage-sale acquisitions which had been stripped and refinished. The curtains were bedsheets in disguise.
The bedroom faced east which at times was a bother because of the intensity of the morning sun. It wasn’t a bedroom that invited late sleeping. But at a little after two in the morning, it was dark save for a swath of light that slanted through the window from a streetlight in the parking lot.
Cassy and Beau were sound asleep: Cassy on her side and Beau on his back. As was normal for her, Cassy had been moving at regular intervals, first on one side, then the other. Beau, on the other hand, had not moved at all. He’d been motionlessly sleeping on his back just as he had that afternoon in the student overnight ward.
At exactly two-ten Beau’s closed eyes began to glow, as did the radium dial of an old windup alarm clock Cassy had inherited from her grandmother. After a few minutes of gradually increasing intensity Beau’s eyelids popped open. Both eyes were as dilated as his right eye had been that afternoon, and both eyes glowed as if they were light sources themselves.
After reaching a peak of luminosity they began to fade until the pupils were their usual black. Then the irises began to contract until they had assumed a more normal size. After a few blinks, Beau realized he was awake.
Slowly he sat up. Similar to the way he’d awakened in the hospital, he was momentarily disoriented. Sweeping his eyes around the room, he quickly pieced together where he was. Then he lifted his hands and studied them by flexing his fingers. His hands felt different, but he couldn’t explain how. In fact, his whole body felt different in some inexplicable way.
Reaching over to Cassy he gently gave her shoulder a shake. She responded by rolling over onto her back. Her heavily lidded eyes regarded him. When she saw he was sitting up, she quickly did the same.
“What’s the matter?” she asked huskily. “Are you all right?”
“Fine,” Beau said. “Perfect.”
“No cough?”
“Not yet. Throat feels fine too.”
“Why’d you wake me? Can I get you something?”
“No, thanks,” Beau said. “Actually I thought you’d like to see something. Come on!”
Beau got out of bed and came around to Cassy’s side. He took her hand and helped her to her feet.
“You want to show me something now?” Cassy asked. She glanced at the clock.
“Right now,” Beau said. He guided her into the living room and over to the slider that led to the balcony. When he motioned for her to step outside, she resisted.
“I can’t go out,” she said. “I’m naked.”
“Come on,” Beau said. “Nobody’s going to see us. It’s only going to take a moment, and if we don’t go now we’ll miss it.”
Cassy debated with herself. In the half light she couldn’t see Beau’s expression, but he sounded sincere. The idea that this was some kind of prank had occurred to her.
“This better be interesting,” Cassy warned as she finally stepped over the slider’s track.
The night air had its usual chill, and Cassy hugged herself. Even so, everything erectile on the surface of her body popped up. She felt like
one big goose pimple.
Beau stepped behind her and enveloped her in his arms to help control Cassy’s shivering. They were standing at the railing facing a broad stretch of the sky. It was a cloudless, clear, moonless night.
“Okay, what am I supposed to be seeing?” she asked.
Beau pointed up toward the northern sky. “Look up there toward the Pleiades in the constellation of Taurus.”
“What is this, an astronomy lesson?” Cassy questioned. “It’s two-ten in the morning. Since when did you know anything about the constellations?”
“Watch!” Beau commanded.
“I’m watching,” Cassy said. “What am I supposed to be seeing?”
At that moment there was a rain of meteors with extraordinarily long tails, all streaking from the same pinpoint of sky like a gigantic firework display.
“My God!” Cassy exclaimed. She held her breath until the rain of shooting stars faded. The spectacle was so impressive that she momentarily forgot the chill. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It was beautiful. Was that what they call a meteor shower?”
“I suppose,” Beau said vaguely.
“Will there be more?” Cassy asked, her eyes still glued to the point of origin.
“Nope, that’s it,” Beau said. He let go of Cassy, then followed her back inside. He closed the slider.
Cassy sprinted back to the bed and dived in. When Beau appeared she had the covers clutched around her neck and was shivering. She ordered him to get under the blanket to warm her up.
“Gladly,” he said.
They snuggled for a moment and Cassy’s shivering abated. Pulling back from where she had her face tucked into the crook of his neck, she tried to look into Beau’s eyes, but they were lost in the gloom. “Thanks for getting me out there to see that meteor shower,” she said. “At first I thought you were trying to play a joke on me. But I have one question: How did you know it was going to happen?”
“I can’t remember,” Beau said. “I guess I heard about it someplace.”
“Did you read about it in the paper?” Cassy suggested.
“I don’t think so,” Beau said. He scratched his head. “I really don’t remember.”
Cassy shrugged. “Well, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we got to see it. How did you wake up?”
“I don’t know,” Beau said.
Cassy pushed away and turned on the bedside light. She studied Beau’s face. He smiled under her scrutiny.
“Are you sure you feel all right?” she asked.
Beau smiled. “Yeah, I’m sure,” he said. “I feel great.”
6
6:45 A.M.
IT WAS ONE OF THOSE CLOUDLESS, CRYSTALLINE MORNINGS with the air so fresh it could almost be tasted. The most distant mountains stood out with shocking clarity. The normally dry ground was covered with a cool layer of dew that sparkled like so many diamonds.
Beau stood for a moment taking in the scene. It was as if he’d seen it for the first time. He couldn’t believe the range of colors of the distant hills, and he questioned why he’d not appreciated it before.
He was dressed casually in an Oxford shirt, jeans, and loafers with no socks. He cleared his throat. His cough was all but gone and his throat didn’t hurt when he swallowed.
Pushing off from the entrance to his apartment building he walked along the walkway, then up the driveway and into the back parking area. In the sand lining the far periphery he found what he was looking for. Three black mini-sculptures identical to the one he’d found in Costa’s parking lot the morning before. He scooped them up, dusted them off, and slipped them into separate pockets.
With his mission accomplished, he turned and retraced his steps.
Inside the apartment the alarm went off next to Cassy’s head. The alarm was on her side of the bed because Beau had a bad habit of turning it off so quickly that neither of them truly woke up.
Cassy’s hand snaked out from beneath the covers and hit the dream bar. The alarm fell silent for ten luscious minutes. Rolling onto her back, her hand extended toward Beau to give him a shove, the first of many. Beau was not a morning person.
Cassy’s exploring hand found empty, cool sheets. The searching arc was extended. Still nothing. Cassy opened her eyes and looked over at Beau, but he was not there!
Surprised by this unexpected turn of events, Cassy sat up and listened for any tell-tale noise from the bathroom. The house was silent. Beau never got up before she did. Suddenly she was worried that his illness had returned.
After slipping on her robe, Cassy padded out into the living room. She was about to call out his name when she saw him over by their fish tank. He was bending down, studying the fish. He was so intent he’d not heard her. While she watched he placed his right index finger against the glass. Somehow his finger concentrated the fluorescent aquarium light so that the tip of his finger glowed.
Mesmerized by this scene, Cassy just stood there continuing to watch. Soon all the fish flocked to the point where Beau’s finger touched the glass. When he moved the finger laterally, the fish all dutifully followed.
“How are you doing that?” Cassy asked.
Surprised by Cassy’s presence, Beau stood up, letting his hand fall to his side. At the same instant the fish dispersed to the far ends of the tank.
“I didn’t hear you come into the room,” Beau said with a pleasant smile.
“Obviously,” Cassy said. “What were you doing to attract the fish that way?”
“Damned if I know,” Beau said. “Maybe they thought I was going to feed them.” He came over to Cassy and draped his arms on her shoulders. His smile was radiant. “You look wonderful this morning.”
“Oh, yeah, sure,” Cassy said jokingly. She tussled her thick hair, then patted it into place. “There, now I’m ready for the Miss America Pageant.” She looked up into Beau’s eyes. They were a particularly effulgent blue, and the whites were whiter than white.
“You are the one who looks wonderful,” Cassy said.
“I feel wonderful,” Beau said. He bent down to kiss Cassy on the lips, but she ducked out from beneath his arms.
“Hold on,” she said. “This beauty contestant has yet to brush her teeth. I wouldn’t want to be disqualified on account of morning breath.”
“Not a chance,” Beau said with a lascivious smile.
Cassy cocked her head to one side. “You’re feeling chipper today,” she remarked.
“As I said, I feel great,” Beau said.
“That was sure a short course of the flu,” Cassy said. “I’d say you made a remarkable recovery.”
“I guess I have you to thank for hauling me over to the medical center,” Beau said. “That’s where things took a turn for the better.”
“But the doctor and the nurse didn’t do anything,” Cassy said. “They admitted so themselves.”
Beau shrugged. “Then it’s a new strain of a rapid flu. I’m certainly not going to complain about its short course.”
“Me neither,” Cassy said, starting for the bathroom. “Why don’t you make coffee while I take a shower.”
“Coffee is already made,” Beau said. “I’ll bring you a cup.”
“Aren’t we being efficient,” Cassy called on her way through the bedroom.
“Nothing but five-star service in this hotel,” Beau said.
Cassy continued to marvel at Beau’s quick turnaround. Remembering how he looked when she’d climbed into the car in front of the Anna C. Scott school, she never would have suspected it. She turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature. When it was to her liking, she climbed in. The first order of business was her hair. She washed it every day.
No sooner had she gotten her scalp full of shampoo when she heard knocking on the outside of the shower door. Without opening her eyes, she told Beau to leave her coffee mug on the back of the sink.
Sticking her head under the jet of water, she began to rinse. The next thing she knew was that Beau was in the shower wit
h her.
She opened her eyes with disbelief. Beau was standing right in front of her in the shower fully clothed. He even still had on his loafers.
“What on earth are you doing?” Cassy sputtered. She had to laugh. It was such an unexpected, zany thing for him to do.
Beau didn’t say anything. Instead he reached out and hungrily drew Cassy’s wet, naked body to him while his lips sought hers. It was a deep, sensual, carnal kiss.
Cassy managed to come up for air, laughing at the absurdity of what they were doing. Beau laughed as well as the water flattened his hair against his forehead.
“You’re crazy,” Cassy commented. Her hair was still full of soap suds.
“Crazy for you is more accurate,” Beau said. He started to fumble with his belt.
Cassy helped by undoing the buttons of his soaked shirt and peeling it from his muscular shoulders. The situation might have been unconventional, especially for the normally neat and compulsive Beau, but for Cassy it was a turn-on. It was so wonderfully spontaneous, and Beau’s eagerness added additional spice.
Later, in the midst of their passion, Cassy began to appreciate something else. Not only were they making love in a unique circumstance, but they were making love in an atypical way. Beau was touching her differently. She wasn’t able to explain it exactly, but it was marvelous, and she loved it. It had something to do with Beau being more gentle and sensitive than usual even in the midst of his overwhelming ardor.
REACHING HIS HANDS OVER HIS HEAD, PITT STRETCHED. He looked at the clock on the ER desk. It was almost seven-thirty and soon his marathon twenty-four-hour shift would be over. He was already fantasizing how good his bed was going to feel when he slid his tired body between the sheets. The idea of the exercise was to give him an idea of what it’s like being a resident, when shifts of thirty-six hours are commonplace.
“You should go down to the room where they found that poor guy from housekeeping,” Cheryl Watkins said. Cheryl was one of the day staff nurses who’d recently come on duty.