subject, but Ellie was able to comprehend a few things from his almost incoherent chatter. According to Robert, there had been over three hundred unexplained deaths in New Eden in just the last two days. And the end was nowhere in sight. “It’s strange,” he muttered. “Only one child has died. Most of the victims have been old.”
In front of the Beauvois police station, a desperate woman in her mid-thirties recognized and then grabbed Robert. “You must come with me, Doctor, immediately,” the woman yelled in a shrill voice. “My husband is unconscious. He was sitting there with me eating lunch and he began to complain of a headache. When I came back from the kitchen, he was lying on the floor. I’m afraid he’s dead.”
“You see,” Robert said, turning to Ellie.
“Go with her,” Ellie said, “and then to the hospital if you must. I’ll go home and take care of Nikki. We’ll be waiting for you.” She leaned over and kissed him. Ellie started to say something to Robert about the octospiders but decided against it.
“Mommy, Mommy,” Nikki yelled. She ran down the hall and jumped into Ellie’s arms. “I’ve missed you, Mommy.”
“And I have missed you, my angel,” Ellie said. “What have you been doing?”
“I’ve been playing with Brian,” Nikki answered. “He’s a very nice man. He reads to me and teaches me all about numbers.”
Brian Walsh, who was in his early twenties, came ? around the corner holding a children’s book. “Hello, Mrs. Turner,” he said. “I don’t know if you remember me…”
“Of course I do, Brian. And I’m just Ellie. I really do want to thank you for helping with Nikki.”
“I’m glad to do it, Ellie. She’s a great kid. She’s kept my mind off a lot of painful thoughts—”
“Robert told me about your parents,” Ellie interrupted. “I’m terribly sorry.”
Brian shook his head. “It was so weird. They were both perfectly fine the night before, when they went to bed.” Tears came into his eyes. “They looked so peaceful…”
He turned away and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his eyes. “Several of my friends say this plague, or whatever it is, was caused by the octospiders. Do you think that maybe—”
“Possibly,” Ellie said. “We may have pushed them too far.”
“Are we all going to die?” Brian asked.
“I don’t know,” Ellie answered. “I really don’t.”
They stood in awkward silence for several seconds. “Well, at least your sister got rid of Nakamura,” Brian said suddenly.
Ellie was certain she had not heard the sentence correctly. “What are you talking about, Brian?” she asked.
“You didn’t hear about it? Four days ago Katie assassinated Nakamura… and then killed herself.”
Ellie was stunned. She stared at Brian in utter disbelief. “Daddy told me about Aunt Katie yesterday,” Nikki said to her mother. “He said he wanted to be the one to tell me.”
Ellie could not say anything. Her head was spinning. She managed to say good-bye to Brian and to thank him again. Then she sat down on the couch. Nikki crawled up beside her mother and put her head on Ellie’s lap. They sat together quietly for a long time.
“And how has your father been while I’ve been gone?” Ellie finally asked.
“Mostly fine,” the little girl replied. “Except for the lump.”
“What lump?” Ellie said.
“On his shoulder,” Nikki said. “As big as my fist. I saw it there when he was shaving, three days ago. He said it must be a spider bite or something.”
10
“Benjy and I are leaving for the hospital,” Nicole announced.
The others were still finishing their breakfast. “Sit down, Nicole, please,” said Eponine. “At least finish your coffee.”
“Thanks anyway,” she replied. “But I promised Dr. Blue we would come in early today. There were a lot of casualties in yesterday’s raid.”
“But you’ve been working very hard, Mother,” Patrick said. “And not sleeping nearly enough.”
“It helps to stay busy,” Nicole said. “That way I don’t have any time to think.”
“Let’s go, Mama,” Benjy said, coming into the room and handing Nicole her coat. While he was standing beside his mother, Benjy smiled and waved at the twins, who had been uncharacteristically quiet. Galileo made a bizarre face and both Benjy and Kepler laughed.
“She hasn’t yet allowed herself to grieve over Katie’s death,” Nai said softly a minute later, as soon as Nicole had left. “That worries me. Sooner or later…”
“She’s afraid, Nai,” Eponine said. “Maybe of another heart attack. Maybe even for her sanity. Nicole is still in denial.”
“There you go, Frenchie, with that damn psychology again,” Max said. “Don’t worry about Nicole. She’s stronger than any of us. She’ll weep for Katie when she’s ready.”
“Mother hasn’t been to the viewing room since her heart attack. When Dr. Blue told her about the assassination and Katie’s suicide, I felt certain Mother would want to see some of the videos… to see Katie one last time… or at least to see how Ellie was doing.”
“Best goddamn thing your sister ever did, Patrick,” Max commented, “killing that bastard. Whatever else anybody could say about her, she had courage.”
“Katie had a lot of outstanding qualities,” Patrick said sadly. “She was brilliant, she could be charming… she just had that other side.”
There was a brief silence around the breakfast table. Eponine was about to say something when there was a glow of light at the front door. “Uh-oh,” she said, standing up. “I’m going to move Marius next door. The raids are starting again.”
Nai turned to Galileo and Kepler. “Finish up quickly, boys. We’re going back into that special house Uncle Max made for us.”
Galileo screwed up his face. “Not again,” he complained.
Nicole and Benjy had barely reached the hospital when the first bombs started falling through the tattered dome. The heavy raids had been occurring daily. More than half of the Emerald City ceiling was now gone. Bombs had fallen on almost every section of the city.
Dr. Blue greeted them and immediately sent Benjy down to the receiving area. “It’s terrible,” the octospider physician said to Nicole. “Over two hundred dead from yesterday alone.”
“What is happening in New Eden?” Nicole asked. “I would have thought that by now—”
“The micro-agents are working somewhat slower than predicted,” Dr. Blue replied. “But they are finally having an impact. The Chief Optimizer says the raids should cease in another day or two, at the most. She and her staff are drawing up plans for the next phase.”
“Surely the colonists will not continue the war,” Nicole said, forcing herself not to think too much about what was occurring in New Eden, “especially not with Nakamura dead.”
“We feel we must be prepared for any contingency,” Dr. Blue said. “But I certainly hope you’re right.”
As they were moving down the corridor together, they were approached by another octospider doctor, the one that Benjy had named Penny because of the round mark, resembling a New Eden coin, just to the right of her slit. Penny described to Dr. Blue the terrible scenes she had witnessed earlier that morning out in the Alternate Domain. Nicole was able to understand most of what Penny said, not only because the octospider repeated herself several times, but also because Penny used very simple sentences in their language of color.
Penny informed Dr. Blue that medical personnel and supplies were desperately needed immediately to help with the wounded in the Alternate Domain. Dr. Blue tried to explain to Penny that there were not even enough staff members available to handle all the patients in the hospital.
“I could go with Penny for a few hours this morning,” Nicole suggested, “if that would be any help.”
Dr. Blue glanced at her human friend. “Are you certain you feel up to it, Nicole?” the octospider asked. “I
