Invasion

He turned to look at Sheila. She was dazed but okay.

Eugene undid his seat belt and got out on shaky legs and looked toward the chain-link fence. The red car was apparently hung up in the ragged opening: the sound of its tires spinning could be heard across the field.

"Come on!" Eugene called to the women. "We have a chance. Let's get over this hill and melt into the city."

The women emerged on the passenger side of the car. As they did so Eugene nervously glanced back at the red car in time to see the bearded man get out.

"Come on, hurry!" Eugene urged the women. Expecting the bearded man to come running in their direction, Eugene was surprised to see him retrieve something from the car. When he held it aloft, Eugene thought it suspiciously like the Tupperware container they'd brought with them to Atlanta.

Confused by this gesture, Eugene continued to watch while Nancy and Sheila helped each other up the hill. A few seconds later Eugene found himself staring at one of the black discs. To his utter shock it was hovering in midair right in front of his face.

"Come on, Eugene!" Nancy called from near the summit of the rise. "What are you waiting for?"

"It's a black disc," Eugene yelled back.

Eugene noticed that the disc was rotating rapidly. The individual bumps that lined the edge now appeared like a tiny ridge.

The black disc moved closer to Eugene. His skin tingled.

"Eugene!" Nancy called urgently.

Eugene took a step back but did not take his eyes off the disc in front of him, which was now turning red and radiating heat. Slipping off his jacket and rolling it, Eugene swatted at the disc in an attempt to knock it from the air. But it didn't happen. Instead the disc burned a hole through the jacket so quickly, Eugene felt no resistance whatsoever. It had been like a knife through room-temperature butter.

"Eugene!" Nancy shouted. "Come on!"

As a physicist, Eugene was mystified, especially when a corona began to form around the disc and the color began to turn from red to white. The tingling sensation he felt on his skin increased.

The corona rapidly expanded into a glaring ball of light so bright that the image of the disc contained in it was no longer visible.

Nancy could now see what was occupying Eugene's attention. She was about to call out to him again when she saw the bright ball of light suddenly expand to engulf her husband. Eugene's instant scream was immediately choked off and replaced by a whooshing sound. This noise grew deafening, but only for an instant; then it was cut off with such suddenness that Nancy and Sheila felt a concussive force like a silent explosion.

Eugene was gone. The rental car was left as a curiously twisted hulk as if it had been melted and pulled toward the point where Eugene had been standing.

Nancy started to run back down the hill, but Sheila grabbed her.

"No!" Sheila yelled. "We can't." There was now another ball of light forming next to the wreck of the car.

"Eugene!" Nancy cried desperately. Tears had burst forth.

"He's gone," Sheila said. "We have to get out of here."

The second ball of light was now expanding to envelop the car.

Sheila grabbed Nancy's arm and pulled her off the top of the hill toward the busy city. Ahead of them was heavy traffic and, even better, thousands of pedestrians. Behind them they heard the strange whooshing sound again and another concussion.

"What on earth was that?" Nancy asked through tears.

"I believe they thought we were in the car," Sheila said. "And if I had to guess, I'd say we just witnessed the creation of a couple of miniature black holes."

"Why haven't we heard from them?" Jonathan asked. He'd become progressively more worried as the day drew to a close. Now that it was dark, his concerns magnified. "I mean, it's even later in Atlanta."

Jonathan, Jesse, Cassy, and Pitt were in Jesse's car cruising along Jonathan's street. They'd passed his house several times already. Jesse was nervous about making this visit, but he'd relented when Jonathan insisted he needed some more clothes and his laptop. He also wanted to make sure his parents hadn't called and left some kind of message on his computer.

"Your parents and Dr. Miller are probably terribly busy," Cassy said. But her heart wasn't in the explanation. She herself was worried.

"What do you think, Jesse?" Pitt asked as they came to Jonathan's house for the third time. "Do you think it's safe?"

"It looks clear to me," Jesse said. "I don't see anything that looks like a stakeout. All right, let's do it, but we'll make it fast."

They pulled into the driveway and killed the headlights. At Jesse's insistence, they waited for another few minutes to see if there were any changes in the neighboring homes or vehicles parked on the street. All seemed peaceful.

"Okay," Jesse said. "Let's go."

They went in the front door, and Jonathan disappeared upstairs to his room. Jesse turned on the TV in the kitchen and found cold beer in the refrigerator. He offered one to Cassy and Pitt. Pitt accepted. The TV was tuned to CNN.