By dinner Janet still hadn’t shown up, and I was concerned.But the quietness had a different cause, as I found out after dinner. I was sitting unde...r one of the huge old redwoods that populated the valley, watching the last of the light reflect off of the lake. I heard light steps coming up from the direction of the camp and then a quiet soft voice. I turned to look at one of the younger girls standing by my side.“Mr. Mattson?”“Yes?”“May I sit down with you?”“Sure!”Instead of sitting on the. It was a Saturday after the Halloween party. It was a sunny day. Theground and lawns were dried a little. I used the moment to pick dogs'feces in the neighborhood. Well, it's a job like all others. I didn'tlike it but I was paid five dollars a week for every lawn. That madesome money kind of allowance other kids had.I had this job finished already when I saw Ray and Ozzie approaching me.They exchanged glances. Then they nudged each other."Hey, Ari," Ray started, "Ozzie here wants to ask you a. Shit, nothing they tried hadeven slowed them down. These outer colonies were their final stand. Theweapon system he was working on was really their last chance. Two yearsago, when he first proposed it, no one took him seriously. But as thealienplague spread, their options dwindled. They took him serious now.Any port in a storm as they say, and the alienplague was a hurricane."Doctor Embel, are you okay in there? The power went out again." Thecorporal had a penchant for stating the obvious. It. She had her soft and beautiful hands around my head and neck. Both hands were on her cheeks. I just wanted to have all of her in one go. But there wasn’t enough time. The lift stopped, and the doors opened.We reached our floor. But she didn’t let go of my hand. She clenched it tightly and took me with her. I was afraid and scared to death that my parents or brother, or someone else might see us. It would wreak havoc on me. But fortunately, my door was closed as the other neighbors too.She.