?Okay, but it all looks normal to me so far. Of course, I’m not Clemens.?

?Don’t worry about it,?she told him. ?You won’t have to be.?

She could hear the soft whine of the scanner as it moved down her body, sliding smoothly on its hidden track somewhere deep within the instrument-packed cryotube. Even though there was no actual physical contact between her and the instrument, she found herself twitching slightly at its perceived presence. Whoever said there was no link between imagination and physicality had never spent any time in cryogenic deep sleep.

?Upper chest now,?Aaron was saying. ?I can see the tops of your lungs. Heart coming into view.?

Despite her determination she found herself tensing uncontrollably. The muscles of her right forearm began to twitch spasmodically. The acting superintendent’s voice buzzed in her ears, a lethal drone.

?Full chest view, at least according to what it says here. Heart and lungs seem to be functioning normally. Moving down.?

The twitching stopped, her breathing eased. ?Are you sure??

?Hey, I don’t see anything. If you’d give me an idea what I’m supposed to be looking for… maybe I missed it.?

?No.?Her mind was working furiously. ?No, you didn’t miss it.?

?How do we get some enhancement??

?Try B.?

He complied, to no avail. ?Nothing.?He tried again, muttering to himself. ?I gotta get a better angle.?

The instrumentation hummed. Suddenly he paused. 180

Alan Dean Foster

?Holy shit-?He broke off, eyes bulging as he leaned toward the screen.

?What??she demanded. ?What is it??

?I don’t know how to tell you this. I think you got one inside you.?

He stared at the screen in disbelief. The embryonic creature was definitely kin to the monster that had destroyed the men… and yet it was also distinctively, subtly different.

It wasn’t fair, she thought. She’d known, she’d more than suspected, for days. Then her chest scan had come through clean, giving her hope. Now this, the ultimate morbid revelation. Still, it wasn’t a shock.

Now that her suspicions were confirmed she felt oddly liberated. The future was no longer in doubt. She could proceed, confident in the knowledge that she was taking the right course. The only course.

?What’s it look like??

?Fucking horrible,?Aaron told her, at once repelled and fascinated by what he was seeing. ?Like one of them, only small. Maybe a little different.?

?Maybe? Are you sure??

?I’m not sure of anything. I didn’t hang around to take pictures of the big one.?

?Keyboard,?she told him. ?Hit the pause button.?

?Already did. The scanner’s stopped moving.?

?Now move the screen. I’ve got to take a look.?

The acting superintendent hesitated, looking toward the cryotube and its recumbent occupant. ?I don’t think you want to.?

?It’s my choice. Do it.?

His lips tightened. ?Okay. If you think you’re ready.?