No, it was many voices, and it told him that he was closer to the lair of the hybrids right now than he’d ever been.

With carefully measured steps, he went a short distance. Again, he listened. A brief exposure of the light stick revealed more of the tunnel, still slanting downward, still empty.

But almost at once, a new sound replaced the distant singsong. He listened. This was whispering, rhythmic and urgent.

Not a voice, though, no. So what was it?

Then he knew. He was hearing slipper-clad feet brushing the stone floor.

Someone was coming toward him, stealthy and fast.

He understood now that all the surface activity they’d been tracking had been a distraction. Underground was what mattered, and how damn clever they were. They’d located in an earthquake zone so that the vibrations from any digging would be passed off as naturally occurring microquakes.

The footsteps were now easily audible, and he drew back against the wall. It took everything he had in him not to turn and run. Instead, he forced himself to do the one thing that felt entirely wrong, but wasn’t. He stood his ground. As they came closer, he threw his light stick so that it illuminated them.

Four forms that had been coming toward him all stopped. They stood as still as stone, their eyes fixed on him. This close he could see in their skin the jewel-like glitter of their scales.

They wore ordinary jeans and shirts. One of them had a windbreaker on inside out. Another’s shirt was on backward, the buttons hanging open behind. It was as if they’d been dressed by children.

The closest of the men wore an Oakland Raiders cap and carried a black object. He said, “Mark, we’re here to help you.”

They watched him with strange, unfinished eyes, pale and somehow lacking. He thought, people have personalities. They don’t.

“How can you help me?”

As if in humility, the creature bowed its head. It held out the object, which was a black disk.

“If you let me touch you with this, that will help you.”

Somewhere before, in some vagueness, he had seen a thing like that.

He stepped back.

The creature came closer, and now Mark could smell the reptile musk of its body.

He backed away farther.

“Mark, come on, it’s us. We’re your brothers and sisters, Mark.” The hybrid raised the disk. “This’ll help you.”

The others, Mark noticed, were moving stealthily, attempting to get behind him.

“Don’t,” he said, “or I’ll kill you all.”

Seemingly saddened, the one with the disk bowed his head. “You’re missing your life, Mark.”

“The army is my life.”

It lunged at him and in the split of an instant he drew his knife and cut all four of them.