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Back The Nest Save as PDF
Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Copyright page
  3. Introduction by Will Errickson
  4. Acknowledgements
  5. TREMORS
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. SUSPICIONS
  13. 1
  14. 2
  15. 3
  16. 4
  17. 5
  18. DREAD
  19. 1
  20. 2
  21. 3
  22. 4
  23. 5
  24. 6
  25. WITNESS
  26. 1
  27. 2
  28. 3
  29. ALERT
  30. 1
  31. 2
  32. 3
  33. 4
  34. 5
  35. ENCOUNTER
  36. 1
  37. 2
  38. 3
  39. 4
  40. 5
  41. 6
  42. HAVOC
  43. 1
  44. 2
  45. 3
  46. 4
  47. 5
  48. 6
  49. SEARCH
  50. 1
  51. 2
  52. 3
  53. 4
  54. 5
  55. CLASH
  56. 1
  57. 2
  58. 3
  59. 4
  60. 5
  61. 6
  62. 7
  63. COUNTERATTACK
  64. 1
  65. 2
  66. 3
  67. 4
  68. 5
  69. 6
  70. 7
  71. VICTORY
  72. 1
  73. 2
  74. 3
  75. 4
  76. 5
  77. 6
  78. 7
  79. 8
  80. 9
  81. EPILOGUE
  82. About the Author

In the morning, Elizabeth knew again why she loved and respected her grandfather as she did. He was passing in the hall when she came out of Peter Hubbard’s room in her nightgown. He let no question show in his eyes and his greeting was an unstrained, casual “Good morning, Liz.” When Elizabeth stood on tiptoe to kiss his leathery cheek, he added with an approving chuckle, “I want the wedding right here, in this house!”

Larking, Elizabeth pretended innocence. “What on earth are you talking about, Elias?”

He winked. “A nose that can smell weather off to Greenland can smell a wedding cake baking in its own kitchen.”

“The biggest cake we can find!” It was Peter Hubbard, dressed and smiling. He was carrying the flask with the roaches to be brought to the Harvard laboratories.

Elias Johnson said in the same breath, “Congratulations, and if you’re going to drop that goshdarn jar, Peter, wait till you’re back in Cambridge, will you?”

Elizabeth uttered a small cry of disbelief. “Peter! Look at the way those roaches are all huddled in the right hand corner! It’s as if they’re still getting signals from somewhere!”

The scientist’s eyes followed hers, but he remained calm. “Good observation, Liz. But I’d say this is just a habit pattern now, an imprint. They couldn’t be getting signals from the nest after the way we burned it out.”

“Might some pheromone signals still be in the air?”

“That’s possible, but doubtful by now, I’d say.”

Elias Johnson’s eyes lost their merriment. He said with immediate concern, “Peter, those bugs are aiming smack in the direction of that scurvy cave!”

Hubbard rotated the flask. His own expression revealed a moment of trepidation when the roaches skittered immediately to the opposite side. But he spoke his conviction, “I double-­checked the nest before we left, you know that. The brain is absolutely gone. At worst, Elizabeth may be right about a scent still in the atmosphere.”

The scientist set the flask down carefully on a chest against the wall. The restless cockroaches looked even more grotesque seen between two priceless T’ang Dynasty bowls.

The three humans eyed the insect survivors. Elizabeth accepted Peter Hubbard’s conclusion. Elias Johnson hesitated, uncertain, but had no choice. “Well,” he said gruffly, “if you city slickers are all going back to Cambridge today, we better get ourselves a move on.”

4

FOUR