“thanks” Joe said “Your welcome, but why do you always take chances with things?” She demanded “Because there was something weird about him” Joe responded, still not looking away from Larry. “Look at his teeth” Christie looked, she didnt have to. Joe was already sharing the information with everyone. “Remember when we came close to you?” asked Joe “Yeah, you felt the same thing when he was close by, but not consistently” Christie answered “And he grew new teeth right after they were knocked out, and the rest followed suit. He adapted to gather more food. He was hungry.” James added, while gesturing at the empty meat wrappers. Paul had been reviewing the ordeal suddenly focused, conveying an urgency to get back as soon as possible.

“And now we have to make another stop, he ate all of the steaks” Christie said plaintively

Chapter 7 Manuals

They wheeled their carts full of everything they could find of the list to the van in the back. By now it had only been 4 hours since the morning, and 3 since the first order had been transmitted from orbit. They knew they had to get back to the Castle as quickly as possible, but at the same time they didnt realize how badly they needed to.

James drove to the next market, Joe was following behind him in the van. Once they arrived Joe let them know he would get the last few things on his own, it would only take a minute. Joe entered the store, there was nothing alive in this market. He quickly found what they needed and brought it out to the van. He uncerimoniously dumped it into the back, got in the driver’s seat and they set off down the road towards Paul’s home. It was a tense ride, what normally took mere minutes seemed like hours. Something was about to break, they could feel it.

Three minutes later found them driving up the path into the Castle, it had an underground garage to its right that was constructed of the same impervious material as the house itslef. A large door set into the ground full horizontal opened revealing a ramp down into the house. It closed behind them, the flower bed that was on top of it settling seamlessly back into place, perfectly disguising its entrance.

Paul was in the basement waiting for them when they drove in, although there were still several cars in the garage, it was still large enough to hold at least a dozen more. The mustang pulled into a marked spot somewhere down the line, while Joe parked the van near the door leading into the storage room. A large freezer the size of a master bedroom. When the newcomers had gotten out they approached Paul and waited.