//------------------------------//
// Chapter 19 - Fear 
// Story: Pandemic 
// by ASGeek2012 
//------------------------------//

Saturday morning, Sarah squeezed out as much of the water as she could from her hair before stepping out of the shower, only to feel water continue to run down the backs of her legs. Her shoulders slumped as she stepped back inside long enough to squeeze out her tail as well.

She slipped into her bathrobe before cracking open the door to let some of the steam dissipate. She stepped onto the scale and let her arms fall to the sides, her hands disappearing halfway into the sleeves. "This is not the way I wanted to lose weight," she murmured as she stared at the LED display.

A soft knock sounded at the door. "Honey, you okay?" came Harold's voice.

"That's a loaded question these days," said Sarah. "Yes, I'm fine. You can come in."

The door opened enough to let Harold slip inside.

Sarah stepped off the scale and turned her head towards Harold. "Have you looked in the mirror yet?"

"Not yet," said Harold. "What color are they?"

"Yellow," said Sarah. "You have yellow eyes."

"That was Jenny's second choice." Harold folded his arms. "So, uh, about you ..."

"Yes, I have a tail," Sarah said stiffly as she stared at herself in the mirror. "What about the kids?"

"Jenny's hair is a little thicker and more wavy. Bob's normal. Laura is still in bed."

"This late? Maybe you should check on her."

"I heard her snoring when I went by her door. I'd just as soon let her sleep with as much trouble as she's had lately." Harold paused. "You still planning on heading out today?"

Sarah grabbed a towel and started drying her hair. "You saw how few vegetables the grocery stores in town had yesterday. I'm going to drive down to Silverthorne."

"Want me to come along?"

"I'd rather you'd stay and watch the kids." Sarah sighed. "I know what I said yesterday about foisting the kids off on you, but I'm better at picking produce than you are."

"Then I need a ruling from you before you go," said Harold. "Jenny wants to go out this morning without supervision."

Sarah let the hand holding the towel fall to her side. "Harry, this is the worst time she could be left on her own. I don't want her getting into trouble, not with as tense as things are in town."

"She said she'd be with James," said Harold.

"And if I called James' mother to find out if she really is allowing him to see her again, I wonder what I would hear?"

Harold rubbed the back of his neck, which was covered with far more hair than was to his liking. "Yeah, I know, but maybe we should just let the kids be kids."

"And risk Jenny doing something even more stupid than she's already done?" Sarah lifted the towel and resumed drying her hair. "I almost wish we'd never learned about Turner, or that Bob thinks we're turning into horses."

"Ponies."

"Please, don't argue semantics with me. I'm not sure you understand just how helpless I feel right now."

"What, seriously?" said Harold. "Who the hell do you think has two families that he can't do anything to help? I haven't had a single one of my father's neighbors call me back."

Sarah turned to Harold and drew him into a hug. "I'm sorry, I've been completely ignoring your side of this."

Harold hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry I raised my voice."

Sarah drew back and looked into his eyes. "If Bob is right, we're turning into animals. What if that comes with the same intelligence level as an animal? I'd almost want to be dead than live like that, and we're going to be forced to see it happen to Laura first."

"Honey, please, this isn't helping." Harold sighed. "You're not thinking anything I haven't already thought of. As far as I can tell, none of our mental faculties have been affected."

"Yet," Sarah muttered.

"Of all the rumors that we've heard about Turner, acting like a dumb animal was not one of them. I think someone would've noticed that."

"I hope you're right." Sarah returned to the mirror and picked up the hair dryer.

"So what about Jenny?" Harold asked. "What if I talk to James myself and make him understand the need for caution?"

"My impression is that James is a pushover where Jenny is concerned," said Sarah. "Or he would've stopped her any number of times in the past."

"Then I'll shadow them," said Harold. "You said yesterday you were concerned about burdening Laura anyway, and it's not like I have a lot to do around here."

Sarah considered for another long moment. "All right, I trust you to handle this."

Harold nodded. "Do you want me to get breakfast started?"

"You can probably still stomach the smell of meat cooking better than I can. And besides--" She gestured to her backside. "--I've still got more hair to take care of."





Janet stopped the car at a light and ran her hands through her hair. "Kevin, I keep going back to the idea you planted in my head that there's something on his property that caused this."

Janet's words had been the first attempt by either of them to break the tense silence that had settled over them since leaving the hotel. Kevin had been grateful for the quiet, as it seemed that all Janet could do was ask him questions for which he still had no answers. "Does he have someplace in his house that he has locked against you?"

"All his food and water supplies are always under lock and key. It's hard to find anyplace in that house that's not barred against entry."

"What about the rest of his properly outside his compound?"

"Empty. Just grass, weeds, and some old outbuildings which I've already searched." Janet turned onto a side-street. "Maybe we're grasping at straws."

"Anything is worth considering right now," said Kevin. "You mentioned to me that you thought the imaginary Afghani girl was the one who made some sort of 'promise' to him. Does she ever make an 'appearance' while you're there?"

"Conveniently, no," said Janet. "As much as I hate the idea of having him forcefully committed, if it means getting his head straightened out as well as his body, I'm willing to do it. But I've tried to get power of attorney over him before and failed. Some legal snag always gets in my way."

Kevin looked thoughtful as Janet pulled onto a dirt road at the edge of town. "Perhaps we need to believe three impossible things before breakfast."

Janet glanced at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"It's a quote from Alice in Wonderland."

"No offense, Kevin, but now's not the time for fairy tales."

"Why not? Everything happening is about as logical as one. So I'll start: what if this imaginary companion of your father's is real?"

"Really, you want me to believe that a little girl from Afghanistan followed him home and somehow hasn't aged in--"

"No, of course not," said Kevin. "But what if he only believes that this person is a little girl?"

Janet hesitated. "That's a little scary, Kevin. Do you think we should tell someone about ..." Janet trailed off as she came around a curve and saw the phalanx of flashing blue and red lights up ahead. "Oh, no, what happened?!"

"Janet, calm down and pull over."

A policeman up ahead held up his hand in a stopping gesture. Janet pulled the car over, yanked the emergency brake, and bolted over to the officer.

"Ma'am, you're going to have to turn around," the cop said as Janet approached.

"What's going on? I need to know!" Janet said as Kevin got out of the car.

"I'm sorry, but we're conducting a police investigation."

"My name is Janet Turner. I'm Fred Turner's daughter. His place is at the end of this road. Is he all right?"

"Can I see your ID, ma'am?"

Janet fumbled with her purse. As Kevin approached, another officer at the scene stepped up and nodded. "Hey, Doc."

"Hey, Rick," said Kevin. "Any chance on finding out what's happening?"

"Soon as we check the lady's ID, yeah," said Rick.

The other officer turned to him. "We can't go announcing our business to everyone, Rick. Close family, yes, but--"

"Take it easy, Jeb," said Rick. "This is Turner's physician, Doctor Kevin Conner."

Janet finally got out her driver's license and handed it to Jeb. He looked it over before handing it back. "Thank you. There's been a disturbance at your father's place. We had a report of people trespassing on his property. They were seen carrying weapons, so we cordoned off the area to prevent civilian injuries."

Janet paled.

"If there are any injuries, officer, I would be happy to help until an ambulance arrives," said Kevin.

"Thanks, Doc, but so far we're good," said Rick. "Seems like the perps tried to break into the place. Not that they got far with as tough as that place is built. It looks like no shots were fired. They've been apprehended, but we're searching the property for accomplices."

Janet swallowed hard. "Has anyone checked on my father?"

"They've been trying to, ma'am, but he won't come to the door," said Jeb. "He didn't report the trespass. A park ranger on a nearby hiking trail called it in when he saw that the trespassers were armed."

"If I may," said Kevin. "Chief Barrows told me he wanted to find an excuse for the police to get a look at him. Would this not be a good excuse?"

"Without a warrant, we can't force him to talk to us."

"Can I authorize you to break in or something?" said Janet. "I really need to know if he's okay. Kevin ... Doctor Conner was going to examine him."

Jeb adjusted his hat. "Ma'am, from what they told us, we're going to need a damn battering ram to get inside. We've been hearing his mental state is in question, but unless he's a menace to the public or we get a court order, there's not much we can do."

"Then let me go up to the house," Janet snapped. "He may be more willing to talk to me."

"Ma'am, once we're done here and gone, you can do whatever you--"

"Jeb, hang on," said Rick as he took out his radio. "Let me talk to the boys at the property."

Jeb frowned. "We can't violate police procedure."

"Look, the chief is riding us to get a look at this Turner guy. If the lady here can help us with that, then we should go for it."

"Any idea why these men were on his property, Rick?" Kevin asked.

"They wanted to see the 'horse man,' as they put it," said Rick. "Though considering the shotguns, they probably wanted to do more than just talk." He lifted the radio to his face. "Let me see if we got the all clear yet."

As Rick spoke into his radio, Janet turned to Kevin. "Now I'm torn about getting him out of his bunker," she said in a low voice. "It's almost like he's safer inside there."

"Only if there isn't something in there with him that caused this mess in the first place," said Kevin.

Rick lowered the radio as he approached. "The perps are packed into the cars and search turned up negative on accomplices, but positive on weirdness."

Jeb raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"The boys are reporting that the air feels like it's just after an electric storm, but without the smell of ozone," said Rick. "Sort of weirdly tingly."

"That's what I felt when I was inside, only worse," Janet said.

"Better call it in, " Jeb said. "Let the Chief figure out what he wants to do. Meanwhile, I'll escort Ms. Turner and Doctor Conner here to the property."





Laura rolled over in bed and squinted to force her eyes to focus on the clock. "Mrg, overslept." While she was grateful for the extra rest, it meant it would be at least an hour before she was fully awake.

She tried to sit up, only to flinch and utter a yelp as her tail caught under her legs. She yanked her panties back up into place, though this was an increasingly losing effort. Besides being too big for her now, they also bunched up under her tail, as she didn't have the patience to thread her tail under them. At this rate, she was going to have to start borrowing clothing from Jenny.

"Seriously, she said yes?"

Laura felt something twitch on one side of her head. She jerked her head towards the sound of her sister's voice, expecting to see Jenny standing right there. Instead, she stared at the closed door of her bedroom.

"Yes, she did," said Harold.

"And I can go without Laura hanging around?"

"Yes, but with some caveats. You're going to tell me exactly where you intend to go, and I'll be out and about to make sure you stick to that plan."

"Why are they talking so damn loud?" Laura muttered as she stood up. She squared her shoulders back, but it did little to alleviate the ache that had spread to them from her upper back. She trudged to the door, nearly tripping on the bottom edge of her nightgown.

Jenny uttered a dramatic sigh as Laura reached the door. "Oh, I see. So the knight has sold out to the Fae Queen and just wants to spy on the poor peasant girl and reveal all her plans to the evil sorceress."

Laura opened the door and flinched at how much louder the conversation became.

"Very funny," said Harold. "I'm going to try to give you two as much space as possible." He glanced at Laura. "But I'm still going to require you to report in when--"

He stopped and stared. Jenny turned her head, and her mouth dropped open.

Laura leaned her forehead against the door frame. "Sorry, I overslept. Just let me wake up a little more and I'll leave you to it."

Harold and Jenny continued to stare.

Laura lifted her head. "What is it?"

"Oh, my God," Jenny said in a very small voice.

Laura's eyes widened. "What happened?"

"Laura, please, don't panic," said Harold in a steady but strained voice. "If you're still feeling okay in every other respect, you ... you should be all right."

"What are you talking about?" She felt another twitch and raised her hand to it. "What are you seeing that--?"

Her mouth froze in mid-sentence as her hand touched not her head as she expected, but her ear, sticking up from the top of her head beside her curly orange hair and covered in yellow fur. She swallowed hard and slowly lowered her now shaking hand.

Harold grasped her gently by the arms. "Laura, you're going to be all right."

Laura let out a ragged breath and nodded quickly, ears flattening slightly. "I know. I-I'm okay. I've got freaking pony ears on my head, but I'm okay." Her eyes shimmered. "P-please tell me there's nothing else. It's just the ears this morning, right?"

Harold looked her over and pulled her into a hug. "I don't see anything else, honey."

Laura closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath. "I'm fine. I-I can handle this."

"Laura, if you need to ... if you need to vent or--"

Laura gently broke off the embrace and shook her head. "I refuse to melt down again." She forced a small, tremulous smile. "Hey, um, at least they've stopped buzzing and I can hear better. So there's something good."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I think so." Laura took another deep breath. "Compared to how I freaked out about the tail, I'm taking this a little better than I thought I would. I'm still really weirded out, but I feel okay otherwise. I ... I guess I'm still healthy otherwise, right?"

Harold managed a small smile. "I'm really proud of you for remaining calm. Let me go brace your Mom for this. We should take you to the doctor."

"I don't see the point," said Laura in a flat voice. "He hasn't been able to do anything for me."

"I'll talk to your mother first and see what she wants to do," said Harold. "Are you hungry at all?"

"Yes, very. I really could use some breakfast."

"I'll get it started soon as I talk to your mother," said Harold. "Anything you prefer in your omelet?"

"Other than no meat? I'm good with anything."

"All right, honey. I'll see you downstairs."

Laura nodded quickly and watched him head off. She looked at Jenny. "So what are you staring at?"

Jenny lowered her gaze to Laura's face, though her eyes flicked back up even as she spoke. "Nothing."

"You're staring at my ears. Stop it."

Jenny forced her eyes away again. "Sorry."

"I don't know what you find so fascinating about them anyway."

Jenny hesitated. Her eyes flicked up to them again. "I just wanted to make sure they were real."

Laura's ears drew back. "What, seriously? You think I would fake something like this?"

"No, I didn't mean that."

"Then what the hell did you mean?"

Jenny was quiet for a long moment. "I don't know. Never mind, I have to go get ready to meet James."

Laura opened her mouth to reply, but Jenny had already fled.





Janet negotiated the car through the gate that was the only break in the fence which surrounded Fred Turner's property. The wheels slipped briefly as they transitioned from dirt to loose gravel.

Kevin's eyes roamed around the property, though there was little to see other than weeds, tree stumps, and metal poles with security cameras perched atop them. Ahead, past the police car in the lead, was a rectangular, single story structure of concrete. The few windows he could see were covered in metal shutters.

Janet suddenly shivered. "Do you feel that, Kevin?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Kevin turned his head towards her. "Pardon?"

"That weird sensation." Janet glanced to the side. "And that sense there's always something right at the edge of your senses."

Kevin sat as still as the shaking of the car would allow. Patches of very faint tingling came and went. "Very vaguely. I might not have realized it if you hadn't pointed it out."

Janet glanced at him. "You mean it's not getting worse?"

Kevin remained still again. "Maybe. It's hard to tell." He glanced about. "I do get the odd sensation of something being at the edge of my vision, though."

The police car pulled off to the side about fifty feet from the building. Two other police cars were parked in a clearing. Two suspects sat in the back seat of the closest while a third suspect sat in the other. His head was bowed, and his shoulders quaked. Another officer was speaking with a park ranger.

Jeb got out of his car as Janet pulled in beside him. Another officer stepped over to them. Jeb jerked his head towards the other cars. "Get anything out of 'em?"

"One of them started blubbering all over us soon as the cuffs were on him," said the officer as Janet and Kevin left the car. "We reminded him of his Miranda rights, but he wouldn't stop. Said his kid woke up with horse ears this morning, and he went a little nuts."

Janet's eyes widened. Kevin looked on thoughtfully.

"He the mastermind of this?" asked Jeb.

"Seems like it. Claimed that bringin' the shotguns was his pals' idea. He was the only unarmed one, so maybe his story holds water." The officer glanced at the compound. "Still no luck with Turner."

"The lady here thinks she might be able to talk to him," said Jeb.

"Well, she's welcome to try. God knows we've done all we can."

Jeb turned to Janet. "You want me to come with you, ma'am?"

"No, that'll just scare him off," said Janet. She pointed to a camera. "He'll know you're at the door even if you don't say anything."

"All right, but if you do need me, just holler." Jeb adjusted his hat and headed over to the other officers.

"This way," Janet said.

They came to a slab-like door that Kevin guessed it was either steel or steel-plated. A camera was mounted above it, and to the right was a single button above a weather-beaten speaker. The odd sensations that had only barely registered in the car now were more apparent.

Janet thumbed the button and said, "Father? I have Doctor Conner with me. Are you all right?"

Silence was the immediate answer, save for the distant squawks of the police radios.

"Please, father, answer us," Janet cried. "Look at your monitors. We don't have the police with us."

"What do you want?" Fred's voice crackled over the speaker.

"Father, are you all right?"

"I'm talkin' to you, aren't I? What are you doing here?"

"I'm worried about you, and I thought--" Janet began.

"Well, stop worryin'," said Fred. "Just head back to your hotel room, and take your government lackey with you." 

"He is not a lackey!" Janet snapped. "Don't you remember what you said about him when I brought you back from the doctor's office?"

"Yeah, I remember," Fred murmured, his voice low enough that it was almost drowned out by static.

"Then let us in and let Doctor Conner examine you," said Janet. "You can trust him!"

"I'm not opening that door with the police outside!"

"They're about to leave. We can wait until they're gone."

Fred paused. "This isn't a good time, anyway. I got company."

Janet exchanged a look with Kevin. "Company? Who?" Janet's eyes widened. "The little girl?"

"Yeah, and we're having a private conversation."

Kevin placed a hand on Janet's shoulder. "Janet, may I?" he asked softly, gesturing to the intercom.

Janet nodded and stepped to the side.

"Mr. Turner, this is Doctor Conner," said Kevin.

"What the hell do you want?" Fred growled.

"Mr. Turner, Janet shared your feelings towards me. I hope that you have not changed your mind. I would much prefer we have a mutual basis of respect."

Fred remained silent.

"Your daughter has informed me of your military past," said Kevin. "I wish to express my deepest gratitude for what you have done for our country."

"Damn straight you should," Fred muttered. "And you saw how it's repaying me."

"Yes, and that's a terrible tragedy that I hope to remedy."

"You still claim you're not in on this?" Fred said. "Why should I believe you when you don't even have this?"

"All I can tell you, Mr. Turner, is that I've always had a robust immune system. I rarely come down with the ailments that my patients have."

"And just how do you explain that, huh?" Fred demanded.

"I don't think anyone has ever asked that of me," said Kevin in a slightly bemused voice. "It's not something I've really thought about."

"You're just weaseling out of the question!" Fred exclaimed. "There's gotta be a reason you're immune to it! You gotta have something. Some sorta mutation, mebbe, or some kinda secret serum you're not sharing. Or somepony else is helping you."

Janet's eyes widened. "Did he just say ...?"

"I can assure you, none of that is remotely true," said Kevin. "But I am more than willing to submit myself to examination by other physicians to determine--"

Kevin stopped. The vague sensation had changed subtly, as if it were becoming more concentrated. Yet before he could react any further, it faded away.

"Kevin, what's the matter?" Janet said.

A faint "pop" crackled over the intercom before Fred spoke again. "I'll tell you what the matter is. This is all just a big setup. Janet, if you ever want to talk to me again, you'll dump this government minion and come to your senses. My friend won't come back until everyone else is gone!"

Janet surged forward towards the intercom, her eyes shimmering. "Father, what did you mean by that? Did your friend leave? Where did she go?"

"That doesn't matter," Fred muttered. "But I can't see you right now."

"Please, tell us," Janet begged. "Has your condition gotten worse?"

"That doesn't matter, either," Fred said in a low voice. "I'm closer to the truth than I've ever been before."

"Did the little girl tell you that?"

"You don't believe me anyway when I talk about her, so there's no point in answering. I'll do whatever it takes to know, even if --" He paused.

"Even if what?" Janet demanded.

"Janet, go home," said Fred in a low voice. "Just go home. I'll be all right. I've been promised everything will be all right in the end."

The intercom crackled one last time and went dead.

"Wait, please!" Janet cried. She mashed the intercom button. "I have to see you. I have to know you're all right!"

Silence.

"Father, answer me!"

More silence.

Kevin grasped her shoulder and squeezed gently. "He's not going to answer."

Janet swallowed hard and straightened up. She wiped her eyes with her hands. "He's too far gone, Kevin," she said in a hollow voice. "I can't get through to him anymore. What am I going to do now?"

"Let's get away from here, for one thing," said Kevin. "And then we'll figure out what to do next."





Sarah turned to face Harold as he followed her into her office. "Close the door, please."

"Jenny already left ten minutes ago, and I said I would shadow her and James," said Harold.

"This is important."

Harold sighed and closed the door. "All right, what's this about?"

"I never told you what those petroglyphs looked like, did I?"

"The ones that were defaced? No, but I guessed it was something that promoted your theories."

"I'm not sure anymore," said Sarah. "I'm wondering if Greg was right and ... and it's tied into everything that's happening in town."

Harold looked askance at her. "Run that one by me again?"

"The petroglyphs looked horse-like," said Sarah. "The way the ears were shaped, they looked so much like Laura's do."

"Honey, are you sure you're not remembering them incorrectly?"

"I just had Greg email me the pics!" Sarah fell into her chair before her computer and pulled up her email client. "Look!"

Harold leaned forward. Sarah scrolled down to the picture that had the edge detection done, the three figures outlined in heavy black lines.

Sarah traced the outline of an ear with the mouse. "See what I mean?"

Harold pointed. "Is it just me, or does one have a wing and the other--"

"Never mind that," Sarah snapped. "That's not relevant right now."

Harold straightened up. "Then what is? Yeah, fine, there's a resemblance. What does that have to do with anything?"

"What if it's not a coincidence? What if someone is doing this deliberately, and this was some sort of evidence or warning that they had to wipe?"

Harold ran a hand over his face. "That's a hell of a leap of logic, Sarah. Weren't these pictures inscribed centuries ago?"

"Harry, we have a daughter with pony ears. Can you blame me for wanting answers as to why?"

Harold frowned. "I want answers, too, but I don't want to wrap our minds around the axle entertaining conspiracy theories."

"My point is, maybe we should bring this to someone's attention," said Sarah. "I admit, I may be completely off base. Frankly, I hope I am, as the idea of someone doing this deliberately scares the hell out of me. But if I'm not, someone needs to know."

"All right," said Harold. "Who should we contact?"

"I'm not sure. The police? The FBI?"

"I doubt the police would understand it enough to be able to do anything about it," said Harold. "Would the FBI even believe us?"

"You can say that after seeing Laura?"

"Sarah, realize the implication of what you're proposing," said Harold. "You were worried about being under surveillance. You really want to draw that much attention to yourself?"

Sarah hesitated. "Greg was the one who suggested that. Maybe he was wrong."

"You can't be sure of that."

"No one has made any threats. No one has said so much as a word about it! Don't you think if someone really did want to silence me, they'd be a little more obvious about it?"

Harold covered his eyes with his hand for a moment. "Sarah, you're contradicting yourself! First you say this could be evidence that some big bad out there is turning us into God knows what, and now you're saying they're not a threat? Make up your mind!"

"I want someone to fix Laura!" Sarah briefly grabbed a fistful of her hair. "I want someone to fix all of this! It's obvious no one has a goddamned clue! I-if that means I have to put myself in jeopardy--"

"What about putting our family in jeopardy?!" Harold yelled. "You want to drag Laura into this on the basis of some stupid drawings made by some long dead Native Americans that could have absolutely nothing to do with this? I mean, come on, you're supposed to be the scientist of the family!"

"I'm considering all possibilities! And if there is even the remotest--"

"And what if this is something different? What if someone is suppressing this information for some other purpose? You'll just be adding one more problem to a pile we already--"

He was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. "Um, hi," came Laura's tentative, muffled voice through the door.

Sarah exchanged a troubled look with her husband before opening the door. Laura's ears flattened slightly. Sarah was distracted by the movement and delayed her response another few seconds. "I thought you had gone back to your room."

Laura's ears slowly rose. "Um, I did, but you got kinda loud."

"You heard us from all the way ..." Sarah trailed off and stared at her daughter's ears.

Laura pointed at her ears. "These things are kinda sensitive. Sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry," said Harold softly. "What is it?"

Laura averted her eyes. "Well, it sounded like you were talking about me. I thought ... I thought maybe I should have a say in this."

Sarah ran a hand through her hair. "How much of the conversation did you hear?"

Laura forced her gaze forward. "From about when you talked about fixing me. I ... I'm not ... do you really think I'm broken somehow?"

"I didn't mean it that way. I just meant ... honey, you're sick, there's something wrong that ... um ..."

Laura's ears drew back. "Except I don't feel sick. I know I'm not normal, but--" She stopped when she saw Sarah staring at her ears. "Mom?"

"I'm sorry," Sarah said, shaking her head. "I didn't mean to stare, I just --"

"I know. They move around on their own. I don't really control it. But ... this is something maybe I can control."

"What do you mean?" Harold asked.

Laura's shimmering eyes met her father's gaze, her ears drooping. "Well, you're worried about me getting hurt. I'm ... I'm willing to take a risk if it means helping someone figure this out."

"You don't have to do this," said Sarah.

"I don't exactly want anything bad to happen to me, but--"

"Laura, why are you saying this?" Harold asked.

Laura's eyes flicked between him and Sarah. "I'm supposed to be the responsible one," she said in a low voice.

"Nothing says you have to shoulder every responsibility that comes by," Sarah declared. "I'm sorry if I made you think that."

"You didn't. I just ... I just want a chance to do something right."

"What makes you think you haven't?"

Laura hesitated. "Jenny doesn't even remember what happened. She doesn't remember the big storm."

Sarah exchanged a confused look with Harold. "What are you talking about?"

"Just what I said! She doesn't remember. She told me that just the other day. You do know what I'm talking about, right? The one with the tornado?"

"That's not something we can forget," said Harold. "We didn't know whether you and Jenny were alive or dead until we got home."

"We're just fortunate you kept your wits about you when that happened and kept Jenny safe," said Sarah.

Laura stared. "You're kidding me, right? Didn't she tell you everything that happened?"

"Jenny said she hadn't been scared at all the whole time," said Harold.

"Why would she say that??"

"Because you knew what to do," said Sarah in a tentative voice.

"I choked!" Laura cried, her ears flattening. "I-I knew what to do, but I choked. I couldn't remember what to do until Jenny was too scared to be moved! I failed her! I failed you!" Her eyes teared. "I want to make up for that. And i-if that means I have to risk something bad happening--"

Sarah pulled her into a hug. "No, please, Laura, stop."

Laura squeezed her eyes shut, but tears leaked from them just the same. "I just want to do something. I want to do the right thing."

Sarah hugged her tighter. "Laura, shhh, it's okay."

Harold's eyes misted as he drew close and slid an arm around his daughter. "Laura, I'm sorry, we had no idea you felt like this."

Laura leaned gently into her mother. "I feel so stupid. You don't need me melting down like this."

Sarah lowered her head, pressing her cheek against Laura's head, inadvertently squeezing one of her daughter's ears between them, the fur soft against her skin. Laura relaxed in her arms. "Laura, you don't need to apologize for how you feel. Your father is right, we had no idea."

Laura had managed to calm down, but she was reluctant to draw back, as if she craved the simple comfort of snuggling this close to her mother. She finally took a deep breath and lifted her head. She wiped her eyes with her hand. "I don't want to see anyone get hurt," she said in a softer voice. "But I also don't want to just roll up in a scared little ball. I don't want any of us to be like that. I-I let Jenny do that, and it could've gotten her killed."

"I just want to protect this family," said Harold.

"Then you understand how I feel," said Laura. "You want to do something but you can't. So maybe we should take a chance. Maybe Mom can do with what Tina and I did with my ... um ..."

Harold raised an eyebrow. "Did with your what?"

Laura blushed. "Tina helped me take pictures of my tail and put them on the internet."

Sarah face-palmed. "Oh, for heaven's sake!"

"Just my tail! I had my clothes on. Tina didn't use my name. It went viral overnight. Maybe you should just post your stuff online."

"I can't post anonymously," said Sarah. "I have to associate it with my name so at least the scientific community realizes it comes from a reliable source." She paused and frowned. "Well, as reliable as it can be for peers who don't think I'm crazy."

"I don't know about this," said Harold.

"But that would spread the word more, right?" said Laura. "Wouldn't that make it harder for something bad to happen? Or am I just being naive?"

Sarah loosened her arms around Laura. "No, you're making a good point. Your father and I need time to decide what to do. I'm proud of you for wanting to help."

Laura slowly smiled and drew back

"We'll talk more about what happened between you and Jenny," said Sarah softly. "I promise."

Laura nodded quickly. "I just ... I guess I have a lot to think about myself."

"Just so long as you realize that you did nothing wrong," said Harold.

"I'm trying to tell myself that, but ... I'll get over it."

Sarah gave her a pained look. "Do you want to talk more about this now?"

Laura shook her head. "You have more important things to worry about."

"You're always important to us."

"I-I know, but ... you need to figure out what to do before ... well, before we all have these stupid ears. I'll talk to you later."

Laura fled before either of them could say another word.





Janet sat in the lounge of the hotel, nursing a cup of coffee. "So you did feel it get worse?"

"Yes, but only for a very brief moment when we were at the door," said Kevin. "I'm not quite sure what it was. It wasn't like anything I had felt before."

"You don't think it was something like ... like radiation, do you?"

"I talked to Chief Barrows briefly on the phone while you were in the ladies' room so I could relay to him our concerns about your father's 'companion.' He had someone do a sweep of your father's property with a Geiger counter. It didn't pick up anything significantly above background. That's not strictly definitive, but it rules out anything obvious."

Janet set her cup down and rubbed her eyes. "I am so tired that the caffeine just isn't helping. I didn't sleep well last night, and now I feel all achy."

"Janet, you've been pushing yourself hard since you arrived in town," said Kevin. "Please don't overdo it."

"I don't want to sit around doing nothing."

Kevin leaned forward in his chair. "I know, Janet but we've exhausted all possibilities on our end. We will have to wait until--" He stopped when his cell phone vibrated. He pulled it out and frowned at the caller ID before answering it. "Heather, what are you doing in the office this early on a Saturday? We don't open until one."

"You may want to open a little earlier, Kevin," said Heather.

Kevin knew that tone all too well. He sighed and rubbed a temple. "What now?"

"I decided to check our voice mails. Calls have been coming in all morning from people with horse-ears. I have parents practically in tears about their children. We have at least five people camped out in their cars in the parking lot. If that keeps up, it's going to be a mad rush when we do open."

"Can the hospital take our overflow?" Kevin asked.

"We're receiving their overflow. Wait times are astronomical. Fewer staff show up each day for work, and all elective procedures have been canceled."

"What about the urgent care clinic?"

"After today, they're closing up shop."

Kevin frowned. "They can't do that! I don't give a damn if they're privately owned, they have a moral obligation to stay open!"

"That's really hard to do when they're getting short-staffed as well," said Heather. "But the main reason I'm calling you is that we had a message from Doctor Marlowe. She wants you to call her back and gave me her private cell."

Kevin scrambled to get out a notepad and pen. He took down the number that Heather recited to him. "All right, let me get to a more private place to make the call. You holding up okay?"

"As long as the natives don't get more restless than they already are," Heather said.

"I don't mean that."

Heather sighed. "I have a full head of sparkly cyan hair, if that's what you mean. Other than that, I'm fine."

"All right, I'll call you back soon," Kevin said before hanging up.

"That didn't sound good," Janet murmured.

"It wasn't." Kevin stood. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

Janet nodded. "I understand. I need to go lie down, I'm ready to drop."

Kevin hurried out of the hotel and into his car. He dialed the number and within three rings had Sandra Marlowe on the phone. "Thank you for getting back to me, Doctor Conner."

"What do you have for me?" Kevin asked.

"We got back the results of the blood work," said Sandra. "The results are skewed."

Kevin frowned. "Skewed? All of them?"

"Every last one. But they're consistently skewed. If you picked one at random as the new normal, the others would line up."

"I'd say that was the smoking gun," said Kevin. "You have medical proof of this condition."

"Yes, but as my colleagues keep reminding me, influenza doesn't do this," said Sandra. "What's more, we're getting back results from the new round of influenza lab tests you and other physicians ordered. Not a single one is showing any active infection whatsoever. Most of us here are convinced that this is a separate disease."

Kevin pinched the bridge of his nose, unsure of whether to debate the point further. He had no more proof than the correlation of symptom timelines. "Doctor Marlowe, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, if there is even the slightest chance of a link--"

"Yes, I know, and we're leaving open that possibility. The prevailing theory is that this is an opportunistic disease that took advantage of overworked immune systems during the influenza outbreak, or that influenza somehow made the body more susceptible. The CDC is planning to release the remaining reserve of this season's vaccinations and will recommend aggressive treatment with antivirals. If there is a link, that will give the new disease less opportunity to spread."

"What about a more direct response to this condition?" said Kevin. "My office is going to be besieged with patients who have the migrated ears symptom."

"The hospital is reporting the same," said Sandra.

"Then you can see we need help."

"You're going to get it," Sandra said. "We're going to declare a public health emergency. The official announcement will come tomorrow, but we're mobilizing now. We'll have an advance contingent of physicians arriving there by tonight to ease the pressure on your hospital and keep the clinics open. The full operation will ramp up by Monday."

Kevin let out a sigh of relief. "That will really help. What area is covered by this?"

"Lazy Pines, Silverthorne, Breckenridge, and Green Mountain," said Sandra. "Those are the towns with the greatest concentration of symptoms."

Kevin's eyebrows rose. "You have more cases outside of town already?"

"Not nearly as advanced, however," said Sandra. "There are some reports of scattered cases in other cities, but their numbers should be small enough to deal with."

Kevin ran a hand over his head. "What about Fred Turner?"

"We're leaning on the courts as hard as we can to order him into a medical facility. If he does represent an advanced stage, we absolutely need to observe him and know what the end state is."

Kevin detected a note of desperation in Sandra's voice. Given how cool and clinical she generally was in these conversations, it sounded the alarm in his head. "Please level with me, Doctor Marlowe. What's your outlook? Off the record, if need be."

Sandra hesitated before responding in a low voice, "Right now, we're clueless as to what we're dealing with. This is unprecedented. Some of us still wanted to write this off as a big joke until the first reports of the ear symptom came in from the hospital. We're hoping we caught this early and are about to stop its spread dead in its tracks."

Kevin let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Thank you for your honesty. What should I do while we await the cavalry?"

"Treat this as an unknown infectious disease and recommend voluntary isolation to your patients where feasible," said Sandra. "We're moving as fast as we can here. I have to go now, Doctor Conner. Do you have any further questions?"

Kevin had thousands, but none that could be answered. "No, I'm good."

"I'll be in touch soon," said Sandra before she hung up.

Kevin took a deep breath as he put his cell phone away. He went over everything he had done in the last few days. Had he done everything he possibly could? Had he missed anything, like he had when his now-deceased wife was silently suffering from a cancer he should have caught?

Had he been thorough enough?