“Funny you should mention that, because, apparently, Pisces, while hunting down stray aliens, found one of the asteroids and took pictures. I think you’ll be interested in what he observed. Hold one while I buzz Aquarius.”
“I thought Pisces found it.”
“Yeah, but he handed everything over to Aquarius.” Grayson typed on his phone, and a few minutes later, as Leila chewed on her pizza, her computer dinged.
Leila scooted her chair over. Her screen displayed a pop-up message from Aquarius.
Here’s the images Pisces got of a meteor in the wilds of Australia. Checking to see if any of the other impact zones had videos or pictures taken.
Attached, several images.
Grayson strolled over and leaned against her desk, eating his fourth slice.
“Have you seen these yet?” Leila asked as she loaded the files.
“Nope, but Pisces described what he saw, and I do believe it will answer your question of how does an alien grow.”
A clear impact crater appeared in the first image, the ground around it scorched, and in the center, pieces of rock, the petal shapes quite clear, as well as other debris.
“Looks like it broke up on impact.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Check the next pic.”
She clicked, and a new image loaded, a zoomed-in view that focused on the broken-apart meteor cluttered with... skeletons? Judging by their size and shape, she’d wager mice, although she did see a larger ribcage mixed in. “Seems like some curious critters came too close and the alien seeds managed to feed.”
“Why would they approach, though? Scorched earth and rock don’t usually draw vermin. Notice how the skulls are smashed.”
At his remark, she frowned and looked more closely. Indeed, the craniums all appeared cracked, teeth too.
Grayson murmured, “Aquarius said it reminded him of a monster he fought a while back that oozed some kind of pheromone that made its victims go mad. They would bash themselves in the face until they literally died.”
“You think the aliens somehow managed to call to the local wildlife and convince them to suicide themselves in order to feed?” She couldn’t help but sound skeptical as she chewed her lower lip.
“The pictures seem to indicate it.”
“A great theory except for the fact the samples I had in the lab never caused my mice to go wild with a need to reach the alien, nor did I, for that matter.”
“Those were cast-off chunks. You called the ones in the meteorseeds.”
“Because the flesh was encased in a membrane.”
“And what if that membrane oozed some kind of pheromone? I mean, these aliens obviously had a plan. Why elsesend an asteroid full of them here? Seems to me like a no-brainer they’d have a way to attract what they needed to ensure they could hatch and start terrorizing.”
Given the evidence, it made sense. “How did I not think of that?”
“Most likely because you’re exhausted. I think it’s time for you to go to bed.”
“But—”
He drew her upright so she faced him. “No buts. You’ve done enough for today.”
“I still have to?—”
“You can tackle the rest tomorrow. Get some sleep. Refresh that brilliant brain of yours. While you rest, I’m going to feed that little bugger in the other room so it and its clone can grow big enough to test.”
Last time she peeked, Blue was the size of a small dog, and still just as mean. As for the lump, it had grown a pair of arms and could propel itself.
“You need sleep too,” her last argument.
