Once again, down as low to the ground as his old, arthritic body could get, Happy moved silently to the window closer to the couple, the one just behind them. From this new vantage point Happy had a clear view of Per. Not to mention a clear shot.

A true son of Maine, Happy had been handling guns all of his life. He’d hunted moose; deer; rabbit; the occasional bear, and plenty of Japs during W.W.II. But never before had he taken such careful aim with more purpose.

Hell, he was pretty sure he’d never hunted alien before.

Chapter 34

"Closely monitoring?" Sam echoed his words in a parrot-like fashion.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means just what it says." Per said shortly. "We have been here since the very beginning of the evolution of the human race. As your creators it was our job to observe the experiment first hand."

"How have we been monitored?" Sam asked.

"By various means." Per replied plainly.

Sam stood and poked a moment at the fire, tossing another log on. The fire crackled loudly. Then she went purposefully to her bag and rummaged around inside. Turning toward Per, she held out her hand.

"What is this?" She asked, indicating the miniature disc that had fallen out of Happy’s eye.

Per was taken by surprise. He took it out of Sam’s hand and held it up to a light to peer through it. "This is a contact lens camera. It was implanted into a human retina. With the help of this device, we have been able to literally see what the human is looking at. Where did you get it?"

Sam ignored his question. "So, it is a type of monitoring tool." She said slowly.

"Do we all have these implants?"

"No, only the people who have been picked up and examined were given these." He paused for a moment, "You have one, Samantha."

Sam instinctively probed both of her eyes with her fingertips. "But I can’t feel anything."

"You wouldn’t." Said Per frankly.

She started to pace back and forth. Her mind was churning.

"Let me see if I’ve got this all straight." She fumbled on top of the desk for her Marlboros and lighter. Her hand was shaking so much she could barely light the damn thing. "Okay now," she continued, blowing out a gray plume of smoke, "you are telling me that the entire human race has been nothing more than an experiment? An experiment that has been taking place for these past millions of years on a planet that has been nothing more than, essentially, a gigantic zoo?"

Sam stopped pacing, whirled around and stared hard at Per. "Guess that sort of makes you the zoo keeper, doesn’t it?" This was all so ludicrous that she grinned despite herself.

The incoming shotgun blast blew a hole the approximate size of a Susan B.

Anthony silver dollar right through the back of Per’s head. The bullet kept right on coming out the front, eventually lodging itself into the knotty pine of the mantle piece a few feet away.

Screaming, her ears still ringing from the deafening blast, Sam lunged forward to seize Per as he slumped forward and started to slip to the floor. She collapsed onto the floor under his weight and frantically struggled to get out from under him. She heard the crunch of glass and looked up to see Happy climbing through the shattered window. It took her a moment longer to register the sight of the gun in his right hand.

"You okay, Sammy?" Anxiously, Happy pulled her onto her feet and tried to steer her towards a chair. But Sam violently shook his hand from her and rushed back to sink to the floor beside an inert Per.

"My God, Happy," she groaned, "what have you done? Jesus, help me roll him over."

Happy scurried to help her, all the while trying to explain, "I was saving you, Sammy. Saving you from that ........ thing there." He pointed to Per. "No telling what he would have done to you if I hadn’t been here." He finished lamely. This sure wasn’t going the way he’d planned.

Sam opened her mouth to respond but it was then that she noticed something truly extraordinary. There was no blood. Not anywhere. How could that be? Not only was there no blood, but what had just moments before been a gapping hole in Per’s head was now a small hole ........ and getting smaller all the time.

Amazed, Sam moved closer to him in order to better examine his skull. Even as she watched, his tissue was somehow rapidly repairing itself. Atom by atom.

Molecule by molecule. Cell by cell. She blinked her eyes disbelievingly. This couldn’t really be happening. But it was. Somehow, what had only moments ago been a jagged, gapping hole was now filled in with healthy skin and hair. What should have been a lethal wound - certainly would have been to anyone else - had miraculously and completely healed itself.

Per stared to stir. Sam glanced over her shoulder at Happy and said bluntly, "I think you’d better get out of here."

But Happy had decided to get stubborn. "Nope. I’m not leaving you alone with him, Sammy. Why, he’s just not .......... human!"

"No, Hap, he sure isn’t." Sam couldn’t help but laugh at the gross understatement of Happy’s remark. Should I try to explain this to him? She wondered. How the hell can I do that ......... I can’t even explain this to myself.

"Happy," she hauled herself to her feet, " you’re just going to have to trust me on this one. I will be fine ...... Per will not hurt me."

Sam continued at the look of confusion in Happy’s eyes, "I want you to take your gun and go on home now. I promise I will explain everything to you latter."

She put her arm affectionately about Happy and moved him to the front door as she spoke.

"Shit," groused Happy as the door closed on him, "no one appreciates a hero anymore."

Chapter 35

"That’s another problematic area with your human race," muttered Per behind her,

"if they don’t understand you, they are inclined to blow you away."

Sam wondered what to say. Christ, did she have to apologize for her entire race now?

"He thought you were going to hurt me. He was trying to be my hero." she explained inadequately, walking over to his side.

"What about you, Samantha," Per asked as he got to his feet. "Do you think I am going to harm you?"

Sam didn’t need time to think about the correct answer. She knew it instinctively. "No," she said simply.

"Good." said Per as he stood in front of a mirror looking his head over.

"How’d you do that?" Sam, still having a difficult time assimilating everything, couldn’t stand it. She had to ask.

"What can I say? It’s a knack - you either have it or you don’t," joked Per. But when he caught sight of Sam’s solemn expression reflected over his shoulder in the mirror, he became serious.

"Our molecular makeup is different than yours," he explained. "We have always had a moderately limited ability to self - repair some forms of damaged tissues."

"Some knack," mumbled Sam It took a bit of effort, but she finally managed to do a makeshift repair job on the broken parlor window by tacking up a trash bag on the inside. Not very attractive, but it kept the rain out.

er, claiming to have a small headache (no shit, thought Sam), had gone out to the porch for a few minutes to take some fresh air. The elements, such as rain, didn’t seem to bother him at all.

Having done all she could with the damaged window for now, Sam made for the kitchen, deciding she needed a strong cup of tea.

She was just marveling at how steady the full mug was in her hands, when she felt him standing in the doorway. Turning slowly, she looked into his grave face.

"Why do I have the feeling you haven’t told me everything yet?" she asked with dread in her voice.