Firefly.

"Not exactly," he agreed guardedly.

"You were with that woman."

So that was it! "Her and George Demerit," he agreed.

"Doing what?"

"Staking out a cabin, trying to catch a monster. Without success." He took a breath and plowed on. "Now two of the victims of that monster have been discovered, and I"m implicated, and May Flowers. That"s why I have to call her."

"You"re having an affair with her."

He could not deny it.

"And you"re implicated in a murder?"

Better tell her now. "Her estranged husband, Bull Shauer, went after her again. She was hiding at a cabin on the Middle Kingdom Ranch. That"s where I took her, after he beat her up. The monster got him instead of her. But officially there is no monster, so it would have looked like murder. So we-it"s complicated, but the essence is we left his body in a van in Ocala. And the body of a prior victim. We forgot those bodies were in that vehicle. I helped her hide the van, or she helped me. Now it will all come out, and I think you know what that means."

"Your job."

"My job."

"Then I"m going home."

There was no point in arguing with her; they had finished their dialogue on that matter long ago. His recent affair with May hardly helped. "I"m sorry to see it end this way. But I think my job was doomed the moment the monster came on the scene. The woman was incidental to that."

She nodded. "I don"t blame you for the woman, Frank. I saw what that man did to her. She needed someone, and you were there. You and I really never were right for each other. So call her."

He looked at her. "You have been fair about this, Trudy. I regret I wasn"t able to do better by you. You"re a good woman."

She almost smiled. "Thank you, Frank." She returned to the bedroom.

He dialed May"s number. She answered immediately. "They found the bones in the van," he said. "Both sets; we forgot about Paris Brown. They"ll be after you in hours because of the prints. What are you going to tell them?"

"There"s no way to keep it quiet now?"

"I"m afraid not."

"But your office won"t want national headlines about a monster!"

"Right. So someone"s head will roll. Mine. But maybe yours too, if they think you had something to do with Bull"s death."

"He was here, he beat me up, he turns up dead with my prints on the vehicle," she said. "I see the problem."

"So I think we had better tell the truth and take our medicine," he said.

"Which is?"

"You work for Mid, I work for Citrus County. Neither wanted any commotion about a monster. Your employer allowed you to hide at his cabin, Bull came after you, you stabbed him with an anesthetic dart intended for the firefly and fled-and the firefly got him instead. It had already gotten Paris Brown. In the morning you and I collaborated to dispose of the bodies quietly, serving our mutual interest. That may have been a mistake, but we were rattled at the time."

"Um," she said. "I have two questions. What does your wife think of this?"

"She"s packing now, to return to her folks. Because she knows this is it for my job. And-she knows about us."

"What of Cyrano?"

Frank grimaced at the phone. "Ouch! That"s his van! Where is he?"

"He was going to dispose of the bodies," she said. "Then he got taken by the monster himself. We haven"t found his remains. So we used his vehicle to hide the bodies, and to mask the fact of his death."

"Got it," he said. "Maybe you had better go out and explain to Demerit and Jade."

"Immediately," she agreed.

"This will still be hairy," he reminded her. "Especially if the firefly keeps killing. You know they"ll burn the whole ranch if they think the firefly"s using it as a base to roam out and kill people."

"The firefly must die," she said grimly. "You tell them what you have to. I"ll tell Geode."

"Who?"

"Demerit. If the thing hasn"t fed yet, it will be out again tonight, and we"ll have to get it. Not privately; publicly, so it is clear it is dead. How is that best done, a.s.suming we can find it?"

"Gasoline," he said. "Dump it on, light it, stand back. I"ll see to it."

"Agreed. I"m sorry about your wife. I had no intention to-"

"It was coming anyway," he said. "Not your fault." That was true, but what he didn"t say was that he would like to take up with May now. How could he, jobless? So the monster had done him in that way too.

"I will see you in due course," she said.

"Sure thing." He hesitated a moment, then hung up.

He braced himself to drive to the office and say his piece. If only that van hadn"t been discovered so soon!

* 47 - MAY SET DOWN the receiver. She had spoken in a businesslike manner to him, uncertain whether his wife was listening to his conversation. She would have preferred to be more personal. He was in trouble and probably would lose his job because of her foul-up. Also, she liked him, perhaps loved him, and for the first time in her life was interested in having s.e.x with a man, he being the man. She wished she could help him. But he was independent and honest; she knew he disliked this business of telling partial truth, covering up for their foul-ups. If he didn"t have a job, he would not take help from a woman.

But maybe if Mid offered him a job...

She organized herself, then drove out to the ranch. Geode buzzed her in, and came out to meet her. "I didn"t bring groceries this time," she said. "Things are breaking loose, and we have to work out what to do. Better let me talk to none, too."

"Can"t," he said.

"She"s in this too! If they come here and find her, it will be complicated to explain."

"When we staked out the cabin, the firefly-"

She glanced sharply at him. "Are you saying it came here?"

"none-she thought maybe she was doing it, so she made me tie her up-"

May stared at him with downing horror. "She was bound-and the firefly came?"

He nodded. "I just-buried the-"

"Oh, Geode!" she said, seeing him break down. She more or less grabbed him and hauled him in to her, and he sobbed against her shoulder. "Oh, Geode, I didn"t know!"

The firefly had struck, outwitting them all. It was the most devastating loss yet. none, little none, with her fantastic storytelling ability-suddenly gone! And Geode-obviously he loved her. They had been intimate, and were well matched. Now- She sat the man down and questioned him, getting the story. none had foolishly thought she might be a killer, in an alternate personality. It was apparent, now, that the woman had suffered from a syndrome of some sort, a.s.suming multiple personalities, of which the fabled nymphly wife of Paris was only one. So she had inadvertently rendered herself helpless against the firefly, and disaster had struck. If she, May, had thought she had a problem, or that Frank Tishner had, what of this one for Geode?

This certainly solved the problem of none being discovered here-but in what a grisly fashion!

"Geode, let me think about this," she said. "I realize how important none was to you. Will you be all right for now?"

He nodded, looking miserable.

She left him, not able to do anything else. none dead! She had never thought this would happen!

The firefly had to be destroyed, and quickly! But how could they do it when the thing had struck at will, taking even the exterminator?

Well, probably a ma.s.s search by thousands of men would do it, setting fire to the brush of the ranch to kill the monster or drive it out. The thing seemed to be gelatinous, with no bones; Geode had shown her where none had been taken, in a secure closed room, without the set alarm going off. Either it was ghostly, which she refused to accept, or it could squeeze under the door. So they had learned more about it, in a most unfortunate way. That might explain how it had caught Cyrano: he had been on guard against a solid or at least a visible creature, but it could have slid under the floorboards and squeezed quietly up through a crack and gotten him from behind. That explained, too, its lack of footprints and its silence; it didn"t walk, it flowed or oozed. The clothing on victims had never been disturbed, except sometimes in the genital region, which they might have done themselves in response to the s.e.xual urgency of the pheromones. A gelatinous creature would have no concern for clothing; it would simply squeeze around it or through its various apertures.

It would also relate to the apertures of human beings, especially the genital or excretory ones. If it had no hard parts, no claws or teeth, it might have trouble gaining entry. Animal or human skin might be a barrier. But if it could get inside, to the soft mucous tissues, then it could use its acids to dissolve them away. So a.n.u.s, v.a.g.i.n.a, or p.e.n.i.s-or ear, nose, or mouth, except that the use of the pheromones suggested that s.e.xual tissue was more likely. Once it was inside, the rest would proceed, with the skin itself serving as the container for the solution. Perhaps the firefly itself entered the body, digesting as it went, and leaving when all available flesh had been absorbed.

Such a creature should be virtually defenseless against an alert man or woman. As Frank had said, gasoline would destroy it, but a knife would too. Destroying it would be no problem-if they could find it. And there was the rub: how to find it. Before h.e.l.l broke loose.

Because, she realized, all was not yet lost. none was dead, and she would grieve for her in due course. But the Middle Kingdom Ranch remained, and if they could catch and kill the firefly before it struck again, they could avoid the separate horror of a slash-and-burn search across the ranch. That would satisfy Mid and save May"s job, and Geode"s. It would also preserve a lovely piece of real estate, with all the innocent plants and animals on it.

So the firefly had to go. All else had failed. Now it was up to her. The thing had proved marvelously elusive, and horrendously dangerous, but she was coming to know it. It did not seem intelligent or particularly malignant; it merely sought isolated human beings for its meals, every three days. Had she realized that none was tied as well as being alone- So the bait had worked. It was just that the firefly had gone for the better bait, the single person instead of the grouped people. Another single person could lure it in again. But this time that person would have a can of gasoline, and a match.

May was prepared to do this herself, but she knew Frank would not allow it. He would insist on doing it himself, or on having Geode do it. Geode had the strongest motive now.

Yes, she believed she had the answer. The day after tomorrow, they would be ready. They would kill it, and show the authorities the ashes. Then they could quietly pick up the pieces.

She drove on, satisfied. Now she could weep for none.

The next two days developed predictably. Frank told the sheriff the story, and the sheriff himself drove out to look at the cabin and to talk to Geode. Geode agreed to destroy the firefly. He said he thought he could locate it by the smell. May knew he could; they had not told the sheriff about the particular effect of that odor!

Frank"s wife shipped her things and caught a plane north. He was left alone in the rented house. He still had his job, but it was hanging by a thread, and both he and May knew that the moment the firefly was gone, that shoe would drop. He was despondent, but such was the attention on them both now that she could not go to console him.

The news remained sequestered. The sheriff was keeping the lid on while the investigation continued. It was understood that the nature of Frank"s departure from his department depended on how tightly that lid remained on. He might even go with a decent reference if things remained quiet and the firefly was taken out as scheduled.

She made a call to Mid, who agreed with her plan. Things were falling grimly into place, even as they seemed to be falling apart.

On the a.s.signed day, she went to the ranch. Frank joined her there. Geode was ready: he had his matches and can of gasoline. The two of them would wait at the main house while Geode went out and found the firefly. They would be together, but there would be no relaxation; if they found the notion of s.e.x intruding, they would know the firefly was near, and if it came close enough, Frank would be able to dispatch it himself.

Geode headed out an hour before dusk. He would walk to the cabin, or wherever the firefly seemed to be. He was quite sure he could find it. May hoped his optimism was justified.

* 48 - GEODE WALKED AWAY from the house. He hoped he had succeeded in fooling May; she was pretty sharp, but right now she was so tied up with her own worries that she wasn"t really watching him. She thought him stupid, as most people did, except for Mid. She was nice enough about it, and he didn"t mind. She had seen only the outside of the rock, not the inside. In this case it had been helpful, because she had not fathomed what was in his mind. She did not realize that he had actually found the firefly, and talked to it.

He had thought deeply about the matter, and come to a terrible decision. They were right: the firefly had to die. But not for quite the reason they thought. Geode didn"t care whether the firefly fed on other people; there were too many people in the world anyway, people like the poaching hunters and Bull Shauer, who were no good. If there were a hundred fireflies, a thousand, feeding on people, it would do the world good. People were breeding too fast, crowding out all the other species, destroying the trees, polluting the ground and water and air, ruining the planet. The public was a slob, leaving litter, dumping garbage wherever it went. Mid had the right idea: buy a tract, preserve it, keep everyone off. It would be great to do that with the whole world!

But the firefly would attract a lot of attention. People would barge in, hunting it. They might, as May said, burn the ranch, to drive out the firefly so they could kill it. So the firefly was doomed; sooner or later it would die. The question was whether the ranch could be saved, and all the other creatures on it. If he killed the firefly now, the ranch would be spared, and Mid would be pleased, and Geode would retain his job. If he didn"t, much worse would happen. So he had to do it. He and May and Frank agreed on that.

But there was more that the others didn"t know. He had talked with the firefly several times now, as it proceeded to a.s.similate none and make ready to lay its next egg. He now knew how it operated. It would lay its egg near the pond, down below the water table so that it would not dry out. That egg would rest quiescent for a time, perhaps months or years. Then it would hatch, though that wasn"t the proper term. It would mature into a new firefly, with its own personality. It was really a form of fissioning, with the original firefly dividing into rough halves, one active, the other pa.s.sive. The active one would eventually get killed; it always happened, because it was defenseless and its prey wasn"t. But the chain of eggs left behind would survive, and would emerge later to feed and fission themselves. Thus the species would survive, though the original individual did not.

And it was the original. It did not know where it had come from, but Geode had figured it out. It derived from the deep sea, but the hunting there was becoming more limited, so it had spread to the shallows and finally to the rivers. But recently river pollution had gotten worse, so to escape that one had laid an egg not below the riverbed, but to the side. That egg had hatched upward onto dry land, and managed to survive the strange environment.

The firefly a.s.similated some of the qualities of each animal it fed on, for it took in only living flesh, without killing it. When it took a racc.o.o.n, or a rabbit, it learned better how to manage on land, and how to hide. When it took a man, it became aware of the power of intelligence, and learned to be far more cunning about its activity. This awareness lasted only until it fissioned, for the new substance went almost wholly to the egg. When the egg hatched, it would be more intelligent than the original firefly.

When it took none, it had a.s.sumed much of her personality. That personality would be permanent in the egg. The mobile portion of the firefly would lose it.

That egg had been laid on the second day. The firefly had delved down into the moist earth, infiltrating in an almost liquid manner, and then separated itself from the ma.s.s below. The fissioning was complete. none-Firefly had entered the quiescent stage, hidden from the knowledge of others.

If a posse of men went through the ranch, slashing and burning and bulldozing, the buried eggs might be damaged and perhaps would die. The one that was none would perish with them. Geode could not tolerate that.

So he would kill the active firefly so that the other people would be satisfied, and there would be no invasion of the Middle Kingdom Ranch. none would be saved. That was the secret he had kept, for he knew that neither May nor Frank would have agreed to allow the eggs to remain. Cyrano might have, for he had wanted to study the creature, but Cyrano would have to continue his studies in another manner when his egg hatched.

It should be interesting when the several new fireflies emerged, each with the personality of a different human being.

But Geode could not stay for that. He alone knew the truth. If they questioned him, it might come out. So he needed to disappear as soon as he killed the firefly. He had called Mid and asked to be rea.s.signed, and Mid had agreed. A car would come for him in the night, and he would get in it, and disappear. Until none hatched. Then he would return quietly to take her with him, and she would go, because she loved him, just as he loved her. If she got too hungry, and consumed him, that was all right too; they would be together.

He knew where to find the firefly because he knew everything about it now. none had made it tell him. He knew where the egg had been buried, and where it would hunt next. It would be crossing the driveway at the lowest point, just north of the house. From there it would turn north, heading for new territory. It probably would not feed tonight, because it traveled at only a third of a mile an hour, and would have to get all the way off the ranch to find suitable people to take. Only the continued availability of solitary people on the ranch had held it here this long; it normally kept moving, because the prey became more wary in any region where the bones were found.

He heard the sound of it, that faint keening. He felt an erection starting. The firefly was near, and it was coming toward him, supposing him to be suitable prey. It had never attacked him while none was part of it, both because she loved him and because it could not feed again until it set its egg. But now it had done so, and was hungry.

He stopped in the middle of the drive. He removed the cap from the can of gasoline and got out two matches. He set the matches between his teeth. He shone his flashlight around. The firefly was indifferent to light, having no eyes; it foraged by night because it had learned that this was safer, and that the prey was more likely to be quiescent. Most of its victims were caught sleeping.

The mound of brown appeared at the edge. Geode remained standing. His erection was now pulsing, as the pheromones made him mad for s.e.x. He thought of none and her wonderful body, drawing ecstasy from him again and again.

The mound sent out a pseudopod. This slid up toward Geode, then swelled. In short order the firefly was beside him, ready to send a new pseudopod up his leg to his genital region, where there were apertures for entry. Prey normally did not flee or resist at this stage; it was too s.e.xually excited.

But Geode knew the firefly, and what he had to do. He lifted the can and poured gasoline on the mound, holding the flashlight awkwardly while he did so. It splashed across the shape, seemingly harmlessly. The firefly did not know this fluid"s purpose. The pseudopod continued to extend toward Geode"s leg.

Geode set down the can. He turned off the flashlight and put it in his pocket. He took the two matches from between his teeth. He set their heads together, ready to strike them against each other.

"I am going to kill you," he told it.

The firefly hesitated. Now it realized that he knew its nature, and that meant danger for it. "Why do you wish to do that?" it asked. Meanwhile its pseudopod was at his shoe, beginning to climb.

"It is nothing personal," Geode replied. "It is to protect your eggs from discovery, so that they will survive. Especially the one I love." Then he struck the matches.

They flared, just as the pseudopod touched the bare flesh of his leg above the shoe and sock. He hesitated; that touch was wonderfully conducive! How easy it would be to let it proceed, providing him with rapture unknown elsewhere! But he knew what he had to do. He dropped the two burning matches onto the firefly and stepped quickly back.

The gasoline caught. It did not explode, for it was not confined; it merely burned brilliantly, outlining the mound of the firefly.

The thin skin of the firefly burst. Its fluid body spread out across the asphalt, but the fire followed it. The odor changed from s.e.xually provocative to sickening. The firefly was dying horribly.

Geode watched it, tears flowing down his cheeks. He hated it for taking none, but he loved it too, for preserving none. He knew it was just another creature, a unique predatpr, trying to survive. He would have let it be, had he had any choice.