A salty tear fell from Kayla’s eye and landed on her shirt, forming a dark circle.
Phoebe looked concerned. “Don’t worry, dear, I’m sure they’ll be fine. They’ll be home soon, and we can all get together for dinner.”
Kayla wiped her eyes on her sleeve and turned away. “You need to eat, Phoebe. Please, do it for the kids. They need you right now.” Hurrying away from the room, she passed through the master bedroom door and locked herself in the bathroom. She sat on the toilet, rested her face in her palms, and began to weep.
In the years when she worked for Thomas Ward, she had accepted the fact that she might die in the line of duty. As an international private investigator, she had taken on cases in the most dangerous places on earth—usually alone. She’d been beaten, kidnapped, held at gunpoint, and incarcerated. Death was her constant companion. But never, not even in her worst nightmares, did she believe that Thomas Ward would be killed in cold blood. He was quick-witted, observant, meticulous, and tougher than rawhide. And he had given up the life of action for a quiet existence, managing his security firm and leaving the dangerous work to his successors.
And yet, he was gone—killed by a brainwashed psychopath. And no one and nothing could bring him back. But Kayla’s tears weren’t for her mentor; she wept because she had promised to take care of Ward’s grandchildren and she wasn’t sure she could. Darkness was spreading throughout the world like a cancer, and though her home was warm and safe, she felt isolated—the captain of a ship lost on an endless sea. Who knew how much worse things could get before the world returned to normal? And, even in relative peace, she was failing to care for Phoebe, who was slipping farther away with every passing hour.
Kayla inhaled and gave one last shuddering sigh. She moved to the sink, splashed cold water on her face, and studied her reflection. Her emerald eyes were red and puffy, and her hair was a mess. Taking a deep breath, she raised her chin and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She could not bring Thomas back. She might never be able to nurse Phoebe back to health. But she could protect their grandchildren, would protect them until her dying breath.
“Kayla?” a voice called to her from outside the door.
“I’m in here,” she said, wiping her nose with a square of tissue.
Eric opened the bathroom door and poked his head in. He met her eyes then frowned. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Just…thinking through some things.”
He stepped into the bathroom and pulled her into a hug. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
She rested her forehead against his collarbone and closed her eyes. “You’re already doing it.”
Eric held her in silence for a long moment, waiting for her to break the embrace. When she finally pulled away, she looked up at him and said, “Did you manage to get ahold of your brother?”
“No. I’m not sure if his phone is dead, or if he turned it off, or if he’s just ignoring my calls. Which wouldn’t be a huge surprise.”
She rubbed the outsides of his arms. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s nothing new for Bryce. I try not to get my hopes up.” He furrowed his brow for a moment, then gave a single nod. “I almost forgot why I was looking for you—I need your help fixing the TV.”
“The TV? What’s wrong with it?”
“I’m not sure. The kids were trying to watch cartoons, and then the signal turned…weird.”
She shrugged. “Could be a faulty connection. Or maybe bad weather at the uplink site.”
Eric shook his head. “This isn’t like anything I’ve seen before. It’s like…” He paused for a moment, and his frown deepened. “I think you should see for yourself.”
She followed him through the master bedroom, down the hall, across the living room, and into the family room. All of the children and several of their parents were clustered in front of the widescreen television. Deedee Hawkins was seated among the children, and little Tommy Ward was sitting in her lap. The boy was in the fetal position, hiding his face in the crook of Deedee’s neck.
Kayla stopped and knelt beside Deedee. “Tommy, what’s wrong?”
The boy didn’t answer at first, so Kayla gently rubbed his shoulder. “It’s okay, you can tell me.”
“There’s…there’s a man on the TV. I don’t like him.”
Kayla raised an eyebrow and addressed Deedee. “What show were they watching?”
“It wasn’t anything scary,” Deedee said. “Just a cartoon. A kid’s show. I’m not sure what he’s talking about.”
Kayla stood and approached the TV. The screen flickered with bright colors bisected by streaks of black. Eric was right, this wasn’t a normal disruption in the satellite signal. The multicolored panels of the Emergency Broadcast System flickered on and off for a few milliseconds at a time, then exploded into thousands of random pixels.
Then, at the center of the display, a face took shape. Its appearance was so fleeting that Kayla felt it more than she saw it, and she couldn’t be sure whether or not it was a figment of her imagination. “Did you see that?” she asked, pointing at the screen.
Eric moved to her side. “See what?”
She held up her hand. “Wait for it. There! Did you see it?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe.” But his hands dropped to his sides and he spread his feet apart into a fighter’s stance—as if his subconscious was warning him of an ethereal threat.
“There!” Kayla repeated. But the statement was unnecessary. A moment later, the flickering stopped, and the screen was filled with a pixilated three-dimensional image.
It was a depiction of a man’s face, though the resolution was low and every pixel was a different color. Twisted lines spread away from the face in every direction like snakes on Medusa’s skull. The visage shimmered, then seemed to pulse with energy. Its black eyes stared straight at Kayla and seemed to burn holes straight through her.
The pixelated mouth turned upward into a smile. And the terrifying face began to speak.
“People of the world, hear me, for I am your only hope.” The face glanced to the left and right as if addressing everyone in the room. “My name is Borya Tabanov, and I come to you in the last hour of humanity’s twilight to give you a warning: turn away from your selfishness and your hatred, or you will all perish.”
Kayla and Eric Larson both reached out for the other’s hand and held tight.
“Kids,” Kayla said in a stern voice, “go wait in the kitchen.”
Silvia started to protest, but Kayla cut her off. “Now!”
“Come on kids,” Deedee said, getting to her feet with Tommy still in her arms. “We don’t need to see this.”
The face in the television continued speaking. “Look to your rivers, your oceans. Taste the poison in the air. You are no longer simply a parasite feasting upon the ecosphere; you are a lethal contagion seeking to destroy her.”
When the last child had left the room, a dark shape appeared to Kayla’s left. Several of the adults in the room gasped in surprise. This was the first time Jarrod had entered the house since the guests had arrived.
A woman tugged on her husband’s sleeve and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be in here with that thing.”