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"If it’s okay with you, Peter," she’d said, "would youthose shades? Because it’s really, really bright in here"

The New Thing That’s what they were calling her Neither one nor the other, but somehow both She couldn’t feel the virals, as Areat sadness of the world In every respect she seemed herself, the same Alicia she had always been, save one:

When she chose to, she could do the ht, when had that not been true of her?

• • •

The Sno-Cat died within sight of the valley floor A chuffing and wheezing, followed by a final sneeze of smoke from the exhaust pipe; they coasted a few more meters on the treads and came to rest

"That’s it," Michael called from the cab "We hoof it fro from the trees below, the sound of the river, swollen with runoff Their destination was the garrison, at least two days of travel in the sticky spring snow They unloaded their gear and strapped themselves into their skis They had learned the basics froe, a slender, yellowed voluh the words and pictures it containeditself look easier than it actually was Greer, of all people, could barely stay upright and, even when heoff helplessly into the trees Aliding and pushing off with a nirace-and showed him what to do "Like this," she’d say "You just kind of fly along the snow It’s easy" It wasn’t easy, not by a long shot, and the rest of them had suffered more than their share of tumbles but, with practice, had all become at least passably proficient

"Ready, everyone?" Peter asked, as he snapped his bindings closed A roup It was just shy of half-day, the sun high in the sky "Amy?"

The girl nodded "I think we’re all right"

"Okay, everyone All eyes"

They crossed the river at the old iron bridge, turned west, spent one night in the open, and reached the garrison by the end of the second day Spring was in the valley At this lower altitude, round was thick with mud They traded their skis for the Humvee the battalion had left behind, supplied theround cache, and set out once again

They could carry enough diesel to take them as far as the Utah line Maybe a little farther After that, unless they foundthe hills, into a dry country of blood-red rocks rising around thee where they could-a grain elevator, the back of an eas station shaped like a tepee

They knew they were not safe The ones of Babcock were dead, but there were others The ones of Sosa The ones of Laht The ones of Baffes and Morrison and Carter and all the rest That hat they had learned That hat Lacey had showed them when she’d exploded the bo the Many as they lay down in the snow and died What the Twelve were, but even more: how to set the others free

"I think the closest analogue would be bees," Michael had said During their long days on the iven everyone Lacey’s files to read; the group had spent many hours in debate But ultimately it was Michael who had advanced the hypothesis that pulled all the facts together

"These Twelve original subjects," he went on, gesturing over the files, "they’re like the queens, each with a different variant of the virus Carriers of that variant are part of a collective ure that?" Hollis asked Of all of the on every point

"The way they move, for starters Haven’t you ever wondered about that? Everything they do looks coordinated because it is, just like Olson said The more I think about it, the more this makes sense The fact that they always travel in pods-bees do the sa in swarms I’ll bet they send out scouts the same way, to establish new hives, like the one in the mine And it explains why they take up one person out of ten Think of it as a kind of reproduction, a way of continuing a particular viral strain"

"Like a fa it nicely We’re talking about virals here, don’t forget But yes, I suppose you could look at it that way"

Peter re Vorhees had said to hi He related this to the group

"It follows," Michael agreed, nodding along "There’s very little large ga out of food, and running out of new hosts to infect They’re a species like any other, prograether like that could be a kind of adaptation, to conserve their energy"

"Meaningthey’re weaker now?" Hollis tendered

Michael considered this, rubbing his patchy beard "’Weaker’ is a relative teruardedly, "but yes, I’d say so And I’ll go back to the bee analogy Everything a hive does, it does to protect its queen If Vorhees was right, then what you’re seeing is a consolidation around each of these original Twelve I think that’s e found at the Haven They need us, and they need us alive I’ll bet there are elevenhives like it somewhere"

"And what if we could find them?" Peter said

Michael frowned "I’d say it was nice knowing you"

Peter leaned forward in his chair "But what if we could? What if we could find the rest of the Twelve and kill them?"

"When the queen dies, the hive dies with it"

"Like Babcock Like the Many"

Michael glanced cautiously at the others "Look, it’s just a theory We sae saw, but I could be wrong And that doesn’t solve the first proble continent They could be anyplace"

Peter was suddenly aware that everyone was looking at him

"Peter?" This was Sara, seated beside hiht

"I think I knohere they are," said Peter

They drove on It was on their fifth night out-they were in Arizona, near the Utah border-that Greer turned to Peter, saying, "You know, the funny thing is, I always thought it was allmesquite, a concession to the cold Alicia and Hollis were on watch, patrolling the perimeter; the others were asleep They were in a broad, eht beneath a bridge over a dry arroyo