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Show THE EXTERMINATQR-73 stood by the side of the road, weeping and pointing at the army, shouting "love him, love him!" Thump, thump. Finally she woke up. The flickers beat their wings against her ribs and she sprang to the door. Thump, thump. She ran to the window to be sure. There he was, still wearing the black uniform, carrying a large metal cylinder with a hose attached to it. She ran back to the door, opened i t . "You came back." He pushed past her, his beak-nose sniffing the room. "You'll be needing to move out for a few days," he said. "No." "This spray will make you sick, guaranteed. You'd best move out awhile." "You don't understand," she said. "I never go outside." "I won't do diddly," he said, "until you give me your word you'll be out of here." "I can't." She whispered it to him. "Please." He set down the cylinder and the hose, fingered a lock of his white hair. It was very beautiful. "Just let me stay." she said. He smiled at her. His eyes looked softer. "All right." "Let me show you something," she said and ran past him up the stairs, motioning for him to follow. Their knees made a crunching sound as they knelt into the shafts of swirling dust. The living bugs looked enormous, backlighted as they were against the windows. She showed him how to stir up the dust, taking l i t t le fistfuls, tossing them into the light. "I call it War of the Worlds," she said. "Take a handful of dust. Try it." He picked up a fistful, flung it into the sunbeam, laughed with her at the |
