Casey had twisted in his hideout to get a better view of the house and the lights that flitted about it.

Somewhere in the woods, the mechanical noise still approached, but it was slow, as if the object was too large to move easily in the trees.

The people in the house had to have seen the lights by now. He imagined them cowering in the bedrooms, hiding under the beds.

Maybe it took a coward to see others so clearly.

He suppressed the thought viciously; he was no coward; his death would not have profited the civilians. The question now was what he could do to help the people in the house. If he broke cover and ran to the house, he would not make ten yards before the aliens cut him down. If he reached the house alive, what would the actors do? Would they believe him enough to run away from shelter in the middle of the night?

Casey doubted it. They would think it was part of the unfolding activities and try to perform for the camera. They would waste precious time while he worked to convince them it was time to cut and run. The aliens would grab them all in one neat bundle.

Stolen story; please report.

Someone needed to survive, and for now, he seemed to be the only candidate.

Survival of the fittest. He bit back an insane urge to laugh aloud.

A large piece of wood cracked yards away, and he froze with his thought silent as he waited.

Brief touches of reflected silver traveled in the woods. He counted three compact figures as they made their way to the edge of the woods where they could view the house.

A creature stepped fully into view as it slowly walked, its torso swaying from side to side as its head turned to search the woods. It held nothing in its long-fingered hands, but a metal globe followed the alien and Casey would a month's pay that the metal globe was a weapon.

He held his breath in revulsion as it passed by, trailing the odor of ammonia.

His luck held, and the creature did not see Casey. The relief was palpable. He hoped the cover of brush was enough to protect him from a more thorough search because he did not doubt for a minute that the aliens would look for him.

The machinery noise gained in strength until a huge gray sphere rolled into view and stopped at the edge of the woods. The sphere sat quiescent as the aliens walked to it and pressed their hands to its surface.

A light, stunning in its intensity, burst from the sphere and lashed the house, while the aliens moved away from the sphere, shadows against the light.

The door of the house opened and three men ran into the yard with guns held high.