Free Bloodchild by Andrew Neiderman Page A

Ostrich."
    Jillian began beating the eggs vigorously, almost angrily.
    "So," he said to Colleen, who seemed either oblivious to Jillian's mood or absorbed in her own thoughts, "school going to have some kind of rally today?"
    "There's talk of it. The coach hates them, though, until the season is completely over. We've got the title game to prepare for now. He says rallies before big games put the jinx on."
    "Who do we play?"
    "Pine Bush. They're undefeated."
    "Should be a great game. Maybe I'll be able to—"
    "Am I crazy?" Jillian said, spinning on them suddenly, "but you two act as though nothing happened last night."
    "Pardon, Mom?"
    "What do you mean, Jillian?" Colleen asked. She held her cereal spoon frozen in the air.
    Jillian looked incredulously at both of them. "You never heard anything? Neither of you?"
    Harlan looked at Colleen and then they both turned back to Jillian.
    "Heard what, Mom?"
    Jillian stared at them again, as if to confirm that they really meant what they said. Both continued to wear expressions of confusion. Then she turned to the stove and poured the scrambled eggs into the hot pan. She watched the eggs sizzle for a moment before turning back to Harlan and Colleen, both of whom sat back patiently.
    "Dana must have been up all night. I had finally fallen asleep when I awoke to the sound of her talking in the hallway, so I got up and looked out. She was walking with the baby. I called to her, but either she didn't hear me or didn't want to. I saw her go downstairs, so I went back to bed, but I couldn't fall asleep."
    "I didn't even hear her get up," Harlan said, and looked at Colleen. "But that's nothing. I usually don't."
    "I guess I was in a deep sleep, too, this time," she said.
    "What do you mean, this time?" Jillian asked with the speed and thrust of a prosecutor.
    "I heard her night before last. She did the same thing."
    Jillian looked at her thoughtfully. Then she remembered the eggs and put them on a dish for Harlan.
    "Thanks, Mom. So Dana was up with the baby—what's so unusual about that?" he asked, reaching for the salt and pepper.
    Jillian sat down again across from them and clasped her hands on the table. She looked like someone making a difficult effort to remain calm. Her lips trembled slightly before she began to speak.
    "As I said, I didn't fall asleep. I never heard Dana come back upstairs, so I finally got up and went down to see if everything was all right."
    "And?" Harlan said, taking his first forkful of eggs.
    "The house was totally dark. She hadn't put on a light."
    "You're kidding." He looked at Colleen, who shrugged.
    "No, I'm not kidding, Harlan. I called to her, but she never responded. At first I thought she might have come back upstairs and I hadn't heard. So I went back up and looked in on the baby's room. The baby wasn't in his crib. Really worried now, I went back downstairs and put on the lights."
    "So?" he said after her long pause. He continued to eat, but he looked like someone eating before a television set, engrossed in a suspenseful movie.
    "She wasn't anywhere in the house, Harlan."
    "What?" He smiled skeptically. "Where was she?"
    "I don't know. I thought you would say something about it this morning, but you didn't even hear her get up, and for a moment there, I thought I might have dreamed the whole thing."
    "Come on, Mom. You've got to be wrong. Where would she go with an infant in the middle of the night?" His smile widened and he went back to his eggs, as if dismissing the whole thing as Jillian's dream.
    Jillian just shook her head. "You'll have to ask her. She wouldn't tell me. I went to the front door, of course, and looked outside, but I didn't see her anywhere. Eventually I put out the lights and went back upstairs, where I lay awake for hours." She leaned forward on the table, her eyes widening. Harlan stopped eating and held his breath. "I said for hours, Harlan. It was nearly morning before I heard her again. The sunlight was just coming over the