Shadow Of The Past Trilogy ∞ THE DISPLACED

29 ∞ unknown bug

Day Seven ∞ Thursday

"GOOD DAY, MA'AM. My apologies for dropping by without notice. My name is Wheeler and I'm from Alabama Power Company. In the past few days, there've been a number of disruptions in the electricity supply, some of which may have caused power surges. It is our concern for the safety of our clients that we're taking the proactive approach of visiting each and every household in the area to make sure no problems have arisen because of this." The man glanced at his clipboard. "You are... Missis Grace McGahn?"

"Yes..." Mother stood at the top of the steps, studying the blue, branded work uniform and cap suspiciously, then looked at the company van parked behind him. "Power outages?"

"What's this about?" Gina said as she returned from tying Zorro out of the way by the kennel since he would not stop barking.

"This man says he's from the power company."

"Yes, ma'am. I've been working this area since this morning and covered several of your neighbors already. So far I've only identified one minor problem which I could remedy right away. Here's my company I.D. You may call the office to check on me. The number is on the back." The man took two steps up to give her the card.

"I'll use the number in my directory," Mother said, taking the card. "Just a moment."

"I understand, ma'am. You can never be too careful. I'm sure you'll find that all's in order."

Gina came down the steps and leaned against the railing. "What's going on with the electricity?"

"Oh, there's been several interruptions in the supply in this week, and they may have caused damage. That's why we're going all out to make sure that our clients are safe."

"I see." Gina eyed the man thoughtfully, noting the strong features and steel gray eyes. He wore the usual uniform work clothes. Wandering down to his feet, she noted nothing remarkable about his work shoes either. Yet there was something about him that didn't feel right.

"Well," Mother said as she returned through the screen door. "The power company confirmed your status, and Mrs Davenport said that you went there earlier."

"That's right, ma'am. She's a wonderful old lady. Reminds me of my late grandmother," the man said.

Gina looked to Mother who smiled politely. "You may enter. I trust you won't be long."

"Thank you, ma'am, I won't." The man picked up his tool bag and came up the steps.

∞

A ramp on wheels had been rigged up to hold the high-powered laser machine next to the hull of the 'cocoon'. The two men setting it up wore protective gear and had their safety-goggle helmets on top of their heads. Walters took a wide berth around them, keenly observing what they were doing and studying the machine he hoped would finally gain him access.

"We're ready to start," one of the men said.

Walters nodded and retreated while putting his protective goggles on. He parked himself next to Barrett, behind a five-inch thick one-way mirror shield and waited, his eyes glued to the laser team who pulled down their helmets.

The laser machine started humming. Walters couldn't see the head of the machine from where he stood, but he imagined it heating up and starting to glow. But then he was startled by an instant shift in the cocoon: the usually gray semi-matte finish rippled into a highly reflective, high gloss surface. For a second, he stared at the animated, distorted reflection of the laser machine and crew, and the rectangle of glass he stood behind—irregularly curved, with a diminutive representation of the cocoon within a cocoon—before comprehension hit him. "Stop!"