'Harana has been told to go back to their ship to teach the rest of them what you showed her, but she refuses to go. She wants to stay here with you. She says that since this is all recorded, they can use that to teach the other females.' Vage said.

I'm shocked to say the least. I guess I really have won Harana over to us.

'She also says that there must be more for you to teach her.'

I groan at that news. Not that I'm averse to further sessions with Vage's younger sister; I just don't want to get too worn out, and school starts back up in a couple of days….

After a bit more arguing, I see Harana grin widely, and the others give an alien equivalent of a 'harrumph', before they turn to walk away.

The lead alien stops and turns to face Vage. She says something that makes Vage jump off of Loveth, and all of the color drains from her. I look to Harana and see that she has the same reaction. Whatever was said, neither one of them liked.

Loveth moans as she is forgotten, but when she sees the looks on the other aliens' faces, she becomes concerned. "What is it? What's going on?"

"I don't know," I tell her, waiting for Vage to either send me a message or speak out loud. Instead, she turns and walks out the portal, saying something in her own language, before the black rectangle closes around her. I can only guess she is going back to incubate our children.

I turn to Harana, a sense of dread filling me, and see that she is sitting on the floor, staring into nothing.

"Harana, what is it?" I demand from her, hoping she can tell me through my nanites.

She looks up at me with fear-filled eyes, and her cat-like pupils are fully dilated, covering up almost all of the silver. I have to repeat my question before she seems to understand. When her mental answer comes, I understand her terror.

'The demons have somehow sped up their approach. They will be at your planet in a little over one month.'

....

It takes me nearly an hour to convince Mom that she hadn't seen an alien ship abducting Loveth, and thankfully, my sister is there to back up my story.

Loveth and I agree that my sister needs to leave our mother's home, so a repeat isn't likely. Her first thought is to come up and stay with me. When I point out that we aren't expected to keep our hands off each other, that people will notice, and that Vage and/or Harana can pick us up easily enough wherever we are, she decides to hitch a ride back home with Vage. That also allows her to start getting her affairs in order, just in case the demons kill us.

My wonderful sister is even willing to let me know (in excruciating detail) about the fun the two aliens have had, as Vage and Harana take turns incubating my unhatched children. Somehow, I can't help but think that I need to reevaluate my life when I can make a statement like that.

We did not fool ourselves; we know the odds are against us. The demons have an entire fleet designed for battle, and we have a few ships that aren't intended for combat, but exploration and science. What chance does Earth have against that? My switches? Even having physical contact with my sister, I'm not sure that I'll be able to affect that many at once.

Everything seems too daunting. The new semester starts today, and I personally think it's a bad idea to go. I need to focus on developing a strategy to defeat the demons. This time, it's Loveth who does the convincing, telling me I need to act usual and like nothing is going on.

"Besides," she informs me cheerfully over the phone, "once we stop the demons, it's not like school is just going to go away. You'll still need your degree. . . That is, unless you've changed your mind about manipulating people with your switches. . . ?"

And so I find myself walking in the cold air, through campus, on my way to my first class. I decide to walk, so that I'll have more time to think. It just isn't fair, looking around at everybody else enjoying themselves, as they return from Winter break, and chatting with their friends as if the world's not going to end in a month. Was I ever that carefree and ignorant? Well, I guess I have Tina, or even the twins, to talk to if I need to, but I don't feel right dumping this on any of them. I'm so absorbed in my own thoughts and concerns that I'm not paying attention to where I'm going and run right into someone shortly after arriving on campus.

"I'm so sorry," I apologize, giving the woman my hand, after I pick myself up off the snow-packed ground.

"Quite all right, Mr. Smith," the woman says in a voice I almost recognize.

She looks slightly familiar, but I can't place her. She's an older woman with long red hair, skinny, and rather attractive. She's wearing a white smock, and so at first I think she might be part of the nursing program. The only problem with that theory is that I don't know anyone from that department, and I'm sure I've met this woman before. Something tickles my mind, and I check for my switches. I'm surprised to find some in her: 'metabolism', 'skin elasticity', 'red hair', and 'slow aging'.

Who've I given those switches to? Thinking hard, I come up with the answer, as it finally dawns on me.

"Mrs. Stilinski?" I ask, in shock, "Have I changed that much?" She replied.

She smiles and titters as she brushes her smock off.

"I've been feeling so energetic lately, and my hair color actually came back. Well, not really my hair color, but it's still better than grey. Not sure why it turned red. Not even the doctors can explain it, but I've been feeling so ALIVE!"

I can tell that she is indeed feeling well by the sparkle in her eyes and the speed with which she talks. I can't help but smile, thankful that my switches have helped at least someone out for the better. Mrs. Stilinski looks at something red on her smock, then examines her own hands. Suddenly, she grabs my hand, exclaiming, "You cut yourself. Come with me, young man. Let's get this cleaned out."

I try to protest, but it only looks like a minor cut, and the nanites will take care of it soon anyway. She is surprisingly strong and refuses to listen to me. She chats the whole way to her office.

"Ever since just before Winter break, I've had more energy, and the pounds just started slipping away. I've not felt this good in years. If only Mr. Stilinski hadn't passed away some years ago. . ."

She glances at me surreptitiously before continuing, "But you probably don't want to hear about how lonely it is for an old lady. Anyway, I went to see Doctor Peterson, but he says nothing is wrong with me. In fact, he says that my body is acting like it's almost twenty years younger. Oh, here we are. After you, Mr. Smith."

I step into the energetic nurse's office, her hand on my lower back, and sit down where she indicates. She grabs some alcohol and gauze before returning to me, holding a stool, and setting it between my legs. She cleans the cut on my hand, or rather, the blood from my palm. The nanites have already closed the cut for me. Mrs. Stilinski looks astonished at my appendage for a few seconds, flipping it over, and then rubs her thumb across where the blood had been.

"Huh, what's happening? Why is there no wound on your hand ?" she says in wonder.

"The blood had to have come from somewhere. . ."

She continued to rub my hand, and despite my worries and concerns over the last couple of days, her light caresses were starting to turn me on.

When her light caresses turn into a hand massage, I finally look back at her face and see her staring intently into my eyes.

"It's been so long since my husband died," she tells me. "I get so lonely, sometimes. . ."

She grabs my other hand and starts to rub it, and I know instinctively what she is going for. I'm curious to see how far she'll take it, without any action of my own. Even though she is sitting between my legs, rubbing my hands, her eyes never leave mine, and I can't deny that she looks years younger than she did before Christmas break. It seems like she wants something from me, so I give her a slight nod. It seems to be enough.

"I know how stressful it can get for you, students. Even during the start of a new semester. All new classes, no idea what the new professors are going to expect from you. Finals are over, but that only means you have a whole semester to look forward to more of them. Why don't you take off your shoes and lie back on the table?"

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