Holly, J Hunter, Vogeler

“Alone yes, but I will not be alone much longer. Come and watch me, Earth boy. See what I can do with water.”

The Vogeler suddenly sank to a position just beneath the surface, still visible. From where Shael stood, it seemed that the creature's shape was changing. Catching his breath, Shael crept closer to the bank, then watched in horror as the Vogeler pulled itself together in the middle to form a figure eight that stretched and stretched until the two round parts broke away from each other.

“Now there are two of us,” the Vogeler laughed. “Watch me create more!” It happened again and again until, counting the original, there were eight of the things in the water, all the same size. It was simple cell division, but done this way it was horrible to see.

“Look what I have made,” the Vogeler called. “Eight of us in no time at all. In forty eight of your hours, I will be able to do it again and my new brethren will be ready to do it also.”

Shael multiplied frantically and the results were terrible. Eight Vogelers now and in two days there would be sixty four, then five hundred and twelve, then four thousand and ninety six! In just six days there would be over four thousand of them. Beyond that, the figures staggered him. In six months time, the Earth would be teeming with Vogelers and their voracious appetites. By force of numbers alone, they‟d be able to bring down every living thing and eat their way across the planet until all life was destroyed. In such numbers, nothing could stop them. Shael retreated again, Suddenly afraid for his own safety.

The Vogeler sensed his fear and taunted, "Do not worry. I‟m not coming out of the water.

My brothers and I are going to flow with the current and by morning we„ll be miles away.

Say goodbye to your little Vogly, Earth boy. And don„t be too heartbroken, because it will not be goodbye forever. You will meet me again one day, or others just like me.” It was a threat; and the Vogeler‟s taunting was compounded seven times as the other Vogelers joined in. Their eight ugly forms began to move downstream, swimming in unison, while Shael stood still, betrayed and sick. He had selfishly taken the alien boast to his heart, and through that action, he had probably destroyed the world. The river would carry them, breed them, distribute them, and … he stopped short. The river! The irrigation channel wasn‟t a river, but the Vogelers didn‟t know this. All they could really do was to swim to the barrier in the canal. Shael ran far out into the empty field, determined to keep his thoughts secret from the Vogeler. Since the water was just a dammed channel; maybe he could find a way to stop this invasion, but how?

He kept pace with the aliens, keeping behind their undulating forms as he hunted for an idea. The first barrier would turn them back and make them angry. He was afraid to go near the water, but he was sure as he could be that he could outdistance them if they came over the bank after him. Dangerous to himself or not, that barrier just had to stop them.

There was a sudden churning moment of horror as one genuine turtle, a green shelled creature waded into the Vogeler‟s path and was instantly clutched and devoured. Everything on Earth would go that way if the barrier didn't stop them before they reached the grain fields. Once there, they could hide away while they searched out a true river. He followed them on, eager for the moment when the first barrier would block their way.

Shael scanned the banks and finally saw the open water gates which meant the flow was being used to irrigate the fields. He hadn't noticed that the still water had started to move.

So now they were through the first barrier and on their way to eating the world alive. He stopped by the water gates and forced himself to think clearly enough to remember the exact map of the water route. He had walked it many times, so he knew its formation. For the next mile, the barriers were spaced close together, forming holding areas that could also open out from the sides to let water into the different sections of the fields. It was an intricate system and never used all at once because the supply of water wasn‟t enough for that. His heart thumped faster as he saw a possibility of hope. If he got it wrong, he'd have the entire Irrigation Squad down on his head as well as 23. Without a hope of explaining 10