Sorting his papers, he gazed into the audience of cameras and microphones, the media ready to catch his every word and move. Never before had he been ...equested to do this."Good afternoon, I am Dr. Johnathan Redmond of St. Rita's Medical Centre. I will be speaking to you today about the recent outbreak of the HS1F1 Virus, or Homovirus, as the media are referring it to."The young doctor turned the page, looking back up at the expectant reporters."The virus is highly contagious to men, with the. ”She agreed. “No, but they’re perfect for hitchhiking.”I laughed. “Excellent point; good to know you had a plan.”Silence reigned until I found an exit with a store, where I stopped and bought a six-pack of MGD and some pretzels and peanuts.We each popped a cold one as I again headed west, snacking and making small talk as we celebrated freedom. I drank slowly, as you should when driving, but Leah downed hers and was into her second when she reached out and touched my arm.“You’re a nice guy,. The lights in the small bar were dimmed to a pleasurable level. Dark enough for punters to realise day had moved on, into evening, not so dim as to reek of pick-ups and Saturday nights. In small alcoves, candles burned. Travis made eye contact with the waitress behind the counter. She stood, intently polishing a large, red wine glass with relentlessness bordering on obsession. The young, fit woman wore an elegant starched white shirt and a long, black apron. She fit perfectly into the. Take as long as you need Ephus, we will all be here, though before all of that happens you must pass the test.”Ephus nodded there were still a few things that needed to be done before he could ever think of being here. Shaking his head he’d thought that he and Bast would spend most of their time in the human realm. Now, he wasn’t all that sure. “As I said I want this test to be fair. Sobek found out that at the moment I cannot control one of my powers. He touched me when I didn’t want him to..