1 Roxy
Evening fell over the national park. The family of four had left hours ago. The only people at the park during these hours were the few full-time rangers who surveyed the area at about this time.
The two viruses looked up from the base of a swamp tree. They were waiting for one of the park rangers to pass by, or possibly hitch a ride with one of the parasitic deer ticks that crawled around every so often. As they waited, Roxy looked to the stars above while Thrax kept his eye out for something to come near them- a mouse, a spider, anything at all.
Thrax sighed. "I haven't seen anything for hours now," he said, turning to Roxy. "How about you?"
Roxy turned and blinked in confusion. Clearly, she was a little distracted by the evening stars to pay much attention to anything.
Thrax rolled his eyes. "Never mind." He said, turning back to the tall grasses that he was looking in.
Roxy turned away as well, only to look back at the stars. "Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" she asked with a smile.
"Elaborate." Thrax requested, not quite sure what she was talking about.
"The stars," Roxy explained. "They're so beautiful. Did you ever wonder what they really are?"
Thrax looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I don't need to wonder because I know," he said, matter-of-factly. "Stars are hot balls of gas that float up in space. They stay in their conceived positions for thousands of years, in which time they explode into what's called a 'super nova'."
Roxy stared at him. "How'd you know that?" she asked.
Thrax simply grinned as he finally turned to her. "It's amazing what you can learn from the different host bodies you've taken down," he explained. "I found that out from the memory of a fifth grade child I killed."
"Is that required?" Roxy asked.
Thrax chuckled. "No," he clarified, "but it's interesting to know these things, right?"
Roxy nodded. "It would make my job more fun if I could learn a few things about this world." She admitted.
Thrax looked up into the stars. He saw three of them set in a short, straight row. "Orion's Belt." He thought aloud.
Roxy looked at him. "What?" she asked.
Thrax took her hand and lifted it towards the constellation. "Those three stars are called 'Orion's Belt'," he explained, then showing her some other heavenly bodies. "Right there is Ursa Major… and there's Ursa Minor… there's the Big Dipper… and that star right there is the North Star."
Roxy smiled as Thrax was showing her these star patterns. She was beginning to appreciate him more and more, all the time. In fact, she would even say to herself that she…
"Hello!" Thrax said, waving his hand quickly in front of Roxy's face. "Roxy?! Wake up, Roxy!"
Roxy shook her head, escaping her dreamland. "What?" she asked, a little confused.
Thrax only rolled his eyes, looking back to the trail. "Nothing," he explained. "You just zoned out on me; that's all."
Roxy nodded, looking at the trail as well. "Do you think we'll find another body tonight?" she asked him.
"We should be able to find a ranger or two come down this way," Thrax reassured her. "If not, we'll have to wait until morning, and even then, this is a narrow path that isn't traveled much. However, I have confidence in foolish human nature that we can find at least three tourists in the same week."
"Three in an entire week?" Roxy repeated, wide-eyed. "How can you be that confident with those chances?!"
Thrax grinned. "You'll see…" he said.
Suddenly, a tiny light flickered on at the end of the trail. Some light footsteps could be faintly heard. Also within hearing distance was the sound of someone mumbling to himself.
Thrax rubbed his hands together in satisfaction. The park ranger was on his way, carrying a perfectly healthy body for him to terrorize.
Thrax turned to Roxy. "Here he comes," he warned her. "Be alert, and follow my lead."
Roxy nodded as she followed Thrax down the exposed tree root. They moved quickly and stealthily through the grass and mud. Finally, they reached the long band of dust known as the trail.
The park ranger was moving closer, though his steps were nervous and hesitant. "I hope Nathan's right," he thought aloud. "I really hope there aren't any cougars… or bears… or wolves…"
Suddenly, the ranger stepped in some type of swamp goo. As he struggled to get his foot free, Thrax and Roxy climbed up his shoelace and onto his pant- leg.
Finally, the park ranger had released his foot from the ooze and continued to worry about the forest predators. Little did he know that he was already being attacked… by a viral disease.
Later that night, Thrax and Roxy had made it all the way up to the ranger's face. They squeezed in through his lips and decided to rest near a tooth ridge in the mouth.
As Thrax laid back on the tooth ridge, he noticed Roxy fiddling with her DNA-bead necklace. Apparently, this wasn't her first time taking over a body. "Nice." He quietly complimented.
Roxy must have heard Thrax, because she then turned to him. "What?" she asked.
"The necklace," Thrax pointed out. "I thought this was your first time."
"Well, it's my first time with a human," Roxy confessed. "Before this, I specialized in animals."
Roxy held up many small beads. "All of these once belonged to lab mice," she explained as she held up more beads, each one larger than the first. "These belonged to a few raccoons… this one belonged to a golden eagle… this one came from a champion race horse- three time contestant in the Kentucky Derby…"
Finally, Roxy came to the largest bead on her DNA necklace. "I take pride in this bead in particular," she said, smiling. "It belonged to a 500 pound, 6 foot long, male Siberian tiger. It was the toughest and most exotic specimen I've ever killed."
Thrax cocked his eyebrows in disbelief. Sure, he'd taken down a few animals, but his toughest job was the Golden Retriever that belonged to one of his subjects. He had to admit that a tiger was a tricky animal to kill, and to take a DNA bead from one's body is an ideal find.
However, no body was harder to kill than a human.
Smiling, Roxy looked at Thrax. "Do you think I have a chance inside a human's body?" she asked.
"Oh, you'll get a chance all right," Thrax responded, lying against the wall of the tooth. "The real question is if you're ready for it."
The rookie virus seemed to cheer up a little bit. "Well, if I can take down a tiger," she encouraged herself, "then I can take down a human, right?"
Thrax chuckled as he sat up. "I'm not too sure," he said with doubt. "Now I never went into the depths of a tiger's body, but I should warn you that humans are hard to kill. My first specimen was an infant, and it took me weeks to kill it. The only reason I've gotten better is that I've practiced."
Roxy hung her head and sighed. Maybe she wasn't cut out for humans; maybe it would have been better if she had killed one of those famous white tigers when she had the chance.
Then, Thrax put his hand on Roxy's shoulder. "Hey, don't take it so hard," he assured her. "Besides, you'll do all right with a little help."
Contented, Roxy hugged Thrax in gratitude. "Thanks." She said, quietly.
Thrax only nodded as he let go, laid back against the tooth ridge, and fell asleep.
Evening fell over the national park. The family of four had left hours ago. The only people at the park during these hours were the few full-time rangers who surveyed the area at about this time.
The two viruses looked up from the base of a swamp tree. They were waiting for one of the park rangers to pass by, or possibly hitch a ride with one of the parasitic deer ticks that crawled around every so often. As they waited, Roxy looked to the stars above while Thrax kept his eye out for something to come near them- a mouse, a spider, anything at all.
Thrax sighed. "I haven't seen anything for hours now," he said, turning to Roxy. "How about you?"
Roxy turned and blinked in confusion. Clearly, she was a little distracted by the evening stars to pay much attention to anything.
Thrax rolled his eyes. "Never mind." He said, turning back to the tall grasses that he was looking in.
Roxy turned away as well, only to look back at the stars. "Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" she asked with a smile.
"Elaborate." Thrax requested, not quite sure what she was talking about.
"The stars," Roxy explained. "They're so beautiful. Did you ever wonder what they really are?"
Thrax looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I don't need to wonder because I know," he said, matter-of-factly. "Stars are hot balls of gas that float up in space. They stay in their conceived positions for thousands of years, in which time they explode into what's called a 'super nova'."
Roxy stared at him. "How'd you know that?" she asked.
Thrax simply grinned as he finally turned to her. "It's amazing what you can learn from the different host bodies you've taken down," he explained. "I found that out from the memory of a fifth grade child I killed."
"Is that required?" Roxy asked.
Thrax chuckled. "No," he clarified, "but it's interesting to know these things, right?"
Roxy nodded. "It would make my job more fun if I could learn a few things about this world." She admitted.
Thrax looked up into the stars. He saw three of them set in a short, straight row. "Orion's Belt." He thought aloud.
Roxy looked at him. "What?" she asked.
Thrax took her hand and lifted it towards the constellation. "Those three stars are called 'Orion's Belt'," he explained, then showing her some other heavenly bodies. "Right there is Ursa Major… and there's Ursa Minor… there's the Big Dipper… and that star right there is the North Star."
Roxy smiled as Thrax was showing her these star patterns. She was beginning to appreciate him more and more, all the time. In fact, she would even say to herself that she…
"Hello!" Thrax said, waving his hand quickly in front of Roxy's face. "Roxy?! Wake up, Roxy!"
Roxy shook her head, escaping her dreamland. "What?" she asked, a little confused.
Thrax only rolled his eyes, looking back to the trail. "Nothing," he explained. "You just zoned out on me; that's all."
Roxy nodded, looking at the trail as well. "Do you think we'll find another body tonight?" she asked him.
"We should be able to find a ranger or two come down this way," Thrax reassured her. "If not, we'll have to wait until morning, and even then, this is a narrow path that isn't traveled much. However, I have confidence in foolish human nature that we can find at least three tourists in the same week."
"Three in an entire week?" Roxy repeated, wide-eyed. "How can you be that confident with those chances?!"
Thrax grinned. "You'll see…" he said.
Suddenly, a tiny light flickered on at the end of the trail. Some light footsteps could be faintly heard. Also within hearing distance was the sound of someone mumbling to himself.
Thrax rubbed his hands together in satisfaction. The park ranger was on his way, carrying a perfectly healthy body for him to terrorize.
Thrax turned to Roxy. "Here he comes," he warned her. "Be alert, and follow my lead."
Roxy nodded as she followed Thrax down the exposed tree root. They moved quickly and stealthily through the grass and mud. Finally, they reached the long band of dust known as the trail.
The park ranger was moving closer, though his steps were nervous and hesitant. "I hope Nathan's right," he thought aloud. "I really hope there aren't any cougars… or bears… or wolves…"
Suddenly, the ranger stepped in some type of swamp goo. As he struggled to get his foot free, Thrax and Roxy climbed up his shoelace and onto his pant- leg.
Finally, the park ranger had released his foot from the ooze and continued to worry about the forest predators. Little did he know that he was already being attacked… by a viral disease.
Later that night, Thrax and Roxy had made it all the way up to the ranger's face. They squeezed in through his lips and decided to rest near a tooth ridge in the mouth.
As Thrax laid back on the tooth ridge, he noticed Roxy fiddling with her DNA-bead necklace. Apparently, this wasn't her first time taking over a body. "Nice." He quietly complimented.
Roxy must have heard Thrax, because she then turned to him. "What?" she asked.
"The necklace," Thrax pointed out. "I thought this was your first time."
"Well, it's my first time with a human," Roxy confessed. "Before this, I specialized in animals."
Roxy held up many small beads. "All of these once belonged to lab mice," she explained as she held up more beads, each one larger than the first. "These belonged to a few raccoons… this one belonged to a golden eagle… this one came from a champion race horse- three time contestant in the Kentucky Derby…"
Finally, Roxy came to the largest bead on her DNA necklace. "I take pride in this bead in particular," she said, smiling. "It belonged to a 500 pound, 6 foot long, male Siberian tiger. It was the toughest and most exotic specimen I've ever killed."
Thrax cocked his eyebrows in disbelief. Sure, he'd taken down a few animals, but his toughest job was the Golden Retriever that belonged to one of his subjects. He had to admit that a tiger was a tricky animal to kill, and to take a DNA bead from one's body is an ideal find.
However, no body was harder to kill than a human.
Smiling, Roxy looked at Thrax. "Do you think I have a chance inside a human's body?" she asked.
"Oh, you'll get a chance all right," Thrax responded, lying against the wall of the tooth. "The real question is if you're ready for it."
The rookie virus seemed to cheer up a little bit. "Well, if I can take down a tiger," she encouraged herself, "then I can take down a human, right?"
Thrax chuckled as he sat up. "I'm not too sure," he said with doubt. "Now I never went into the depths of a tiger's body, but I should warn you that humans are hard to kill. My first specimen was an infant, and it took me weeks to kill it. The only reason I've gotten better is that I've practiced."
Roxy hung her head and sighed. Maybe she wasn't cut out for humans; maybe it would have been better if she had killed one of those famous white tigers when she had the chance.
Then, Thrax put his hand on Roxy's shoulder. "Hey, don't take it so hard," he assured her. "Besides, you'll do all right with a little help."
Contented, Roxy hugged Thrax in gratitude. "Thanks." She said, quietly.
Thrax only nodded as he let go, laid back against the tooth ridge, and fell asleep.