Chapter Two: Sneaks and Creeps
Page Six3, July 1999 Saturday Jack knew he'd probably over-reacted, but was still unable to completely shake the very real fear of alien invasion via food
poisoning that the moment had induced. "What is that?" "Chicken casserole. Sgt. Gill Hacklik-style. Want?" "Uh…no."
He picked up a fork, glancing a couple times at Daniel to make sure he wasn't glowing, too, and poked around the casserole
a few times. "What'd she do? Toss some electric eel in for flavor?" "Aren't eels blue?"
"I'm sure some come in green. Why is it glowing?"
"Because the light is making it look like it is. It's not." Jack took a quick step back as Daniel moved the plate
and sure enough, with the shift of light, the glow dissipated. "Oh." Feeling incredibly stupid, but trying not to show it, Jack righted Daniel's chair and then his own, sitting down and keeping a close eye on the
suspicious food. "Is it really supposed to be that color?" "Sam swears it's safe. I asked if it was food coloring and was told it wasn't. I don't know what it is and since it doesn't seem to have any flavor,
I'm not going to ask. I promised Sam I'd try it and since Gill's sitting right over there, I'm actually having to….try it." Jack wrinkled his nose before the news that the creator of the unwanted food had probably witnessed his entire debacle hit him and he looked over, quite
aware of the potential embarrassment.
What he saw had him wishing he could keep his mouth shut sometimes."Colonel, hello." "Sergeant, how are you?" "Very well. Thank you, sir."
"And your husband?"
"Happily retired. He really appreciated your attending the party." "He's a good man." "Thank you, sir. I'll tell him you said so." "Good."
A pause of complete silence in the room let Jack know he was the center of attention and everyone was wondering how he was going to
deal with this one. "So, Sergeant. I hear you brought some food from home." "Yes, sir. Would you like to have some?"
"Absolutely. I love your cooking. You know that." "Well, thank you, sir. I'll just be a minute, then."
"I'll be right here. Waiting."
"Yes, sir."Jack had to hand it to her.
She hadn't even cracked a grin that would've made him wanna fall through the floor and hide.
He turned back, completely unsurprised to
find Daniel giving him that little special smile.
The one that let him know he'd made an idiot of himself and it was so public that there wasn't a point in denying it.
The one he'd earned
at least once a month this entire year and sometimes more.
Well, fine. "Here you go, Colonel. Enjoy."
"Thank you, Sergeant. I appreciate it." "You're welcome, sir."Jack watched as Gill took back her
seat, obviously refusing to discuss the matter further with those around the table if their disappointed, gossip-hungry expressions were anything to go by.
Of course, in this lighting…everyone
looked gaunt, spooky, and downright unfriendly.
He turned to look at the full place setting Gill had set out for him. ...continue to page seven...
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