Marcus sat in his room, on his bed, cleaning his pistol. The pistol was a master-piece in firearms manufacturing. It was quite a few years old, but still worked like a charm. It was a Viper TZ-96 Model 13, high-caliber hand held weapon and personal protection device. Well, that's the official name. It was unofficially nick-named the "Purifier" by military and police forces. It uses a not-so-standard 50. Caliber round with a thirteen round magazine. It uses a rather out-dated blow-back method, but is still extremely reliable. Marcus took every precaution to make sure there were no accidental discharges. The safety was on, the magazine was removed, and the slide was pulled back and locked. Marcus was using a pipe-cleaner and a wire brush to scrub the inside of the barrel.

Camille was out with Caroline, Jennifer, Eli, and Tristan, who went to the mall. Tristan was, believe it or not, a volunteer. They only brought him along to carry the heavy things. Paul was sound asleep; Frank was watching TV with some of the other inhabitants of the house. Eleanor was in her own apartment, which was surprising. All the humans had mysteriously disappeared early in the morning, which couldn't have been good. Marcus made the point of cleaning his weapon, just in case they brought home an angry mob.

Marcus had just finished cleaning his pistol, and had put it in his lockbox when he heard the front door open. Marcus dropped the box onto the floor, and slid it under his bed with his foot. He stood up, and peeked around his door-frame. It was Eleanor, accompanied by ten or more humans. Jake, was carrying a large, wooden-plank box. He walked over to the kitchen, and set the box down on the counter. Drew, who was still covered in band-aids, handed him a crowbar. Jake pried the lid of the box open. A large grin appeared on his face.

"Hell yes, check it out." Jake called out, digging into the box. He removed a large cluster of rubber gas masks, and metal filter cartridges. Marcus sighed.

"Damnit human, what did you waste your money on this-time?" Marcus asked as he approached the group.

"Bunch of surplus gas-masks. Old-fashion style too, rubberized, not plastic and metal." Jake replied, tossing Marcus a mask that was specifically made for a Xeno. Marcus threw it back.

"Human… your species is the only one that masks like this affect. Yuatja's Biomasks filter gases without the need of a cartridge, and my species are immune to almost every human contagion in existence. You wasted your money on buying half of those." Marcus replied with a chuckle.

"Really? Aww, shit… well, at least they look sweet, right?"

While Jake stalled Marcus, Eleanor and Drew snuck around him and into his room. Drew jumped onto Marcus' bed, and patted the spot next to him.

"It's comfy Eleanor, try it out…" Drew said with a grin.

Eleanor shook her head. "Sorry human, I don't date your kind. To smelly for my standards. Now, can we please get to business?"

Drew grumbled, and reached under the bed. He pulled out Marcus' lockbox, and a bobby pin. He bent the pin, and inserted it into the lock. Seconds later, Drew opened the box. He dug around in it, and removed the picture of Nicole. He kept digging, and grinned.

"I bet you Marcus has plenty of dirty-little secrets in here…"

Eleanor snatched the picture out of Drew's hands, and folded it up. Meanwhile, Marcus and Jake drew near to Marcus' room.

"So, to answer your question, let's just say that Evolution can be a real bitch sometimes." Marcus said.

"But, how come we can all understand each other?" Jake asked.

"Oh, well, when you are born, or move into a heavily mixed area, they implant a small chip into your head, so you can understand all other species."

"Oh… but, how can you read if you have no eyes?"

"Uh… I'm still not sure myself… I think it's because we smell EVERYTHING and it paints a mental picture… right now, in my head, I can't technically 'see' you, but my sense of smell is painting a mental image."

"Oh… cool… thanks for explaining it."

Marcus walked into his room, and the first thing he noticed was Drew in his box. If he had eyes, they would've been filled with flames. Drew, was completely unaware of Marcus, and continued to dig in his personal belongings.

"Hey, do you think Marcus has ever video-taped him and his old girlfriends in the…" Drew began, before noticing a shadow lingering above him. Marcus slammed the lid of his box shut, with Drew fingers still inside it. Drew retreated, and began to crawl towards the door. Marcus kicked him over, and planted a foot on his throat.

"DAMNIT DREW! I might have to kill you now. Did you take anything?"

Drew shook his head.

"Good. I'm going to take your word on it. If I find something missing next time I'm going through it, I will kick your ass so hard your sperm cells with feel it. Get out."

Drew crawled away, and gasped for air. He stood up, and pointed at Eleanor, who was standing in the corner silently. "What about her? She snuck in here too!"

Marcus stepped back, and wrapped his arm around Eleanor's shoulder. "She snuck into my room dozens of times before. I don't even care anymore."

Drew shrugged, and took off running. Eleanor rested her head on Marcus' shoulder, and sighed. But it was a sigh of content, not frustration. But of course, by the time Eleanor had managed to realize something was amiss, Marcus had already moved out of the way. Eleanor tried to catch her balance, but alas, it was too late. She fell head first, literally, onto the ground. Her head landed on a rather worn out part of the carpet. Eleanor tried to let out a cry of agony, but nothing came out. At first, at least. Seconds later, Eleanor managed to let out a cry much similar to the kind Camille or Eli would if they tripped and scrapped their knee. But Eleanor's was much, much louder. So loud, in fact, the other occupants of the building, two floors down, could hear it.

Marcus dropped to his knees, instinctively as it was, and propped up Eleanor's head with his knee. But seconds later, Marcus was sitting on the floor, and Eleanor leaned up against him, with her head on his shoulder. Marcus was gently stroking Eleanor's head, and lightly whispering "Shh…" and for a split-second; Marcus had believed Eleanor to be Camille.

Marcus snapped to attention moments later. "Are you alright?" he whispered gently.

Eleanor didn't respond. Marcus took a closer look, and realized Eleanor was sound asleep. Marcus was then, caught in a very uncomfortable position. He had a few choices; one, stay right there, and wait for her to wake up. Two; wake her up, which would be rather rude. And Three; carefully pick her up and move her, without waking her up.

Marcus picked choice three. He carefully and gently slid his arm under Eleanor's legs, and shoulders, and hoisted her up. He couldn't really take her back to her own apartment, considering it was probably locked. So, he instead set her down on his ow bed, and covered her with a sheet. Marcus relocked his lockbox, and slid it under his bed. He sighed, while simultaneously smiling.

"Damn human… going through my shit… ought to kick his teeth in…" Marcus looked over his shoulder at his bed. "Eleanor looks just… like Camille when she sleeps…"