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The Cows in the Forest

Thanks to Billy's insistence on replaying the footage of the Piscelons, Dr. Kovac's comic medicine had lost its affect, and Adam was once again all she could think about. The hustle of the kitchen, however, proved the right medicine for Melanie's worried mind; in this world of stainless steel walls and cobalt tiled floors only rhythmic chopping, low simmering boils, and the perfect combination of herbs and spices mattered. The smell of broiling salmon brought memories of romantic dinners bubbling to the surface.

Pushing open the door she entered her restaurant. The place was empty but for the few regulars. It was the 4 pm lull. A woman with graying hair walked in nervously. She wasn't what one expects a client to look like, but she was one of the regulars, too. Sitting at a small table that provided a pleasant view of the restaurant, the woman placed a cabbage-shaped mug on the table as she always did. Without any encouragement Michael, the only waiter on duty, filled the mug with herbal tea, and continued the conversation that he and the graying woman had been having every Tuesday from 4 till 6 since the restaurant opened over one year ago.

Once she was assured that all her regulars were being well looked after, Melanie returned to the kitchen. There were some fresh pears just screaming to be caramelized and wrapped in a crape. Within seconds of re-entering her kitchen, she realized her pears would have to wait. Piscelons, ten of them, were crashing around her kitchen. Kyle, one of her chefs, was unconscious by the open freezer; Nick, her other chef, was half-hidden in the dirty towel cart.

Giving a little thanks for having only half of her afternoon kitchen staff that day Melanie reached for her communicator. She found her wrist naked, and began cursing herself. It was her own rule: No jewelry in the kitchen. That included walkie-talkie wrist wear. The locker where her communicator sat was by the now-ruined back door, blocked by ten rather evil fish. Having already faced them once, Mel knew better than to take on ten by herself. But she had no way of contacting the others…or did she.

She quickly ducked out of the kitchen, and hoped the Piscelons wouldn't see the door for at least another few minutes. The plan was to run to the phone, but how would she explain the sudden appearance of Piscelons to Michael or to her regulars. Moreover, how would she explain her friends' teleportation skills. The answer struck her.

"FIRE!" She shouted. "RUN! There's a fire!"

Michael, the always dependable, ushered the few customers out the door with assurances that their meal was on the house. He glanced back into the restaurant, and, receiving a nod from his boss, ran like it was his trousers on fire and not the kitchen. Once all were out of sight, Melanie grabbed the phone and dove behind the bar. In her panic she dialed the first number that came into her hurried mind.

"Come on…come on…Why aren't you answering?"

Then she realized who she had called. Adam would not be answering his mobile phone, not even for her.

"Um….hello?" a man asked in her ear.

"The Cows are in the Forest." Melanie blurted out the code developed years ago to amuse themselves. She tried to translate, but the phone went dead.

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John Carter was past trying to comprehend anything that was going on around him. He walked from the infirmary, Adam's neon green mobile phone still held to his ear.

"Excuse me," he called. Only a few people bothered to turn, but he continued anyway. "Melanie called." A few more turned. "She says: 'the Cows are in the Forest.' I'm going back to the infirmary now."

Erin stopped her work. The phrase sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place the meaning. During the Fall Melanie had joined the team they created so many "goof codes" it was hard to recall many of them. Most of the others just shook their heads, but Andrea sprinted to the teleporter controls. When no one else followed she shouted at them.
"What are you waiting for? The Cows are in the Forest. Let's go!"

"Meaning?" Zack asked.
"Something's going down! Now get your butts into action!"

"Right." Zack replied, only half believing the code. He, Kimberly, Tanya, and Rocky teleported to the restaurant. They discovered that none of them would ever doubt Melanie and Andy's codes again.