I stared at the unconscious woman. "Rebecca, who taught you to call people `bible thumpers'?"

The girl shrugged. "My dad."

I frowned, putting the woman's bread knife back in the drawer.

The blanket and pillow had been Landon's idea. His Young Citizenship class taught him first aid for shock, though the woman clearly needed no medical assistance.

By now, my mouth had stopped bleeding, so I didn't have to worry about scalding her. I elevated her head with a throw pillow while Landon and my three Ss'sik'chtokiwij friends pulled a blanket over her large body.

Rebecca and Timmy, in the meantime, stole some cookies, pizza and sandwiches from the fridge, disappearing into the air duct. It seemed the promise of a dinner and ice cream could not compete with the threat of being returned to Kumar's guardianship.

I had just puffed up Becky's pillow, and begun the process of straightening her blanket when a man said, "...the fuck?"

Tall, bald headed black man in a blue jumpsuit. He immediately pulled a gun.

Maria, Aquila and Ruth, being small and close to the woman's body, weren't in immediate danger of being fired upon. Only me.

I raised my claws in surrender, backing away. "She has not been harmed."

"Mama fainted when she saw Newt's pet," Landon said.

The man scowled. "Who the hell is Newt?"

"She's a girl. Mama has her picture on the camera."

I kept my claws raised, backing away from Becky. "Please don't shoot me."

"Little ones," I hissed to my companions. "Behind me."

The man clicked back the hammer of his gun. "I'm only telling my friends to retreat."

He had been pointing the gun at my head, but now the barrel lowered, at level with my chest. Still not safe, but progress.

The man narrowed his eyes. "Are you that thing from the lab she told me about?"

I chuckled nervously. "Did she tell you about a Christian thing from a lab?"

"She...might."

"Can I please put my claws down? I'm unarmed."

"Go ahead."

The man ordered me to back up to the wall, so I did so.

Relaxing, I introduced myself and my Ss'sik'chtokiwij friends, by their human names.

"Where's this `owner' of yours? Where's Newt?"

"She ran away."

"Her parents are dead," Landon added. "She doesn't like her guardian."

"Is this your dad?" I asked the boy.

"Yeah."

I smiled at the man. "And what is your name, sir?"

Landon's dad was not interested in making friends. "You can call me Mr. Butler, and Mr. Butler is going to shoot you if you move one step closer to me, my son, or my wife."

"Yes sir."

Mr. Butler set his gun aside, knelt by Becky's body, throwing back the blanket.

He sighed in relief when he found the woman's respiration normal, and no injuries. He gave me a strange look, the closest I'd get to an apology.

The man brushed Becky's hair back, kissed her forehead, covered her again.

He fiddled with the camera device, showed it to his son. "Is that Newt?"

Landon nodded.

"Where is she now?"

Landon pointed to the vent, which just so happened to be near where I stood.

"Would you like me to move?"

He nodded his head toward a corner of the living space, so I padded that way, watching him peer into the vent with a flashlight.

He stuck his head and arm through the opening. "Hey! Little girl!"

After some swearing and awkward fumbling, he came out with no flashlight, waving a hand pitted with bloody teeth marks.

He unthinkingly sucked his wounds. "Little bitch!"

Mr. Butler probably would have done more to capture the girl, but at that precise moment, the electronic door chimes rang.

He gave me a suspicious glance. "Don't move. You move, I redecorate with your brains."

I swallowed. "Yes, sir."

Mr. Butler opened the sliding door at the other end of the room, revealing a pair of figures in suits, the possessed human and his new convert, Mr. Rockett.

"Hello!" Noah gave a small laugh. "I am Noah Mun. I have been given a joyous message from God that I wish to reveal to you. May I come in?"

"I'm...sorry." Mr. Butler glared at him. "I'm...busy right now."

"This message is important," Tyrone barked. "It is imperative that you listen now because God's kingdom is coming now, and only the faithful elect will be saved from the coming destruction!"

The glare turned to disgust. "Sorry, I'm really not interested."

Noah casually pulled out a phone, showing Mr. Butler an image.

I couldn't see from my vantage point, but I guessed it to be a Ss'sik'chtokiwij, for Mr. Butler immediately sputtered, "That's that thing I saw with my wife! What is this?"

"It's a picture of God's holy angel, sent to remove the godless sinners from LV 426, or, as we like to call it, New Jerusalem."

Mr. Butler sighed, appearing to give it serious thought. "You know, I really should shut the door and tell you to take that bullshit somewhere else, but I just spoke to one of those things, and it actually did say it was Christian. In fact, it looks like it even propped my wife's head up with a pillow and wrapped her up with a blanket."

Noah chuckled. "You have been chosen!"

"Now you must let us in!" Tyrone said.

Butler tried to shut the door, but Noah stuck his foot in the door frame. "The faithful are chosen by the Ss'sik'chtokiwij, the Lord's holy angels, for the kingdom of God. You have been protected because you are one of God's elect."

"You have been blessed!" Tyrone urged. "Already the Lord Jehovah has sent his angels, his Ss'sik'chtokiwij to destroy many of the unchosen, the sinners. I trust you've heard of the lives lost at the atmosphere processing station."

Mr. Butler sighed through his nose. "So you say these things are angels?"

"Don't listen to them!" I shouted. "They're trying to deceive you!"

Mr. Butler shot me a suspicious glance, but only spoke to Noah. "All right. Say these things are angels. Can they bring me that little girl they call Newt?"

Like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, Noah reached outside the door frame, bringing Rebecca before the man.

The girl did not look happy.

I didn't see Timmy. I hoped this meant he was still alive, and safe.

Noah grinned. "Now. I wish to tell you about New Zion. May I come in?"

To my horror, Mr. Butler let them in.

They sat down in couches across from each other, Noah taking out a pocket bible as he unpacked his strange religious ideas.

Noah planned to connect a large set of trailers into one large structure, called "The Tabernacle," in which "God, Jehovah" would reside "eternally."

The faithful would meet once a day in Unit 197 and sing hymns "In the tongue of angels."

It prescribed strange ritual garb, claimed that Ssorzechola was the final incarnation of God, the first four being Jesus, Mohamed, Buddha and Elijah. He claimed all four prophesied Ssorzechola coming to LV 426 in the last days.

I shook my head. "He's lying to you."

Mr. Butler pointed at me. "What do you say to those accusations, Noah?"

Noah chuckled. "He is merely testing you. You know that Satan is an angel too. His name mean adversary. His function merely to test the faithful to see if they are worthy to be saved."

"That's not entirely accurate," I said.

Noah chuckled. "See? He is testing you."

"You should listen to Ernie," Rebecca said. "This guy obviously doesn't know what he's talking about."

Tyrone grabbed the girl. "I think the Little Miss is just tired. Is there a bedroom around here somewhere?"

Mr. Butler showed him a door. "Right through there."

"I'm not tired!" Rebecca shouted. "Let go!"

Noah laughed, as if my friend always acted this way. "Children."

The two disappeared into the bedroom.

Mr. Butler eyed Noah with a look of suspicion.

"She will be fine. She is troubled. Her parents die in the explosion. She does not like Kumar, her new guardian."

Mr. Butler appeared to relax.

"You know? Kumar actually sent us here to find her. I believe it is a sign from God that we also find you."

"Hmm. That is an interesting coincidence..."

"It's not a coincidence," I argued. "He's lying to you! Newt's parents didn't die in an explosion, they were killed by bad aliens! And if you listen to Noah, one of them is going to kill you!"

"He is right. This Ss'sik'chtokiwij, this Adversary, intends to kill you if you join the chosen faithful. But you must be strong, resist adversary." Noah raised a defiant fist. "You must be brave! Satan prowls like roaring lion, but God is on the side of the faithful!"

Angry. Furious. But if I raised a finger against Noah, it would do nothing but convince Mr. Butler to join Noah's cult.

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil," I quoted. "Who put darkness for light and light darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!"

"Even the devil uses scripture for his own end."

"A pot calls the kettle black!"

"See? Now he make racist remark! Adversary!" Noah stood up. "Not to worry. I will silence the enemy with his own tongue."

In my own language, he barked, "I am holding the other human child prisoner outside this room. Say one more word against me, and I will slash his throat from ear to ear and use his body to feed larva."