The Colony: A Novel (29 page)

“
Oh yeah
.” Kendra started the engine with a roar and peeled out of the parking lot, thrilled to be outside again. She eased onto the access road and revved the engine, hitting the speed limit, as the wind blew her shaggy layers of blond hair that had grown to her shoulders. She turned on the stereo and scrolled a few dozen reggae songs, settling on Bob Marley.

For a while the two sat without speaking, lost in thought. As they slowed to pass through a security gate, Kendra pressed a warm palm against her shirt and felt the beginnings of a bulge.

Paul watched with a hesitant expression.

She turned down the music. “You okay with this?”

He nodded. Paul was more than okay, he was elated at the thought of having a child with Kendra but worried about her long illness.

She saw anxiety in his face and flashed a comforting grin. “Doc says everything is fine. She’s the perfect size for five months.”

He smiled, nodding again.

“Where we headed?” asked Kendra, crossing the Maryland border into Washington, D.C.

“South,” Paul replied. “Florida.”

Kendra arched an eyebrow.

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” he said. “The USDA is funding the largest IPM research institute in the world.” Paul said. “The focus will be pheromone manipulation, of course. You’re supposed to run the whole thing.”

For a moment, Kendra was speechless. “What about your work?”

“I’m going to be your assistant.”

She couldn’t suppress a burst of laughter.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, offended.

“There’s no glory in dirt, Paul. No offense, but I think your digging days are over. Even field study won’t replace your burning desire to unlock the mysteries of the Siafu Moto.”

He scowled inwardly, and Kendra took his hand.

“Let’s go to Nevada,” she said. “To research the ants.”

Paul looked away.

“Oh, come on. You’ll be world famous.”

“I’m already world famous.”

“World famouser.”

“This is
your
moment, Kendra. You earned it, and the work you do will bring about great changes to the environment. To the future of agriculture.”

Kendra frowned. Somehow the future of agriculture didn’t seem as important anymore. She stopped at a light and watched the pedestrians marching across the street: tourists pointing and chatting, couples holding hands, distracted teenagers texting in stride. Life had not ceased. The earth continued spinning, its inhabitants going on with the daily grind as always, barely skipping a beat after the most monumental catastrophe in the history of humankind.

We’re a resilient bunch, she thought. Yet somehow, a piece of her soul had transformed and would never be the same. She wondered if it was her own evolution, or did others feel it too? She looked at the faces streaming by but couldn’t tell.

The light turned green, and she turned south onto Georgia Avenue.

“You can’t pass up this opportunity,” she said. “There’s no telling where it may lead.”

“What about the institute?”

“Let Jack head the research for now. He never really wanted to retire.”

Paul didn’t say anything.

“I’ve given this a lot of thought.” Kendra raised her chin, sounding defiant. “We devoted half our lives to ants. I don’t want death and destruction to be their final legacy.” She looked at him. “You can make sure it never happens again.”

Paul wrestled with the proposal, as he’d done many times before. Living in the desert with Kendra. Studying the most dangerous creatures on earth. Raising a child in a world …
a child?
Suddenly, it wasn’t just about him. Perhaps their research could somehow benefit future generations. “Okay, we go to the lab—but just for a look around. I’m not making any promises.”

He opened a paper bag at his feet, pulled out two bottles of water and handed one to Kendra. It was warm, just the way she liked it. “To new discoveries,” he said.

They tapped the neck of their bottles, and Kendra took a long drink. There was a sudden flutter in her abdomen.

“She kicked!” Kendra sucked in a gasp of air, with a hand on her belly.

Paul reached over and pressed a gentle palm. Another kick. They shared a loving glance.

“You know, we’re both starved,” she said.

“I think I’ve got you covered.” From the backseat, Paul retrieved a brown cardboard case marked
HERSHEY.

“No way,” Kendra said, reaching into the open box and pulling out a candy bar, as Paul watched her rip open the paper, amused.

“Nevada,” he said. “We should probably drive to the airport.”

“I’m not flying,” she replied, filling her mouth with chocolate. “I could drive all night.”

“We could take a red-eye. You’d be asleep the whole—”

“I’m not flying!”

“Okay, okay.” Paul knew better than to argue with a woman who had recently saved the human race.

Kendra stopped at a red light and chugged the rest of her water. “Just be ready for a lot of bathroom stops.”

Paul watched her smiling profile, and he was filled with the promise of a better world, where people of every nation accepted their differences. It was naive, he knew.
Irrational.
But then hope, he realized, was the only thing that kept civilization moving forward. It was like Kendra once told him.
Ants have been around for a hundred million years. We’re still learning how to be human.
Now that he saw the universe in a whole new light, anything was possible.

The light turned green against a stunning cobalt sky. In front of the jeep, the Washington Monument loomed like an arrow, pointing onward. Kendra shifted into gear with the wind in her face, and they blasted down Independence Avenue, to the last sliver of orange sun setting in the west.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A. J. Colucci lives in New Jersey and spent fifteen years as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, and writer for corporate America before becoming a full-time author.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.

An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.

THE COLONY.
Copyright © 2012 by A. J. Colucci. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.thomasdunnebooks.com

www.stmartins.com

Cover art by Shutterstock

ISBN 978-1-250-00129-0 (hardcover)

ISBN 9781250017314 (e-book)

First Edition: November 2012