Edward woke with a start, crying out "No!". Breathing heavily, he dropped back onto the bed and rubbed his hands across his eyes. This was the worst dream he'd had so far this night and it was still only 3am. He'd been plagued by nightmares ever since he'd been poisoned six days ago in an attack by the Dawn; an attack that almost cost him his life. This dream though was different. It was vivid, intense and he knew instinctively that it was a premonition of things to come. Disturbed by the dream and unable to sleep, he got dressed and drove out to the mansion. Despite the early hour he felt sure he would find Daniel there.
"Don't you ever sleep?" asked Edward, entering the lab.
"Don't you ever do what you're told?" countered Daniel. "You're supposed to be resting."
Edward sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Daniel was right. His body wasn't healing as fast as it normally did and he tired rapidly. "I couldn't sleep." he said wearily.
"Nightmares?" asked Daniel sympathetically.
"Not entirely." replied Edward. "The last one was different, stronger. Something's going to happen, something deadly and we're going to be caught in the middle of it."
Aware that Edward sometimes had prophetic dreams, Daniel asked, "What did you see?"
"A meteor and a glowing light." said Edward. "It's touch meant death."
"A meteorite landed in Montana a few hours ago." said Michael from the doorway. "A NASA team has been sent to investigate."

Jesse Parker got down out of the van, glad to be able to stretch his legs. They'd got a call in the early hours of the morning saying a meteorite had come down near Northridge and he'd been driving ever since. He'd parked just north of the town, close to where the crash site was reported to be. He looked back at his team as they readied the gear. There were six of them altogether, two women and four men including himself.
"You going to stand there all day or are you going to help us unload?" asked Paul Giles.
Parker smiled. Giles was slightly built with sandy coloured hair and greenish eyes and was very forthright in his opinions. "Actually, I thought I'd just watch for a change." said Parker with a mischievous glint in his eye. Several of the team laughed as he joined them. Within minutes all was ready and they set out into the forest. They didn't have to go far before they began to see signs of the meteorite's passage. Following the same path Callow followed they came in time to the crash site. While they were still some distance off, Giles noticed a muted glow coming from the ground. "Look." he said, pointing it out to the others.
"Radiation?" asked Carol Freeman.
"Geiger counter's not registering anything." replied Joe Decker.
"Carol and I will go in." said Parker. "The rest of you stay here." As he and Freeman got themselves into biohazard suits the glow from the crash site began to pulsate.
"Something's happening." said Giles who was watching the crash site. As everyone turned to watch, several small points of light left the ground. They hovered in the air for a moment before moving toward the team.
"Everyone move back!" said Parker. The team backed off through the trees, Freeman and Parker staying between them and the lights. As the lights drew nearer Parker began to make them out as tiny insects. Suddenly the insects darted forward, coming in amongst the team and stinging them. Within seconds everyone had been stung except Parker and Freeman who were protected by their suits. The attack ended as suddenly as it began.
"Let's get out of here!" said Parker. No-one needed any second urging. They hurried through the forest keeping watch for any more attacks, but there was no further sign of the insects. They got back to the van without incident and had started packing their gear when Ann Collier collapsed. As Parker knelt next to her, Decker and Giles both passed out, quickly followed by Tom Barnes.
"What's happening?" asked Freeman fearfully.
"I don't know but it's got to be something to do with those insects." replied Parker. "Take the van into town, get some help."
"What about you? Will you be all right?" asked Freeman.
"I'll be fine. Now go!" said Parker.

"What have you got?" asked Edward as he, Kim and Michael entered the briefing room where Daniel was waiting for them.
Daniel brought up a map on a screen at the side of the room. "Last night's meteorite came down near a town called Northridge. A team of scientists were sent up to investigate. Four of the team were attacked and stung by tiny, glowing insects."
"Glowing?" asked Kim.
"Glowing." said Daniel, glancing at Edward. "Within minutes they all collapsed unconscious. So far only one of the team has regained consciousness and that was only briefly. One man from the town has also been stung."
"Are they exhibiting any kind of symptoms?" asked Edward.
"The local man, a Philip Callow, has a fever and the sting has become an open wound. The town's doctor is worried this might be some new kind of virus brought in by the meteorite." replied Daniel. "The other's aren't showing any signs as yet." He paused and looked at Edward. "Against my better judgement, I'm going to send you out with Kim and Michael but only as an observer. You are not fit enough to do any work."
"Is that really necessary?" asked Kim. "Edward's in no condition for field work."
"Under normal circumstances I would agree with you, but in this case I think its necessary." replied Daniel.
"When do we leave?" asked Michael.
"You're plane leaves within the hour." said Daniel. "I've sent a mobile lab on ahead. It'll be waiting for you when you get there."
"Guess we'd better get packed." said Kim.
"Before you go, there's one more thing." said Daniel. "The Office of Scientific Investigation and Research are sending in a team to investigate the meteorite. I want you to work with them."
"No problem." said Edward.

The bio-crisis team arrived in Northridge during the night and were met by the town's sheriff, Barton McCabe. "It's good to see you folks." he said. "This thing with the insects has got everyone worried."
"Have there been any more casualties?" asked Kim.
"None so far, at least none that we know of." replied McCabe. "I've got one of the scientific team out checking on people, the other one is keeping watch on the insects."
"What are they doing?" asked Michael.
"They dispersed for a while at sundown but now they're all back at the crash site." replied McCabe. "Jesse Parker says a few of them keep disappearing and then coming back. He's not sure what they're up to."
"It might be an idea to evacuate the north end of town." said Edward. "If these things get among the population, we could have an epidemic on our hands."
"I'll see to it after I've taken you down to Doc's place." said McCabe. The doctor's house, which doubled as his surgery, was just a few minutes walk down the road. McCabe's knock on the door was quickly answered by a middle-aged man in his shirtsleeves.
"McCabe?" asked the doctor. "What's going on?"
"I've brought the Government's team of doctors." replied McCabe.
"Ah, good." said the doctor. "I'm Ben Sanders. If you'd like to follow me, I'll show you to the patients."
"I'm going to go with Sheriff McCabe. See what the situation is at the north end of town." said Michael.
"Be careful." warned Edward.
"Always." replied Michael.
Edward followed Sanders and Kim inside, leaving Michael with McCabe. He had a feeling this was going to be a long night and he was tiring already.
"Are you all right?" asked Kim. "You look tired."
"Nothing that can't be cured with a cup of coffee." replied Edward with a smile.
Kim looked at him darkly, knowing it was useless to argue with him.
Sanders led them to a room at the back of the house. "I use this room as a mini ward." he said. "Originally there were only three beds in here but I had another two brought in for the extra patients. I'm afraid there's not much space." He led the way into the room and across to a bed at the far side. "This is Phil Callow. As far as I can tell, he was stung some hours before the others. The site of the sting on his neck is now an open wound and within the last hour he has developed small lesions around his chest and shoulders. I've never seen anything like it."
"I have." said Kim quietly, looking at Edward. "Just seven days ago."
"The symptoms are the same?" asked Edward, startled.
"Not quite, there are differences." replied Kim. "But it's close enough to make me wonder if this is where Reynolds got his formula from." She turned to Sanders. "We're going to need tissue and blood samples."
"All ready and waiting for you." replied Sanders, indicating a box by the door.
"Thank you." said Kim as she started to examine Callow. Edward joined her and had a look at the wound which had been covered with gauze. It was not a pleasant sight.
"Pulse is rapid and he has quite a high fever." said Kim.
"It's got steadily worse over the course of the day." said Sanders.
"How are the others?" asked Edward.
"The stings have developed into wounds but there is no sign of any lesions as yet." replied Sanders. "They all have elevated temperatures and pulse rates."
"Why don't you bring the van up to the house? It'll make it easier to run tests." Kim said to Edward.
"Sure." said Edward.