What did these five men want with her? And who _were_ they, anyway? There was something odd about them, even aside from the peculiar gun that the leader carried. Their clothes seemed wrong, as though they weren't used to wearing them; their speech was strange in some undefinable way. When they reached Ward 3, Jim Lawrence took the keys from his pocket and unlocked the main door. A night nurse at the desk looked up and smiled. "Good evening, Dr. Lawrence," she said sweetly. Then she saw the men behind him, and her eyebrows lifted. "We want to see Bette Bauer," Jim said, keeping his voice even. "Certainly, Doctor." She led the way down the corridor to Room 41. It was a padded cell; with Dr. Bette Bauer, naked to prevent her from harming herself with her clothing, lying on the floor, crooning mindlessly, her grey-green eyes staring out into nothingness. The dark man said, "That's her. Pick her up." As the four silent followers moved forward, Jim saw that the leader was watching them--he had taken his eyes off Jim himself. Lawrence reached out and made a grab for the gun--but the dark man was a move ahead of him. He moved away smoothly, whirled, and brought the gun down stunningly on Jim's head. Jim threw a wild, wobbly punch at the man, and then the other four moved in on him. He fought back blindly for a few moments, but then a fist raked across his jaw, another smashed into his stomach, and the gun descended a second time. It caught him on the side of the head, and he sagged to the floor. The thick padding was the last thing he felt before he blacked out. * * * * * The pain of awakening was worse than the pain of the blow. Jim's head throbbed as though there were a motorcycle engine inside it. When he opened his eyes, the pain became worse. A brilliant light was shining directly into his eyes. He winced and closed them again. "Dim the light," said a softly slurred voice. Jim opened his eyes again. This time, he saw what was standing over him, and he recoiled in horror. The being looked vaguely reptilian, but there was a touch of the insect about it, too. It was green in color and covered with scales, like a fish. It stood on two legs, towering above him and gazing at him with bulging, faceted, insect-like eyes. After the initial reaction of disgust came another thought: _I've got to get out of here!_ He rose to a sitting position, swung out with a fist. But the creature ducked lithely away from the blow. Cold hands on his shoulders pressed him down again, and he knew it was futile to attempt to fight his way out. He closed his eyes again--hard. "You are afraid of us," said the soft voice. "You fear me because of my appearance. Please do not. I--we--mean you no harm, Dr. Lawrence." The thing was calling him by his own name. Lawrence shook his head to get the cobwebs out of it. What was going on?