The picnic was to be a fine place for hospital employees and their families to relax a bit. The latest reports said that their work in the HIV department had spared tens of thousands already. They were happy.

Escher leans against a stucco wall and watches as the burgers on the grill get served just a moment too soon to be healthy. He doesn't even have to wave his hand, to get that batch to be transferred.

Everyone will blame the cook, or the meat, or the butcher, or the cows.

Not him - oh no, never quite look in the simplest of places. Escher was one of the oldest actual viruses that the human body hosted, so he knew more than his siblings about how intestines work.

The radio is playing loudly, and someone asks him if he wants to dance. "Of course I do," he tells her. She's sweet. She's had hepatitis and never known it. On their way around the grounds, Escher drifts them close to the grill again, where he manages to truly confound efforts to locate the source of the e-coli outbreak by infecting two dozen hotdogs and even a wrapped up tofu-dog. You never know.

But he does.

(back)

Escher got kind of tired of waiting for someone to bring him out to a dragon site. Why would he have to wait, anyway? He was the best looking of the batch of Virus' kids, probably the most charming, and he danced the best.

So, while one of the others dragons was also bored, he happened to ask, "hey, where should I go find myself a dragon like you?"

"Lantessama Isle," said Pylori's dangerous fire dragoness. "I will take you there."

But when she got him there it was almost too late - they had had a great big Halloween hatching and he'd come after the start of it. "It's all right," someone said, shoving him into the dark cavern where the dragons were hatching, "go on in. There's probably something in there ready for a guy like you."

"You don't even know me!" Escher said, "how would you know?"

But he did go into the cavern and ... sure enough there was a dragon. She ... sat looking at him with angry eyes.

"I waited, and I waited." She spat. "And finally, here you are. Late. I hope you're not going to be late any more."

"Late has so many meanings," Escher said. "Now... What's your name?"

The dragon swung her head around with a vicious snarl, "you can't tell?"

"Rabies!" He cried out with glee. The dragoness turned her attitude off, or at least down a notch, when he said her name.

"Yes - you and I will have such fun together! You're a trickster..."

"You're beautiful on the outside," Escher replied with a grin. "And like me, you're going to tear up anyone stupid enough to get near!"

***

After returning home to the hospital grounds, Escher has to introduce Rabies to everyone. They are duly impressed. Pylori and his red Glenn dragoness especially. "Nice dragon," Pylori laughs. "Are you going to let her ... well, she can't exactly 'fly' now can she?"

Rabies snarls at the offending relative.

"You are going to get bit, and you won't be happy with the results," Rabies says.

"What she said," Escher smiles, and walks her to their new home.