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Subject 117
Introduction
Then something happened, something strange and ugly. I saw something move in Hannah's neck . . .
Strange tentacles came out of her arms and legs. Long, thin, green tentacles. They moved around my neck and across
my face. They were wet and cold.
"I can't see," I cried.
The tentacles closed over my eyes and mouth. I started to fight them, but they were too strong.
"Hannah!" I shouted. "Hannah, help me!"
Cade Foster has a good job and a beautiful wife. Suddenly things start to go wrong. He loses his job and his money.
He sees strange things, pictures in his head. Is he going crazy? Or does somebody—or something—want to hurt
him?
First Wave is an exciting story for television, and the story begins with Subject 117. Chris Brancato, the writer, also
worked on the X-Files and The Outer Limits.
Francis Ford Coppola made Subject 117 for television. His most famous movies are The Godfather and
Apocalypse Now.
Chapter 1 My Name is Cade Foster
Aliens will come to Earth three times.
The first time, nobody will know them. They will be men
and women.
The second time, the aliens will kill nineteen million
people.
The third time, the aliens will destroy the Earth.
On the seventh day, a man will walk on Earth. Only he
can stop the aliens . . .
From The Book of Nostradamus
My name is Cade Foster. For many years I was a thief. I took money from banks and stores, and the police were
very interested in me.
Then I met my wife, Hannah, and my life changed. I loved her very much and I wanted her to be happy. She
didn't want to marry a thief, so I found a job. I started working for Viceroy, a big company. Viceroy sells strong locks to
other companies.

"I don't know," I said.
"You're crazy," my friend said. "What did Mr. Dray think?"
"Oh, he was fine. I didn't tell him about the head. I sold him the locks."
"Excuse me," Hannah said. She left the table and walked away.
I followed her, but a waiter stopped me.
"I'm sorry, sir. There's a problem with your American Express card."
"My card's fine. Can you try again?"
"No, sir," the waiter said. "The company says that we have to destroy it."
"What? Listen, I have to talk to my wife. I'll be back in a minute."
I ran after Hannah. She wasn't happy.
"What's happening to you?" she asked. "You can laugh about these stories with our friends, but they really aren't
funny."
"I'm sorry, Hannah," I said.
"Something's wrong with you. I talked to Mary. Her uncle's a doctor at Northwestern Hospital."
"I talked to five different doctors.You know that.They say I'm all right."
"Mary's uncle says there's somebody at a different hospital. He can help you."
"Hannah, I'm busy. I have to work. I have a job. Remember?"
"Then take a vacation," Hannah said angrily.
"But it doesn't happen very often."
"Cade, I'm afraid for you."
"Don't be afraid! I'm fine. Let's walk."
"And leave our friends?"
"They're OK."
We walked through the yard of the restaurant. Hannah was very beautiful in her long blue dress. Her hair fell
down her back.
"I love you," I said. "And I have something for you."
I gave her a locket. Inside, there was a photo of her and me and the words: Always, Cade.
"It's beautiful," she said. "Thank you."
She put the locket around her neck.
"Do you remember that picture?" I asked. "It was a really cold

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Daniel Funkner
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"I'm sorry, sir. I can't give you any money. I looked at the names of our customers on the computer. There's no Cade
Foster."
"But that's crazy!" I said. "This is my bank. My money's here."
"We don't have any of your money in this bank, sir," the girl said. "Please leave."
"I have more than five thousand dollars in this bank," I said angrily.
"Leave the bank now, or I'll call the police," the girl said.
I ran out of the bank.
For the next three hours, I walked through the city streets. I was angry and afraid.
"Who sent those papers to Birmingham?" I thought. "Where's my money? Yesterday it was in the bank and now
it's not there. What's happening to me? Who wants to hurt me?"
It was dark when I got home. The front door was open and the window was open, too. There was food on the floor
in the kitchen. "Was there a fight here?" I thought. I walked into the sitting-room. "Somebody broke the tables and chairs.
Look at this glass! What happened? And where's Hannah?"
Then I saw the number nineteen on the walls. There were big red numbers on every wall.
"Hannah!" I shouted. "Hannah! Where are you?"
I looked in every room downstairs, but I couldn't find her.
"Hannah!" I shouted again.
I ran up the stairs and looked in the bedroom. No Hannah. Then I kicked open the bathroom door and I saw
her. She was on the floor.
"Hannah, it's me—Cade. It's OK."
"I heard noises," she cried. "I was afraid, so I came in here. Who was in our house?"
"I don't know," I said. "But I'm going to find him."
I put my arms around her.
Later that night, I went back to Viceroy, to Mr. Birmingham's office. Quietly, I opened the door of his room. I
looked at the strong lock on his desk.
"No problem," I thought. I opened the lock with a special knife.
I opened the desk and found the papers, the papers about me. There was a name on one of them—Detective

"My husband's in the bathroom—and he's got a gun. Please! Help me!"
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I followed her up the stairs.
"He's afraid," the woman said. "Something's happening to him. He sees things, strange things. I don't see them,
but they're making him crazy."
We stood outside the bathroom door.
"Please come out, Sam," Mrs. Hitchens said.
"Go away!" he cried.
"Somebody wants to hurt him," Mrs. Hitchens said to me.
"Who?"
"I don't know. Sam lost his job with the police. Our American Express cards don't work. And the bank says we
don't have any money."
"That's happened to me, too," I said.
Mrs. Hitchens pushed the bathroom door again.
"Sam, please open the door. Somebody wants to talk to you."
"Is there somebody in our house?" Sam asked.
"He's a nice man. He—"
We heard the noise of a gun.
"No! Sam!" Mrs. Hitchens cried.
I kicked open the door. Hitchens was dead. He was face down on the floor and the gun was next to him.
I turned him over. I knew his face, his mustache, his brown hair. I heard his voice inside my head:"Nineteen ..."
Mrs. Hitchens stayed with her husband. I couldn't help her.
Quickly I went into Hitchens's bedroom. There were a lot of old newspapers on a large desk near the
window. Every newspaper had a story about the same person: Mayhew, now in Wilsonville Special Hospital.
"Mayhew—I know that name," I thought. "He's a dangerous man. He killed his wife and children, and the
police put him in a special hospital. Why are these papers on Hitchens's desk?"
Next to the newspapers, I saw Hitchens's police badge.
"Maybe I can use this," I thought, and I took it.

"This man is crazy," I thought. "But I see things too. And the bank lost my money. Maybe ..."
"Find the book," Mayhew said. "I wrote everything in a book. It's in the middle of my backyard, under the red
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Daniel Funkner
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eye. Read the book, and then you'll understand."
He looked at me again. Suddenly he was angry.
"Who are you?" he shouted. "Why are you here? Who sent you?"
"I want to help you," I said.
"You're not a detective! You're an alien! You're an alien!" He pulled at the rope on his hands. He wanted to hurt
me.
The doctor came into the room.
"Please leave," he said to me. "He can't answer anymore questions."
There was another man outside the door, a man with dark hair. Did I know his face?
"Do I know him?" I thought. I wanted to speak to him, but the man walked quickly away.
I went home and told Hannah about Mayhew. "We're going to Mayhew's house," I said. "I want to find this
book. But first ..."
I started to look around the house. I took our clothes out of the closet and the books from the shelves. I ran from
room to room.
"What are you doing?" Hannah asked.
"Mayhew says they're watching us. There are cameras here, in the house."
"Cade, I want you to see the doctor. We can go to that other hospital next week. Please, tell me you'll go. It's
important."
"We don't have any money," I said angrily. "Remember?"
"My mom will give us the money."
I turned and looked at her.
"Your morn knows about this? Hannah!" I cried. "Why did you tell her?"
"I'm afraid, Cade," my wife said. "You're so strange these days. The doctor—"
"A doctor can't help me. Something or somebody wants to hurt me. They hurt Mayhew and Hitchens—now
they're going to hurt me."

Quickly we pulled the box out of the ground, and I broke the lock. Inside we found a book. Hannah looked at the
name on the first page.
"Nostradamus?" Hannah said. "I know the name. Who was he?"
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Daniel Funkner