And Darkness Fell Read Online Free PDF Page B

grabbing a
gun as I got out of the van. He’d stopped pacing and watched me as I approached.
He was obviously not doped. His small blue eyes were glossy, but I attributed this
to rage, which I was familiar with. The ugly gash on his forehead hadn’t been
there very long.
“What happened?” I asked.
    “I was attacked!” His voice was high-pitched and throaty. “Right outside the
fucking store!”
“Who did it?”
“Kids. Punks.”
“How many?”
“Could’ve been eight or nine, for all I know. Jerks were all over me. They got
me from behind and…” He stopped talking and tilted his head. “What? Three?
Are you sure?” He sighed. “There were only three of them, apparently.”
“But you said…”
“I know. But he said three,” he said, jerking a thumb to his right.
“Someone there?” I saw no one hiding in the bushes or behind the scrubs.
“You ... can’t see him.”
I should have figured something was wrong. This man had suffered a
concussion.
“I can’t see him, either,” he said.
“Then how do you know he’s…?”
“I can hear him. How else would I know he’s there?”
This man genuinely believed someone was standing beside him. I didn’t
know if I should humor him or just politely wave and get back in the van.
“Any idea who he is?”
“He just ... started talking to me after ... after those punks jumped me—when
I woke up.”
“He wasn’t there before?”
His eyes narrowed. “You think I’m some sort of nut!”
The idea had occurred to me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to take him to
a doctor. I didn’t even know if any doctors were still functioning—or where their
offices were. I didn’t want to get involved in anything that could delay my trip.
But he clearly needed medical attention.
“You really should get checked out. I don’t know if I can find a doctor around
here, but…”
“You can’t.”
“You live around here?”
“All my life.”
“You have a family?”
“A wife ... two kids.” A shadow crossed his features.
“Where ... are they?”
A deep sigh. “At home.”
“Where’s home?”
He pointed across 192 to a residential area. It wasn’t far from the house I’d
visited an hour earlier. Iciness slid down my arms. I was genuinely relieved it
wasn’t his place I had robbed.
“Down that street. They’re ... still there.”
“Are they ... I mean…”
“They all collapsed three days ago. I spent the last two looking for a damned
doctor. When I found one, I had to force him to remember what he did for a
living. Just when I thought I was getting through, he closed his eyes and died. On
the spot. I’ve been wandering around all morning, trying to decide what I should
do. I’ve been waiting to wind down as well, but it hasn’t happened. I don’t
understand.” He looked me over. “You seem okay, too.”
“I’m pretty sure I am.”
“Know why?”
“I’ve got a few theories.”
“I’ve got a ton of them, too, but what the hell good are they? They won’t
change anything, and they sure as hell won’t bring anyone back.”
This wasn’t exactly the time for a discussion of world events.
“Tell me about the assholes that jumped you.”
“Tattoos and jewelry and studs and funny clothes. They were carrying guns
and giggling like girls. I was going to the store for a few odds and ends when
they pulled me out of my car, slammed me to the pavement, and then took my
money and my car.”
“You have any money back at your home?”
“I have cash ... in a jar ... on my wife’s side of the bed.”
“Want to go back and…”
“No.”
“I can go in and…”
“Please.” His eyes glistened. “I can’t ... see them like that ... or know. If they
died. If ... they haven’t.”
I nodded.
“You’ve got no family?”
“I’m divorced.”
“Kids?”
“My wife miscarried three times. That last time almost killed her. She went
back to Miami to live with her family, last I heard.”
“You’re lucky.”
He was right. Watching my wife die