Darkness on the Edge of Town by Brian Keene Page A

it, then adjusting various knobs. I watched him and waited patiently. I didn’t know anything about telescopes, so I figured I could help best by staying quiet and out of the way. His posture grew stiff, and he started muttering and cursing to himself. His breathing grew louder.
    “Fuck me,” he gasped. “This is—”
    “What’s wrong?”
    Russ waved his hand, growing more agitated. Grunting, he bent over and picked up the telescope, then moved it to another spot on the roof. He stared back up at the black sky and moaned.
    “Russ, what the hell is wrong?”
    I turned the flashlight on and directed the beam at his face. He turned to me, his mouth hanging open, eyes wide. He’d grown pale and seemed to be in shock.
    “Jesus Christ, Russ! Are you okay? You look like you’re having a heart attack or something.”
    “There’s nothing,” he whispered.
    My heart rate increased. I had a bad feeling in my stomach.
    “Well, like you said, the darkness might be some kind of cloud cover.”
    “No. You don’t understand. I told you, this telescope can penetrate through shit like that. This ain’t someWal-Mart special, man. This is a top-of-the-line unit. If there was anything up there, I’d see it—and there’s not. The stars are fucking gone , Robbie. And it’s not just them. The moon. The international space station. All the fucking satellites. You have any idea how many satellites there are circling the Earth? And now they’re not there anymore. They’re all missing. It’s like the darkness swallowed them, too. Like Walden is the last thing in creation, floating all by itself in some black void…”
    He trailed off, his voice choked with sobs.
    “They can’t be gone,” I whispered. “If they were gone, then we’d be dead. We couldn’t live without the sun.”
    “No, we couldn’t. And if the moon suddenly disappeared…well, let’s just say it would fuck this planet up in ways you can’t even imagine. But see for yourself. They’re not there.”
    “There has to be a logical explanation.”
    If Russ heard me, he gave no indication.
    “What has happened?” he muttered. “Oh my God, what is going on here?”
    Before I could respond, a gunshot boomed in the darkness. It sounded very close, and both of us ducked instinctively. The echoes rolled across the roof, and my ears rang.
    “Damn, that was close.”
    Russ nodded. “Way too close. Next door or downstairs.”
    I ran to the edge of the roof and peered over the side. The street was mostly deserted now, but there was still a small crowd huddled around one of the burn barrels. They were all staring and pointing at our building and the one next to us—the one where Tom Salvo, the guy I’d met that morning, lived.
    Russ drew alongside me. He seemed to have recovered from his shock, at least momentarily.
    “See anything?” he asked.
    “Those people down there are pointing at our building. I need to check on Christy. You’d better check on Cranston.”
    I started toward the fire escape, but Russ stopped me.
    “Be careful,” he whispered. “If somebody broke in, they could still be down there. And I’m betting they’re armed, because I know you and Christy don’t own a gun, and I doubt Cranston does either.”
    “Shit. You’re right. Do you own a gun?”
    He nodded. “Several. I’ll get them. No sense going into this unprepared.”
    “But Christy—”
    “You can help her a lot better if you’re armed, Robbie.”
    “Come on.”
    Leaving our mugs behind, we went as fast as we could in the darkness and made our way back into his apartment. Russ hurried to his bedroom closet and pulled down a pistol box. He unlocked it and pulled out a .357 and a .38, both Taurus revolvers. He flipped open the cylinders. Both weapons were loaded. He handed me the .38.
    “Hollow points,” he said. “Extra stopping power. Aim for the biggest part of the body, like the chest or abdomen. No warning shots, and no shooting to wound. If you’re gonna pull