seized the eastern third of this nation. The meeting is scheduled to convene within the hour. "
Wanting to capitalize on the extra breathing room he had just bought, Ben wasted no time in collecting another plank of wood and hurrying to the window he had stripped of a curtain. Balancing the lumber with his elbow, he was back to hammering, hammering ...
" Members of the Presidential Cabinet will be joined by officials of the FBI and ... "
Hammering and nailing, boarding and hammering, soon completing this room — as well as sporting sore arms and blistered hands. He had considered moving the piano over to block the front door but it wasn’t on rollers, and decided it would be more effort than it was worth. All the while he worked, he kept an ear open to the radio as the news droned on, often looping back around and repeating very little new, and almost nothing truly useful.
" ... behind closed doors. The White House spokesman, in announcing this conference, says there will be an official announcement as soon as possible, following that meeting. This is the latest dispatch, just received in our news room. "
Down to little more for lumber than a single removed door, Ben prepared to head into the next room. He glanced over to check on Barbra, but she had barely moved. He knew that he had not hit her that hard, that this was more of a faint than anything else, but could he blame her? Better to let her sleep it off as long as possible.
" Latest word also from national press services in Washington D.C. now tells us that the emergency Presidential conference, which we’ve just mentioned, will include high-ranking scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ... "
He carried the lumber into the hallway by the staircase, which took him past another door that he could remove from its hinges. He touched it, swiveling it to and fro, feeling its weight. He would come back to it later, when Barbra was awake and less likely to be disturbed by the noise. He was glad to have noticed it, though, as this reminded him to go around and remove other doors from other rooms in the house.
What Ben did not notice, however, was the nondescript, smaller door directly behind it, leading into the wall. A door which opened into this very room where Barbra slept, helpless ...
Finding a different door further from where Barbra lay, Ben began hammering his screwdriver into the hinges. This one refused to give easily, and it was tedious work. He couldn’t really hear the radio from here, but he was losing faith as to how useful it was proving, anyway. He had to keep moving, because he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep up this pace ...
Barbra gradually became aware of a man’s voice, unfamiliar and tinny. It took her a moment to remember where she was, she was so groggy.
" ... have joined their facilities in an emergency network, to bring you this news as it develops. "
Her cheek hurt. Why did her cheek hurt? She lifted a hand to probe along her jaw with gentle fingers.
" We urge you to stay tuned to radio and TV, and to stay indoors at all costs. "
It all came back to her — most of it, anyway. The cemetery, Johnny’s teasing her, a man who was really a creature chasing her to this house. She remembered now that the man in the sweater, who saved her from the thing with the torn throat, had struck her, but — to her embarrassment — she recalled that she had slapped him first. Why had she done that? Something about Johnny, she thought.
" Late reports reaching this newsroom tell of frightened people seeking refuge in churches, schools, and government buildings, demanding shelter and protection from the wholesale murder, which apparently is engulfing much of the nation. "
Sitting up, Barbra strove for the focus which had eluded her for some time now. She heard banging somewhere else in the house, but ... yes, she remembered, that would be her
Wanting to capitalize on the extra breathing room he had just bought, Ben wasted no time in collecting another plank of wood and hurrying to the window he had stripped of a curtain. Balancing the lumber with his elbow, he was back to hammering, hammering ...
" Members of the Presidential Cabinet will be joined by officials of the FBI and ... "
Hammering and nailing, boarding and hammering, soon completing this room — as well as sporting sore arms and blistered hands. He had considered moving the piano over to block the front door but it wasn’t on rollers, and decided it would be more effort than it was worth. All the while he worked, he kept an ear open to the radio as the news droned on, often looping back around and repeating very little new, and almost nothing truly useful.
" ... behind closed doors. The White House spokesman, in announcing this conference, says there will be an official announcement as soon as possible, following that meeting. This is the latest dispatch, just received in our news room. "
Down to little more for lumber than a single removed door, Ben prepared to head into the next room. He glanced over to check on Barbra, but she had barely moved. He knew that he had not hit her that hard, that this was more of a faint than anything else, but could he blame her? Better to let her sleep it off as long as possible.
" Latest word also from national press services in Washington D.C. now tells us that the emergency Presidential conference, which we’ve just mentioned, will include high-ranking scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ... "
He carried the lumber into the hallway by the staircase, which took him past another door that he could remove from its hinges. He touched it, swiveling it to and fro, feeling its weight. He would come back to it later, when Barbra was awake and less likely to be disturbed by the noise. He was glad to have noticed it, though, as this reminded him to go around and remove other doors from other rooms in the house.
What Ben did not notice, however, was the nondescript, smaller door directly behind it, leading into the wall. A door which opened into this very room where Barbra slept, helpless ...
Finding a different door further from where Barbra lay, Ben began hammering his screwdriver into the hinges. This one refused to give easily, and it was tedious work. He couldn’t really hear the radio from here, but he was losing faith as to how useful it was proving, anyway. He had to keep moving, because he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep up this pace ...
Barbra gradually became aware of a man’s voice, unfamiliar and tinny. It took her a moment to remember where she was, she was so groggy.
" ... have joined their facilities in an emergency network, to bring you this news as it develops. "
Her cheek hurt. Why did her cheek hurt? She lifted a hand to probe along her jaw with gentle fingers.
" We urge you to stay tuned to radio and TV, and to stay indoors at all costs. "
It all came back to her — most of it, anyway. The cemetery, Johnny’s teasing her, a man who was really a creature chasing her to this house. She remembered now that the man in the sweater, who saved her from the thing with the torn throat, had struck her, but — to her embarrassment — she recalled that she had slapped him first. Why had she done that? Something about Johnny, she thought.
" Late reports reaching this newsroom tell of frightened people seeking refuge in churches, schools, and government buildings, demanding shelter and protection from the wholesale murder, which apparently is engulfing much of the nation. "
Sitting up, Barbra strove for the focus which had eluded her for some time now. She heard banging somewhere else in the house, but ... yes, she remembered, that would be her
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