coming off the exhaust grilles on the tanks idling not far from the woman. Then the woman was moving. Moving toward the foremost tank. Danny saw that her arms were folded protectively around her belly, as if she was cradling a child. But it wasn’t a child. Danny began to run, her boots slipping against the grit of the yard. Hands wet on the shotgun. She began to run, not knowing—
It was fully dark, but there was a moon riding over the mountaintop. She was up against a tree root, and a few yards away the Explorer with the Forest Peak Sheriff’s Department medallion stenciled on the door was upside-down against a tree at the base of the retaining wall below Route 144. It was quiet up above on the road. As the initial blast of pain dialed back to a loud throb, details of her situation were coming back to Danny. Confusion and pain made her mind ripple like the heat from the burning farmhouse.
She had been on the roof of the Explorer with a gun. Where was the gun? Somewhere around. Never lose track of a weapon. She groped for the four-cell flashlight on her belt. Didn’t carry the preferred eight-cell because it pulled her pants down. Her fingers were unresponsive but she got the light on and shone it around. Carpet of rusty tree needles. No shotgun. The Explorer totaled. Blood all over it. The town council was going to love that. There was a plowed path through the tree litter that showed why she hadn’t been crushed underneath the big Ford: She had kept on sliding after she hit the ground. Fetched up against this root. See? Detective abilities working fine. Body found some yards from scene of accident, ejected from roof of vehicle. Clear as day, Your Honor. But Danny couldn’t for the life of her imagine why she’d been holding a gun on the roof of the Explorer. Good way to get shot by a sniper.
A small hatchback was over the side some distance away through the trees. Nobody hanging out of the windows. Good. There was another vehicle at the end of the flashlight’s power to reveal, hanging halfway over the guardrail. What the hell had been going on? She was on the roof of the Explorer, she knew that much. Everything else was gone from her mind.Danny was still in the position she’d awakened in, lying on her back. Time to get up and find out what she had missed.
There were fireworks lighting up the night after all—inside her skull. Danny must have hit her head on the root pretty good. She felt a massive knob on her skull that hadn’t been there before. It was wet. Fingers in the flashlight beam: yes, blood. Awesome. Was she concussed? What was the approved procedure for concussion? She didn’t recall, but she knew it wasn’t climbing up a man-made stone wall fifteen feet high. However, that’s where the road was. Unless she wanted to hike over to the logging road. But Danny wasn’t feeling entirely certain she could find the way without getting lost, and if she’d been on the roof of her vehicle the reason would be right up above. She needed to see.
She didn’t end up climbing the wall. Her sense of balance was nowhere to be found. Instead, Danny groped her way along the dry-laid stone, keeping herself steady against it. There was a loud bagpipelike droning in her ears that never stopped. The ground sloped up toward town, so she eventually reached a point she could climb over on her hands and knees. Then she inspected the situation up on the road. It all started to come back as she swept the flashlight back and forth over the frozen scene of chaos around her. Danny was glad she wasn’t standing up, or she might have fallen down. The droning noise in her ears was deafening.
There were cars everywhere, cars and trucks and motorcycles and rubbish like foam party coolers and sweatshirts and McDonald’s sacks and broken glass. Accidents had stopped in midcourse: vehicles with bumpers tangled together, front ends pushed up on trunks, motorcycles spilled under the wheels. But the vehicles weren’t the main
It was fully dark, but there was a moon riding over the mountaintop. She was up against a tree root, and a few yards away the Explorer with the Forest Peak Sheriff’s Department medallion stenciled on the door was upside-down against a tree at the base of the retaining wall below Route 144. It was quiet up above on the road. As the initial blast of pain dialed back to a loud throb, details of her situation were coming back to Danny. Confusion and pain made her mind ripple like the heat from the burning farmhouse.
She had been on the roof of the Explorer with a gun. Where was the gun? Somewhere around. Never lose track of a weapon. She groped for the four-cell flashlight on her belt. Didn’t carry the preferred eight-cell because it pulled her pants down. Her fingers were unresponsive but she got the light on and shone it around. Carpet of rusty tree needles. No shotgun. The Explorer totaled. Blood all over it. The town council was going to love that. There was a plowed path through the tree litter that showed why she hadn’t been crushed underneath the big Ford: She had kept on sliding after she hit the ground. Fetched up against this root. See? Detective abilities working fine. Body found some yards from scene of accident, ejected from roof of vehicle. Clear as day, Your Honor. But Danny couldn’t for the life of her imagine why she’d been holding a gun on the roof of the Explorer. Good way to get shot by a sniper.
A small hatchback was over the side some distance away through the trees. Nobody hanging out of the windows. Good. There was another vehicle at the end of the flashlight’s power to reveal, hanging halfway over the guardrail. What the hell had been going on? She was on the roof of the Explorer, she knew that much. Everything else was gone from her mind.Danny was still in the position she’d awakened in, lying on her back. Time to get up and find out what she had missed.
There were fireworks lighting up the night after all—inside her skull. Danny must have hit her head on the root pretty good. She felt a massive knob on her skull that hadn’t been there before. It was wet. Fingers in the flashlight beam: yes, blood. Awesome. Was she concussed? What was the approved procedure for concussion? She didn’t recall, but she knew it wasn’t climbing up a man-made stone wall fifteen feet high. However, that’s where the road was. Unless she wanted to hike over to the logging road. But Danny wasn’t feeling entirely certain she could find the way without getting lost, and if she’d been on the roof of her vehicle the reason would be right up above. She needed to see.
She didn’t end up climbing the wall. Her sense of balance was nowhere to be found. Instead, Danny groped her way along the dry-laid stone, keeping herself steady against it. There was a loud bagpipelike droning in her ears that never stopped. The ground sloped up toward town, so she eventually reached a point she could climb over on her hands and knees. Then she inspected the situation up on the road. It all started to come back as she swept the flashlight back and forth over the frozen scene of chaos around her. Danny was glad she wasn’t standing up, or she might have fallen down. The droning noise in her ears was deafening.
There were cars everywhere, cars and trucks and motorcycles and rubbish like foam party coolers and sweatshirts and McDonald’s sacks and broken glass. Accidents had stopped in midcourse: vehicles with bumpers tangled together, front ends pushed up on trunks, motorcycles spilled under the wheels. But the vehicles weren’t the main
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