with him and laid it next to the dogs. He cranked up The Symphony of the Nine Angles and started yelling stuff about the “Blood Is the Life” and “Passing through Angles Unknown.” I guess I should have paid more attention in Mrs. Gamble’s geometry class. Then he picked one of his dogs up and cut its throat. It was not easy to manage this and hold the chalice and the paperback. The dog made a terrible sound, and we were going to rush in and stop all this, but we were scared, we had seen the Terrible City on CNN and the Thing at the North Pole.
He dropped the squirming and whimpering dog. “¡Venga adelante y aparezca, O Utonap’stim! Venga! Venga! Yog-Sothoth! ¡Beba la sangre se ha ofrecido que! I call you by the Seal that is at once Four and Five and Nine! ¡Venga! ¡Venga!”
The dying dog tried to crawl away. The other screamed as we had never heard a dog scream. His flashlight went out, but it wasn’t very dark because of the moon. Then he went dark. It was as though every piece of light was sucked away suddenly. We could feel sound being sucked away, too. In Robert E. Lee Park next to the school there were the usual late spring lightning bugs flashing on and off. Suddenly they all flew our way. They clustered all over Jesús. We could see him struggle, but couldn’t hear a word. He fell over and the dark went away; even his flashlight flickered back on. I ran up to him. The bugs had eaten his skin and eyes. Juan found a gun and put the dog out of its misery. We had trouble getting the cords off the other dog without getting bit. When we did she ran away. We burned the book. CNN told us that, in a few days, if you called them by night they came.
Nat didn’t like thinking about that. But you couldn’t think otherwise. He looked at poor white Jesus. Poor bastard, even being white doesn’t save you now.
Nat was rich right now; he had made a run into Austin with Jesús’ truck. He had found an HEB that wasn’t looted. Dried pinto beans, jalapeños, canned ham, tangerine jello, soup, flour (without too many weevils), and a large can of fruit cocktail. Mama invited the MacLeods from next door. Dr. MacLeod had taught classes in chemistry at the University of Texas. His wife had taught painting classes for adults at the community college here in Doublesign. They had been great neighbors since before the Rising. They were Mormons, so they had over a year’s supply of food saved up. They loved Mama; even when Nat and Jesús and Juan were sowing wild oats, they took her applesauce bread and had her over for “Mormon Beans” back when ground meat was available. Dr. MacLeod had been so helpful when the Rising happened. He knew all about the Masons and the Illuminati. He spoke at one of the last town meetings, and everyone agreed to crucify the old men in the Mason Lodge. It was easy to catch them, not one was under eighty—besides, they died quick, which everyone says is a Good Thing these days. Dr. MacLeod explained how the One World Government was really about Cthulhu. After the moon opened its Eye, it was clear what the “All-Seeing Eye” on the dollar bill had been about.
Mama didn’t have electricity, of course. But Nat had driven to Barton Creek Mall the day after one of the Shining Waves had passed through Austin. It had paused at the Mall, breaking it into three big pieces. Nat and Juan had loaded up their trucks two times each with the stock of a Wicks and Sticks. At first (before Victoria had walked into the sky) Nat kept all the candles at his place. But when his wife was Called by the Thing Behind the Winds, he had moved everything (including Stephanie) to Mama’s. They lit candles everywhere, and only once had the house caught fire by one burning too low.
Dr. MacLeod was explaining the world as usual. “What we didn’t understand is that it is all personal. I never understood that the many nights I researched stuff on the Web. All the scholars said it was impersonal.”
Mama just smiled.
He dropped the squirming and whimpering dog. “¡Venga adelante y aparezca, O Utonap’stim! Venga! Venga! Yog-Sothoth! ¡Beba la sangre se ha ofrecido que! I call you by the Seal that is at once Four and Five and Nine! ¡Venga! ¡Venga!”
The dying dog tried to crawl away. The other screamed as we had never heard a dog scream. His flashlight went out, but it wasn’t very dark because of the moon. Then he went dark. It was as though every piece of light was sucked away suddenly. We could feel sound being sucked away, too. In Robert E. Lee Park next to the school there were the usual late spring lightning bugs flashing on and off. Suddenly they all flew our way. They clustered all over Jesús. We could see him struggle, but couldn’t hear a word. He fell over and the dark went away; even his flashlight flickered back on. I ran up to him. The bugs had eaten his skin and eyes. Juan found a gun and put the dog out of its misery. We had trouble getting the cords off the other dog without getting bit. When we did she ran away. We burned the book. CNN told us that, in a few days, if you called them by night they came.
Nat didn’t like thinking about that. But you couldn’t think otherwise. He looked at poor white Jesus. Poor bastard, even being white doesn’t save you now.
Nat was rich right now; he had made a run into Austin with Jesús’ truck. He had found an HEB that wasn’t looted. Dried pinto beans, jalapeños, canned ham, tangerine jello, soup, flour (without too many weevils), and a large can of fruit cocktail. Mama invited the MacLeods from next door. Dr. MacLeod had taught classes in chemistry at the University of Texas. His wife had taught painting classes for adults at the community college here in Doublesign. They had been great neighbors since before the Rising. They were Mormons, so they had over a year’s supply of food saved up. They loved Mama; even when Nat and Jesús and Juan were sowing wild oats, they took her applesauce bread and had her over for “Mormon Beans” back when ground meat was available. Dr. MacLeod had been so helpful when the Rising happened. He knew all about the Masons and the Illuminati. He spoke at one of the last town meetings, and everyone agreed to crucify the old men in the Mason Lodge. It was easy to catch them, not one was under eighty—besides, they died quick, which everyone says is a Good Thing these days. Dr. MacLeod explained how the One World Government was really about Cthulhu. After the moon opened its Eye, it was clear what the “All-Seeing Eye” on the dollar bill had been about.
Mama didn’t have electricity, of course. But Nat had driven to Barton Creek Mall the day after one of the Shining Waves had passed through Austin. It had paused at the Mall, breaking it into three big pieces. Nat and Juan had loaded up their trucks two times each with the stock of a Wicks and Sticks. At first (before Victoria had walked into the sky) Nat kept all the candles at his place. But when his wife was Called by the Thing Behind the Winds, he had moved everything (including Stephanie) to Mama’s. They lit candles everywhere, and only once had the house caught fire by one burning too low.
Dr. MacLeod was explaining the world as usual. “What we didn’t understand is that it is all personal. I never understood that the many nights I researched stuff on the Web. All the scholars said it was impersonal.”
Mama just smiled.
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