Frankenstein

might be,” Nummy said.
    “Uh-oh,” said Mr. Lyss, and he stopped at the side of the road. Ahead were police cars with flashing lights, blocking both lanes. “Roadblock.”
    “They’re looking for jailbreakers,” Nummy said, “and we’re it.”
    “Those aren’t real police, boy. Those are monster police.”
    Mr. Lyss turned the car around and drove back into town.
    “What now?” Nummy asked.
    “I’ll think of something,” Mr. Lyss said.
    After half a minute, Nummy said, “You think of something yet?”
    “Not yet.”
    As they slowed for the red light at Beartooth Avenue, Nummy said, “You think of something yet?”
    “Not yet.”
    When the light changed, Mr. Lyss drove into the intersection.
    As Nummy opened his mouth, Mr. Lyss said, “Not yet.”

    In the gloom between streetlamps, Frost and Dagget sat in Frost’s car across the street from the Benedetto house. They watched two Rainbow Falls police officers carry the corpse out of the house in a body bag.
    “Where’s the coroner’s van?” Frost asked.
    “Apparently they have a different routine than we’d think was suitable for Bureau agents like us.”
    The two cops dumped the bagged body into the trunk of their patrol car and slammed the lid.
    “They’re as absurd as Abbott and Costello but not as funny,” Frost said.
    “What the
hell
is going on in this town?” Dagget wondered.
    “I don’t know,” Frost said as he watched the patrol car drive away from the Benedetto place. “But I’ve got a totally bad feeling about this.”

    Deucalion had taken Chrissy with him to Erika’s.
    Carson and Michael changed into storm suits and ski boots.
    In a zippered pocket of her suit, Carson tucked one of her photos of Scout, where she could get it quickly for a final look if things went bad.
    Michael said, “Are you ready?”
    She said, “I was born ready.”
    They were checking out of the Falls Inn. For the time being, the Jeep Grand Cherokee would be their base of operations.
    Before they had realized that Victor was far along in his new venture, when they thought they needed to smoke him out, they had booked the room under their names. Considering everything that had happened since dinner and considering what Deucalion had told them about the fleet of unmarked trucks and the grisly scene at the warehouse, they didn’t need to smoke out Victor. His creations were everywhere around them, and therefore he was everywhere around them. He would be coming for them soon.
    Their task now was fourfold: against all odds, to survive, to convince the people of Rainbow Falls of the threat they faced, to fight back, and somehow to alert the world beyond this town that the first battle of Armageddon had begun here.
    They had consolidated their spare ammunition, other weapons, and various tools of their trade in one large suitcase, which they stowed in the Jeep.
    As Michael closed the tailgate, Carson held out the keys to him. “You want to drive?”
    He shook his head. “Bad idea.”
    “This might be one of the last times you have a chance.”
    “Changing our routine now would be like the British people voting Churchill out of office halfway through World War II. They weren’t that stupid and neither am I.”
    In the Cherokee, after Carson started the engine, Michael leaned across the console, put a hand against the back of her head, and drew her to him. Eye to eye, lips to lips, he said, “You know how those New Race people he built in New Orleans each had two hearts? Seems to me like you and I—we have just one. If I die tonight, it’s been a betterlife than I deserved, just having you.” He kissed her, and she returned the kiss as if it might be their last.
    When they pulled apart, she said, “I love you, Michael. My God, do I. But if you ever say anything about dying again, I’ll kick your ass up between your shoulder blades.”
    As she put the Jeep in gear, the first snow of the season began to fall. Flakes as big as half-dollars, as intricate as fern fronds, floated down out of the night and trembled across the windshield. To Carson, every flake seemed to be a reassuring omen, proof that out of darkness can come one bright grace after another.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    DEAN KOONTZ is the author of many #1
New York Times
bestsellers. He lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Anna, and the enduring spirit of their golden, Trixie.
    Correspondence for the author should be addressed to:
    Dean Koontz
    P.O.