Watchers

nature of the enemy, the moonlight
    made it more mysterious, shapeless. The thing was hurtling at the cabin. Abruptly—Jesus, God!—the creature was airborne, a strangeness flying straight at him through the darkness, and Wes cried out, and an instant later the beast exploded through the big window, and Wes screamed, but the scream was cut short.
     
     
9
    Because Travis was not much of a drinker, three beers were enough to insure against insomnia. He was asleep within seconds of putting his head on the pillow. He dreamed that he was the ringmaster in a circus where all the performing animals could speak, and after each show he visited them in their cages, where each animal told him a secret that amazed him even though he forgot it as soon as he moved along to the next cage and the next secret.
    At four o’clock in the morning, he woke and saw Einstein at the bedroom window. The dog was standing with its forepaws on the sill, its face limned by moonlight, staring out at the night, very alert.
    “What’s wrong, boy?” Travis asked.
    Einstein glanced at him, then returned his attention to the moon-washed night. He whined softly, and his ears perked up slightly.
    “Somebody out there?” Travis asked, getting off the bed, pulling on his jeans.
    The dog dropped onto all fours and hurried out of the bedroom.
    Travis found him at another window in the darkened living room, studying the night on that side of the house. Crouching beside the dog, putting a hand on the broad furry back, he said, “What’s the matter? Huh?”
    Einstein pressed his snout to the glass and mewled nervously.
    Travis could see nothing threatening on the front lawn or on the street. Then a thought struck him, and he said, “Are you worried about whatever was chasing you in the woods this morning?”
    The dog regarded him solemnly.
    “What was it out there in the forest?” Travis wondered.
    Einstein whined again and shuddered.
    Remembering the retriever’s—and his own—stark fear in the Santa Ana foothills, recalling the uncanny feeling that something unnatural had been stalking them, Travis shivered. He looked out at the night-draped world. The spiky black patterns of the date palm’s fronds were edged in wan yellow light from the nearest streetlamp. A fitful wind harried small funnels of dust and leaves and bits of litter along the pavement, dropped them for a few seconds and left them for dead, then enlivened them again. A lone moth bumped softly against the window in front of Travis’s and Einstein’s faces, evidently mistaking the reflection of the moon or streetlamp for a flame.
    “Are you worried that it’s still after you?” he asked.
    The dog woofed once, quietly.
    “Well, I don’t think it is,” Travis said. “I don’t think you understand how far north we’ve come. We had wheels, but it would have, had to follow on foot, which it couldn’t have done. Whatever it was, it’s far behind us, Einstein, far down there in Orange County, with no way of knowing where we’ve gone. You don’t have to worry about it any more. You understand?”
    Einstein nuzzled and licked Travis’s hand as if reassured and grateful. But he looked out the window again and issued a barely audible whimper.
    Travis had to coax him back into the bedroom. There, the dog wanted to lie on the bed beside his master, and in the interest of calming the animal, Travis did not object.
    Wind murmured and moaned in the bungalow’s eaves.
    Now and then the house creaked with ordinary middle-of-the-night settling noises.
    Engine purring, tires whispering, a car went by on the street.
    Exhausted from the emotional as well as the physical exertions of the day, Travis was soon asleep.
    Near dawn he came half awake and realized that Einstein was at the bedroom window again, keeping watch. He murmured the retriever’s name and wearily patted the mattress. But Einstein remained on guard, and Travis drifted off once more.
 
     
    FOUR 1
    The day following her encounter with Art Streck, Nora Devon went for a long walk, intending to explore parts of the city that she had never seen before. She had taken short walks with Violet once a week. Since the old woman’s death, Nora still went out, though less often, and she never ventured farther than six or eight blocks from home. Today, she would go much farther. This was to be the first small step in a long journey toward liberation and self-respect.
    Before setting out, she considered having a light lunch