Chapter 14 13. Missile attack is imminent

"Attention! This is Chester's Mill Police. This is the evacuation zone! If you hear me, please come to the direction of my voice! This is the evacuation zone!" Thurston Marshall and Caroline Sturgess sat up on the bed after hearing the strange radio news, and looked at each other with wide eyes.They were teachers at Emerson College in Boston—Thurston was professor of English (and guest editor of this issue of The Plowshares), and Caroline was a fellow teaching assistant.They started dating six months ago, and now they are in the glue stage.They were in Thurston's cabin on Chester Pond, between Little Whore Road and Prestige Creek.They're here for a weekend of foliage viewing, but since last Friday, they've spent most of their time admiring each other's cunts.Since Thurston Marshall hated television, there was no television in the house.

Although there was a radio, they never turned it on.It is eight thirty in the morning of Monday, October 23rd.They didn't realize what was going on until they were woken up by the radio. "Attention! This is Chester's Mill Police. This is—" The voice got closer, still moving. "Thurston! Weed! Where do you keep the weed?" "Don't worry," he said, but his voice trembled a little, like he didn't believe it himself.He was tall and thin, with gray hair that fell close to his shoulders.Normally, he would tie his hair into a ponytail, but this time he just let it loose.He was sixty, Caroline twenty-three.

"At this time of year, a lot of little tents get dumped here, so the police drive around, and then it's back to Little Whore Road—" She punched him on the shoulder—for the first time. "The car is parked right in the driveway! They'll see the car!" There's this pissed look on his face. "—Evacuation zone! If you hear it, please come to the direction of my voice! Attention! Attention!" The voice was very close. Thurston could hear other voices on the radio—someone using a loudspeaker, and not just a policeman—but the next sound came almost from above them. "This is an evacuation—" the voice was silent for a moment, and then continued: "Hello, people in the cabin! Come out! Come on!"

Oh, what a nightmare. "Where do you keep the marijuana?" She punched him again. Marijuana is in another room.The package of marijuana in the zipper bag is now only half of the amount left, and it is placed next to a plate of leftover cheese and crackers from last night.If anyone came in, the first thing they would see would be that damn bag of marijuana. "We're the police! We won't be here forever! This is an evacuation zone! Get out if anyone's in there, or we'll go in and drag you out!" Pigs, he thought, a group of small town pigs with small town pig heads.

Thurston jumped out of bed and ran across the room, his hair flying and his thin hips straining. His grandfather built this log cabin after World War II, and it has just two rooms: A large bedroom facing the pond, and a living room with attached kitchen.The source of electricity in the house is an old Hansk generator. Thurston turned it off before going to bed, otherwise the harsh starting sound is not very romantic.The embers of last night's fire - not necessary, but very romantic - still flickered in the fireplace. Maybe I remembered wrongly, maybe I put the marijuana back in the briefcase—unfortunately, he didn't.The marijuana was there, right next to the brie cheese they'd swallowed whole before last night's marathon sex.

He ran towards the marijuana, and at the same time, there was a knock on the door.No, it was the knock on the door. "Give me a minute!" Thurston yelled, trying to sound jubilant.Caroline stood in the bedroom door, wrapped only in the sheet, but he hardly noticed her.Thurston's mind - still aching from last night's overindulgence - was turning over a series of unconnected thoughts: revocation of tenure, the Thought Police, revocation of tenure, his three children's He resented it (from two separate ex-wives) and, of course, was revoked tenure. "Just a minute, all at once, let me get dressed first—"

But the door was knocked open—a direct violation of some nine articles of the constitution guaranteeing people's rights—and two young men, one of them holding a megaphone, strode inside.They were all wearing jeans and blue shirts.Jeans are comforting, but epaulets and police badges on shirts are a nuisance. We don't need annoying police badges, Thurston thought blankly. Caroline screamed, "Get out!" "Look, Jennifer," said Frank Dillersay, "this is the porn version of When Harry Met Sally." Thurston grabbed the zipper bag, hid it behind him, and threw it into the sink.

Xiao Zhan recognized the meaning behind these movements: "I have never seen such an old and thin idiot." He said.He looked tired, and he was - he'd only had two hours of sleep - but he felt fine, absolutely fine, with no headaches at all. This job is perfect for him. "Get out!" Caroline yelled. Frank said, "You'd better shut up, sweetheart, and get dressed. Everyone in this area needs to be evacuated." "This is our house! Get the fuck out!" Frank was about to smile, but he pulled it back. He strode past the gaunt man standing by the sink "cowling by the sink" (perhaps that's a more accurate description), and grabbed Caroline by the shoulders.He gave her a slight shake. "Stop being so talkative, sweetheart. We're trying to keep you from getting blown to pieces. You and your boyfriend—"

"Get off your hands! You're going to jail for this! My dad's a lawyer!" She tried to hit him.Frank—he's not a morning person, never was—twisted her hand behind her back.He didn't push too hard, but Caroline screamed and the sheet fell to the floor. "Whoa! What a figure," Jennie said to a stunned Thurston Marshall. "Can you handle her, old man?" "Put on your clothes, both of you," said Frank. "I don't know how stupid you are, but I can tell from the way you've been standing still that you must be as stupid as I thought. .Don't you know—" He paused, looking at the woman's face, then at the man's.They were both terrified and completely confused about what was going on.

"Little Zhan!" he said. "how?" "Big tits and the smelly old man don't know what happened yet." "How dare you call me in such a sexist way—" Xiao Zhan raised his hands: "Ma'am, put on your clothes. You have to get out of here. The Air Force's cruise missiles have been aimed at this place,—" He looked at his watch—"There are still more than five hours to fire." "Are you crazy?" Caroline screamed. Xiao Zhan sighed and continued to explain.He guessed he understood the job of the police better now.It's a great job, but ordinary people are stupid. "If the missile bounces back, you'll just hear a bang and maybe make you shit on your pants--if you're wearing pants--but it won't hurt you. But if the missile goes through If you come in, you will probably be burned to charcoal. Because the power of the explosion is very powerful, and you are now less than two miles away from the impact point they said."

"Bounce what? Are you stupid?" Thurston asked.Now that we've dumped the marijuana in the sink, he now has a free hand to cover his privates - or at least try to; his sex machine is really long and thin. "Dome," Frank said, "be careful what you say." He took a big step forward and punched the guest editor of The Plowshares in the stomach.Thurston snorted, bent his body at an unbelievable angle, and almost knelt on the ground, spitting out a cup of pale white sticky stuff, which smelled like Bree cheese. Caroline held up her swollen wrist. "You will go to jail for this." Her voice trembled, and she made a promise to Xiao Zhan in a low voice. "Bush and Cheney are gone, this is not North Korea." "I know." Xiao Zhan said.For him who didn't mind strangling one more person, it was amazing to be able to hold back his temper. The dark Gila monster in his head was thinking that it must be nice to start the day by strangling someone. But no.no.He had to take care of his own evacuation.He swore to the job, even if that vow didn't make any fucking shit. "I know very well," he explained again, "that it's you two Massachusetts folks who don't know what's going on. You're in the Kingdom of Chester, not America. I assure you, if you don't behave Be obedient and you'll be thrown in Chester's dungeon. There's no phone calls, no lawyers, no due process. We're trying to save your lives. Do you two fucking idiots understand? Understand?" She stared at him, dumbfounded.Thurston tried to get up, but couldn't control his body and could only crawl towards her. Frank helped him and kicked him in the ass.Thurston cried out in surprise and pain. "This is to thank you for your willingness to help, old man," said Frank. "I appreciate your picky eye, but it's a pity we still have a lot to do." Little Zhan looked at the young woman.She opened her mouth so wide that it resembled Angelina Jolie's.He bet that this woman could play the trumpet very well. "If he can't dress himself, you'll help him. We've got four cabins to check, and by the time we get back here, you'd better be driving to the center of town in that Volvo. .” "I don't know what the hell is going on!" Caroline wailed. "I'm not surprised," Frank said, picking up the zipper bag of marijuana from the sink. "Don't you know this stuff makes you dumb?" She started to cry. "Don't worry," Frank said, "I'll take this away. After a day or two, wow, you'll be smart again." "You didn't read our rights first," she cried. Xiao Zhan looked astonished, and then laughed: "Your fucking right is to keep your fucking mouth shut, understand? That's your only right in this situation. Understand?" Frank studies the confiscated marijuana.Little Zhan, he said, "" "It's hard to find that stuff around here. It's a goddamn good!" Thurston crawled to Caroline's side.When he stood up, he farted loudly.Xiao Zhan and Frank looked at each other.They tried to hold it back—they were law enforcement officers, after all—but couldn't, and both burst out laughing at the same time. "The trombone boy's back in town!" Frank yelled, and they gave each other a high-five. Thurston and Caroline embraced at the bedroom door so that they could cover each other's nakedness, while watching the two intruders who kept laughing.As for the background music, it was the nightmarish broadcast that constantly announced that this was an evacuation zone.The voice was heading in the direction of Little Bitch Road. "When we get back, I hope you won't be able to see your car." Xiao Zhan said, "Otherwise I'll definitely kill you." They are gone.Caroline put on her clothes, and then helped Thurston into them—his stomach hurt too badly to squat down to put on his shoes. When they got dressed, they all cried.As they drove down the camping road to Little Whore Road, Caroline tried to contact her father on her mobile phone, but couldn't make a call. At the intersection of Little Bitch Road and Highway 119, a police car from the town police station stopped in the middle of the intersection.A burly red-haired policewoman pointed in the direction of the shoulder and waved them along.But Caroline stopped the car and stepped out, holding up her swollen wrist. "We're under attack! By two guys who call themselves cops! One's called Jen and the other's called Frank! They—" "Get out of here, or even I will attack you." Giorgia Lux said, "I'm not trying to scare you, sweetheart." Caroline stared at her dumbfounded.The whole world seemed to change while she was asleep, becoming an episode of The Twilight Zone.That must be the case; there is no other way of explaining it all, no explanation, however incredible.At this moment, they may hear Rod Serling's narration at any time. She got back into her car (the sticker on the bumper was faded, but you could still read: Obama 2012! We can still do it!) and drove around the police car.Another older police officer was sitting in the car, looking at the checklist in the folder.She wanted to protest to him, but came up with a better idea. "Turn on the radio," she said, "to find out what's going on." Thurston flipped the switch, but there was nothing but Elvis Presley and the Jordanians singing a badly signaled "You're Great." Caroline turned off the radio, hoping to hear an official account of the nightmare, but was unable to.At this moment, she just wants to leave this weird town, and the sooner the better. On the map, the camping road at Chester Pond is just a thin curve, barely visible.After leaving Marshall's cabin, Jr. and Frank sat in Frank's car for a while, studying the map. "There must be no one there," Frank said. "There must be no one at this hour. What do you think? Why don't you just forget about it and go back to town?" He pointed his thumb in the direction of the cabin. "They I will definitely leave, and even if I don’t leave, no one cares.” Xiao Zhan thought for a while, then shook his head.They all swore oaths to the job.Besides, he was in no hurry to go home and face his father, asking him what to do with the pastor's body.Coggins was in the storage room of the McCains' house with his two girlfriends, and his father didn't need to know that.At least, there was no need for this before the big man figured out how to frame Barbara. Xiao Zhan believes that his father will figure out a way.If there was one thing old Jan Rennie was good at, it was killing people. Now, it doesn't matter if he finds out that I was expelled, thought Jen, because I know worse things for him.Much worse. Being expelled was no longer the point; compared to what was going on in Milltown, it was silly to worry about it.But he still had to be careful, just like before.Unless things got to the point where it was absolutely necessary, there was no need for Jr. to let his father get his feet wet. "Little Zhan? The earth calls Xiao Zhan." "Here I am," he said, a little unhappy. "Going back to town?" "Better check out the other cabins. There's only a quarter of a mile to go. If we go back to town, Randolph will find something else for us to do." "But we can go get something to eat first." "Where to eat? Rose Rose's? You want Dale Barbara to put rat poison in your scrambled eggs?" "He doesn't have the guts." "you sure?" "Okay, okay." Frank started the car and backed up the driveway surrounded by bushes.The brightly colored leaves of the trees were still there, but the air was oppressively hot.The weather is more like July than October. "But by the time we get back, those two idiots better be gone, or I might show that big titted girl my Avenger in full armor." "I'd be happy to help you pin her down," said Little Zhan, "to make that bitch feel good." The first three cabins were apparently empty, so they didn't even get out of the car.But the camping road in front of me had two tire marks on the grassy hill.The driveway was lined with trees, some of the lower branches almost reaching the roof of the car. "I reckon I'll see the last cabin at this turn," Frank said, "just drive through this dirt and you'll see the end of the road—" "Be careful!" Xiao Zhan shouted. They had just turned a corner with poor visibility when they saw a boy and a girl standing in the middle of the road.They didn't intend to dodge to the side of the road at all, they just looked stunned and stunned.If Frank didn't drive at his usual speed because he was afraid that the exhaust pipe of this Toyota would be hit by the grassy hill in the middle of the road, he would definitely hit these two children.Now he hit the brakes and the car stopped two feet in front of the two kids. "Oh my God, that's dangerous," he said. "I'm about to have a heart attack." "If my father didn't have a seizure, you wouldn't have one either." Xiao Zhan said. "what?" "It's okay." Xiao Zhan got out of the car. The two children were still standing where they were. The girl was taller and older, about nine years old, and the boy looked about five years old.They were pale and their faces were dirty.She holds his hand.The girl looked up at James, but the boy was still looking straight ahead, as if interested in the headlights on the driver's side of the Toyota. Seeing the terrified look on her face, Xiao Zhan knelt down on one knee in front of her: "Honey, are you okay?" It was the boy who answered, but still staring at the headlight as he spoke: "I want to find my mother. I want to eat." Frank joined them. "Are they real people?" The tone of the words seemed to be joking, but with a bit of seriousness.He reached out and touched the girl's arm. She jumped and looked at him. "Mom didn't come back." She said in a low voice. "Honey, what's your name?" Xiao Zhan asked, "Who is your mother?" "My name is Alice Rachel Appleton," she said, "and his name is Aiden Patrick Appleton. Our mother's name is Willa Appleton, and our father's name is Edward Appleton, but He and his mother divorced last year and now live in Piano, Texas. We live at 16 Oak Road in Weston, Massachusetts. Our home phone number is—” She recited the phone number with precision like a phone number station voice playback. Little Zhan thought: Oh, my God, it's Massachusetts again.But there must be something to it, otherwise who would waste expensive gas just to watch the fucking leaves fall from the fucking tree? Frank was still on his knees. "Alice," he said, "listen to me, dear. Where's your mother?" "I don't know." Tears—big streams of tears—began to roll down her cheeks. "We're here to see the maple leaves, and we're going to go boating. We like boating, don't we, Aiden?" "I'm so hungry," Aiden said sadly, and wept. Seeing them like this, Xiao Zhan felt that he was about to cry too. He reminded himself that he was a cop.Cops can't cry, at least not while on duty.He asked again where the girl's mother was, but the boy answered. "She went to buy Jingjing." "He's talking about Chocolate Surprise," Alice said. "Because Mr. Killian isn't doing his job of managing as well as he should, so she's going to buy something else along the way. Mom said, because I'm a big girl, so Can take care of Aiden and say she was just going to the Yoder store and be back soon. She just told me not to let Aiden run off to the nearby pond." Xiao Zhan outlined the whole situation in his mind.Evidently the woman had hoped that there would be enough food in the cabin--something to eat at least--but if she had known what Roger Killian was, she would have known, It is much better to rely on him.That man is a typical idiot, and the IQ of the whole family is below average.Yoder's is a nasty little shop that sells beer and coffee brandy and spaghetti just beyond the town line in the town of Tucker's Mill.It stands to reason that she only needs 20 minutes to get there, and it will take another 20 minutes at most to come back.But she didn't come back, and Xiao Zhan knew why. "She went out on Saturday morning?" he asked. "Isn't she?" "I miss her so much!" cried Aiden, "and I want to eat! My stomach hurts!" "Yes," the girl said, "Saturday morning. We've been watching cartoons, but because of the power outage, we couldn't watch anything." Xiao Zhan and Frank looked at each other.They spent two nights alone in the dark.Girls are about nine years old, boys about five.Xiao Zhan didn't want to imagine how they survived. "Have you got anything to eat?" Frank asked Alice Appleton. "Honey? Anything?" "There's an onion in the greengrocer," she whispered. "We each split half and ate it with sugar." "Oh shit," Frank cursed, then added, "I didn't swear, you didn't hear anything. Wait for me." He went back to the car, opened the passenger door, and started digging through the glove drawers. "Where are you going, Alice?" Little James asked. "Go to the town, find my mother and find food. We want to walk through the next camping area, and then go out through the woods." She pointed in the direction of about north, "I think this is faster." Xiao Zhan smiled, but felt a chill in his heart.The direction she pointed was not Chester's Mill Town, but the direction of the TR-90 merged administrative area. For several miles in that direction there was nothing on the road but a complex terrain of secondary forest and swamp pits.And, of course, the dome. Alice and Aiden would almost certainly have starved to death there if they had gone that direction, turning into candy house brothers with no happy ending. We almost made a U-turn, man. Frank came back with a bar of Galaxy chocolate in his hand. The chocolate looked old and wrinkled on the outside, but at least the wrapper wasn't broken.The way the two kids stared at the chocolate reminded Jen of those kids that sometimes appear on the news.It's just that when those faces turn into American kids, it looks so unreal and scary. "I just found this bar of chocolate," Frank said, tearing open the wrapper. "When we get to town, we'll give you something better to eat." He folded the Milky Way chocolate in half and gave each of them a piece.In less than five seconds, they ate everything.When the boy finished eating his piece of chocolate, he inserted his fingers deeply into his mouth, his cheeks retracted rhythmically, and kept sucking his fingers. Like a dog licking grease off a bone, thought Jen. He turned to Frank. "Don't wait until then. We can stop at the old guy's and chick's house first. Whatever they have to eat, give it to the kids first." Frank nodded and picked up the boy, while Jr. picked up the girl. He could smell her sweat and fear.He stroked her hair gently, as if he could shake the greasy stench away. "It's all right, honey," he said. "You and your brother are all right. It's all right, you're all safe." "you promise?" "right." She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.This is the best feeling Xiao Zhan has experienced in his life. The west side is the least populated part of Chester's Mill Town, and at 9:15 in the morning, it is almost empty.The only police car to leave on Little Whore Road is the second team, with Jackie Whittington driving and Linda Everett with the shotgun. Sheriff Perkins was an old-fashioned small-town cop who would never put two women together, but of course Sheriff Perkins was out of his mind.The two women, on the other hand, enjoyed the novelty of the experience.Men, especially male cops with constant cowboy sarcasm, are exhausting enough. "Ready to go back?" Jackie asked. "Rose Rose should be closed, but maybe we can get a coffee." Linda didn't answer.She thought about where the dome meets Little Whore Road.There's an unsettling vibe there, and not least because they don't respond to the soldiers with their backs turned, who say hello through the roof speakers.The reason why it is disturbing is because on the top of the dome, there is a huge red x-shaped logo.This sign hangs high in the air, like a three-dimensional map in a science fiction film. There is a preset shooting point.It seemed unlikely that a missile fired from two or three hundred miles away could hit such a tiny spot, but Rusty assured her it would. "Linda?" Her mind was drawn back to the present "Okay,: let's go back then." The radio rang: "Second team, second team, do you hear that? Over." Linda picked up the pager: "Center, this is the second team. We heard it, Stacy, but the signal here is not very good. Over." "Everyone says that," Stacey Mockin replied, "the signal gets worse the closer you get to the dome, it'll be better when you get closer to town. But you're still on the bitch road, right? Over." "Yeah. Linda said just finished checking the Killian's and the Porch's," "They're all gone. If the missiles do go through the dome, Roger Killian will probably have a bunch of roast chicken to eat. Over." "Then we can have a picnic. Peter—I mean Sheriff Randolph, wants to speak to you. Over." Jackie parked the patrol car on the side of the road.There was static on the radio, and a short time later, Randolph's voice came.He never said "over" on the radio, never. "Second team, have you checked the church yet?" "Holy Savior Church?" Linda asked. "Over." "As far as I know, there's only that church there, Constable Everett. Unless some Hindus built a mosque there in one night." Linda didn't think there would be Hindus worshiping in the mosque, but this didn't look like the time to correct that.Randolph sounded tired and not very happy. "St. Saviour's Church isn't in our inspection area," she said. "That's where two of the new police officers are. Thimbledeau and Searles, I think. Over." "Check again," Randolph said, sounding more irritable than before. "No one saw Coggins. A couple of his followers wanted to make out with him, and that's what they meant anyway." Jackie put her index finger to her temple in a suicide gesture.Linda nodded.She had thought of going back, to see the children at Marta Edmund's. "Got it, Sheriff," Linda said. "We'll go over there. Over." "Check out the parsonage by the way." He paused. "And the radio station. That damn station is still on, so there must be someone there." "Understood." When she was about to say "It's over, the call is over" Then, another thing came to mind. "Sheriff, did the TV news mention anything? Did the President say anything else? Over." "I don't have time for that guy to talk nonsense. Get on your way, find the pastor and tell him to get your ass on your ass and get out of town. Then you get your ass on your ass and come back. Call over." Linda hung up the pager and looked over at Jackie. "Squeeze your ass and get back?" Jackie said, "Squeeze your ass?" "He's the old ass," Linda said. The remark was originally funny, but it did not elicit any response. For a while, they just sat in the idling car without saying a word. Then, in a barely audible voice, Jackie said, "That sucks." "You mean about Randolph replacing Perkins?" "Yeah, and the new police thing." She said the word "police" like a question, "The brats. You know? Henry Morrison told me when I punched Say, Randolph hired at least two more guys this morning. Two of them were brought in by Carter Thibodeau, and Peter just signed it without asking half a question." Linda knew who Carter would call.Must have found it from the Big Dipper bar or gas station store.That group of people used to use those two places as garages to adjust the locomotives they bought with installments. "Two more? Why?" "Peter told Henry that if the missiles didn't work, we might need more men. He said it would 'make sure things don't get out of control.' You know who's bad idea." Linda was clear: "At least they didn't ration guns." "Two have. Not from the Bureau, but from their own. If it doesn't work out today, they'll all be armed tomorrow. This morning, Peter made them form a team of their own, instead of going with the real ones. The police team. Training time? Twenty-four hours is enough. Have you found that the number of brats has surpassed us?" Linda thought silently. "Hitler Youth," Jackie said. "That's what I've been thinking about. Maybe I'm overreacting, but God help me, I really hope this ends today, or I don't know what's going to happen next." How is it going?" "I really don't see anything like Hitler in Peter Randolph." "Me too. I think he's more like Hermann Göring. It's Lenny who reminds me of Hitler. She puts the patrol car into first gear," Turn the front of the car and drive towards the Church of the Holy Savior. The church was unlocked, empty, and even the generator was off.The pastor's dormitory was silent, but Pastor Coggins' Chevrolet was still parked in the small garage.Linda looked into the garage and could see two stickers on the bumper.The one on the right reads: Unless Jesus is resurrected today, no one can take my steering wheel away! And the left is bragging: My other car has a ten-speed transmission. Linda read the second slogan so that Jackie would notice. "He does have a bicycle—I see he has ridden it. But it doesn't seem to be in the garage now. Maybe he's riding it into town to save gas." "Maybe, Jackie said, we'd better check the house," "make sure he didn't slip in the shower and break his neck or something." "Does that mean we might see him naked?" "No one ever said the police job was perfect," Jackie said. "Let's go." The house was locked, but in a town like this where most of the population only came in during certain seasons, the police always knew the way in.They checked the usual places where the spare key was kept, and finally Jackie found the key in the shutter in the kitchen.The key hangs on the hook.It's the key to the back door. "Pastor Coggins?" Linda called, poking her head into the house. "We're the police, Pastor Coggins. Are you home?" no answer.They go inside.The furnishings on the first floor were neat and orderly, but it gave Linda an uncomfortable feeling.She told herself it was just because it was someone else's home.Especially when it was a religious home, and they broke in on their own. Jackie walked upstairs: "Pastor Coggins? We are the police. If you are at home, please come out, please?" Linda stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked up.For some reason, she felt that something was wrong with the house, and a strange feeling came to her mind.If Janelle was here at this moment, he would definitely have another attack. Yes, and start talking about weird things.Like Halloween and the Pumpkin King or something. It was just an ordinary staircase, but she didn't want to go up it at all, she just wanted Jackie to tell her there was no one upstairs, and then they could go to the station.However, when her partner told her to go upstairs, she did. Jackie stood in the center of Coggins' bedroom, with a modest wooden cross on one wall and a plaque on the other that said he had watched over the sparrows.The sheets on the bed were opened, and there were bloodstains underneath. "And here," said Jackie, "come and see." Linda reluctantly walked over.A long knotted rope lay on the smooth wooden floor between the bed and the wall.Blood was also visible on the knot. "Looks like someone beat him up," Jackie said seriously, "maybe knocked him down hard, and then dragged him to..." She looked at Linda. "Isn't that so?" "I bet you didn't grow up religious," Linda said. "I am. Our family is Trinitarian, and we believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. What about you?" "Tapwater Baptist. I've heard of it, though. I think he whipped himself." "That's how they cleanse their sins, don't they?" "Yeah. I think the behavior definitely hasn't gone away yet." "That's a bit of a truth. Go to the toilet and see what's on the toilet tank." Linda didn't move.The knotted ropes were bad enough, but the way the house felt to her—so deserted for some reason—made it worse. "Come on, there's nothing going to bite you. I'll bet you a dollar you've seen worse." Linda went into the bathroom.There are two magazines on the toilet tank. One of them is the religious magazine "The Place Above", and the other is called "Abalone for the Spice Girls of the East".Linda was skeptical that most religious bookstores would carry the magazine. “所以，”杰姬说，“我们大概可以想象出这是怎么回事了？他就坐在马桶上头，搓着他那根松露——” “搓松露？”琳达有点神经兮兮地笑了起来。 或许正是太紧张，才会用这种方式大笑。 “我妈都这样说，”杰姬说，“不管怎样，他完事之后，就这么光着他那颗中型屁股开始赎罪，接着怀抱着快乐的亚洲梦上床睡觉。今天早上起床后，觉得神清气爽，已经赎好罪了，于是在做完晨祷后，骑着脚踏车进城去了。合理吧？” 是很合理，只是无法解释为何这房子会让她觉得如此不对劲。“我们去查查电台那里吧，” 她说，接着就可以调头回镇上买咖啡了。 "I treat you." “好极了。”杰姬说，“我好想来杯黑咖啡。最好还是低咖啡因的。” 那栋低矮、大多数为玻璃材质的WCIK工作室也锁上了，但架设在屋檐下的音箱正播放着《晚安，亲爱的耶稣》一曲，而DJ则说明这首歌是由灵魂歌手派瑞·柯莫所演唱。工作室被后方的广播塔影子笼罩在下，于强烈的晨光中，隐约可以见到广播塔顶端的红灯正在不断闪烁。广播塔附近有座像是谷仓的长型建筑，琳达猜里头大概放着电台的发电机与其余所需用品，好使电台得以对缅因州西部、新罕布什尔州东部与太阳系里或许能接受到信号的行星，持续播放上帝因宠爱世人而创造出的诸多奇迹。 杰姬先是轻轻敲门，接着开始捶门。 “我觉得里面应该没人。”琳达说……但这地方似乎也不太对劲。空气中有股奇怪的气味，像是有东西坏掉了般难闻。她觉得，就连娘家那间厨房也比这气味好闻。她母亲的烟瘾之大如同烟囱，而且相信只有用大量猪油放进热腾腾的锅子下去煎炸的食物，才是值得入口的餐点。 杰姬摇了摇头：“但我们听见有人在里头的声音，不是吗？” 由于她说得没错，所以琳达并未反驳。她们从牧师宿舍开车到电台的路上，的确听见了电台DJ说“下一首歌曲也同样传达了神爱世人的信息”。 这次找寻钥匙花了更长的时间，但杰姬最后还是在贴在信箱下的信封里找到了钥匙。里头还有张废纸，有人在上头写下了1693这个数字。 那是把备份钥匙，上头还有些黏黏的，但在扭转几次后，还是打开了门。她们才刚踏进门，便听见安保系统发出的警报声。密码输入机就固定在墙上。杰姬输入刚才看见的密码，警报声随之停下，只剩下音乐的声音而已。派瑞·柯莫的歌声已然不见，变成一首由乐器演奏的曲子；琳达觉得这曲子听起来像是《伊甸园中的花园》的独奏部分。在这里说话比外头响亮一千倍，就连音乐也十分大声，如同置身于现场演奏会。 这些人就在这种硬装虔诚的嘈杂声里工作？ 琳达纳闷着，就这样接听电话？就这样做生意？ How did they do it? 这里也同样有什么不对劲的地方。琳达相当肯定，而且更让她觉得毛骨悚然，感受到极度的危险气息。她看见杰姬解开枪套上的扣子，自己也跟着这么做。把手放在枪柄上的感觉很好。至少我还有警棍和枪，真是值得安慰，她想。 “哈啰？”杰姬大喊，“科金斯牧师？有人在吗？” 没人回答，就连接待处也空无一人。接待处左方有两道关起的门，直走则是一扇长度与房间一样长的大玻璃窗。琳达可以看见里头有灯光闪烁。是播音室，她猜想。 杰姬用脚推开那两道关着的门，随即后退一步站定不动。其中一间是办公室，另一间则是豪华到让人惊讶的会议室，中间还放着一台巨大的平面电视。电视是开着的，但调到了静音。屏幕中的安德森·库柏几乎就跟真人一样大，地点似乎则是城堡岩的主街。建筑物上挂满了国旗与黄丝带。琳达看见一家五金行前头贴着写有放他们出来的标语，使她不禁觉得毛骨悚然。在屏幕底部有巨大的跑马灯信息：国防部宣称导弹攻击迫在眉睫。 “为什么电视会开着？”杰姬问。 “因为负责管理的人接到通知说要撤离——” 一个巨大的声音打断了她的话：“这首《领导我们的主耶稣》是由雷蒙霍威尔演唱的版本。” 她们两人全都吓得跳了起来。 “我是诺曼·德瑞克，在此提醒你三件重要的事：您现在收听的节目是WCIK电台的《信仰复兴时刻》。上帝爱你，而且他还派遣了他的儿子，为你在髑髅地上被人钉到十字架上牺牲而死。现在是早上九点二十五分，就像我们时常提醒的一样，时光匆匆，你把自己的心灵交给上帝了吗？我们马上回来。” 诺曼·德瑞克把时间让给一个辩才无碍的人，开始推销起收录整本《圣经》的DVD。最棒的是，你还可以按月分期付款。要是买了以后，你没有快乐得像是猪仔在屎堆里打滚，那么还能全额退费。琳达和杰姬走至播音室窗户朝里看去。无论是诺曼·德瑞克，或者是那个辩才无碍的家伙全都不在里面，但当广告结束后，又回到了节目中，DJ宣布下一首要播放的赞美歌曲名，而一盏绿色的灯变成红色，另一盏红色的灯则变为绿色。音乐开始播放时，就连另一盏红灯也变成了绿色。 “是自动播放的！”杰姬说，“这也太诡异了吧！” “那为什么我们会觉得好像有人在？你可别说自己没这种感觉。” 杰姬的确也这么认为：“因为这实在太怪了。播音师甚至不用确认播放时间。亲爱的，这些装置肯定得花一大笔钱！这全是机器里的鬼在说话而已——你觉得这装置可以运作多久？” “也许一直到丙烷用光，发电机停止运作吧。” 琳达注意到另一道关着的门，于是用脚推开，就像杰姬一样……唯一与杰姬不同的是，她把枪掏了出来，紧紧握着，枪上的安全装置保持开启，枪口朝下，紧贴在大腿旁。 那是间厕所，里头空无一人。但墙上不知为何挂了张一看就知道是白种人版本的耶稣画像。 “我不是教徒，杰姬说，所以帮我解释一下，”“为什么他们希望耶稣能看着自己拉屎？” 琳达摇摇头。“我们最好还是在迷路以前赶紧离开，”她说，“这地方根本就是玛丽·赛勒斯特号的电台版！” 杰姬不安地环顾四周：“呃，要我说，这里的气氛真的挺像鬼屋。”她忽然提高音量大喊一声，使琳达被吓得跳了起来。她想叫杰姬别鬼吼鬼叫。 毕竟，可能会有人因此听见她们，过来一探究竟。 或者，可能会有什么并非人类的东西听见她们。 “嘿！有人在吗？这是最后一次！” no respond.没有任何人开口。 来到外头后，琳达深吸了一口气：“我十几岁时，有一次和几个朋友一起去巴尔港玩。我们在一个风景与视野都很好的地方停下来野餐。我们总共有六个人。那天天气很好，几乎可以清楚地看见整个爱尔兰角。吃完东西后，我说我想拍张照。我的朋友全都闹来闹去，所以我只好后退，试着让每个人都能被拍进画面里。然后，其中一个女孩——艾菝贝拉，我当时最好的朋友——停止搔另一个女孩痒，大喊说：'停下来，琳达，快停下来！'我停止后退，看了看四周。你知道我看见什么了吗？” 杰姬摇了摇头。 “大西洋。要是我继续后退，就会从野餐区的边缘摔到悬崖底下。那里有块警告标志，但却没有篱笆或护栏。只差一步我就会摔下去。我当时的感觉，就像刚才在里头的感觉一样。” “琳达，里头根本没人！” “我不觉得。我也不觉得你真这么认为。” “那肯定就是闹鬼了。不过我们检查过了房间——” “不只是工作室里的感觉，还有开着的电视，以及过于大声的音乐。你该不会认为他们平常就把音量开得那么大声吧？” “我哪里知道狂热的教徒会怎么做？”杰姬问，“搞不好他们很期待启智咧。” “是启示。” “随便啦。你想检查一下仓库吗？” “当然不想。”琳达说，让杰姬忍不住笑了一声。 “好吧。那我们直接回报，就说没发现牧师的踪影，如何？” “就这么做。” “然后我们离开这里，回镇上喝杯咖啡。” 琳达坐进二号警车的副驾驶座前，又朝那栋被喜乐音乐所笼罩的建筑物望了一眼。那里没有其他声音；她意识到自己甚至没听见任何鸟叫声，纳闷着鸟儿是否全都一头撞上穹顶，害死了自己。 当然不可能这样。isn't it? 杰姬指向麦克风：“要我用扩音器再喊一遍吗？就说要是有人还躲在里面，就得靠双腿走回镇上了？我只是突然想到而已，不过说不定那些人是在害怕我们吧。” “我只要你别再鬼扯，赶紧离开这里就好。” 杰姬没有反驳。她沿着短车道倒车到小婊路上，转过巡逻车车头，朝磨坊镇上驶去。 时间就这么过去，宗教歌曲继续播放。诺曼·德瑞克的声音再度出现，宣布此刻为东部夏令神爱世人时间九点三十四分。接着是伦尼二手车行的广告，由第二公共事务行政委员亲自献声：“现在是一年一度的秋季超级特卖，男孩们，我们的库存多得夸张！”老詹用故意搞笑的后悔语气说，“我们有福特、雪佛兰、普利茅斯！还有难以入手的道奇大公羊货卡车，甚至连很难买到的野马车都有！各位乡亲，我这里不只有一两辆，而是有三辆接近全新的野马车款，其中一辆还是最棒的V6敞篷版，而且每一辆车的质量都有最忠贞的基督徒老詹·伦尼保证！我们的服务项目有贩卖汽车、贷款等等，每项服务都只收取超低价格。现在——”他发出了比先前更为懊悔的笑声，“我们得想办法清掉这么多的汽车库存！所以趁现在快过来！邻居们，我们的咖啡壶总是为你准备妥当，只要你跟老詹做过生意，肯定会爱上这种感觉！” 在工作室后方的仓库，两名女警没去检查的那道门突然开了。门内有更多闪烁着的灯光——就像银河一样。房间里塞满一堆层架，上头放着电线、分接线、路由器、电子仪器等物品，会让你觉得这里没有塞进任何人的空间。但主厨不只是瘦，简直就是憔悴。他的双眼在凹陷的眼窝中闪闪发光，满是斑点的皮肤苍白无比，嘴唇松垮垮地包覆着里头的牙龈，其中大多数牙齿都已经掉了。他的衬衫和裤子都脏兮兮的，臀部还露了半截出来；对主厨来说，穿着内衣裤这事，早已全成往事。珊曼莎·布歇如今能不能认出她失踪的丈夫，的确颇令人怀疑。他一只手拿着花生果酱三明治（他现在只能吃软的东西），另一只手则拿着格洛克九毫米手枪。 他走至窗边俯瞰停车场，思索是否要冲到外头。要是那些入侵者还在，干脆直接把她们杀了。 她们还在工作室时，他差点就这么做了。但他还是觉得害怕。毕竟，你没有办法真正杀死恶魔。 当被附身的人体死亡后，恶魔就会附身到另一副躯壳中。在移动到另一个人体时，恶魔看起来就像是只黑鸟。在他越来越少的睡眠中，主厨曾在梦里生动地看见过这个景象。 但它们离开了。他的灵魂对它们而言太强大了。 伦尼说他得暂时关闭工厂，因此主厨布歇也被迫暂时停工。但他可能需要再烹制一些毒品才行。因为他们上礼拜才送了一大批货到波士顿去，使他几乎出清存货。他得抽几口才行，这样才能继续喂养他的灵魂，撑过这一阵子。 但现在还不成问题。当他还过着名为菲尔·布歇的那段人生时，蓝调音乐对他来说是最重要的事——B·B·金、科格与猎犬泰勒乐队、马迪与咆哮之狼——但他放弃了蓝调音乐，全都他妈的抛开了；甚至就连肠子的蠕动也放弃了。从七月到现在，他一直处于便秘的状态。但一切都不打紧。 那些东西只能喂养他可耻的身躯，而无法真正喂养灵魂。 他不只一次地检查着停车场与马路，确保恶魔没有躲在附近，接着才把手枪插回身后的小型枪套中，朝那栋看似仓库、其实这些日子以来已经变成工厂的建筑物走去。虽然工厂停工，但如果有需要，他还是有办法能解决问题。 主厨拿起了烟斗。 生锈克·艾佛瑞特在医院后方的储藏室里翻找东西。由于他与吉妮·汤林森——他们现在成为切斯特磨坊镇的医界巨头了，真是疯狂——决定要关闭所有非必须设施的电源，所以此刻只能用手电筒来照明。他能听见仓库左方大型发电机的运作声响，看来这桶丙烷已经快用完了。 大部分丙烷都不见了，抽筋敦是这么说的，而且上帝为证，他说得没错。依据门上的登记表来看，里头原本该有七桶瓦烷，但却只剩两桶。 关于这点，抽筋敦倒是错了。这里只剩一桶。生锈克的手电筒光芒照在丙烷桶上，丙烷桶上头印有供货商死河公司的商标，旁边则贴着凯瑟琳·罗素医院的蓝色贴纸。 “我就说吧。”抽筋敦在他身后说，让他吓了一跳。 “你说错了。这里只剩一桶而已。” “屁！”抽筋敦走入门内，朝生锈克手电筒照着的地方望去。放置燃料的地方就在仓库的中间，占地甚广，但如今几乎全是空的。“你还真的没唬我。” "No." “大无畏的领导者啊，有人偷走了我们的丙烷。” 生锈克不想相信这点，但看着眼前光景，却也不得不信。 抽筋敦蹲了下来：“你看这里。” 生锈克单膝跪下。去年夏天，医院后方占地四分之一英亩的区域全铺了柏油，由于没遇上寒冷天气，使柏油地面裂开或变形——至少还没——所以这里的黑色地面仍然一片平坦。在仓库拉门前的地上，有着清晰可见的胎痕。 “看起来像镇公所的卡车。”抽筋敦说。 “或是其他的大型卡车。” “说是这么说，但你最好还是检查一下镇公所后头的储藏室。我抽筋敦可不相信掌权的老詹。他根本就是个毒药。” “他干吗要偷我们的丙烷？这位行政委员已经有足够的库存量了。” 他们一同走至医院洗衣房的前门处——那里的门也是关上的，而且至少得维持好一阵子。门旁有张长椅，有块牌子贴在砖墙上，上头写着：兹一月一日起，本处禁止吸烟。请即刻离开，并请小心慢行。 抽筋敦掏出一包万宝路朝生锈克比了一下。 生锈克先是把烟推开，想了片刻之后，才又拿出一根。抽筋敦帮自己与他点烟。 "how do you know?" he asks. "what do you know?" “他们的库存够充足。你看过？” “没有。”生锈克说，“但如果真是他们偷的，干吗挑我们这里？医院对本地居民来说很重要，挑这里偷燃料实在太不聪明了。更别说，邮局几乎就在他们隔壁，那边一定也有库存。” “说不定伦尼和他朋友早就偷走了邮局的丙烷。邮局哪能有多少库存？一桶？两桶？塞牙缝都不够。” “我还是不懂他们为什么会需要那些燃料。简直毫无意义可言。” “本来就不需要什么意义。”抽筋敦说，打了个大大的呵欠，生锈克甚至还能听见他下颚骨头的声响。 “我猜你查完房了吧？”有那么一刻，生锈克觉得自己问出这问题实在太超现实了。自从哈斯克过世后，生锈克便成了医院的首席医生，因此不得不将抽筋敦——三天前他只不过是个护士——升为助理医生。 “嗯。”抽筋敦叹了口气，“卡提先生应该撑不过今天。” 生锈克对于艾德·卡提的状况也同样这么认为。他胃癌已到晚期，撑了一星期。“你就说还在昏迷中就好了。” “收到，师父。” 抽筋敦的确可以做到对患者状况了如指掌的地步——虽然生锈克又累又担心，但他心里依旧清楚，这是件再幸运不过的事。 “至于乔治·华纳，我得说他的状况还算稳定。” 华纳住在东切斯特区，六十几岁，身材肥胖，在穹顶日当天心肌梗塞发作。生锈克认为他可以渡过难关……至少这次可以。 “至于埃米莉·怀特豪斯……”抽筋敦耸肩，“状况实在不佳，师父。” 埃米莉·怀特豪斯四十多岁，体重甚至超重不到一盎司，却同样在罗瑞·丹斯摩那场意外的一小时后心肌梗塞。由于她一直疯狂锻炼身体，所以情况反而比乔治·华纳严重得多，情况一如哈斯克医生会称为“健康俱乐部大崩盘”的说法。 “费里曼家的女孩情况越来越好，吉米·希罗斯也没啥问题，至于诺拉·科弗蓝则是完美，午餐过后就能出院了。就整体来说，情况不算太差。” “是不差，”生锈克说，“但我敢向你保证，情况肯定会越来越糟。这么说吧，要是你头部受了很严重的伤害，你会希望我替你开刀吗？” “不太想，”抽筋敦说，“我还是希望由格里高利·豪斯执刀。” 生锈克把烟蒂丢进一旁的罐子里，看着里头几乎空无一物的仓库。或许他真的应该潜入镇公所后方的储藏室偷看才对——反正也不会少块肉。 这一回，换成他打了个呵欠。 “你能撑多久？”抽筋敦问，声音中没了任何戏谑的意思。“我会这么问，是因为你现在是这镇上唯一的医生了。” “能撑多久就多久。我只担心自己会累过头，把事情搞砸了。更别说，我的本领还应付不了现在这些状况。”他想到罗瑞·丹斯摩……还有吉米·希罗斯。想到吉米让他的心情更糟了。毕竟，罗瑞的状况与医疗疏失不会有什么关联，但以吉米来说…… 生锈克眼前浮现自己站在手术室里的背影，耳中听见手术设备运作的声音，看着自己低头望向吉米那条苍白的腿，上头还标有一道他得用手术刀割开的黑线，想着道奇·敦切尔这回得要挑战自己的麻醉技巧，而吉妮·汤林森则把手术刀快速递到他戴着手套的手上，口罩上方那双不带感情的蓝色眼睛还直盯着他瞧。 求上帝饶了我吧，他想。 抽筋敦拍了拍生锈克的臂膀。“放轻松点，” 他说，“一天一天地撑过去就行了。” “去你的，我得一小时一小时地撑过去才行。” 生锈克说着站起身子。“我得去健康中心一趟，看看那里有没有什么状况。感谢老天，这事不是发生在夏天，否则我们还得为三千个观光客与七百多个夏令营的孩子负起责任。” “还是我过去就好？” 生锈克摇头：“你再去检查一次艾德·卡提的状况好了，看看他是不是还活着。” 生锈克又再度朝仓库望了一眼，脚步沉重，绕过建筑物的角落，沿着凯瑟琳·罗素医院的车道，朝对角线的健康中心走去。 吉妮人在医院中，正准备帮科弗蓝太太做最后的体重检查，然后让她满心欢喜地出院返家。 在健康中心值班的接待员，是年仅十七岁的吉娜·巴弗莱诺，在医院工作的经验才不过整整六周，就与医院的义工没两样。生锈克走进门时，她望着他的眼神，就像快被汽车撞上的野鹿一样，让他心中为之一沉。不过等待室里空无一人，这点倒是件好事。简直就是好极了。 “有电话进来吗？”生锈克问。 “一通。是范齐诺太太从黑岭路那里打来的。她孩子的头被卡在婴儿护栏的栅栏中间，想叫救护车过去。我……我告诉她说，她可以用橄榄油涂在孩子头上，看能不能把孩子的头拔出来。结果成功了。” 生锈克笑了。或许这里能靠这孩子撑过去。 吉娜看起来大大松了口气，对生锈克同样回以笑容。 “至少这里没有任何病人，”生锈克说，“好极了。” “不对。格林奈尔小姐在这里——她的名字是安德莉娅对吗？我让她在三号室休息。”吉娜吞吞吐吐地说，“她看起来似乎很难受。” 生锈克的心脏往上一跳，又重重落下。安德莉娅·格林奈尔很难受。这代表她肯定想拿她的强力止痛药处方签。他的良知告诉自己，绝不能给她处方签，就算安迪·桑德斯那里有足够的库存可以帮医院补货也一样。 “我知道了。”他从大厅朝第三检查室走去，接着又停下脚步，回头一看。“你没喊我。” 吉娜的脸红了起来：“她叫我不用特别通知你们。” 这使生锈克感到困惑，但也只维持了一秒而已。安德莉娅可能有药物方面的问题，但绝不是笨蛋。她知道，要是生锈克从医院过来，可能会带着抽筋敦一起。道奇·敦切尔是她最小的弟弟，就算他已经三十九岁了，她还是会想保住自己生活中不堪的真相，不让他知道。 生锈克站在一扇印有黑色数字3的门前，努力想振作精神。这事不好处理。安德莉娅不像他常见到的酒鬼，老是宣称酒精不是问题，进而喝酒毫无节制；以过去一年多来说，她也不像那些毒虫一样，出现毒瘾频率越来越高的迹象。安德莉娅得为自身问题背负的责任相当复杂，因此要治疗好也更为困难。当然，她的痛苦是在她摔伤后才有的。对她来说，强力止痛药是对付疼痛、让她得以入睡并进行治疗的最好方法。会对这个有时被医生称为“乡下人的海洛因”的药物上瘾，也并非全是她的过错。 他打开门走进里头，在心中演练拒绝之词。 得要语气和蔼，但却足够坚决，他告诉自己，刚柔并济。 她坐在一张胆固醇倡导海报下方的椅子里，双膝并拢，皮包放在大腿上，低垂着头。她是个身材壮硕的女人，但此刻看来却极为娇小，不知为何，像是被缩小了一样。当她抬头望向他时，他才发现她的脸孔有多么憔悴——嘴巴周遭全是深深的皱纹，眼袋几乎都黑了。他改变了主意，决定先用哈斯克医生的粉红色处方签开药给她再说。或许等到穹顶危机过去后，他会试着帮她安排戒除药瘾的疗程，但无论如何，现在他只能先满足她的需求。他实在很少看到需要药物到了如此明显地步的人。 “艾瑞克……生锈克……我麻烦大了。” “我知道，看得出来。我会开药给你——” “不！”她望着他，仿佛看见了什么恐怖的东西。“就算我求你也不要！我是个瘾君子，而且非戒不可！我只不过是个该死的老毒虫！”她的五官皱在一起，试图要让表情恢复正常，却又无法办到。她用双手捂着脸，指缝间传出大声、粗哑的嚎泣。 生锈克走到她面前，单膝跪地，用手环抱住她。 “安德莉娅，你想戒掉是件好事——好极了——但现在可能不是适当时机——” 她用泪流不止的泛红双眼看着他：“你说得没错，这时机不对，但一定得是现在！你绝对不能告诉道奇或萝丝。你能帮我吗？可以让我戒掉吗？因为我没办法，靠自己绝对没办法。那些该死的粉红色药丸！我把那些药丢回药柜，说我今天绝对不吃了，但是才一个小时后，我又把药拿了出来！我从来没有像现在这么混乱过，这辈子从来没有。” 她把声音压低，像是在说着什么天大的秘密。 “我想这跟我背部受的伤已经无关了，我觉得是我的大脑在叫我的背开始疼痛，好让我可以吃那些该死的药丸。” “为什么是现在？安德莉娅？” 她只是摇了摇头：“你有办法帮