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Getting aith murder proved his superiority to all the other players, but he could not continue to get aith it if he were out of control, berserk, like one of those guys you saw on the neho opened up with a se mall That was not a Master That was a fool and a loser A Master reat care, and elie attic on a pile of folded dropcloths, he thought that a Master round Weave his web Settle down, pull in his long legs,of himself … and wait

Plenty of spiders shared the attic with hiloom they were visible to his exquisitely sensitive eyes Some of thely still as death He felt an affinity for then near the front door warned that the preuarded by s Steel bars elded over the s Hatch noticed the door was at least three inches thick, wood but probably with a steel core, and that the three hinges on the inside appeared to have been designed for use on a bathysphere to withstand thousands of tons of pressure deep under the sea Though much weapons-associated uns, and handguns were in locked glass cases or securely chained in open wall racks Video ca in each of the four corners of the long lass

The shop was better protected than a bank Hatch wondered if he was living in a time eaponry had more appeal to thieves than did money itself

The four clerks were pleasanttheht-hemmed shirts outside their pants Maybe they prized coun in a holster underneath his shirt, tucked into in the s short-barreled, pistol-grip, puun

"The perfect weapon for home-defense," the clerk told hi else"

Hatch supposed that he should be grateful he was living in an age when the government promised to protect and defend its citizens from threats even so small as radon in the cellar and the ultimate environmental consequences of the extinction of the one-eyed, blue-tailed gnat In a less civilized era--say the turn of the century--he no doubt would have required an ar hundreds of weapons, a ton of explosives, and a chain- the door

He decided irony was a bitter form of humor and not to his taste At least not in his current mood

He filled out the requisite federal and state for, a cleaning kit, and boxes of aun Behind him, the shop door fell shut with a heavy thud, as if he were exiting a vault

After putting his purchases in the trunk of the Mitsubishi, he got behind the wheel, started the engine--and froze with his hand on the gearshift Beyond the windshield, the ser there

As if a hty sorcerer had cast an evil spell, the sunny day had disappeared Hatch was in a long, eerily lighted tunnel He glanced out the side s, turned to check the back, but the illusion or hallucination--whatever the hell it ht be--enwrapped hi lot had been

When he faced forward, he was confronted by a long slope in the center of which was a narrow-gauge railroad track Suddenly the car began toup that hill

Hatch jammed his foot down on the brake pedal No effect

He closed his eyes, counted to ten, listening to his heart pound harder by the second and unsuccessfully willing himself to relax When he opened his eyes, the tunnel was still there

He switched the car engine off He heard it die The car continued to ine noise was brief A new sound arose: clackety-clack, clackety-clack, clackety-clack

An inhuman shriek erupted to the left, and fro movement He snapped his head toward it To his astonish as a h a round arbage disposal An identical beast shrieked froht, and more of theibbering, hooting, snarling, squealing as he passed them

In spite of his disorientation and terror, he realized that the grotesqueries along the tunnel walls weresank in, he finally recognized the familiar sound Clackety-clack, clackety-clack He was on an indoor roller coaster, yet in his car, h point, with a precipitous fall ahead

He did not argue with hi, did not try to shake himself awake or back to his senses He was past denial He understood that he did not have to believe in this experience to insure its continuation; it would progress whether he believed in it or not, so hepast denial didn’t mean, however, that he was past fear He was scared shitless

Briefly he considered opening the car door and getting out Maybe that would break the spell But he didn’t try it because he was afraid that when he stepped out he would not be in the parking lot in front of the gun shop but in the tunnel, and that the car would continue uphill without hiht be like sla himself forever to the vision, with no way out, no way back

The car passed the last mechanical monster It reached the crest of the inclined track Pushed through a pair of swinging doors Into darkness The doors fell shut behind The car crept forward

Forward Forward Abruptly it dropped as if into a bottomless pit

Hatch cried out, and with his cry the darkness vanished The sunny spring day un shop