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--no Explore, learn--

… eat …

… run …

… hunt …

… fck …

… kill …

--no, no! Music, art, language--

His turery with reason, but that did not seeht of Denny, his son He must hold fast to his humanity if only for Denny’s sake He tried to summon the love he had once known for his boy, tried to let that love rebuild in him until he could shout of it, but there was only a whisper of remembered emotion deep in the darkness of his mind His ability to love had receded from him in much the way thatthe Big Bang that created the universe; his love for Denny was now so far away and long ago that it was like a star at the outer edge of the universe, its light only dimly perceived, with little power to illu was soe of hi that ran on all fours or with its knuckles dragging on the ground, but aslowed a little His heartbeat fell from an impossibly rapid dubdubdubdubdubdubdub to perhaps a hundred or a hundred and twenty beats a , but better His head cleared, too, though not entirely, because the scent of blood was an inescapable perfuered to Penniworth

The deputy was still curled in the tightest fetal position that a grown man could achieve Traces of the beast were in his hands and face, but he was considerablyof hisnearly as well as the thread-thin lifeline of love had worked for Loun with one cramped hand, Loman reached down to Penniworth and took hiet out of here, boy, let’s get away froot laboriously to his feet He leaned against Loman and allowed hiressives, along the hallway into the living room

Here, the stink of urine coht have ridden the currents of air outward from the bedroom That was better It was not a foul odor at all, as it had see

Loman settled Penniworth in an armchair, the only upholstered ite to be okay?"

Penniworth looked up at hins of the beast had vanished froely lumpy, still in transition His face appeared to be swollen with a disabling case of the hives, large round lu, diagonal welts, too, that burned an angry red against his pale skin However, even as Loman watched, those phenomena faded, and Neil Penniworth laid full claim to his humanity To his physical humanity, at least

"You sure?" Loht there"

"Yes"

Loman went into the foyer and opened the front door The deputy standing guard outside was so tense because of all the shooting and screa in the house that he almost fired on his chief before he realized who it was

"What the hell?" the deputy said

"Get on the computer link to Shaddack," Loht now I have to see him now"

55

Sam drew the heavy blue drapes, and Harry turned on one bedside lamp Soft as it was, too diht nevertheless stung Tessa’s eyes, which were already tired and bloodshot

For the first time she actually saw the room It was sparely furnished: the stool; the tall table beside the stool; the telescope; a long,nightstands; a serator in one corner; and an adjustable hospital-type bed, queen-size, without a spread but with plenty of pillows and brightly colored sheets patterned with splashes and streaks and spots of red, orange, purple, green, yellow, blue, and black, like a giant canvas painted by a demented and color-blind abstract artist

Harry saw her and Sam’s reaction to the sheets and said, "Now, that’s a story, but first you’ve got to know the background My housekeeper, Mrs Hunsbok, co for me But I send Moose on errands every day, if only to pick up a newspaper He wears this set of … well, sort of saddlebags strapped around hi on each side I put a note and sooes to the local convenience store--it’s the only place he’ll go when he’s wearing the bags, unless I’rocery, Jimmy Ramis, knows me real well Jimmy reads the note, puts a quart of s, puts the change in there, too, and Moose brings it all back to , the best They train them real well at Canine Companions for Independence Moose never chases after a cat withraised his head off Tessa’s lap, panted and grinned, as if acknowledging the praise

"One day he came home with a few items I’d sent him for, and he also had a set of these sheets and pillow cases I call up jimmy Ramis, see, and ask him what’s the idea, and Ji about, says he never saw any such sheets Now, Jimmy’s dad owns the convenience store, and he also owns Surplus Outlet, out on the county road He gets all kinds of discontinued merchandise and stuff that didn’t sell as well as the manufacturers expected, picks it up at ten cents on the dollar so he was having trouble unloading even at Surplus Outlet Jiht they were pretty silly, and decided to have some fun with me But on the phone Ji about the sheets, I’d tell you, but I don’t And I says, ’You trying to ht them all on his oith his own uess he shoplifted thee to stuff them in his own backpack so neat,’ and Jimmy says, ’I don’t know, Harry, but that there is one hell of a clever dog--though it sounds like he doesn’t have good taste"

Tessa sa Harry relished the story, and she also sahy he was so pleased by it For one thing the dog was child and brother and friend, all rolled into one, and Harry was proud that people thought of Moose as clever More important, Jimmy’s little joke made Harry a part of his community, not just a homebound invalid but a participant in the life of his town His lonely days were ," Tessa told Moose

Harry said, "Anyway, I decided to have Mrs Hunsbok put them on the bed next time she ca the drapes at the second , Sam returned to the stool, sat doiveled to face Harry, and said, "They’re the loudest sheets I’ve ever seen Don’t they keep you awake at night?"

Harry s can keep me awake I sleep like a baby What keeps people awake is worry about the future, about what ht happen to them But the worst has already happened to ht have been, but I don’t do that because I just don’t dare" His smile faded as he spoke "So nohat? What do we do next?"