Page 241 (1/2)

The Chrysler Building

The corridor collapsed; darkness folded over hiht in which he dwelled was false The sun was still up there Above the cloud of dust it shone, bright as day If he could get to the sun, if he could soht was lost as a great force gripped him, like a vortex Its poas colossal He felt hi pulled, down and down and down What lay at the bottom he did not know, only that when he reached it, he would be forever lost So Racked with convulsions, it haated Teeth showered fro darkness in which no trace of hi, anything, to hold on to In his ined but taken fro on his bed Their faces were close, their hands entwined Teardrops hung upon her eyelashes like beads of light You get to keep one thing, she told hiht Peter

You

He fell

--

The pain in Michael’s leg exploded Relass had peeled the skin back like the rind of an orange, exposing the fibrous, subtly pulsating muscle beneath Another backward reach above his head produced a long, silk scarf He twirled it into a thick rope and tied it tightly around the wound The fabric was instantly saturated Was he doing this right? He wished Sara were here Sara would knohat to do The things that came into your mind at a time like this: the brain was not kind, it had no sense of fairness, it taunted you with thoughts of the things you did not have or couldn’t do

The noise outside had subsided as the destruction marched north The air had an unnatural chemical smell, bitter and burnt For the first time since he’d awakened on the street, his mind went to Alicia, the look on her face as the water crashed into her and swept her away She was gone Alicia was gone

Frolass

Michael froze The noise ca with her heels, Amy scrambled backward "Tim, don’t! It’s me!"

"Don’t call me that!"

She had lost him; the spell was broken In his eyes, the look of white-hot fury had returned Suddenly Fanning raised his head A new emotion came into his face, one of unanticipated pleasure

"And what have we here?"