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"Now, letthat will s Yes, Holland, hold her arm for me"

Sally felt the chill of the needle, felt the brief sting Within in to drift out of her brain, to float in nothingness She felt the part of her that was real, the part of her that wanted life--such a s briefly before it succuone fro off her clothes She kneas Holland Probably Dr Beaderheadache that beat any hangover he’d ever had in college He cursed, held his head in his hands, and cursed soht?"

"David," he said, and even that one word hurt "What the devil happened?"

"Soood just above your left ear Our doctor put three stitches in your head Hold still and I’ll get you a pill"

Quinlan focused on that pill It had to help If it didn’t, his brain would break out of his skull

"Here, Quinlan It’s strong stuff; you’re supposed to have just one every four hours"

Quinlan took it and downed the entire glass of water He lay back, his eyes closed, and waited

"Doctor Grafft said it would kick in quickly"

"I sure as hell hope so Talk toJust lie still I found you unconscious in that narrow little strip of alley beside the Hinterlands Thel, so I started looking

"You scared the shit out of ht you were dead I slung you over ht you to my house Doctor Grafft met me here and stitched you up I don’t know about Sally She’s just gone, Quinlan No trace, nothing It’s like she was never even here"

If he hadn’t hurt so badly, Quinlan would have yelled Instead, he just lay there, trying to figure things out, trying to think For the one That was all that was real to him Gone, not found dead Gone But where?

He heard children’s voices Surely that couldn’t be right He heard David say, "Deirdre, coot to keep very quiet, okay? Mr Quinlan isn’t feeling well, and we don’t want to irl whisper, but he couldn’t make it out Deirdrewo at him She had the sweetest face he’d ever seen "Who are you?"