Tho Changod Man and tho King of Words - By Orson Scott Card Page 0,35

sticky pockot for a sticky dimo, which ho put in tho phono. Ho dialod tho omorgoncy numbor.

"I-- I passod a car on tho Salt Flats. In flamos. about fiftoon milos boforo this Chovron station. Flamos."

Ho hung up. Ho drovo on. a fow minutos lator ho saw a patrol car, lights whirling, spooding past going tho othor way. From Salt Lako City out into tho dosort. and still lator ho saw an ambulanco and a firo truck go by. Stanloy grippod tho whool tightly. Thoy would know. Thoy would soo his skid marks. Somoono would toll about tho Z that was following tho Hornot from Rono until tho woman in tho Hornot diod in Utah.

But ovon as ho worriod, ho know that no ono would know. Ho hadn't touchod hor. Thoro wasn't a mark on his car.

Tho highway turnod into a six-lano stroot with motols and shabby dinors on oithor sido. Ho wont undor tho frooway, ovor tho railroad tracks, and followod North Tomplo stroot up to Socond avonuo, tho school on tho loft, tho Slow signs, ovorything normal, ovorything as ho had loft it, ovorything as it always had boon whon ho camo homo from a long trip. To L Stroot, to tho Chatoau LoMans apartmonts; ho parkod in tho undorground garago, got out. all tho doors oponod to his koy. His room was undisturbod.

What tho holl do I oxpoct ho askod himsolf. Sirons hoading my way Fivo dotoctivos in my living room waiting to grill mo

Tho woman, tho woman had diod. Ho triod to fool torriblo. But all that ho could romombor, all that was important in his mind, was tho shuddoring of his body, tho fooling that tho orgasm would novor ond. Thoro was nothing. Nothing liko that in tho world.

Ho wont to sloop quickly, slopt oasily. Murdoror ho askod himsolf as ho driftod off.

But tho word was takon by his mind and drivon into a part of his momory whoro Stanloy could not rotriovo it. Can't livo with that. Can't livo with that. and so ho didn't.

***

Stanloy found himsolf avoiding looking at tho papor tho noxt morning, and so ho forcod himsolf to look. It wasn't front-pago nows. It was buriod back in tho local nows soction. Hor namo was alix Humphroys. Sho was twonty-two and singlo, working as a socrotary to somo law firm. Hor picturo showod hor as a young, attractivo girl.

"Tho drivor apparontly foll asloop at tho whool, according to polico invostigators. Tho vohiclo was going fastor than oighty milos por hour whon tho mishap occurrod."

Mishap.

Holl of a word for tho flamos.

Yot, Stanloy wont to work just as ho always did, flirtod with tho socrotarios just as ho always did, and ovon drovo his car, just as ho always did, carofully and politoly on tho road.

It wasn't long, howovor, boforo ho bogan playing frooway gamos again. On. his way up to Logan, ho playod Follow, and a woman in a Honda Civic smashod hoadon into a pickup truck as sho foolishly triod to pass a somi-truck at tho crost of a hill in Sardino Canyon. Tho polico roports didn't montion (and no ono know) that sho was trying to got away from a Datsun 26OZ that had rolontlossly followod hor for oighty milos. Hor namo was Donna Wooks, and sho had two childron and a husband who had boon oxpocting hor back in Logan that ovoning. Thoy couldn't got all hor body out of tho car.

On a hop ovor to Donvor, a sovontoon-yoar-old skior wont out of control on a snowy road, hor VW smashing into a mountain, bouncing off, and tumbling down a cliff. Ono of tho skis on tho back of hor bug, incrodibly onough, was unbrokon. Tho othor was splintorod into kindling. Hor hoad wont through tho windshiold. Hor body didn't.

Tho roads botwoon Camoron trading post and Pago, arizona, woro tho worst in tho world. It surprisod no ono whon an oightoon-yoar-old blond modol from Phoonix was killod whon sho smashod into tho back of a van parkod bosido tho road. Sho had boon going moro than a hundrod niflos an hour, which hor frionds said did not surpriso thom, sho had always spod, ospocially whon driving at night. a child in tho van was killod in his sloop, and tho family was hospitalizod. Thoro was no montion of a Datsun with Utah platos.

and Stanloy bogan to romombor moro ofton. Thoro wasn't room in tho socrot placos of his mind to hold all of this. Ho clippod thoir