The Chase Page 0,56

the archetypical Wolf-the one kids dreamed about. The one that had inspired stories like Little Red Riding-Hood. The one that lurked at the back of the human brain, eternally crouched and ready. Reminding people of what the world had once been like, a savage place where humans were the prey. When teeth and claws came at you in the night, and you got eaten.

Funny, Tom thought, how most people these days took it for granted that they weren't going to get eaten. Not so long ago-a few thousand years, maybe-it had been a pretty serious problem. A constant danger, the way it still was for birds and kittens and mice and gazelles.

The sight of the Lurker, the Shadow Wolf, brought it all back clearly. One look at it and your brain stem remembered everything. How it felt to be chased by something that wanted to tear into your entrails. By something you couldn't bargain with, couldn't reason with, something without mercy to appeal to. Something only interested in tearing your flesh off" in chunks.

Tom couldn't let a thing like that near Jenny.

He was almost close enough now. It was moving toward him, slowly, crouched. He could hear the thick snarls over the patter of rain.

Tom raised the gun to his shoulder.

Careful-steady. He was pretty good at this at carnivals, an excellent shot. The wolf was almost in range. Tom centered the crosshairs--and heard a noise behind him.

A slithering, dragging noise. The Creeper. The Snake.

He didn't turn. He knew that it was almost on him, that if he didn't run now-this instant-it would get him. He didn't turn. With every ounce of his will, he kept his eyes on the wolf.

In range. Now! Now!

A horrifying hiss right behind him -

Ignoring it, Tom squeezed the trigger.

The recoil staggered him. Carnival guns didn't buck like that. But the wolf was more than staggered. The force of the bullet dropped it in its tracks.

Got it! I got it! I did it -

The snake struck.

Tom felt the blow in the middle of his back. Already off balance, he fell. But he twisted even as he went down. One more shot-if he could get off one more shot -

He was lying in the mud. The snake was towering over him, a column of swaying darkness. Huge, and hugely powerful. Eyes shining with an unearthly light, mouth wide in a hiss. Giant dark head rearing back to strike-Now! For Jenny -

Tom fired straight into the gaping mouth.

The snake's head exploded.

It was terrible. Dark blood spurted everywhere, stinging Tom's face, blinding him. Heavy coils, whipping in their death throes, fell on top of him, flogging him. He couldn't get them off. Everything was blood and darkness and struggling terror.

But I did it, Tom thought, clawing wildly at the flailing, spurting length of the snake. Oh, God, if I can just get out of here ... did it. They're dead.p>

That was when he heard the noise.

A roaring like a waterfall in the distance-or a river. Getting closer fast. And he couldn't see, couldn't get up.

Jenny, Tom thought-and then the water reached him.

"Jenny, you're scaring me," Michael said. It was almost a whimper.

Jenny herself wasn't scared. She was cold and clear and furiously angry.

The idea that Julian's base might be at the creek had passed through her mind once or twice. But she'd dismissed it last night because it didn't fit in with the door.

Tom had obviously felt differently.

"Keep walking," she said. It seemed as if they'd been walking forever. She knew they were in the right area because they'd found Tom's car-but where was the creek bed? Michael was limping badly.

"What's that?"

It was a rushing, liquid sound, louder than the rain. Jenny knew what she would see even before they crested the next rise of ground and looked down.

An unusual sight for southern California, where most creek beds were cracked and dusty. This one was full of dark, swiftly moving water-much too full for the little rain that had fallen. There was no natural explanation for it. It was a freak event, a flash flood that should have been impossible.

But it was there. A swollen river by a sage-covered slope leading to three large sycamore trees.

And in a little eddy directly below Jenny, swirling round and round between some rocks, was a neatly folded paper boat manned by a dark-haired paper doll.

She didn't realize the boat was the next clue until they were back at the apartment.

She had been playing with it all the way.