@@@@@I repeated this clumsy and time-consuming
@@@@@I repeated this
clumsy and time-consuming process with the other
bottle
From overhead, Wireman cried out in a voice that
was almost steady: "Stay back! This is tipped with
silver! I'll use it!"
1073
The response to this was clear, even at the bottom
of the cistern"Do you think you can reload fast
enough to shoot all three of us?"
"No, Emery," Wireman respondedHe spoke as if to
a child, and his voice had firmed all the wayI
never loved him so much as I did then"I'll
settle for you
Now came the hard part, the terrible part
I began unscrewing the cap of the flashlightOn
the second turn, the light went out and I was in
nearly perfect darknessI dumped the D-batteries
from the flashlight's steel sleeve, then fumbled
for the first bottle of EvianMy fingers closed
on it, and I poured it in, working by feelI had
no idea how much the flashlight would hold, and
thought one bottle would fill it all the way to
the topI was reaching for the
second one when full night must have come to Duma
KeyI say that because that was when the china
figure in my pocket came to life
x
1074
Any time I doubt that last mad passage in the
cistern, all I have to do is look at the trafficjam
of white scars on the left side of my chest
Anyone seeing me naked wouldn't notice them
particularly; because of my accident, I am a
roadmap of scars, and that small white bundle
tends to get lost among the gaudier onesBut
these were made by the teeth of a living dollOne
that chewed through my shirt and skin and into the
muscle beneath
One that meant to chew all the way to my heart
xi
I almost knocked the second bottle of water over
before managing to pick it upThat was mostly
from surprise, but there was plenty of pain as
well, and I cried outI felt fresh blood begin to
flow, this time running down inside my shirt to
the crease between my torso and my bellyShe was
twisting in my pocket, writhing in my pocket, her
teeth sinking in and biting and plowing, digging
deeper, deeperI had to tear her out, and I
ripped away a good chunk of bloody shirt and flesh
1075
with herThe figure had lost that smooth, cool