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Dan maintained a steady walking pace in spite of the growing heat in his midsection. It felt as though
there were a rat on fire in there, one that kept chewing at him even as it burned. If the path had been
going up instead of down, he never would have made it.
At ten to five, he came around a bend and stopped. Not far ahead, the aspens gave way to a green
and manicured expanse of lawn sloping down to a pair of tennis courts. Beyond the courts he could see
the RV parking area and a long log building: Overlook Lodge. Beyond that, the terrain climbed again.
Where the Overlook had once stood, a tall platform reared gantrylike against the bright sky. Roof O’
the World. Looking at it, the same thought that had occurred to Rose the Hat
(gallows)
crossed Dan’s mind. Standing at the railing, facing south toward the parking lot for day visitors,
was a single silhouetted figure. A woman’s figure. The tophat was tilted on her head.
(Abra are you there)
(I’m here Dan)
Calm, by the sound. Calm was just the way he wanted it.
(are they hearing you)
That brought a vague ticklish sensation: her smile. The angry one.
(if they’re not they’re deaf)
That was good enough.
(you have to come to me now but remember if I tell you to go YOU GO)
She didn’t answer, and before he could tell her again, she was there.
6
The Stones and John Dalton watched helplessly as Abra slid sideways until she was lying with her
head on the boards of the stoop and her legs splayed out on the steps below her. Hoppy spilled from
one relaxing hand. She didn’t look as if she were sleeping, nor even in a faint. That was the ugly sprawl
of deep unconsciousness or death. Lucy lunged forward. Dave and John held her back.
She fought them. “Let me go! I have to help her!”
“You can’t,” John said. “Only Dan can help her now. They have to help each other.”
She stared at him with wild eyes. “Is she even breathing? Can you tell?”
“She’s breathing,” Dave said, but he sounded unsure even to himself.
7
When Abra joined him, the pain eased for the first time since Boston. That didn’t comfort Dan much,
because now Abra was suffering, too. He could see it in her face, but he could also see the wonder in
her eyes as she looked around at the room in which she found herself. There were bunk beds, knottypine
walls, and a rug embroidered with western sage and cactus. Both the rug and the lower bunk were
littered with cheap toys. On a small desk in the corner was a scattering of books and a jigsaw puzzle
with large pieces. In the room’s far corner, a radiator clanked and hissed.
Abra walked to the desk and picked up one of the books. On the cover, a small child on a trike was
being chased by a little dog. The title was Reading Fun with Dick and Jane.
Dan joined her, wearing a bemused smile. “The little girl on the cover is Sally. Dick and Jane are
her brother and sister. And the dog’s name is Jip. For a little while they were my best friends. My only
friends, I guess. Except for Tony, of course.”
She put the book down and turned to him. “What is this place, Dan?”