Read Online The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Christopher Moore
Tags: Humor
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up as she went until the sword cut the air with a whistling whirr as she worked up to a series of backflips executed while the sword stayed in motion: one, two, three. She tossed the sword into the air, did a back flip, reached to catch it in midspin – a light sweat sheeted her body now – reached to catch it – the sword silhouetted against a three-quarter moon – reached to catch it and the sky went red. Molly looked up as the shock wave rocketed through the village. The blade slashed the back of her wrist to the bone and stuck in the ground, quivering. Molly swore and watched the orange mushroom cloud rise in the sky over Pine Cove.
She held her wrist and stared at the fire in the sky for several minutes, wondering if what she was seeing was really there, or if perhaps she'd been a little hasty about stopping her meds. A siren sounded in the distance,then she heard something moving down in the creek bed – as if huge rocks were being kicked aside. Mutants, she thought. Where there were mushroom clouds, there were mutants, the curse of Kendra's nuked-out world.
Molly snatched the sword and ran into her trailer to hide.
Theo The shock wave from the explosion had dissipated to the level of a sonic boom by the time it reached Theo's little cabin two miles out of town. Still, he knew that something had happened. He sat up in bed to wait for the phone to ring. A minute and a half later, it did. The 911 dispatcher from San Junipero was onthe line.
"Constable Crowe? You've had some sort of explosion at the Texaco station onCypress Street in Pine Cove. There are fires burning nearby. I've dispatched fire and ambulance, but you should get over there."
Theo struggled to sound alert. "Anyone hurt?"
"We don't know yet. The call just came in. It sounds like a fuel tank went up."
"I'm on my way."
Theo swung his long legs out of bed and pulled on his jeans. He snatched his shirt, cell phone, and beeper from the nightstand and headed out to the Volvo. He could see an orange corona from the flames in the sky toward town and billowing black smoke streaking the moonlit sky.
As soon as he started the car, the radio crackled with the voices of volunteer firemen who were racing to the site of the explosion in Pine Cove's two fire engines.
Theo keyed the mike. "Hey, guys, this is Theo Crowe.Anyone on scene yet?"
"ETA one minute, Theo," came back at him. "Ambulance is on scene."
An EMT from the ambulance came on the radio. "The Texaco is gone. So's the burger stand.Doesn't look like the fire is spreading. I don't see anyone around, but if there was anybody in those two buildings, they're toast."
"Delicate, Vance.Very professional," Theo said into the mike. "I'll be there in five."
The Volvo bucked over the rough dirt road. Theo's head banged on the roof and he slowed enough to buckle his seat belt.
Bert's Burger Stand was gone.Gone.And the mini-market at the Texaco, gone too. Theo felt an empty rumbling in his stomach as he pictured his beloved minimarket nachos going black in the flames.
Five minutes later he pulled in behind the ambulance and jumped out of the Volvo. The firefighters seemed to have the fire contained to the asphalt area of the Texaco and the burger stand. A little brush had burned on the hill behind the Texaco and had charred a few trees, but the firemen had drenched that area first to keep the fire from climbing into the residential area.
Theo shielded his face with his hands. The heat coming off the burning Texaco was searing, even at a hundred yards. A figure in fire-fighting regalia approached him out of the smoke. A few feet away he pulled up the shield on his helmet and Theo recognized Robert Masterson, the volunteer fire chief. Robert and his wife Jenny owned Brine's Bait Tackle, and Fine Wines. He was smiling.
"Theo, you're gonna starve to death – both your food sources are gone."
Theo forced a smile. "Guess I'll have to come to your place for brie and cabernet. Anyone hurt?"
Theo was shaking.
She held her wrist and stared at the fire in the sky for several minutes, wondering if what she was seeing was really there, or if perhaps she'd been a little hasty about stopping her meds. A siren sounded in the distance,then she heard something moving down in the creek bed – as if huge rocks were being kicked aside. Mutants, she thought. Where there were mushroom clouds, there were mutants, the curse of Kendra's nuked-out world.
Molly snatched the sword and ran into her trailer to hide.
Theo The shock wave from the explosion had dissipated to the level of a sonic boom by the time it reached Theo's little cabin two miles out of town. Still, he knew that something had happened. He sat up in bed to wait for the phone to ring. A minute and a half later, it did. The 911 dispatcher from San Junipero was onthe line.
"Constable Crowe? You've had some sort of explosion at the Texaco station onCypress Street in Pine Cove. There are fires burning nearby. I've dispatched fire and ambulance, but you should get over there."
Theo struggled to sound alert. "Anyone hurt?"
"We don't know yet. The call just came in. It sounds like a fuel tank went up."
"I'm on my way."
Theo swung his long legs out of bed and pulled on his jeans. He snatched his shirt, cell phone, and beeper from the nightstand and headed out to the Volvo. He could see an orange corona from the flames in the sky toward town and billowing black smoke streaking the moonlit sky.
As soon as he started the car, the radio crackled with the voices of volunteer firemen who were racing to the site of the explosion in Pine Cove's two fire engines.
Theo keyed the mike. "Hey, guys, this is Theo Crowe.Anyone on scene yet?"
"ETA one minute, Theo," came back at him. "Ambulance is on scene."
An EMT from the ambulance came on the radio. "The Texaco is gone. So's the burger stand.Doesn't look like the fire is spreading. I don't see anyone around, but if there was anybody in those two buildings, they're toast."
"Delicate, Vance.Very professional," Theo said into the mike. "I'll be there in five."
The Volvo bucked over the rough dirt road. Theo's head banged on the roof and he slowed enough to buckle his seat belt.
Bert's Burger Stand was gone.Gone.And the mini-market at the Texaco, gone too. Theo felt an empty rumbling in his stomach as he pictured his beloved minimarket nachos going black in the flames.
Five minutes later he pulled in behind the ambulance and jumped out of the Volvo. The firefighters seemed to have the fire contained to the asphalt area of the Texaco and the burger stand. A little brush had burned on the hill behind the Texaco and had charred a few trees, but the firemen had drenched that area first to keep the fire from climbing into the residential area.
Theo shielded his face with his hands. The heat coming off the burning Texaco was searing, even at a hundred yards. A figure in fire-fighting regalia approached him out of the smoke. A few feet away he pulled up the shield on his helmet and Theo recognized Robert Masterson, the volunteer fire chief. Robert and his wife Jenny owned Brine's Bait Tackle, and Fine Wines. He was smiling.
"Theo, you're gonna starve to death – both your food sources are gone."
Theo forced a smile. "Guess I'll have to come to your place for brie and cabernet. Anyone hurt?"
Theo was shaking.
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