Read Online The Shimmer by David Morrell - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: David Morrell
Tags: Fiction, Suspense, Thrillers, Action & Adventure, Suspense fiction, Espionage, supernatural, Texas, Military Bases, Spectators
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while, and as some of the onlookers began to leave, the headlights of their cars showed how intense her eyes were as she gazed at the darkness. Her red hair was combed back behind her ears, emphasizing the attractive lines of her face. He wanted to touch her cheek.
"Then it gets peaceful," she said, "and you can really appreciate them."
"Why don't I sit here, and we'll wait for the rest of the crowd to leave? Then you can show me."
"Yes."
Page felt an ache in his chest. His mind raced with questions that had nowhere to go.
Leaning against the nearby post, Costigan dropped his cigarette and crushed it with his boot, all the while continuing to watch carefully.
"When I was ten, my parents took me with them on a car trip,"
Tori said, staring toward the darkness. Her voice drifted off.
Page didn't understand why she'd told him that. Then she seemed to remember what she'd started to say.
"We lived in Austin back then, and we didn't reach this section of west Texas until dark." She tilted her head toward something in the distance. "My father wanted to visit a cousin of his who'd just gotten a job on a ranch out here. The cousin was only going to be in the area for a couple of months." Again Tori paused, then seemed to remember what she'd started to say. "As you know, all my father's relatives were wanderers."
Including him, Page thought, but he was careful not to interrupt.
Her father had deserted the family when Tori had been sixteen.
"Anyway, we drove through here," Tori said.
The exclamations of delight in the crowd contrasted with complaints about the increasing chill and the impatience some felt when they didn't see what others claimed they did. The noise made it difficult for Page to hear what Tori said, but he didn't dare ask her to speak up for fear of having the opposite effect.
She continued, "I needed to go to the bathroom. Even back then, the county had a couple of outdoor toilets here. When I saw them in our headlights, I yelled for him to stop, but my father was in a hurry to see his cousin. He wouldn't have stopped if my mother hadn't insisted. I rushed into one of the toilets, and after I came out, my father was waiting impatiently by the car. Something made me look toward the grassland, and I saw them."
"Saw what?"
Tori seemed not to have heard the question.
"I couldn't help walking toward the fence and staring at them. My mother always took me to church on Sunday, and I thought that when the preacher told us about heaven, this is what he must have been talking about.
"My father ordered me to get in the car, but I couldn't make myself do it. I couldn't bear to stop looking at what was out there. He wanted to know what the hell I thought I was seeing. I tried to explain, but all he said was something about a damned fool kid's imagination. I remember trying to push him away when he picked me up and carried me to the car. I shouted and pounded him. He literally threw me into the back seat."
"I'm sorry," Page said. "Maybe it was a good thing that he eventually left."
When Tori didn't continue, Page regretted his interruption, but then he realized that she'd stopped only because she'd renewed her attention on the darkness.
"There!" a woman at the fence shouted.
"Yes!" a man joined in.
Another woman pointed. "Five of them!"
"I don't see anything!"
Disgusted, the teenagers got into the pickup truck and drove away.
A half-dozen people wandered toward the bus, but a surprising number remained, staring toward the darkness.
"There's one on the left!" someone exclaimed.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?" someone else asked.
Page wondered the same thing.
Again Tori spoke, still not looking at him. "I'd forgotten about this place until two days ago."
"The day you started to drive to your mother's house," Page said.
The words he almost used were, The day you left me.
"I'd gone a little beyond El Paso. It was six in the evening. I was at a truck stop, studying a road map while I drank a cup of
"Then it gets peaceful," she said, "and you can really appreciate them."
"Why don't I sit here, and we'll wait for the rest of the crowd to leave? Then you can show me."
"Yes."
Page felt an ache in his chest. His mind raced with questions that had nowhere to go.
Leaning against the nearby post, Costigan dropped his cigarette and crushed it with his boot, all the while continuing to watch carefully.
"When I was ten, my parents took me with them on a car trip,"
Tori said, staring toward the darkness. Her voice drifted off.
Page didn't understand why she'd told him that. Then she seemed to remember what she'd started to say.
"We lived in Austin back then, and we didn't reach this section of west Texas until dark." She tilted her head toward something in the distance. "My father wanted to visit a cousin of his who'd just gotten a job on a ranch out here. The cousin was only going to be in the area for a couple of months." Again Tori paused, then seemed to remember what she'd started to say. "As you know, all my father's relatives were wanderers."
Including him, Page thought, but he was careful not to interrupt.
Her father had deserted the family when Tori had been sixteen.
"Anyway, we drove through here," Tori said.
The exclamations of delight in the crowd contrasted with complaints about the increasing chill and the impatience some felt when they didn't see what others claimed they did. The noise made it difficult for Page to hear what Tori said, but he didn't dare ask her to speak up for fear of having the opposite effect.
She continued, "I needed to go to the bathroom. Even back then, the county had a couple of outdoor toilets here. When I saw them in our headlights, I yelled for him to stop, but my father was in a hurry to see his cousin. He wouldn't have stopped if my mother hadn't insisted. I rushed into one of the toilets, and after I came out, my father was waiting impatiently by the car. Something made me look toward the grassland, and I saw them."
"Saw what?"
Tori seemed not to have heard the question.
"I couldn't help walking toward the fence and staring at them. My mother always took me to church on Sunday, and I thought that when the preacher told us about heaven, this is what he must have been talking about.
"My father ordered me to get in the car, but I couldn't make myself do it. I couldn't bear to stop looking at what was out there. He wanted to know what the hell I thought I was seeing. I tried to explain, but all he said was something about a damned fool kid's imagination. I remember trying to push him away when he picked me up and carried me to the car. I shouted and pounded him. He literally threw me into the back seat."
"I'm sorry," Page said. "Maybe it was a good thing that he eventually left."
When Tori didn't continue, Page regretted his interruption, but then he realized that she'd stopped only because she'd renewed her attention on the darkness.
"There!" a woman at the fence shouted.
"Yes!" a man joined in.
Another woman pointed. "Five of them!"
"I don't see anything!"
Disgusted, the teenagers got into the pickup truck and drove away.
A half-dozen people wandered toward the bus, but a surprising number remained, staring toward the darkness.
"There's one on the left!" someone exclaimed.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?" someone else asked.
Page wondered the same thing.
Again Tori spoke, still not looking at him. "I'd forgotten about this place until two days ago."
"The day you started to drive to your mother's house," Page said.
The words he almost used were, The day you left me.
"I'd gone a little beyond El Paso. It was six in the evening. I was at a truck stop, studying a road map while I drank a cup of
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