Читать книгу Two Rivers - T. Greenwood - Страница 20

H eadlights flick on and then off, fireflies signaling each other in the darkness. The dirt parking lot is empty, except for the carnies’ trailers and these two vehicles, speaking to each other in flashes of light. Beyond this, the electric glow of the midway has been extinguished for the night; the only light now comes from a harvest moon. When the man opens his trailer door and peers outside, his face is illuminated by this eerie orange glow. It is quiet. He has no idea that they are waiting for him.

The air still smells of the midway: sweet fried dough, greasy French fries, lemon ice. This is the smell of childhood. Of sweetness. Of everything good in the world. But tonight, as Harper waits for this man whose name he doesn’t even know, as his own childhood becomes more distant than God, Harper feels nothing but rage.

When the man ducks back into the tiny trailer, Harper feels his pulse quicken. He looks through the windshield at the truck across the lot. Soon, the truck door opens, and Brooder’s hulking figure emerges. His stride is fast and certain as he makes his way to the trailer. Ray, who has been silent until now, looks at Harper then, asking the question whose answer will change Harper’s life forever.

“You sure?”

And because everything is gone, leaving only this perfect rage, there is only one answer. He nods, and Ray puts the key in the ignition.