Tony and Eric watched the stranger walk out of the dark with a mixture of awe and fear. He was nothing to look at—a slightly built guy with sandy brown hair and an innocent expression. Yet he walked with power. The white light of the moon shimmered around him. They rose as he stepped into their small circle.
“Who are you?” Tony asked.
The stranger didn’t say anything for a minute. He just stared down at Alison as she lay dying on the ground. But his eyes—they were warm and green, somehow familiar to Tony—were not unhappy. Finally he looked at them.
“I am a friend,” the stranger said.
“Can you help my girlfriend?” Tony asked. A stupid question. Nothing could help Alison now. Any fool could see she was dying.
“Your madness has passed,” the stranger said. “You’re all right now.”
Tony nodded. His heart was broken, his girl was dying, but suddenly he felt lighter. The stranger spoke the truth—a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He looked down at the girl in disgust, a bundle of stinking fluid and blood lying beside the grave. He couldn’t imagine how he had ever gone to her.
“I’m all right,” Tony agreed. He gestured helplessly to Alison on the ground and began to cry miserably. “But Ali isn’t.”
The stranger seemed unconcerned. He stepped over to the fallen girl with the bloody head. Incredibly her ruined body had begun to stir. This didn’t disturb the stranger, either. He stood over the grotesque heap until something began to worm its way out of the dead girl’s mouth. It was black and slimy. It looked like a slug, but it was as big as a snake. The thing stuck its head into the nighttime air, then focused on Alison’s dying figure. Suddenly it darted out of the girl’s mouth, and its full length was revealed, more than five feet long. It dashed straight for Alison. But the stranger was too quick for it. He slammed his heel down on the head of the snake, crushing it. The thing rolled over in the mud and fell into the hole and was gone.
“Did you see that?” Tony gasped to Eric.
“No,” Eric said.
“That thing that just came out of the witch’s mouth,” Tony said.
“I didn’t see anything,” Eric said, confused.
The stranger regarded both of them with calm. “This Caretaker is gone. It will not return. And Alison has passed a great test. She is ready for great things. There’s no need to grieve over her. She’ll be in good company soon.” The stranger turned to walk back into the desert. “Goodbye, Eric. Goodbye, Tony.”
Something in the way the stranger said his name touched Tony in a deep way. He knew that voice. It was the voice of a friend, the voice of his friend. But that was impossible, Tony told himself. They were standing beside the grave of that friend. He had buried the guy.
The stranger sounded like Neil.
Tony jumped at him, catching the guy by the hand just before he was out of their circle. “Neil!” Tony cried and threw himself to the ground at his feet. “Don’t leave me. Don’t let her leave me.”
The stranger slowly turned and lay his hand on Tony’s head. His touch was soothing beyond belief. Tony felt his sorrows melt beneath those magical fingers. But there were so many sorrows—and the stranger was in a hurry.
“Your friend has to go,” the stranger said. “He only came back to offer what help was allowed. But it was enough. The chain is broken. Life will go on. Your life will continue.” He patted Tony’s head. “Be strong.”
Tony could not be strong. He couldn’t bear a future without Alison. “No. I want to go with you. I want to be with Alison, wherever she is. There’s nothing for me here without you two.” Tony kissed the stranger’s hand. “Please? Let me go?”
The stranger slowly shook his head. “You’re alive. You have to live. It is the way of things.”
Tony stared into the stranger’s face, and he could not remember when he had ever seen such love.
Alison had told him to listen to his heart, not his head. Well, deep inside he felt there was nothing that the stranger’s love could not do.
“Heal her,” Tony said. “Before she dies.”
The stranger was silent for a moment. Then he raised his head to the stars. For a long time he stood like that and if he breathed, he didn’t show it. Finally he patted Tony on the head again. He smiled a playful smile.
“You want a miracle?” he asked.
“Yes!” Eric cried, coming over and joining them. “I would love a miracle. I’ve never seen one before.”
The stranger laughed easily. Tony pressed the guy’s hand to his forehead. “Please?” Tony begged.
The stranger took his hand back and knelt in front of Tony. He put both his hands on Tony’s shoulders and bid Eric to come closer. “I’ll tell you a secret,” he said to both of them. “Joan took a long time to bring the gun to your house, Tony, because she first had to find blanks to fill it with. She never did the bidding of the Caretaker. She fooled the Caretaker.”
Eric and Tony glanced back at Alison, and at the fallen girl. “But Alison is dying,” Tony protested. “That witch is dead. The revolver must have been loaded.”
Eric interrupted. “But Tony, you pressed the revolver to the girl’s temple when you pulled the trigger. Even if it was loaded with blanks, it could still have killed her. Most people don’t know this, but blanks shoot out quite a formidable wad of paper. At high speed it can be lethal. The temple is the weakest part of the skull.”
“But what about Alison?” Tony asked. “She’s bleeding. She’s dying.”
“The same thing,” Eric said. “She pressed the tip of the barrel flush with her chest. Even a blank would have torn up her skin pretty bad. But the wound shouldn’t be fatal.” Eric glanced at the stranger, who seemed to intimidate him. “Is that true?”
The stranger nodded. “It is the truth. See it how you wish it.” He closed his eyes briefly before reopening them. “Alison can stay with you. That much is granted. It is all right.” He stood. “Go to her. Take care of her. I am leaving now.”
Tony reached out and shook the stranger’s hand. He looked him straight in the eye, and this time the impact wasn’t so overwhelming. Tony felt as if he were merely saying goodbye to an old friend.
“Will I see you again?” Tony asked.
“Someday,” the stranger promised. Then he turned and walked into the night and was gone. Tony and Eric hurried over to Alison. She was still breathing. In fact, she appeared to be gaining strength. Tony helped her to a sitting position, and she opened her eyes.
“No,” Tony said. “You’re going to be fine.” He felt under her blouse in the area of her wound. Eric was right. Her flesh was badly torn, but the bleeding was slowing down. He applied pressure to the wound. He could not find a bullet hole. Yet he could have sworn when she was first shot—There had been that powerful recoil. . . .
“Is she going to live?” Eric asked hopefully.
“I think so,” Tony said. “I honestly do.”
Alison jerked in his arms, then relaxed. “I think so, too,” she said. She smiled sheepishly at Tony. “Who was here?”
“I don’t know,” Tony said, raising his eyes to the brilliant moon. “A friend. Someone wonderful.” He nodded to Eric. “Let’s get her to a hospital.”
Eric helped Tony lift Alison into his arms. As they walked back toward the car, Eric suddenly stopped. “I’d like to check the revolver and see if it really does have blanks in it,” Eric said.
“You think maybe it didn’t?” Tony asked.
“I just want to know for sure,” Eric said, turning. Tony stopped him.
“Don’t check,” Tony said. “Let’s see it how we wish it.” He leaned over and kissed Alison on the forehead. She sighed and snuggled warmly into his arms. “To me it’s a miracle,” he said.