his tongue or knocked any teeth loose. He seemed uninjured, except for a bright red blotch on the back of his hand. She assumed he must have bruised it when he fell.
Grunting, Sarah got her hands under Kevin’s arms, and interlocked her fingers around his chest. Then she dragged him across the room and propped him up in a sitting position against one of the bunk beds. She removed his sodden clothing and found a forest ranger’s uniform that looked like it would fit him. After she’d dressed him, Sarah hefted Kevin into the bottom bunk and pulled the blankets up over him. She checked his breathing once more, and then brushed his wet bangs out of his eyes.
“It’ll be okay,” she whispered. “Just rest for a while. We’re safe now.”
Sarah changed out of her own wet clothes and put on another ranger’s uniform. The pants and shirt were both snug, but their dryness felt luxuriant against her bare skin. She stretched their wet gear out on the floor to dry, and then explored the station. In the entertainment center, she ran her hand over the television, DVD player, stereo, and video game consoles. Once upon a time, she’d have been overjoyed to discover these things. But not now. How archaic and useless they seemed, with no electricity to run them. She thought of the utility shed and the small power station below, at the base of the tower, and wondered if there was a generator, too. She made a mental note to check later, after she’d had a chance to rest up.
Also among the various home electronics, almost hidden behind a stack of movies on the bookshelf, was a battery-operated radio. Sarah pulled it down and studied it. It was an impressive piece of equipment, offering not just AM and FM bands, but shortwave, emergency, and citizens’ band channels, as well. It even had a small television screen built into it. She thumbed the power switch, but nothing happened. Then she popped open the battery compartment and saw why. There were no batteries inside. She wondered briefly why it was stored in this section of the room, rather than with the rest of the communications equipment, and decided that it must either be a back-up or a personal item one of the rangers had left behind. The radios in the communications section were much more sophisticated than this.
She poked around the room some more until she found a drawer full of batteries. She selected six ‘D’ batteries and put them in the radio. Then, holding her breath, she tried it again.
Sarah was rewarded with a burst of static. She jumped at the sudden sound. She hadn’t realized how quiet it was inside the tower—just her breathing and the muffled sound of the rain drumming down on the roof. Her pulse throbbed in her throat. Sarah fumbled with the volume knob and turned the radio down to a more tolerable level. Then she experimented with the tuner. She went through the FM dial first, and then the AM dial. Both offered nothing but more static. She switched over to the other channels, but they were silent. Sarah turned it back to the FM dial and sat down, listening to the static. The sound was somehow comforting—new white noise to drown out the rain’s familiar white noise. She turned the dial aimlessly, not expecting to hear anything else.
But then she did.
The voice was faint. Male. The speaker had a Boston accent. Sarah leaned forward, straining to hear and wondering if she was imagining the whole thing.
“My name… coming to you… alive… of the Pru Building… downto…”
The radio squawked with feedback. Cursing, Sarah slowly turned the knob, trying to find the signal again.
“… thing I want… Lisa and Alex, I love…”
The voice faded again.
“Damn it!” Sarah leaped to her feet, still holding the radio. She thrust it up over her head, pointing it towards the ceiling.
On his bunk, Kevin moaned.
“Anyway,” the voice returned, stronger and clearer now, “here I am. Hope somebody is listening. I always figured that when I died, I’d go out with a fight, getting back up to attack one more time, like Boramir in
Sarah trembled with emotion. She wanted to shout, to tell the broadcaster that she could hear him, that yes, there was somebody else still left alive, somebody else still listening. She didn’t realize she was crying until she felt the tears running down her chin.
“Damn,” said the man on the radio. “I’m really thirsty.”
Kevin moaned again. Sarah lowered the radio and turned to him. He was facing away from her, but she heard him smacking his lips.
“Thirsty,” he croaked. “Need water.”
She sat the radio down and hurried towards him.
“Kevin, there’s a man on the radio. I think he might be from Boston or something. The signal is weak, but he—”
Kevin turned towards her. His eyes were rolled up into his head, and all Sarah could see were the whites. Kevin smacked his lips again. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse. He didn’t sound like himself.
“Soft…”
Sarah paused. “What?”
Kevin’s closed his eyes again.
Outside, thunder boomed across the mountaintop.
CHAPTER 8
Kevin dreamed.
He was aware that he was dreaming. Not a lucid dream, but a dream all the same. He knew it was a dream because Lori was still alive and they were back in Baltimore, lying together in his bed on the top floor of the half- submerged Marriott hotel. He’d tried to grow an indoor garden in that room, beneath the skylight. In real life, the results had been mixed, but now, in the dream, lush, green plants thrust from the soil, straining towards the ceiling.
He and Lori were both naked. The sheets felt good against his skin. Her warmth enveloped him as they snuggled. She smiled at him, tight-lipped, but did not speak. Her eyes sparkled.
“I miss you,” Kevin whispered.
Lori’s smile remained, but she still didn’t respond.
Kevin reached out to stroke her hair. Surprisingly, it was wet. It looked dry, but his fingers came away damp. Kevin didn’t care. His fingertips trailed down her forehead and cheeks. Again, her skin felt wet.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Lori opened her mouth to respond. Water gushed from between her lips. Kevin watched, not pulling away from her. He wasn’t startled. Wasn’t afraid. A deep sense of calm settled over him. Lori kissed his cheek and the flow continued. It was as if someone had turned on a garden hose inside of her. The water ran down her chin and between her breasts. Rivulets raced down past her navel, to the slim, trimmed tuft of hair below. It soaked the sheets and splashed across the mattress. Kevin watched, fascinated. The scene was strangely erotic. The wet sheets rose as he stiffened in response.
In addition to the sudden burst of lust, Kevin became aware that he was thirsty. He told Lori, and she winked at him.
Above them, the skylight disappeared. The glass didn’t shatter—it just vanished. Rain poured into the room, further soaking them. Lori laughed, and more fluid gushed from her mouth. Lori sat up and rubbed the water into her skin. Her hands lingered on her breasts, squeezing them. Then she grabbed Kevin’s hands and drew him to her. He sighed. Her skin felt hot, despite the moisture.
“It’s soft,” he said. “Soft.”
Nodding, Lori grasped his back with one hand. The fingers of her other hand snaked around the back of his head and played with his hair. She pulled him closer, staring at him with those wide, brown eyes. Their lips touched, and the water poured from Lori into Kevin. The sensation was not unpleasant. Kevin closed his eyes and surrendered.
