The Plymouth lay in a ravine curdled with groundmist. Tangled in
its grille was a snarled length of barbed wire. The hood had come
unlatched, and tendrils of steam from the breached radiator drifted
out of the opening to mingle with the mist.
No feeling in his legs.
He looked down and saw that the Plymouth's firewall had caved in
with the impact. The back of that big Cyclone Spoiler engine block
had smashed into his legs, pinning them.
Outside, in the distance, the predatory squawk of an owl dropping
onto some small, scurrying animal.
Inside, close, the steady purr of the cat.
It seemed to be grinning, like Alice's Cheshire had in Wonderland.
As Halston watched it stood up, arched its back, and stretched. In a
sudden limber movement like rippled silk, it leaped to his shoulder.
Halston tried to lift his hands to push it off.
His arms wouldn't move.
Spinal shock, he thought. Paralyzed. Maybe temporary. More
likely permanent.
The cat purred in his ear like thunder.
'Get off me,' Halston said. His voice was hoarse and dry. The cat
tensed for a moment and then settled back. Suddenly its paw batted
Halston's cheek, and the claws were out this time. Hot lines of pain
down to his throat.
And the warm trickle of blood.
Pain.
Feeling.
He ordered his head to move to the right, and it complied. For a
moment his face was buried in smooth, dry fur. Halston snapped at
the cat. It made a startled, disgruntled sound in its throat - yowk! -
and leaped onto the seat. It stared up at him angrily, ears laid back.
'Wasn't supposed to do that, was I?' Halston croaked. The cat
opened its mouth and hissed at him. Looking at that strange,
schizophrenic face, Halston could understand how Drogan might
have thought it was a hellcat. It-
His thoughts broke off as he became aware of a dull, tingling
feeling in both hands and forearms.
Feeling. Coming back. Pins and needles.
The cat leaped at his face, claws out, spitting.
Halston shut his eyes and opened his mouth. He bit at the cat's
belly and got nothing but fur. The cat's front claws were clasped on
his ears, digging in. The pain was enormous, brightly excruciating.
Halston tried to raise his hands.
They twitched but would not quite come out of his lap.
He bent his head forward and began to shake it back and forth, like
a man shaking soap out of his eyes. Hissing and squalling, the cat
held on. Halston could feel blood trickling down his cheeks. It was
hard to get his breath. The cat's chest was pressed over his nose. It
was possible to get some air in by mouth, but not much. What he
did get came through fur. His ears felt as if they had been doused
