'Drive my pickup,' he told Nydia. 'I'll drive the last tanker truck. Meet you at the city limits.'
Sam opened the drains and let raw gas spill onto the street as he drove slowly out of the Devil's town. He was aware of being watched; he expected at any second to be fired upon. But nothing happened.
He could not understand that. Then one reason came to him: They are afraid of God's Warrior. Hate has changed to fear and turned inward on the followers of the Dark One.
'I should feel pity,' he murmured. 'But I do not. I cannot.'
And he knew then his future was set before him. His destiny was clearly written.
On the outskirts of town, Sam got behind the wheel of his pickup. He dropped the pickup into gear and tossed a match into the puddle of gas. With a
Less than a quarter of a mile into safety, a great ball of fire leaped into the sky. The force of the explosion actually lifted the rear wheels of the pickup off the concrete for a second. Sam fought the wheel for control, drove on another half mile, then pulled off the road and looked back.
'I don't think that was all gas causing that,' he said to Nydia.
He pulled out onto the highway and pointed the nose of the Chevy westward.
Nydia glanced at his rugged features. 'Where are we going, Sam, and what is going to happen to us?'
'God only knows,' was his truthful reply.
EPILOGUE
The survivors kept their stories simple. They had survived; been in the right place at the right time, that was all. No, none of them knew exactly what happened. But it was terrible—a horrible thing. No, they didn't want to sell their stories to any publisher.
They just wanted to be left alone; to try to forget.
Monty and Viv moved to Vermont, where Monty found a job as chief of police in a small village.
Joe married Mille and moved to Kentucky.
Noah married Susie, rebuilt his writers' colony and returned to his work as a novelist.
Richard Hasseling married Desiree and moved to Mississippi, where he now pastors a small church.
Byron Price married Ginny and moved to Wyoming.
John Morton and Barbara worked out their problems and moved to Tennessee.
Jeanne is in high school in Kentucky. She lives with Joe and Mille.
And Sam, Nydia, and Little Sam are on the road. They wait for instructions from a Higher Authority. They know where the Daughter of Darkness and her court went. Another coven is being established. And they know it will have to be destroyed.
They wait.
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