1632

'Dr. Nichols here is a surgeon,' Mike explained, half-shouting. 'He volunteered to come along.' Mike hooked a thumb over his shoulder. 'His daughter Sharon will ride with Frank. Turns out she's a trained paramedic.'

Dan nodded. An instant later, he was driving the Cherokee down the asphalt road leading to Route 250. Three pickups and a van followed, carrying eight coal miners along with James and Sharon Nichols. Behind them, in his rearview mirror, Dan could see a mob of people pouring out of the high school. There was something slightly comical about the scene. Squawking chickens, wearing their Sunday best for the wedding.

Once he reached the road, Dan turned left. Route 250 was a well-built two-lane highway. Even winding through the hills and hollows, it was easily possible to drive fifty miles an hour at many stretches. But Dan took it more slowly than usual. He was still uncertain what was happening. That flash had been truly incredible. For a fleeting instant, Frost had been certain that a nuclear war had started.

Everything seemed normal, though, as far as he could see. He was driving alongside Buffalo Creek now. On the other side of the creek, at the foot of the hills, railroad tracks ran parallel to the road. He caught a glimpse of two house trailers nestled away in the woods. They were old, weather-beaten, ramshackle-but otherwise unharmed.

Coming around a bend, Dan threw on the brakes. The highway ended abruptly in a shiny wall, perhaps six feet tall. A small car had skidded sideways into the wall, caving part of it-dirt, Dan realized-over the hood. Dan could see a woman's face staring at him through the driver's side window. The woman was wide-eyed.

'That's Jenny Lynch,' he muttered. He stared at the wall across the road. 'What in the hell is going on?'

Dan got out of the Cherokee. Behind him, he could hear the miners' trucks coming to a halt and doors opening. When he reached the car, he tapped on the window. Slowly, Jenny rolled it down.

'Are you okay?' The youngish, plump-faced woman nodded hesitantly.

'I-I think so, Dan.' She reached a shaky hand toward her face. 'Did I kill anybody? I don't know what happened.' The words started coming out in a rush. 'There was a flash-some kind of explosion-I don't know… Then this wall, where did it come from? I hit the brakes, car started skidding-I… I don't know what happened. I don't know what happened.'

Dan patted her on the shoulder. 'Relax, Jenny. You didn't hurt anybody. I think you're just a little shaken up.' He remembered Nichols. 'We've got a doctor with us. Hold on just-'

He started to turn, but Nichols was already there. The doctor gently shouldered Dan aside and gave Jenny a quick examination.

'I don't think there's anything serious,' he said. 'Let's get her out of the car.' He opened the door. A moment later, he and Dan were helping Jenny. Other than being shaky and pale, the woman didn't seemed harmed.

'Come here a second, will you Dan?' said Mike. The union president was squatting by the strange wall, digging into it with a pocket knife. The police chief walked over.

'This thing is just dirt,' Mike stated. 'Nothing but plain old dirt.' He spilled another scoop out of the wall. As soon as the cohesion was broken, the shiny substance turned into nothing but a pile of soil. 'The only reason it looks shiny is because-' Mike groped for words. 'It's as if the dirt's been cut by a perfect razor.' He poked at the wall again. 'See? As soon as you break through the surface, it's nothing but dirt. What the hell could have done that? And where did it come from?'

Mike glanced right and left. The 'wall' continued on both sides of the road. It was as if two completely different landscapes had suddenly been jammed together. He could see the side of a typical West Virginia hill to the south-except the side was now like a perpendicular cliff. Just as shiny as the wall across the road, except where pockets of soil were falling loose.

Dan shrugged. He started to say something when he heard a sudden shriek. Startled, he rose and stared at the wall. An instant later, a body hurtled over the top and crashed into him.

The impact sent Dan sprawling on the pavement. The body-a young girl, he realized dimly, a raggedly dressed teenager-landed on top of him, still shrieking. The girl bounced off him and scrambled down the bank, heading for the creek. Still screaming.

Half-dazed, Dan started to rise. Mike was at his side, extending a hand. Dan took it and got back on his feet.

Everything was happening too fast. He had just started to turn, looking for the girl, when he saw two new figures appear on top of the wall.

Men. Armed.

Mike's back was toward them, half-blocking Dan's view. Dan pushed him off and reached for his pistol. One of the men-then the other-began raising his rifle. Rifle? What was that strange-looking weapon?

Dan's pistol was clear of the holster. Coming up. 'Halt!' he shouted. 'Drop your weapons!'

The first rifle went off. The gun made a strange, booming sound. Dan heard the bullet ricochet off the pavement. He caught a glimpse of Mike throwing himself down. Dan had his pistol up-levered the slide-two-handed grip The round from the second rifle slammed into his left shoulder, knocking him sideways.

His mind felt suspended. Dan had never actually fired his weapon in a live situation. But he was an instructor in police combat tactics, and had spent uncounted hours on the firing range and in simulated drills. His training took over. Using his right hand, he brought the pistol back on target.

Detached, his mind recognized that the man was wearing some kind of armor. And a helmet. Dan was an expert shot. The range wasn't more than thirty feet. He fired. Fired again. The.40-caliber rounds practically severed the man's neck. He flopped backward, out of sight.

Dan swung his pistol to the left. The other man was still standing on the wall, doing something with his weapon. He, too, was wearing armor. But he had no helmet. Dan fired. Fired again. Fired again. Three shots, in less than two seconds. The head which absorbed those rounds was nothing but a ruptured ruin. The man collapsed to his knees, dropping his weapon. A second later, both the man and his firearm were sliding over the wall. The firearm landed on the pavement with a clatter. The body landed with a sodden thump.

Dan felt himself slumping. He sensed that his arm-his whole body-was soaked with blood. Mike caught him and lowered him to the ground.

He was fading out now. Shock, he realized. I'm losing a lot of blood. Dimly, he recognized the face of the black doctor, looming over him. His vision was getting blurred.

There was something he had to do. Urgent.

Oh, yeah. 'Mike,' he whispered. 'I'm deputizing you. You and your guys. Find out what the hell-' He faded out, back in. 'Just do whatever you've got to…'

Faded out.

***

'How is he?' Mike asked.

Nichols shook his head. The doctor had pulled out a handkerchief and was trying to staunch the wound. The cloth was already soaking through.

'I think it's just a flesh wound,' he muttered. 'But-Jesus-what did that bastard shoot him with, anyway? A shotgun slug? Damned near ripped his shoulder off. Sharon-come here. Quick!'

As his daughter hurried up, Nichols was relieved to see she was carrying a first-aid kit. Frank Jackson must have had one in his truck. The doctor spotted another miner hauling a first-aid kit out of his own vehicle. Thank God for country boys, came the whimsical thought.

While Nichols and his daughter started tending to Dan Frost, one of the other miners picked up his assailant's weapon. Ken Hobbs, that was. He was in his early sixties and, like many of the men in the area, was an enthusiast for antique black-powder guns.

'Will you look at this thing, Mike?' he demanded, holding up the firearm. 'I swear to God-this is a fucking matchlock!'

Noticing Sharon working at her father's side, Hobbs flushed. 'Sorry, ma'am. 'Bout the bad language.'

Sharon ignored him. She was too preoccupied helping her father. Dan's eyes were closed. His face was as pale as a sheet.

Mike turned away. Hobbs came up to him, extending the captured weapon. His wizened face, scrunched up with puzzlement, was a mass of wrinkles. 'I swear, Mike. It's a matchlock. There's pictures of them in one of my books at home.'

Another miner, Hank Jones, came up. 'You oughta be careful handling that,' he muttered. 'You know. Mess up the fingerprints.'

Hobbs started to make some vulgar retort. Then, remembering Sharon, turned profanity into a simple hiss. 'For what, Hank? So we can nab the culprit?' He gestured at the corpse lying at the foot of the peculiar embankment. 'Case you didn't notice, Dan already blew the SOB's head off.'

Another miner had scrambled onto the wall, and was studying the corpse of the other man. He barked a harsh laugh. 'Same here! Two rounds, right through the neck.'

Darryl McCarthy was in his early twenties. He had none of Hobbs' old-fashioned qualms about using bad language in front of a woman. Not under these circumstances, anyway. 'Only thing holding this asshole's head to his body,' he announced loudly, 'is maybe three little strips of meat.'

McCarthy rose. Standing on the lip of the wall, he stared down at Dan Frost's unconscious form. His look was full of approval. 'Both rounds hit the bastard right in the throat. Blew his fucking neck all to hell.'

All the coal miners were gathered at the scene, now. All of them were staring down at Frost. All of them with approval.

'Remind me not to lip off to him at the Happy Trails, next time he says I've had enough,' murmured Frank Jackson. 'Always heard he was a hell of a shot.'

Mike straightened up, remembering the girl. His eyes ranged down the creek where she had fled.

'She's probably half a mile away, by now,' said Hank. He pointed southwest, across the creek. 'I saw her scramble over to the other side. Creek must be low. She went up somewhere into the trees.'

Hank's face twisted into a ferocious scowl. 'The whole back of her dress had been ripped off, Mike.' He glared at the corpse lying on the pavement. 'I think those guys were trying to rape her.'

Mike's eyes went to the corpse. Then looked at the wall and the unseen territory beyond. Thin columns of smoke were still rising.

'Something bad is happening here, guys,' he stated. 'I don't know what it is. But it's bad.' He pointed at the corpse. 'I don't think this is all of it.'

Frank stalked over to the corpse and stooped over it. 'Look at this weird armor. What do you think, Mike? Some kind of crazy survivalists or something?'

Mike shrugged. 'I've got no idea, Frank. But if there were two of them, there's no reason can't be more.' He gestured at Dan. Dr. Nichols seemed to have the blood flow stanched. 'You heard the chief, guys. He deputized us, and told us to do whatever's got to be done.'