End of the Road (37 page)

“I miss your mother,” Robert said
simply.

Jim’s lips curved in a sad smile. “I know
you do. I miss her, too.”

“You’re a good boy, Jim. A good man,” he
corrected. “I hope you know how proud you’ve made me. And how much
I love you.”

“I know you’re proud of me. And you’ve
always made sure I know.” Jim frowned quizzically at him. “Are you
all right, Pops?”

“It’s just this weather. Your mother used to
love days like this. Make me snuggle on the couch with her under an
afghan to watch the snow fly. So silly, but I loved it. I don’t
know if I ever told her that.”

“She knew.”

Realizing they were still standing just
inside the back door, he hesitated before stuffing his feet into
his muck boots and yanking his old Carhartt coat on. “Mind if we
take a little walk?”

“It’s pretty slick out. Are you sure you
wouldn’t rather stay in by your nice cozy warm fire?”

“I’m sure. I need some fresh air.”

He followed his son out the door, and
stepped from under the eaves. Closing his eyes, he turned his face
to the sky, and the feathery snowflakes brushed against his skin.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard Edith laughing at his
antics and felt his face lift at the sound of her cherished voice.
When he again turned his gaze upon his son, he was startled to see
that Jim wasn’t young anymore, either. At sixty-four, his hair was
the color of pepper, and the virility of youth had begun to fade
faster in the past few years, but Robert had no trouble seeing the
strapping young man he’d been. Memories of birthday parties and
football games and their last father-son rides on the ranch poured
through his mind.

“Are you sure you’re all right, Pops?” Jim
asked.

“I’m sure. But, you make sure my grandson
and great-granddaughter know I love them,” he said. “You’ll do that
for me, won’t you, Jim?”

“Of course, Pops. Why are you….”

“Don’t mind me. You should probably get on
home. I know you’re busy.”

“Everything can wait.”

Such a good boy
, Robert thought
again.
What a legacy I leave behind….

“I’ll be all right, Jim. Don’t you worry
about me.”

Jim hugged him for several long minutes, as
if he sensed something out of place. He’d always been intuitive
like that, though. He got it from Edith.

Robert stood on the back deck and watched
his son climb into his brand new pickup. Their eyes met briefly in
the rearview mirror, then the taillights glowed brilliantly red in
the dull gray evening. He lifted his hand in farewell, and Jim did
the same. They held gazes until the distance became too great, then
Robert turned and went back inside.

There was nothing left to do. His son was
grown, and his grandson, too. They were both successful with
everything Robert ever hoped they’d have. And his
great-granddaughter was a beautiful young woman now, well on her
way toward a shining future. Their lives were in full swing, but he
knew his was winding down. It had been since Edith had passed away
last year on a night so like this one. Maybe he didn’t mind the
aches and pains so much, but there was one hurt that had become too
much, and it couldn’t be soothed away like the rest.

He fixed himself dinner—a tasteless
microwaveable concoction—sorely missing Edith’s delicious cooking.
The house felt emptier than usual tonight, and he flipped through
the channels for an hour before giving up and turning in early for
the night. He went through the motions of preparing for bed, but
none of it had any meaning. He was tired of being alone, tired of
climbing into his bed to see Edith’s side empty, and tired of lying
awake, wishing he could hold her in arms just one more time. With a
sigh, he stoked the fire for the night, made his way slowly through
the house to turn off all the lights, and climbed beneath the
blankets.

Robert.

He turned his head toward the door and
blinked, sure it was some trick of his eyes. She was still there,
standing in the doorway of their bedroom, dressed in her favorite
old nightgown with her hands braced on her hips and his favorite
playful smile dancing on her lips and in her faded blue eyes. Her
silver hair tumbled down over her shoulders in a shimmering river,
and he levered himself up on his elbow to rake his eyes over
her.

“This is a dream. It can’t be real. You
aren’t here anymore.”

I
am
here, Robert.

Disbelieving, he watched her sidle toward
him, felt the mattress give as she slid over him to reclaim her
spot in their bed. Then he reached tentatively for her, and when
his fingers felt the heat of her soft skin, he gave in and dragged
her into his arms. He held her tightly, trembling. She giggled, and
the years fell away from them both. They were again the young
husband and wife in the picture by his recliner.

“I’ve been so alone,” he murmured, clinging
to her like a drowning man clings to the sky. “I’ve missed you so
much, Edie.”

“Hush, my love. You’re not alone anymore,”
she whispered against his lips. She kissed him lightly, then
brushed her fingers tenderly across his cheek and his brow. “You’re
home now.”

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Find out more about Suzie O’Connell at
suzieoconnell.com
.

Chapter 31

The Velociraptor at the End of the Road

By Vel R.

One

“Hey George, what the hell
is
that
?”

“What?”

“Down there, at the end of the road. That
thing standing in the moonlight. It looks like a big lizard.”

“Wow. I think that’s a… velociraptor.”

“What, like a model or something? I don’t
think so. Its tail is swishing around.”

“I think it’s alive, John.”

“Don’t be stupid. Dinosaurs have been
extinct for millions of years. Maybe it’s animatronic.”

“No. Look how that thing’s moving. That’s
not a robot. That thing is alive.”

“I think it’s watching us.”

“Okay, it’s time to go.
Just start walking backwards,
very
slowly.”

“Are you nuts? We’re looking at a damn
velociraptor! If we can catch that thing, we’ll be so rich, people
will complain that we’re part of the point-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-one
percent.”

“Not likely. I mean, it’s not like that
thing just happened naturally. Clearly, someone made it in a lab or
something.”

“That’s not possible. You can’t get dinosaur
DNA.”

“Sure it is. It was in that movie about that
park.”

“Don’t be stupid, man. That was a
movie.”

“It was based on a book.”

“A
fiction
book!”

“Yeah, but the method the author used to get
dino-DNA seemed pretty realistic. Maybe somebody actually did
it.”

“What the hell is wrong with you? The method
they used to get dino-DNA was completely unrealistic. It was just
presented in a really realistic way.”

“You know, you don’t have to be such a jerk
about it.”

“Well, stop being stupid. Sheesh.”

“I’m not being stupid! Clearly, someone
figured out how to make a damn velociraptor! You need proof? Look
up ahead! And there’s no way we’re the first people to see it, so
we’ll gain nothing by trying to catch it. We need to get the hell
out of here.”

“You need to stop screaming. You’re going to
get its attention or make it mad or something.”

“Then stop being an asshole.”

“Maybe it came through some
kind of
time-rift
.
If that’s the case, we
are
the first people to see it.”

“There’s no such thing as time-rifts.”

“There’s also no such thing as velociraptors
walking around in the twenty-first century, but there it is.”

“Good point.”

“I told you we should’ve taken guns on this
trip. You can’t hike across the country without some kind of
protection. Especially on old wooded roads like this.”

“Have you forgotten what happened at the
shooting range? If you need a reminder, just count your toes again,
Niner.”

“That was a freak accident.”

“It was enough to convince me you shouldn’t
be carrying a gun.”

“I think we have bigger things to discuss
right now. Like what to do about that velociraptor at the end of
the road.”

“Okay, I have a plan. I’ll get a stick and
hide in the bushes. Then you make a bunch of noise. When it comes
to get you, I’ll jump out and knock it unconscious. Then we can
call the news and start our journey to fame and riches.”

“That’s a load of crap.”

“I think it’s a viable plan.”

“For
you
! I’ll probably end up as
velociraptor food.”

“I would gladly be the bait, but it just
makes more sense if I’m the ambusher.”

“Why the hell do you think that makes more
sense?”

“I have all ten of my toes. That means I
have better balance.”

“I lost a damn pinky toe! I think I’ll be
alright.”

“Okay, good. So you’re the bait.”

“I did not say that!”

“You said you’ll be alright.”

“I meant as the ambusher, idiot.”

“Look, do you want to get rich or not? It’ll
be easy if we just stick to the plan.”

“Can I at least have a stick too?”

“Sure.”

“Okay then. But if this doesn’t work, I’m
blaming you.”

“If this doesn’t work, you’ll be dead.”

“What?”

“I said if this doesn’t work, we’ll be
dead.”

“Oh. Yeah. Good point. Well, in the two
seconds before we die, I’ll blame you.”

“Fair enough.”

“You ready to do this?”

“I’m ready. You in position?”

“Yep. Yell away.”

“Okay… here goes… HEY VELOCIRAPTOR! OVER
HERE! YEAH, I’M OVER HERE! FREE FOOD! COME AND GET IT!”

“We’re gonna’ be so rich from this…”

Two

“Okay, Doctor, this had better be good. I’ve
given this lab a lot of money.”

“It’s good, Russell. You’re about to become
ten times richer than you already are.”

“I like the sound of that. What have you
done here?”

“I was going to surprise you, but I can’t
hold it in. We cloned a velociraptor!”

“Not possible.”

“I assure you, it is possible and we have
done it.”

“How? How’d you get dinosaur DNA.”

“We used the same technique from that movie
about the park.”

“Really? That worked?”

“Yep.”

“Amazing.”

“Yeah. We named the raptor Bobbi.”

“Doctor Traci, you’re a genius.”

“I know, I know. Her cage is just around
this corner.”

“Everybody here is gonna’ be so rich, we’ll
all make the one percent look poor.”

“Uh oh.”

“What? Wait, is that her cage? Why is it
empty? And why is that window broken… oh.”

“This is bad. Very bad.”

“Why the hell did you have a window in its
cage?”

“We wanted to let her see the woods. You
know, for comfort.”

“Then why the hell didn’t
you put
bars
on the
window?”

“We didn’t think she could fit through!
Apparently velociraptors are more nimble than we thought.”

“This is bad, Doctor.”

“Now calm down. It’s not as bad as you
think. We have tranquilizer guns. We just have to go find her. It’s
not the end of the road for this project.”

“If that animal harms anybody in those
woods, we’re in deep trouble.”

“She won’t hurt anybody. We
keep her well-fed. Predators don’t hunt when they’re not hungry. As
long as nobody antagonizes her, she’ll leave people alone. And
really, who’s stupid enough to see a velociraptor in the woods
and
not
run?”

“That’s true, I suppose. Okay, let’s not
waste any more time.”

“I’ll inform my people to organize a hunt.
Don’t worry, Russell. This time tomorrow, Bobbi will be in a new
cage. A cage without windows.”

“Just out of curiosity,
what if someone
does
antagonize it?”

“She’ll kill them. Those things are fast. A
mean when provoked.”

“Let’s just hope we can catch her before
that happens.”

“I’m not worried about that. Like I said,
only an idiot would see a velociraptor in the woods and decide the
best course of action is to antagonize it.”

“Yeah. Someone like that probably deserves
to be eaten by a velociraptor.”

“Funny. And true. Luckily, nobody is that
stupid.”

“Okay, I feel better. You ready to organize
that search team?”

“Yeah. The day isn’t getting any longer.
Let’s go catch our velociraptor…”

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C
hapter 32

Downfall #1

By Thomas Jenner and Angeline Perkins

One

I remember the day I died. Most of it,
anyway. It was my last day as Brandon Williams, the 18-year-old
minimum wage construction worker. I used to think Tuesday was the
ultimate boring day; I think this would have been a little more
ironic if it’d happened on a Monday.

My enthusiasm for work waned every day.
Maybe it was because it was a ridiculously humid summer, or maybe
my boss just signed onto crappy jobs, I could never figure it out.
Dallas was no stranger to heat, especially in July, but this summer
seemed worse than previous years.

It was Day Two of the never-ending room
addition, yet another job from hell. This California-blonde trophy
wife apparently demanded of her grandfather-aged husband that she
wanted another room and, according to my boss, he just signed the
contract with barely a glance at the title. One thing after another
was going wrong: the first guy out there didn’t get the right
measurements, she bitched at us when we moved her patio furniture
out of the way, her dumb little yip dogs almost got ran over by our
truck because she let them run around out front, she kept trying to
change where we were going to lay everything out, and that morning
we found out there was a ton of rock under the ground where we were
supposed to lay the foundation. We needed a jackhammer for it, and
we already knew she was going to flip out. My partner Jason started
counting down on his clock as soon as the boss’ truck pulled up
with it.