His fear-inflamed mind sent the control-signal to his finger-joint to fold back. The trigger sliced back. The blast seemed to lift the booth clear off the floor, drop it down again. A pin-wheel of vacancy appeared in the glass, flinging off shards and slivers.

“After she's gone, another brief lull sets in. This one is probably the last. Bu…”

“And the blood remembers what the heart has never learned. The approach to kill.…”

“The car drives through, stops while the man closes and fastens the prickly gate…”

“A raging, glowering full moon had come up, was peering down over the side of th…”