Chapter 13

It felt like the end of the world. Fires erupted throughout Devonshire’s subdivisions, creating a murky hell on earth. Fire engines from as many towns as could be reached by radio zoomed through the streets to tackle the blazes, but even with their collective might, they could not control it.

Reporters poured into town next, setting up camp in vans packed with radio and television equipment, waiting at the outskirts like wary children dipping their toes into the deep end of an Olympic pool to test the waters. Police cars whizzed by with droning sirens, splashing the streets with their chaotic lights, building shadows at every turn. Townspeople huddled out onto the streets and onto their lawns as the emergency sirens wailed into the night.

Harry sent out an emergency broadcast on all channels before slamming the gas pedal. He hit ninety-five miles per hour before skidding around the corner of Main St. and Washington. The library was right down the road.