Chapter 8

Me,Ned thinks. You were looking at me. You know I’m

here, wherever here is, and somehow you see me.Maybe he wants

to? Maybe he’s…

The thought is staggering, but maybe Bobby’s

dreamed himinto being and not the other way around?

* * * *

When Ned wakes again, it’s to a darkness so

complete, so black, he has to blink to assure himself his eyes are

open. Even the numbers on the VCR’s clock have gone out,

extinguished like a candle in the wind. There is nothing to see and

nothing to hear except the distant storm. Ice strikes the windows

like sand. Common everyday sounds Ned normally never notices—the

whirr of the fridge, the heat when it clicks on, the almost

subconscious hum of electricity—they’ve all disappeared. When Ned

shifts on the couch, he feels cold air seep into the warm pockets

of body heat trapped beneath the blanket. No power, no heat…a

silent night.

A sudden, heavy knock at the kitchen door

kicks his heart into a rapid beat. Ned throws back the blanket,