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struck him. He stumbled back, falling onto the one holding his legs and the one clinging to his back. |
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He blinked water from his eyes. |
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Above him, a ceiling sprinkler cast down its cold spray. |
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The fire, he thought. Jesus, the fire did it. |
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Cassy hadn't lost her mind, after all. |
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Denise and Tom raced over the wet grass, side by side, cutting diagonally across the front lawn, heading for the sidewalk at the end of the hedge. |
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And Denise suddenly wondered where Kara was. The girl had been right behind them when they'd come around the corner of the house. She heard no one back there, now. She looked over her shoulder. |
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She slid to a stop and whirled around. |
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At first, she didn't see Kara. Her stomach sank. Then she spotted the girl among the bushes near the front stoop. |
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Buddy and Lou came around the corner of the house, running slowly, heads turning. |
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