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HOUSE OF STAIRS WILLIAM SLEATOR PDF - This chilling, suspenseful indictment of mind control is a classic of science fiction and will haunt readers long after the last page is turned.

• The Duplicate William Sleator

Previously in the story; 'Hello, Martin,' she said, and laughed, and pushed the 'Stop' button.

Martin closed his eyes and told himself, she's not real, she's not real. When he opened his eyes, the fat lady was still there. She was standing in front of the elevator buttons, which prevented him from even escaping this small and cramped elevator. Martin looked everywhere in this elevator, thinking, nowhere to go, now what?

As time went by ever so slowly, Martin realized that panicking would do him no good. Instead, he thought of his options in his bad condition. Maybe, just maybe he could use his crutches to help him open the elevator? Or maybe he could knock the fat lady unconscious and climb onto her to get to the elevator buttons. Martin thought of more ways, but none were clever enough to avert the fat lady's attention away from him to do these such actions. If only I was more thoughtful of my situation, maybe I could have done something better… 'What's wrong, Martin? Scared of me? I hope not. You'll be seeing me very often here in this building,' The fat lady spoke in an odd voice, making Martin shudder and look away from her stares.

It was a while before Martin heard what the fat lady began to mumble. He felt nauseous, and wanted to drift asleep. Little did he know that everything that happened was coincidental, and she was just on the elevator when he was there.

'Who are you? Why are you following me?' Martin had asked the fat lady who just continued to stare at him while smiling. 'Who am I? I am…' her voice trailed away, leaving Martin in a confused position, looking at what he thought was an actual person, but in reality she was just a fear that Martin was fighting. Her stares… I have to face my fears. I cannot be a coward any longer. From now on, I will face my fears and defeat them all. The fat lady continued to stare at him, not finishing her sentence. 'N-no, you c-can't have f-fa-faced your f-fears already… No!' The fat lady screamed and Martin then heard distant voices, which he recognized as his father's voice.

'Wake up Martin, wake up!' Martin's father called. Martin woke up in a cold sweat and looked around his room and then to his father. It was all a dream, huh? What if it happens in reality? I better hope this doesn't happen. But I must face my fears if this may happen. 'Are you alright?' his father asked in a worried tone. Martin looked up at his father with a slight smile, and realized it was all a dream to conquer his fears. Maybe in the future, he will have conquered all of his fears and not be a coward.

'Father, I had an adventurous dream.'

-End-

The Duplicate William Sleator

Ihopethiswasokay.Imnotgoodwiththesestories.

Reading is a good thing to do on shabbat, because you can read without breaking shabbat! Have you just given away that you read aloud?; - ) By the way. It can be difficult to read a screen anyway, for a whole book. To eliminate the opiate pdf.

APPLETAPERBACKS
i
the Dr com William Sleator it's
It's not just a nightmarea puzile^tljey must solve to survive!
-
m
Yirf Will
yi *
Into the Bream
Other APPLE® PAPERBACKS
you will want to read: Blackbird Singing by Eve Bunting
The Girl With the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts Kept in the Dark by Nina Bawden A Question of Time by Dina Anastasio The Revenge of the Incredible Dr. Rancid and His Youthful Assistant, Jeffrey by Ellen Conford The Secret of NIMH (hardcover title: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH) by Robert C. O'Brien The TV Kid by Betsy Byars The Two-Thousand-Pound Goldfish by Betsy Byars
Into the Dream by
William Sleator
AN
APPLE® PAPERBACK
M
SCHOLASTIC INC. New York Toronto London Auckland Sydney
This book
is
dedicated to Helen Londe,
the real Cookie,
who is not a Newfoundland, but who did give immeasurable help to Paul, Francine, and Noahnot to mention the author.
part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to E.E Dutton, Inc., 2 Park Avenue, New York,
No
NY
10016.
ISBN
0-590-33982-6
©
1979 by William Sleator. All rights reserved. This edition is published by Scholastic Inc. 730 Broadway, New York, 10003, by arrangement with E.E Dutton.
Text copyright
,
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
1
Printed in the U.S.A.
NY
5 6 7 8 9/8 0/9 11
The first dream did not seem strange to him. It was night; he was standing at the edge of a large empty field, trying to move toward a glowing object floating over the center of the field.
It
was a particularly
vivid dream.
He had
such a strong sense of really being there, that
when he awoke in the middle of the night, he did not know for a moment where he was. But then dreams are often vivid, and Paul did not
—
remember it until several nights when the dream came again.
later,
This time there were several differences.
He
seemed a little closer to the glowing object, though he still could not tell what it was. To the left he could see an unfamiliar low building with the word Stardust floating over it.
But the most striking less feeling of
difference
was a
relent-
urgency that pulsed in the air
around him. Something terrible was about to happen something that only he could pre-
—
vent.
He
His whole body was tense with fear.
knew he was being watched. He longed look behind, he longed to run.
to
But he could
He
only
move
way
painfully through the thick blackness as
the terror
very, very slowly.
all
inched his
around him rose to a screaming
pitch.
And then
suddenly there was a small figure
in white dashing
toward the
pursued by
light,
a dark hulking creature that he could not identify. Paul
awoke
to the
sound of his
cry in the dark bedroom, the terror
still
own with
him.
At school the next day he could not get the dream out of his mind. Miss Keck was amazed and disappointed when he misspelled shenanigans. And then, to make it worse, Francine Gill,
one of the
silliest girls in
the class, spelled
it right.
Paul was rather shamefaced when he joined Larry, his best friend, at recess.
He
tried to
by telling Larry about the dream. But Larry did not seem to understand. explain
away
his stupid mistake
seem so strange to me,' he said. 'People always have repeating dreams.' 'Yes, but it's so hard to explain,' said Paul. 'There was a feeling, as though something really horrible was about to happen, and I had to do something to stop it right away. It was so scary and realistic, I never had a dream ' that was so Larry grabbed his arm. 'Hey, let's get out of here Mr. Rogers is going to try to rope us into that stupid basketball game. Come on!' 'It doesn't
.
.
.
—
!
Then Paul began having the dream every night, and every night it grew more intense. He began to be aware of voices. They were all around him, incoherently babbling, mumbling, and whispering words that he could not understand.
When he awoke he would
be mumbling
the sounds urgently to himself, trying to
them out. One day
make
mother asked him why he had sleep. He insisted that he didn't remember doing it. His mother was a scientist, and he did not want to tell her about the dream. Though the dream was frightening, it was also becoming very important to him in some odd way, and he did not want to see her laugh it off as something 'psychological,' as his
been talking in his
he knew she would. After that, he closed the door of his room firmly
when he went
to bed
at night.
becoming an increasingly important experience, something to be guarded and protected, he did make one more stab at talking to Larry about it. He and
Though the dream was,
indeed,
Larry were the best students in the class, and had always understood one another. But the dream, it seemed, was coming between them now. Larry took off his glasses and looked up at Paul with a speculative expression.
'Maybe you're going
schizo,'
he
said
thoughtfully. 'I read a story about that once.
There was a kid who kept thinking about snow the time. It was the only thing he ever thought about. And he stopped caring about anything else, and all he ever wanted to do all
was
—'
'No,
it's
not like that at
all,'
Paul said, and
walked away.
He was
angry that he did not look where he was going, and suddenly he found himself stumbling right into the middle of the group of silly girls that he and Larry were always trying to ignore. The girls put their hands over their mouths and giggled at him, and one of them, Francine Gill, said, 'What's the so
hurry, Paul? Recess just started. Are you run-
ning back to the room to do some extra studying?'
Paul glared. Francine was the one who had spelled shenanigans right when he had missed
and he
it,
still
resented her for
it.
'No,' he
said. 'I just .. oh, skip it.'
Their laughter rose up behind him as he hurried away.
Every night the dream was sharper and more real. The feeling of danger grew, weighed down upon him, until he felt like screaming as he struggled there, moving so slowly, just a little
closer each night. Stardust blinking to
his left, the voices
the
little
murmuring around him,
figure in white dashing
toward the
glowing object, the great hulking creature
— what
happen? Would he reach the light in time? And would there be safety there, or more danger, or some daring and difficult act to perform ? Behind the murmuring voices, he began to be aware of another sound, a strange, almost mechanical whining that rose and fell, unearthly and penetrating. And what were the voices saying? One word did seem to be reclose behind
was about
to
peated more often than the others, 'Jaleela,
jaleeeeela, jaleeeeeela!'
ing to
tell
And
What were
they try-
him ?
then one night he noticed that someone
was standing beside him
in the
was that mo-
dream.
something of a shock, because until
It
ment he had been aware of no one but himself watching the terrifying scene. This person too seemed to be struggling toward the glow-
ing sphere with as having.
And
much
difficulty as
he was
each night after that, the person
was a little clearer, but still too indistinct for him to see who it was. At first he resented the person's presence, but as time went on he began to feel a longing to make contact, to reach out to whoever it was. Somehow that was vital it was the only hope for safety. The whining was closer now, rising and falling, accompanied by a high keening wind. The glowing object was brighter, beckoning them to follow it, urging them on. But they had to move so slowly! The terrible urgency and fear rang like panic through his body. Hostile creatures were watching them, invisible, but about to burst upon them. And ;
then the figure in white, dancing toward the light, almost upon it now. And the hulking thing close behind.
And
suddenly the awful
feeling of lurching into space,
and blackness.
Paul did not talk to Larry anymore, or to anyone else for that matter. He took to spending recess and lunchtime alone in the empty classroom, thinking about the dream. Though Miss Keck sometimes shot him a worried glance as she left, no one came to bother him, and he grew to treasure this private time. It
was therefore annoyance he surprise,
felt,
when one day he heard a
as
much
as
footstep and
looked up to see that girl Francine again,
standing in the doorway.
She had never shown any interest in him before, regarding him, he was sure, with the same contempt that he felt for her. But now she was staring at him intensely. She pushed a wisp of blonde hair out of her eyes. 'Paul,' she said in an unusually hesitant voice. 'Paul, I
brighter,
and
.
.
.
.
.
.
Oh,
Last night the light got it is
me on the field, I know
it's
you standing next to
you !'
She took a step toward him. 'Paul, say something!' she said sharply. 'Is it you standing there? Next to me, on the field?' Any connection between this girl and the dream seemed so utterly improbable to Paul it was almost as if the words had not come from Francine but from somewhere else.
that
And
so he could think of nothing to say.
'Well?
'But 'but
.
Is it .
.'
you?' repeated Francine.
said Paul, completely bewildered,
how do you know about it?'
it too.' She sank down from him. 'Every night. A terrible dream. The field, and the glowing thing, and I can hardly move, and that hor-
'Because I'm having
into the desk across
about to happen, have to do something. And there's a
rible feeling that something's
that
I
person standing next to me.
saw that it
.
.
.
and
it
I
was had
you. ..
I
to find out
And
last night I
could hardly believe
!'
'You mean,' he blurted are trying to
out,
me that you
tell
— are having my dream?' 'What do you think minutes ?
last ten
to be such
.
'And
.
.
it
I've
been saying for the
thought you were supposed
but, I
—'
would be you, of
said bitterly, expressing his actly.
'A
— you, Francine
a brain.' She turned away from
him.
'But
I
'you mean you
stuck-up boy
thing but read.
I'll
all
people,' she
own
feeling ex-
who never
does any-
just have to rescue that kid
by myself.' 'Rescue what kid?' She pursed her lips and shook her head angrily. 'I wish I hadn't said anything to you. Don't you remember a thing?' 'But Francine !' He stepped toward her and
all
gripped her arm.
'What
—'
There was a commotion
in the
doorway, and
the other students burst noisily into the room.
Paul and Francine did their best to scram-
was still obvious to everyone that something had been happening between them a situation acutely embarrassing to them both. Without a glance in his ble hastily apart, but it
—
direction, Francine bustled over to her friends,
and Paul slunk
off to his seat,
turning away
9
from
the others. Fortunately, Miss Keck
all
returned at that
moment and
restored order
before any real wisecracking could start.
Now
Paul could think about nothing but
getting to Francine after school and finding
out what she had been talking about. The rest of the day
But when at last school Miss Keck called Paul up to her
was
did let out,
torture.
desk.
'Paul, I've been meaning to talk to you for quite a while,' she said, as everyone else, in-
cluding Francine, left the room.
Paul just stood there, twisting his hands
and
shuffling his feet, longing desperately to
leave and find Francine before she left the school yard, for he had no idea lived. 'I
.
.
.
where she
I'm sort of in a hurry, Miss Keck,'
we talk another time? ' Tomorrow? Right now I 'Paul, I know something's on your mind. You've been so distracted. You never pay athe
said.
'Could
.
.
—
.
tention in class anymore, and you're really
your work.' She leaned toward him with a concerned expression. 'If you're having some problem, at home, or with falling behind in
your friends,
You were one
I
wish you would
tell
me about it.
of the best students in the class,
and now, frankly, I'm worried about you.'
10
'Oh, no, Miss Keck, there's nothing wrong. Really.' He craned his neck briefly toward the window, trying to catch a glimpse of Francine. I've been just Then he turned back. 'I .
.
doing a
lot of
reading on
.
.
.
.
my own, I guess, and
not enough homework. But I'll get back to it, to I promise. But right now I really have ' get She shook her head. 'I'm really disappointed in you. This isn't like the Paul Rhodes I used
—
to
know. I'm trying to be
about
fair,
and talk to you
But now I'm afraid I'm going to your mother know how your work
it first.
have to let has been falling off.' 'Oh, no, Miss Keck,
please. I .. I will talk
you another time, I just can't today. And I promise you my work will get better. Could you please wait? Just a little while?' Now there was annoyance in her voice. 'Oh, chance. all right, Paul, I'll give you one more But if I don't see a change in you right away, to
I'm going to have to talk to your mother. For your own good.' She shuffled some papers while he waited tensely. 'You may go now,' she said at last, and he dashed out of the room. The school yard was nearly empty, and
Francine was nowhere in sight. tically
He ran
from one end of the blacktop
fran-
to the
11
around to the back of the school. There, just when he was about to give up hope, he saw a group of girls standing outside the fence, and a blonde head among them. other, then
He was
panting when he reached them, and
awkward, but the dream was more important than mere social discomfort. They stopped talking when they saw him, and before they had a chance to start giggling, he felt
terribly
plunged in breathlessly. 'Francine, got to ask you something. Could
.
I .
.
.
.
.
I've
could I
see you alone for a minute?'
The
eyes widened, and they looked
girls'
significantly at one another.
'Well,
maybe
Francine said,
don't feel like talking to you.'
I
He looked at the other girls and blushed. 'You know it's not not anything personal or anything. You 'Oh, but Francine,
.
.
it's
.
.
.'
.
know what
it's
voice trailed
about. I've just got to
.
.
;'
His
off.
She sighed. 'Oh, all right. See you later, kids.' She started off down the street. 'Come on, Paul.'
Walking beside her, he didn't know how to begin. She glanced up at him, then looked back at the other girls. 'Lord knows how I'm going to explain this to them,' she muttered.
'Francine,' Paul said, 'you said something
12
about rescuing a kid. Are you talking about that
little
white figure that's running toward
the glowing thing?'
'Sure,' she said calmly. 'It's a
little
kid and
he doesn't know what he's doing and in a minute something terrible is going to happen to him. And I .. I mean we have to save .
.
.
him. Couldn't you figure that out?'
'But
.
.
.'
Paul tried to ignore her scornful
tone, 'I couldn't see so clearly that
it
was a
But what do you think is the dangerous part? That creature he's running away from, or the glowing thing he's running toward?' 'I'm not sure,' she said. 'But I kind of little kid.
think the glowing thing
'What about
is
scarier.'
the word Stardust over that
building?' Paul said.
'What do you think
that
means?'
'What word?' She turned and 'I see the building, but no
Now
faced him.
word over
it.'
was his turn to be superior. 'Can't you remember any ?' he began, but when he saw her face start to harden again, he cut himself short. 'From where I am, I can see a funny low building off to the left, with these letters over it that say Stardust. But you don't it
—
see the letters, right?'
13
'Uh
uh.' She shook her head, her
mouth
half-open.
'Now that is strange,' Paul said. They were both standing
and staring at each other. a little kid, and I can't,' he
still
'You can tell it's went on, musing. 'And I see the letters and you don't. I wonder if there are any other differences, or if everything else
is
exactly the
tell
everything
same.'
'Maybe we should each
just
we see — everything' Francine suggested. 'Okay,' said Paul.
And walking
slowly
through the pale spring sunlight, they proceeded to describe to each other in complete detail the
dream as each
of
them experienced
The only other difference they could find had to do with the murmuring voices. They both heard them, but only Paul had noticed that one word, jaleela, was repeated more often than anything else. They both agreed that the most important part was the sense of danger, of imminent catastrophe, that only it.
they could avert.
'And
it's
not just going to affect the
kid, we're in
'I don't
know what
horrible.'
14
danger too,' Francine it is,
but
it's
little
insisted.
completely
'I
know,' Paul agreed, and he shivered in
spite of himself.
He was paying no
attention to
where they
were going, only seeing the dream
in his mind,
until
Francine stopped walking and
'Well, here
we
are. This is
my
said,
block.'
Paul blinked and looked around. They were standing on a street corner in a neighborhood
he did not know, quite different from his own.
The street was
wooden exactly the same except
lined with three-decker
apartment houses,
all
for varying degrees of disrepair,
all
very close
together. There were no trees or yards, only
cracked sidewalks and an occasional patch of dirt in front of one of the houses.
'Oh,' Paul said.
He was
surprised that
Francine lived in a neighborhood like
he tried not to show
it.
this,
'Well, um, I guess
but .
.
should do ?'
wonder what we She shrugged, and her previous attitude toward him returned. 'What's there to do?' I
she said casually. 'Just
.
.
.
maybe
we'll figure
something out.' 'Oh, sure.
Is that
where you
live?'
he asked
her vaguely, pointing to a house on the other
and several houses down from where they were standing.
side of the street
15
'How
'Yeah.' She sounded surprised. you know it was that one?'
'I don't know. It just seemed like
you do
.
.
He
He
it.'
go.
Could
was embarrassed again.
'How
paused. 'Well, um, .'
did
I
guess
I'll
get back to school?'
I
She pointed out the way and he hurried off, eager to get away from her dreary neighborhood and back to his own. It was good to shake off
the shabby uncomfortable feeling that her
environment and her manner had produced in him, and he did not look back to see her standing there, staring after him with an unusually thoughtful expression on her face.
That night clearly.
in the dream,
he saw Francine
She moved slowly beside him, her hair
blown back from her face by the wind, staring at the glowing sphere and the running child.
She seemed
different in the dream, resource-
ful
and strong. He
all,
only the intense longing to reach out to
felt
her, to join with her
in the center of the
no distaste for her at
and run toward the events
field.
There were other changes
now
He
that the figure in white was a
with black hair.
16
too.
He
could
tell
little
boy
could even see the expres-
sion on his face
— happy,
entranced
— as he
gamboled in his white pajamas around the glowing, changing sphere, oblivious to the ter-
menace that was about
rible all.
still
them
Behind him lumbered the dark creature, indistinct,
for occasionally
but behaving differently now, it
would turn toward Paul and
Francine, shaking
its
body
in
The terror and the urgency
now
to engulf
like great black
hysterically,
an odd manner. rolled over
them
waves, the voices babbled
and the humming noise rose
And
penetrating scream. started to run, there
to a
then just as Paul
was a sickening
lurch, the
ground vanished beneath his feet as he pitched forward into inky blackness, and the scream
was coming from his own throat. When he awoke, he was more ever before.
As he
terrified
than
lay there trembling in the
was an urgent need to talk to Francine, thinking of her as she was In the dream. But then he remembered what she was like at school, and he felt the same old darkness, his first reaction
reluctance to have anything to do with her.
He made no
effort to talk to
her next day.
Instead of staying in the classroom during recess, as little
he usually
did,
courtyard that he
he went to a secret
knew about
at the side
17
of the school building, in an attempt to keep
away from her. Yet somehow she managed to find him there as part of him had been hoping she would. She approached him rather hesitantly. Her manner, however, was still hostile when she announced, 'It was different
—
last night, wasn't it.'
He
nodded, feeling irritated by the sound
of her voice.
mood, and shuffled her feet uncomfortably. 'The whole thing was
She seemed
closer,
and
I
to sense his
could see you better.'
'I could see you,' he interrupted. first
time
'And
'For the
could see you too.'
I
could see those letters over the
I
saw them at all, was thinking about
building, Stardust. I never until I talked to you.
So
I
and
—
He
interrupted her again, confident that
it,
'
whatever she had to say would not be important. 'And those things changed so suddenly, right after you and I found out about each other and told each other what we knew.
We made contact, into
the
dream.
and that brought us farther
We
could
see
everything
better.'
'That's just
you'd given
18
what
I
was going
me the chance.'
to say, if
'You were?' 'Yeah,' she said dryly. 'But listen,' he went on quickly, not wanting to believe that he had underestimated her. 'I thought of something else.
important. 'I
Something really
You knew something
know what
that
—'
you're going to say,' she said
matter-of-factly. 'You're going to say
how we
knew something the other didn't know, and when we told each other, it helped us to get deeper into the dream. And if we find that little kid, and find out what he knows, then we'll get even deeper into it, and then maybe
each
we'll
be able to save him and ourselves.
Right?' Paul was amazed. 'But
know
that
was
exactly
.
.
.
what
but I
how
did you
was going
to
say?'
She seemed a bit surprised herself. 'I don't know how I knew. I just knew,' she said slowly. For a moment they were both silent.
Then she tossed her head and her brusque manner returned. 'So go on,' she said crisply. 'Go on ? What do you mean ?' 'I mean tell me that really important idea you had.' 'But that was
it.
To
find the little kid.'
19
'Some idea!' she said. 'Did you ever think about how we're going to find him, brain boy? Out of all the people in the world, how are we going to find him? You're supposed to be so smart,
20
why
don't you answer that one?'
Finding her had been was she, in fact, who had found
She was
right, of course.
so easy
(it
him, he admitted grudgingly to himself) that he had not even thought about the problem of finding the essential third person.
Somehow
he had just assumed that it would happen on its own. But now his brief elation and confidence were swept away by the hopelessness of the situation, and he did not even answer her.
She was still fuming. 'Yeah,' she said. 'Sure you don't know what to do. And me, I was stupid enough to think maybe you'd have an idea.' She stared straight ahead. 'Wow, whoever's running this show really threw me in with a winner, that's for sure. I wish I could forget about the whole stupid thing.' 'Then why don't you?' he said petulantly, feeling wounded.
'Then why don't you?' she mimicked. 'Yeah, sure I'm going to forget
21
it.
Sure I'm
going to forget that
.
,
.
that feeling.'
And
as
she said the word, her voice dropped.
'That feeling of something about
to happen,
you mean?' he asked her, forgetting to be
wounded as the
icy sensation flowed
between
them, the dark and threatening power of
suddenly seeming to
fill
it
the courtyard, as
though something had blotted out the sunlight. 'It
was worse
last night,
wasn't
it,'
he said in
the sudden ominous silence.
was bad,' Francine murmured in a hushed voice, shaking her head. 'I don't know what it is, but it's worse than anything I ever 'Oh,
.
.
.
it
and we're the ones who have to do some-
thing about
it.'
know,' he agreed. 'I can't think about
'I
anything
else.
We've got
to find that kid.'
'Yeah.' She pushed her hair back and looked away. 'Yeah, right back to the begin-
ning again,' she said in her normal voice. 'Oh,
why who
isn't
this
happening
with
somebody
.' .
.
'Well, personally
I
don't
know what makes
you think you're such a great person to be in
it
with,' said Paul, in an uncharacteristic burst of anger.
'You never do anything except whis-
per and giggle and
22
—
'
'Yeah? Teacher's pet!' she
said,
her voice
rising as she backed away. 'I'm going back
now, so nobody
will see
me
with you.'
And
she
hurried out of the courtyard.
They did not speak to each other again that was miserable and furious. When he got home he sulked in his room, and once again did no homework. Why did he need Francine ? It was probably a mistake she wasn't really day. Paul
;
in the dream. Just forget about her, he told
himself as he got into bed.
You can do
it
on
your own.
He woke
several hours later, shuddering
and shaken and dripping with sweat, only barely managing to keep himself from crying out in anguish. The
coming rible.
faster,
and
it
unknown disaster was was unimaginably ter-
His antipathy toward Francine paled in
comparison. There was no alternative but to join with her
and do whatever
it
was they had
to do to avert the terror.
There was no need even to ask her about it. She was jumpy and frightened when she joined him at recess, and there were dark rings under her eyes.
how word. 'Maybe we
He could tell
she felt before she said a
exactly
should skip the rest of the day,' she said
23
was Friday afternoon. 'Just !' looking for him right now
tensely. It
and start
we
'Oh,
trouble as
skip
can't,' said Paul. 'I'm already in it is.
Tomorrow
is
Saturday. We'll
have to wait until then.' 'But even then, what can we do then?' There was a frantic edge to her voice. 'Where
Where do we go? What are we even looking forV 'I don't know, I don't know But what else can we do ? Just go everywhere and keep look-
do
we
look?
!
ing for the right person. He's probably looking for us too.'
'Yeah, that's right,' Francine
more
calmly.
said, a little
'Maybe that does make
sense.'
Paul did manage to do some homework that evening, not only to keep Miss Keck at bay, but
mind occupied and to the moment when he had to go to bed.
also to try to keep his
put
off
He was
and apprehensive about the terror of the dream now, that it seemed as though sleep would be impossible. Unfortuso anxious
was not. The dream was changing
nately, it
As the terror increased, certain things faded away and others came to take their place. Stardust was hardly noticeable now. Instead, he was aware
24
again.
moon hanging above them
of the moon, a full like
a pale echo of the dazzling, shimmering
globe in the middle of the
was
rapt, in a trance
;
field.
The
little
boy
the creature behind had
almost reached him now. The high-pitched
whining rose and fell, the eerie babble of voices, and as the horror bore down upon him he suddenly noticed other lights at the edge of the field, swinging and swirling in unlikely arcs, tied inextricably to the terrible event
that they
somehow had to prevent.
Paul and Francine walked for hours and hours the next day, looking for the
little
boy. Eyes,
noses, mouths, endless combinations of differ-
ent features, and none of them seemed right.
'And how do we even know said Francine.
'Or even
'We don't know,'
he's in the city?'
in this country?'
said Paul.
'But what
else
can we do? Fly around the world?'
A
few minutes
later,
on a busy street
corner, Francine suddenly stopped walking.
'Hey!' she cried
out.
'We're making a big
mistake.'
People were pushing past impatiently, and
two men behind almost bumped
into them.
Paul pulled Francine over to the side and said,
'Okay, what is it?'
25
'Well,' she said a
we
little
breathlessly, 'here
are doing this impossible thing of looking
for this kid, but
we
haven't even stopped to
think about
what the dream
means, and
why
it's
really
happening to
is,
what
it
us. It's like
we're doing the whole thing backwards.'
'Huh,' said Paul, feeling disappointed because her idea was so obviously right and
he had not thought of
it,
but at the same time
excited by the possibilities 'I mean,' Francine
something about that's the
us,
it
went
offered.
on, 'there
about you and about me,
same; otherwise, we both wouldn't
be having the same dream. If it is,
must be
there's got to be
we
what answer
find out
some kind of
there.'
'I .. I guess you're right,' Paul said.
come
I
'How
didn't think of that?'
'Beats me, brain boy,' Francine said, smiling slightly. 'Maybe because you could never
stand to think anything about us could be the
same.' 'Oh, well,' said Paul, irritated that she had read his mind so accurately.
been able to do
it?)
'Let's
somewhere and try to figure They repaired to a booth
26
(How had she just go sit down this all out.'
in a nearby soda
fountain. Francine ordered a huge banana
and a Coke. Paul had french fries. 'Ugh, french fries,' said Francine. 'Who
split
ever just gets french fries ?' 'I can't stand ice cream,' Paul said, as the
waitress set a gooey overflowing bowl in front of Francine and a small plate in front of him.
'Well,' said Francine, digging
in,
'that isn't
the thing that's the same about us, that's for sure.'
wonder what it could be?' Paul said, thoughtfully munching a french fry. 'We do seem pretty different. How are we ever going to figure it out?' He paused for a moment. 'But
I
'Well, one thing divorced, and
we
is,
live
both our parents are
with our mothers.'
Francine almost dropped her spoon.
know that about .. I don't know how
did you 'I
'How
me ?' I
knew,' Paul
said,
just as surprised as she was. 'It just kind of
popped into
my
head, and then
out even thinking about
'Wow, don't
tell
I
said
it
with-
it.'
that's weird,' she said slowly. 'I
anybody about
Sally, is the only
one
that.
My
best friend,
who knows. Did
she
tell
you?'
'You know she never talks to me,' said Paul. 'I don't know how I knew,' he repeated,
27
and then they just stared at each other across the table until Paul, embarrassed, let his eyes
back to the f rench fries. 'Well, anyway,' Francine
flicker
'that's
said
one thing that's the same, but
it
finally,
doesn't
seem to have much to do with the dream. There must be something else.' She took a sip of her Coke and crunched a few pieces of ice, a sound Paul couldn't stand. 'It's probably something weird. What's the weirdest thing that ever happened to you ?' 'Once I was in an airplane and it hit an air pocket and fell a hundred feet in one second and I bumped my head on the ceiling. Those breathing things came down and everything. It was horrible.' 'Well, that never happened to me,' said Francine, crunching more ice. 'But once I was trapped in an elevator. We were stuck there for half an hour. It was real crowded and people got hysterical. One fat lady fainted and fell right on top of me.'
'Hmmm,'
said Paul. 'Well, I guess that
doesn't get us anywhere.'
'Well, we'll just have to keep trying,' she said,
beginning to crunch more
quickly stopping. 'Sorry,
stand that sound.'
28
I
and then know you can't ice
'That's right!' said Paul, leaning forward
how
suddenly. 'But 'I It's
.
.'
.
like
did you
know?'
She seemed puzzled. 'I don't know. I just suddenly remembered it or
something. But
know you never
I
told
me
that.'
Paul slowly shook his head.
something 'It's as
I call
weird.'
if
.
.
.
the other one
'Now
sometimes we can
that
is
what thinking,' Francine mur-
is
tell
mured. 'It keeps happening.'
And
had a brilliant idea of his own. 'Maybe that's what the dream is,' he said. 'Maybe it's somebody else, calling out for help by sending us the dream, and someat last Paul
how we can have
—
get the message. Because
we
'
'Because
whatever
.
.
it is,'
.
because
we have REM,
or
Francine finished in a hushed
voice.
'ESP. Extrasensory perception. Mental
te-
lepathy,' he corrected her, slowly sitting back in his seat. it
He knew
didn't exist.
mother would say that Yet hadn't they just had direct his
proof that they could
minds?
It
read
one
another's
wasn't that he could hear her
thoughts as words, exactly; just that some-
how, sometimes he seemed to be able to
tell
29
what she was thinking.
It
was an
ing, of course, even though he
he really believed in
But
it.
some, even frightening.
wasn't sure
was
it
He
exciting feel-
still
also
awe-
wasn't sure he
wanted to believe in it. 'But why is it happening to us ?' Francine
really
sounded frightened
sending the dream to true, then
'I all
'Why us? And
too.
what made
is
the person
if it
really is
us like this ?'
have no idea,' said Paul, feeling shaky
over,
as
though his mother had just
screamed at him. 'Well, we'll just have to find out,' Francine said, all at once sounding brisk again.
'We'll just have to
tell
each other everything,
from the day we were born. If there's any clue or any connection, that's the way to starting
find it.' It
proved to be quite a lengthy, as well as
frustrating, process. Paul trating, because he kept
did have
ESP and
seemed. They were
when they had
had trouble concen-
wondering
thinking still
30
unreal
it
to leave the drugstore because
men who had been had
he really
on their infancies
other people were waiting to
theirs
how
if
sit
down. The two
sitting in the booth next to
to leave too.
my
'Then they moved
army
Francine was saying as they
base,'
strolled
father to another
down the
street.
'So we had to move
again, this time to Stockton, California.
a crazy old house in the desert, and
lived in I
who
used to pick on the kid
stairs.
We
Were you ever there?
.
.
.
downPaul? Are you lived
listening ?'
'What? Oh,
sorry.
What
did you just say?'
'Stockton, Calif ornia !' she said furiously
and stamped her foot. 'Paul, we are never going to get anywhere if you won't pay attention.'
'But
I can't
help
he
it,'
said. 'I just
..
I
can't stop thinking about having mental telep-
athy. I guess
hard to deal
;
must be
it
believe.
it's
And
a huge deal
true, but
still, it's
if it is true, it's ;
it's
so
a big
probably the most
important thing that will ever happen to us !'
She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him around to face her. 'Well, the dream is a big deal too the dream is important!' she shouted. ;
'Come on, Paul!' 'Oh,
all right,'
irritated.
'But
I
he
said, feeling guilty
and
already told you, I've never
been out West, and you only moved here a year ago, and nothing weird happened in the last year, so
it all
seems sort of hopeless and
—' 31
Suddenly he stopped. 'Wait a minute,' he went on slowly.
'What?' go on
said
Francine.
'What? Go
on,
!'
'I did go out West once, with my mother, when she was getting the divorce. We were in Nevada for about six weeks. How could I
forget it?'
was probably horrible and you want to remember it,' said Francine
'Because didn't
it
with another surprising flash of intuition.
'But when was it? Do you remember when you were there?' 'Let's see,' he said, counting on his fingers. yes, it was four years must have been ago last summer. It'll be five years this summer. I think it was in July, so it's five years ago this coming July.'
'It
.
'Well,
we never
.
.
lived
Francine. 'But I'm sure
in
Nevada,' said
we were
there a
couple of times, going from one place to an-
Maybe you and I were there at the same time; maybe something happened when we were there that we don't know about or don't other.
remember.'
—
' seems so distant from 'Look, Paul,' she said as though she were
'But
it
talking to a small boy, 'it's the only thing
32
we
Now you
go home and ask your mother exactly when you were there, and
have to go on.
where you were, and pened.
And
I'll
if
ask mine.
we'll try to figure it out.
anything funny hap-
And
then
call
me and
Okay?'
'Sure,' he said, uncomfortable with her
now. 'Okay,' she
said.
'See you.'
And
she turned
and walked away from him. On the way home, Paul thought about how unlucky he was to have mental telepathy with Francine. It was such an exciting thing to
happen, and yet Francine ruined longer really considered her
silly.
it.
He no
Instead, she
gave him the feeling that he was
dull or in-
some way. It was a difficult feeling to tolerate. What was he doing that made her feel that way? What was he doing wrong? ferior in
His mother did indeed remember Nevada. 'I
had to waste
weeks of my life in that and she emphatically sliced
six
place,' she said,
through an onion.
'But do you remember when it was ? I mean what the exact dates were?' 'I suppose I could if I had to.' She looked up at him from the cutting board. 'But why do you want to
know ?'
33
'I don't
know.' Behind his back he cracked though he was attempting to
his knuckles,
appear calm and almost indifferent to the
was asking. 'It's just that I hardly remember being there. It seems funny to go someplace and then hardly remember being there at all. Do you remember where we questions he
stayed?'
'Oh,
it
was
just outside of Reno.
I
can't re-
member exactly.' He prepared himself to ask the question that he knew would blow his cover and bring on a torrent of questions from her. He let his fingers
run casually through the pages of a
cookbook lying open on the kitchen counter.
'When we were
there,' he said slowly, 'did
anything .. do you remember sort of weird or
—
if
anything
'
But she interrupted him with a little laugh before he had a chance to ask it. 'What I won't forget is the name of the motel where we stayed,' she said, and looked away from him. 'That sign flashed outside my window all night. Stardust. The Stardust Motel.'
34
'Hello.' 'Hello. Is Francine there?'
'Who's
V
calling
Paul at this moment that mental telepathy could be a really practical advantage, if he and Francine could strengthen It occurred to
it
and get
my name
it
more under
their control.
'Uh
.
.
class at is Paul. I'm in Francine's
wanted to
school. I just
find out
what the
assignment was.' 'On a Saturday night you're asking Francine what the assignment is?' a muffled disturbance in the background, then Francine's voice on the line.
He heard
'Paul?' 'Yes,
it's
me.'
'Did you — receiver,
'
'Ma,
Then she it's
said,
away from
the
only Paul, from school.
We're doing a project together.' He heard
35
footsteps and a door closing. 'Paul? Did you
ask her?' 'Yes.
We
were there from July second
August thirteenth.' 'Well, we were in Nevada that just like
I
to
July, too,
thought. July eleventh to eighteenth.
My
mother also remembers the place were we stayed.' There was silence. Paul didn't want to tell her the name of the motel. After all, it was he who had seen the word first in the dream; it might have been an unconscious if
memory on
his part.
Only
Francine's mother came up with the same
name would the coincidence be significant. 'Where did you stay?' he asked her. 'The Stardust Motel,' Francine said. After a moment, during which Paul listened to his heartbeat speed up dramatically and then gradually begin to slow down, he said, 'Well,
I
guess .. I guess
it
really is
a pretty
amazing coincidence that we were both there the same week. But it still doesn't mean that
—'
'Did you ask her if anything weird happened ?' Francine asked quickly. 'Yes.' Paul sighed. 'First she wanted to
know what I meant by weird, then she wanted know why I wanted to know, then she
to
36
wanted with
to
my
know
was unhappy not went on and on, just
living
if I
father. It
like I
knew it would.' He looked behind himself to make sure the kitchen door was closed. 'But did she remember anything weird?' Francine said impatiently. 'No. She just said
it
was boring and a waste
of time.'
'Yeah. Well, mine didn't remember anything either. I guess we're
going to have to find out
ourselves.'
'But how are we going to ' who else would know if
—
find out?
I
mean,
'You're supposed to be the smart one,' she said,
her words rapid, her voice high-pitched
through the telephone. 'Figure to get off
now
or
it
out. I
have
my mother will get suspicious.
See you on Monday.'
For a moment he
just stood there with the
receiver in his hand, rankling once
more
at
her implication that he was slow, that he put a
damper on things, that he was incompetent. The worst part of it was that he was almost beginning to believe her. Francine, who was always so giggly and stupid, making him feel inferior! Yet it really was Francine who had most of the ideas and who always seemed to know what to do. This time, he decided, he
37
would prove that she was wrong. He would find out
— on
had happened
his
own
in Reno,
— what,
anything,
if
Nevada, the week of
July 11 to 18.
He
realized, as
he brushed his teeth, that
probably wouldn't even be so very
it
difficult.
would have to do was find the newspapers from that particular week. There must be lots of them in the main branch of the pubAll he
library.
lic
He
got into bed. In the darkness he could
see the
moon
outside his window. In the
dream
moon, he thought drowsily, trying to prepare himself for what was about to happen. it's
a
Now
full
it's
bigger than a half moon.
I
wonder
if
means anything. I wonder if something's going to happen when the moon gets full. As he sank into sleep, the moon seemed to change and grow, until it had become a full moon hanging over the field. Beside him stood it
.
.
.
Francine, staring straight ahead, her hair
blown back. Around them tingled the strange vibrations, the high-pitched whining that rose and fell. Around them the voices whispered Not that and sang, 'Come here, come here. .
way, Cookie, Cookie, you.
.
.
.
jaleela, jaleela .. I
' It seemed almost as
were trembling and Paul
38
.
if
felt the
want
the ground
nervousness
begin inside him as the unearthly, throbbing
sphere appeared over the center of the
field.
Even though he had been through the dream many times now, there was always a disorienting uncertainty about how it was going to end. For each time, there was the possibility that the terrible thing might happen before they
had a chance to prevent it. The ominous lights at the edges of the field that was where were swinging closer now
—
the danger lay; and tonight he realized that
they were moving toward them.
He
turned to
Francine, trying to get her to hurry, but he could not speak; he could barely move.
struggle and frustration he
The
was going through
were also evident in the wrinkles of tension around Francine's eyes and the hard line of her mouth. If only they could go faster Then Francine looked again toward the center of the field, and his eyes followed hers. The little boy in white was skipping toward the suspended sphere, enraptured and smiling, drawn trancelike by its pulsating glow and oblivious to the large black thing loping behind
him. Oblivious also to the menacing pinpoints of light hovering closer and closer. Run, Francine,
run! Paul thought at her frantically as
the lights
swung toward them; and suddenly
39
tremendous whirl of wind and sound, they were running. There was a dizzying rush of in a
images, as the
little
boy's smiling face
swam
and the strange black creature, which was now somehow familiar, and the swirling lights and a chorus of voices shrieking madly, and then it was too late, he knew it was too late, and he was plunging down, close to them,
down, down
.
.
'Well, did you find anything out yet?' Fran-
him at recess on Monday. 'How could I? The library was closed
cine asked
yes-
terday.'
'What does
the library have to do with
anything?' 'Because,' he explained with exaggerated patience, 'the library
is
where they have news-
papers and things that will say
if
anything
unusual happened in Reno, Nevada, between July eleventh and eighteenth. Can you think
any other way
of
'No.
I
to start trying to find out?'
guess that makes sense,' she ad-
mitted. 'I just hope
That dream
is
it
getting so
doesn't take too long. .
. .
bad.'
'Well, I'm going right after school today,'
Part of him wanted to maintain a certain superior reserve with Francine, be-
he
40
said.
cause he
still
felt
intensity of the
hurt by her attitude. The
dream overruled
his pride,
however, and he added, 'It's weird the
way
keeps changing and getting worse.
almost
It's
like it's telling us the horrible thing is
it
going
happen anyway, no matter what we do.' 'I know,' Francine said, biting her lip obscure. The nervously. 'But it's still so meaning isn't getting any clearer.'
to
'Well, the only thing
the
is
.
.
.
.
.
.
did you notice
moon ?'
'I guess so.
What about it?'
'In the dream
it's
a
full
—
moon. Maybe that
—
means that the thing whatever it is is going to happen when there's a full moon.' 'When's the next full moon?' she asked him, her voice rising
slightly.
'It looks pretty big now. I guess full in
it
be
will
a few days.'
'Oh,
we have
to hurry,' she said fervently.
'I'm going with you to the library today.'
Francine looked around uncertainly as they entered the main hall of the old library, and
head Paul caught a brief flash of her discomfort and unfamiliarity with the place. 'This way,' he said briskly, and led her within his
out hesitating across the echoing marble
floor,
41
past the main staircase, and
hallway to the
down
a narrow
left.
'Where are we going?' she whispered
be-
hind him.
'To the periodicals room, of course,' he said, enjoying the satisfaction of being able to show her around.
The
satisfaction vanished, however,
when
they reached the entrance to the periodicals
and the woman behind the desk informed them that the stacks were closed. 'Closed?' Paul said. 'But they never used section
to be closed before.' 'It's
a
new
policy,' the
woman
the stacks were open, people out of order, and too
said.
left
'When
everything
many old newspapers and
magazines were disappearing. Now you fill out these request slips and wait until someone on the staff finds the material yoii want and brings
it
up here.'
'But but what if you don't know which newspaper you want ?' 'You look it up in the catalogue,' the woman said, turning back to her work. .
.
.
They stepped do
into the hallway.
'Now what
we do ?' Francine whispered. 'It's so stupid!'
Paul said angrily. 'You
used to be able to just go down there and
42
browse around. How are we ever going to find out what we want from the catalogue?' 'You're the one that's supposed to know your way around here,' said Francine. 'Don't ask
me what to do.'
'I wasn't asking you,'
ferior
and frustrated
back into the librarian
around
had
all
he
over again.
periodicals
left
said, feeling in-
He
looked
department.
The
her desk and was puttering
in the reading
room behind
it.
An
idea
occurred to Paul. But did he have the nerve?
He
glanced at Francine's face and decided
he
that
did.
'Come
on,'
he
whispered.
'Hurry!' He darted back toward the desk.
'But she said 'Shhh !'
To the
He
—
'
left of the
desk was a tiny elevator.
pressed the button. The doors slid open
noisily,
but the librarian, at the other end of
the room, did not turn around. Paul pulled
Francine inside and pushed the basement button.
The
elevator rattled
and quivered as they
descended. Paul was nervous about sneaking
But he did not even need to look at Francine to know that she was impressed. That made the risk worthwhile. They emerged into a maze of dark narrow in,
of course.
43
knew
corridors. Paul
these corridors well, and
minute he had found the appropriate section. He began searching quickly, aware that in a
someone might appear at any moment and throw them out. Francine was not much help, hovering behind him and reading over his shoulder in the half-darkness
;
but at least her
behavior helped him to feel superior. Still, it
was rather disheartening
to
have to
read through endless pages as the minute hand
on his wristwatch spun around, not finding any mention of Reno, Nevada. Finally, Francine stopped looking over his shoulder and
began pouring through different periodicals on her own, and a very short time later he heard her say, 'Hey, Paul, listen to this I'
'What?' he said, his heart beginning to pound. He was excited, of course, that she had found something, but also disappointed that it
had not been
he.
' 'Las Vegas, Nevada, July 12/ ' she read slowly. ' 'An 18-month-old baby girl won $650
machine here today, with one nickel. The child's mother, Mrs. Godfrey Bisbane, said, 'Sheila just wandered away, and when I found her she was standing there with silver at a slot
dollars pouring
down
stander said that —
44
' '
all
over her.'
One
by-
'Oh, Francine!' said Paul, suddenly extremely irritated. 'Who cares? I thought you'd found something. We don't have time to read
Somebody might come down here any minute and throw us out. Don't you how annoying beto skim?' It was particularly cause he had been making an intense effort to related skip over everything that didn't seem
everything.
to their search,
himself
all
and had thereby been denying
sorts of interesting tidbits.
'I just thought
pouting.
'You
'Yes, but
it
was
interesting,' she said,
don't have to be so grouchy.'
it's
almost
five
now, and
we'll
have
and go through another night without knowing any more than before.'
to leave soon
'Oh, you're right, you're right,' she said, and began looking harder than ever. He needn't have worried, however. Fifteen
minutes later he found himself staring, almost information in disbelief, at exactly the piece of they were looking for. 'Oh, no,' he said softly, this slowly standing up as he read. 'Oh, no, was bubbling up is incredible.' The excitement
through his body in tingling electric waves. 'This is it, Francine,' he said, not thinking about the librarian, his voice rising almost to a shout. 'Francine, this
is it!'
45
'What?' she
said.
'What
is it,
Paul?' for-
getting to whisper in her excitement and, in fact, practically
shouting herself.
'Just listen to this.'
And he began
' 'Reno, Nevada, July 15.
to read.
An unidentified
—
' '
'What are you children doing here?' said the librarian, who had suddenly materialized beside them. 'I thought
were
I told
you the stacks
closed.'
Francine jumped. 'Oh!' she just found
.
.
.
is
'But we
Please, just let us stay another
minute so he can read 'This
said.
this thing to
me.'
just the kind of behavior
we
are
trying to prevent,' said the librarian. 'Put that volume
away
and go back
this instant
upstairs.'
Paul did not move or speak, but stood there reading rapidly, occasionally gasping to himself.
'Didn't you hear me?' said the librarian.
'You are not allowed down here leave right away, ' to
—
I'll
!
If
you don't
have to ask the guard
'Okay,' said Paul, slamming the volume shut and shoving it back onto the shelf. 'Bye. See you
later.
'Paul,
Come on,
what was
Francine.'
it?'
Francine asked him
as the elevator door slid shut.
46
Neither of them moved to push the button. If
Paul had not been so excited, he might
have prolonged the suspense but as ;
it
was, he
could barely get the words out fast enough.
'Francine, there was a
UFO
there on July
fifteenth.'
'What are you
talking about? What's a
UFO?' 'Unidentified flying object. Supposedly from
outer space.' 'Paul, are you trying to kid
'No, not at
all.
Every once
me?' in a while people
claim to see weird flying things, like flying saucers and stuff.
And
fore; I always just
were crazy but now ;
I
never realized
it
be-
assumed that the people .' .
.
'Go on! Go on!' 'Well, on the night of July fifteenth, a
woman
claimed to see a glowing sphere
float-
ing over the earth in the middle of a
field.
Sound familiar?'
making this up !' Francine. It was all
'Paul, you're
'I'm not,
A
glowing sphere, just
in the paper.
like in the
dream. The
woman who saw it said she felt vibrations .' He coming from it. And her name was was so excited now that he could hardly say it. .
.
47
'Her name was Mrs. Diana Jaleela, and she was staying at the Stardust Motel.' At that moment the elevator began its quivering ascent. Someone above had pushed the button, but they were both too excited to pay any attention to it. 'Anyway, this Mrs. Jaleela was in her room and she saw something out the window, so she went outside to look. Right in back of the motel was a field, and in the middle of it was the sphere. Mrs. Jaleela got her dog and went to look closer at it. Her dog's name was Now what was her dog's name ?' 'Oh, who cares what her dog's name was !' cried Francine, as the door opened and two .
men
.
got into the elevator. Paul and Francine
ignored them completely.
dumb dog's name was
!
'Who
cares
Just go on
Anyway,
glowing thing.
so she
And
noise coming
went a
what her
!'
'Rose,' Paul said. 'Her dog's Rose.
ming
.
little
name was
closer to the
then she noticed a hum-
from
and Rose started snarling. Francine, do you know what that means?' 'Just go on !' Francine shouted at him. 'That's
all,'
Paul
it,
said.
'When
she heard
the noise she turned and ran back to her room,
and so did Rose. And then she
48
called the police.
But when the
police got there, the thing
gone. Francine, of course you realize
was
what this
means! It's so amazing I can hardly stand it!' Francine and Paul just stared at each other. The elevator had returned to the basement,
and the door slid open, revealing the librarian. what She stepped backwards. 'What are you people doing on this elevator?' she said. 'And you two children again What do I ' have to do to keep you But she didn't have a chance to finish because Francine pushed the button and the door .
.
.
!
—
slid
shut in the middle of her sentence. Paul
was
still
story,
hardly aware of anything but his
though he did begin speaking
in
an
means is that the UFO was probably radiating some kind of telepathic beam. And you and I were in the motel and we got some of it. But Mrs. Jaleela got the most. It means about a million things.' 'It's so amazing how perfectly it ties up with the dream,' Francine murmured. 'Are ' you sure you're not making it 'I am not making it up !' Paul insisted. 'We can come back tomorrow and you can read it undertone.
'What
it
—
yourself.'
The elevator had arrived again floor.
'Come
at the
main
on, let's get off this thing,' said
49
Francine, and she pulled Paul out of the eleva-
They hurried back
tor.
'It's just so
' hardly —
'Well, the
to the front lobby.
amazing,' Paul
first
thing
said. 'I
we have
can
to do
is
still
find
this Mrs. Jaleela,' said Francine, practically.
'But still
.
where
.
.
is
she?' said Paul,
in a kind of daze.
who was
'Who knows where
she
is?'
know
'I
the
first
place to look,' said Fran-
and she headed for a bank of phone
cine,
booths at the back of the lobby.
'But she couldn't possibly live here, in the same city as us,' said Paul, following her. ' 'That would be just too much of a 'But we might as well look,' said Francine, already pawing through the phone book chained inside the phone booth. 'Let's see now Does J come before 0?' And then it was
—
.
.
.
Francine's turn to gasp to herself. 'Is
it
there?' Paul asked her breathlessly.
'Jaleela Diana,' Francine read in an voice.
awed
'143 Colgate. 237-4586.' She dropped
the phone book and looked at him. 'Should call
we
her up?'
'But that's fantastic,' said Paul. 'It's so amazing that she's here too, if she's the same one.
50
Uh
.
.
.
maybe we should wait before we
call her.
I
mean, we should discuss
it
and
to say.' figure out what we're going the story At last Francine seemed to believe
about it as Paul was. They started home, hurried out of the library and
and to be as
thrilled
slight drizzle, or the too excited to notice the at each other, or fact that they were shouting They were also the curious looks of passersby.
the two men who too excited to notice that had folhad been with them on the elevator
were now lowed them out of the library, and following them home.
51
'Hello.' 'Hello. Is Mrs. Jaleela there?'
'Speaking.'
'Oh. Mrs. Jaleela,
my name is
Francine
I'm doing this project for school friend.
We
doing this project about
.
.
.
with
And
go to the Wiley School.
Gill.
a
we're
about UFOs.
And
um, we read an
article about how you saw one .' an unidentified flying object 'Go on, go on !' Paul whispered fiercely.
once,
.
'And we were wondering interview you about
it
if
.
maybe we
could
some time,' Francine
said in one breath.
'Oh,' said Mrs. Jaleela. There was a long silence.
'What's she saying? What's she saying?' Paul whispered.
'Shhhhh!' Francine said to him, her hand over the mouthpiece. Then she said into the
52
phone, 'Mrs. Jaleela? Are you there, Mrs. Jaleela?'
'Oh,' said Mrs. Jaleela, her voice sounding vague and scratchy over the phone. 'That was
remember
it
very
'Well, Mrs. Jaleela,' Francine said,
'we
so long ago.
I
don't really
well.'
don't
want
to invade
your privacy or any-
(Paul was rather surprised by
thing.'
how
grown-up she sounded.) 'But we don't have any firsthand information in our report. It would really make a big difference to us and we would appreciate it very much.' 'How old are you?' Mrs. Jaleela asked her slowly.
'We're both twelve.'
'And 'Yes.
just
it's
two of you ?'
Me and my
— friend, Paul.'
'And you wouldn't bring anyone
else
with
you?' 'No.'
'Uh
.
.
.' It
was trying
seemed as though Mrs. Jaleela
to
think
of
another
question.
'What's your teacher's name?' 'Miss Keck.' 'Well 'Well,
.
all
There was another long silence. right. When would you like to come
.
.'
over?'
53
'Oh, any time that's
'Well
.
.
.
How
all
right with you.'
about tomorrow afternoon ?
Around four?' 'Oh, that would be
fine,
Mrs. Jaleela,' said
Francine. 'That would be perfect.
Thank you
very much. See you tomorrow.'
'Tomorrow?'
Paul
demanded,
dragging
Francine out of the booth almost before she
had a chance to hang up the phone. 'She'll see us tomorrow ?' 'Yes. We're going over to her house at four.'
'Fantastic!' he said, clasping his hands together.
He
felt so elated that
he added, 'You
were good, Francine. She seemed scared, but you sounded very harmless and sincere.' Francine looked at him rather warily. 'You .
.
.
you must have gotten that from telepathy.
She was scared, and harmless and sincere were the exact words in my mind. In fact I was trying to send those words to her.' 'And I got them,' Paul murmured. 'I wonder if she did too?' said Francine. 'Maybe we can find out tomorrow,' said Paul. 'I wonder how much she knows?' The newspaper article had certainly answered some questions. Now at least part of .
.
.
the dream could be explained: Stardust, the
54
also seemed and the glowing sphere. It of communication had logical that their gift though how far come from that experience, they what they could do with it, it went, and
field,
still
did not know.
if anybody, They also did not know who, or the signifiwas sending them the dream,
boy and the creature loping had no answer to behind him. And they still what was the questions the most important
cance of the
little
-
when was
it
danger that was approaching, anything, could the going to come, and what, if Mrs. Jaleela, they two of them do about it. answers for them. hoped, would have some
They were both
quiet the next day
when they
house. But after started out for Mrs. Jaleela's wonder if we'll blocks, Francine said, 'I
a few
came from.'
know where that UFO thing we can find out what 'I guess there's no way
ever
it
was, or where
it
was sent from,' Paul
that
it
from Earth and that
it
'All
we know
brains so is
is
we can
thinking
said.
probably didn't come did something to our
sort of
tell
what each other
- and what the person who's send-
ing us the dream
is
thinking.
And maybe
dangerous about there's something
it too,
but
55
so far, I think
it's
great to have mental te-
lepathy.'
'Yeah, but what good has
it
done us ?' said
Francine, practical as usual. 'So far
it's
only
been a drag.' 'Well,
with
it,'
we
just never tried to do anything
said Paul. 'I mean,
it
always hap-
pens inadvertently, without our control.
I
maybe we should experiment with it, around a little bit and see what we can
think fool
really do.'
'Like how?' said Francine, beginning to
sound interested. 'Let noticed
me
think about
earlier
ordinary-looking
it,'
said Paul.
He had
there
were two very
men about
half a block be-
that
hind them on the quiet residential
street.
Now
he began thinking about them, concentrating
on them as hard as he could, and willing Francine to turn around and notice them. In about thirty seconds Francine turned
around and looked at the two men. 'Don't those two men behind us look familiar?' she said.
'It
works !' Paul cried
out,
and gave a
little
excited hop.
'What works?' 'I was thinking hard about
56
those two
men
and trying at them.
to get
And
you to turn around and look
then you did!
What
did
it
feel
like?'
'Well
.
'Actually,
noticed of
two
.
was
it
them
She thought for a moment.
.'
at
figures,
strange, because
all.
Then
I
I
got a vague picture
and an itchy feeling
should turn around.
And
I
hadn't
like I
did and there they
were.' She was staring at Paul, her eyes wide. 'That's really what you were thinking?'
'Yes,' Paul said, feeling terribly excited.
'Now you try one.' 'But don't they look familiar?' Francine said, turning briefly to look at the two men again.
'Who ? Oh, the two men ? But how could they look familiar?' said Paul impatiently.
'They
look just like a thousand other people you see
'But
where
I
Now
you think of something.' have a feeling I've seen them some-
every day.
before.
Maybe
they're following us.'
'Oh, you're just imagining things,' Paul said with irritation. 'They're completely ordi-
nary looking. Come on, think of something.' He tried to open his mind as Francine walked beside him, her face tightened with concentration.
Then a picture
of a small doll
standing under a bright silvery spray flashed
57
into his head. 'You're not thinking of doll
.. a standing in the shower, are you?' he
asked her. 'Well,' said Francine, 'what
about was the baby in the slot machine in the
was thinking Las Vegas who won at I
— the one that
paper the other day.
I
I
read about
guess
it
didn't
come through too clear.' 'Were you concentrating really hard?' 'As hard as I could !' she said defensively. 'It
seems
like
don't have
'Well,
it
we
we
really do
have
it,
but
we
just
very strong.' just have to practice more, that's
know we can get better He thought for a moment. 'The other thing is, we were both thinking of things the other one already knew about all,'
at
Paul insisted. 'I
it if
we work on
it.'
and could have remembered. We should try it with something completely crazy that the other one never heard of. I'll try one.' 'Wait a minute,' said Francine. She stopped walking. 'This
is
Colgate.
We
better
start looking for the house.' It
was a small brick apartment house on the
corner of a block that consisted mostly of private homes. There were six buzzers in the tiny
dark lobby. All the names beside them were printed, except for D. Jaleela, which
58
was writ-
ten out in a rather shaky hand. 'Is
it
the right
time?' Paul whispered. 'Just after four.'
'And we're sure we know what we're going to say?'
'Just that we're doing a report and
name
her
newspaper
in the
say anything else at
first,
we're crazy. Then, after like,
maybe we can
we
tell
We
can't
she'll
think
article.
because
we saw
find out
what
she's
her the whole thing.
But we should
find out as much as we can bewe say too much ourselves.' 'But how will we know whether or not to
fore
tell
her everything?'
'We'll just have to figure said briskly.
'We
lepathy, see if
it's
it
out,' Francine
can use our wonderful
te-
good for anything,'
really
she added, and pressed the button. In a fraction of a second, the inner door
buzzed gratingly, and Francine barely had
time to push
it
open before the buzzing
stopped. 'Sounds like she
was standing right
by the door, waiting,' Francine whispered over her shoulder as they started up the stairs.
'Which
floor
is
it?'
Paul asked, looking
apprehensively up at the next landing.
'The
third,' said Francine.
'Now remem-
ber to try to act normal.'
59
'What?' Paul do you mean by
said,
—'
suddenly angry. 'What
Francine Gill?' came a voice from above them, echoing slightly in the dimly 'Is that
lit
.
.
stairwell. It
.
was a husky
voice.
'Yes,' Francine called back. 'Mrs. Jaleela?'
Paul look up again, and saw a
woman
peer-
ing over the railing. 'Is that your friend with
you ? There's nobody leela
with you ?' Mrs. Jainquired, and coughed gently.
'No. Just
me and
else
Paul,' said Francine, con-
tinuing slowly up the last flight of stairs that led directly to Mrs. Jaleela's landing.
below, Paul
saw a
tall
thin
woman with
From short
dark hair step back toward an open doorway as Francine reached the landing. Francine hesi-
marched toward her. Mrs. Jaleela was wearing a long white robe with a red sash around the waist, and as Francine approached her, she leaned forward and took Francine's hand. She looked quickly at Paul, tated, then
then back to Francine.
'You are Francine
Gill?' said Mrs. Jaleela.
'Yes. Pleased to meet you,' said Francine,
looking up at Mrs. Jaleela's face, her hand
limp in the woman's grasp. Paul had reached
them cautiously. face was narrow and dark,
the landing, and approached
Mrs. Jaleela's
60
her
lips thin
and
exotically sculpted.
Her eyes
and Francine 'When did you
slipped nervously between Paul
she smiled briefly and said,
me up?' 'When did
call
I?'
Francine,
said
sounding
baffled.
'I just
want to know what day you
up !' said Mrs. 'It
called
me
Jaleela.
was yesterday,
I
guess,' said Francine.
'Tuesday.' 'Yes,' said Mrs. Jaleela thoughtfully.
'And
school ?'
what you go to 'The Wiley School,' Francine said rather .
.
.
brusquely, and turned back to Paul. 'This
my
is
friend, Paul Rhodes. We're doing the proj-
ect together.'
Paul moved forward and nodded uncom-
down
fortably. Mrs. Jaleela peered stairwell, then ushered
them
into the
into her apart-
ment. She led them through an entry hall and into a twilit living
room
to a nubbly
couch. In front of the couch
was a
with a vase of red flowers on
it.
brown
coffee table
Mrs. Jaleela sat down across from them in a large white chair. She reached over to a small table beside the chair
— which
was
barely large enough to hold an overflowing ashtray, a pack of cigarettes, and a
tall
glass
61
with
ice in it
— took a cigarette and
lit it.
She
leaned toward them. closed the door, sat
Then she got up and down, and leaned toward
them again. She smiled
slightly,
but did not
say anything.
who was looking went on inside their heads, which Paul won. Then Francine turned reluctantly back to Mrs. Jaleela and said, 'You saw that UFO ?' Paul looked at Francine,
A
at him.
brief battle
'Yes,' said Mrs. Jaleela, leaning back as
smoke streamed out of her nose. 'Or at least I think I saw it.' 'Was it .. It wasn't hard to see, was it?' said Paul.
'No,' said Mrs. Jaleela, slowly bringing her cigarette
from her mouth.
'It
was
quite vivid.
was trying to go to sleep, I remember, in an little room at the motel.' Though her body was still languid, she began to speak a little more quickly, and her large dark eyes regarded them with intensity. 'At first, it was almost as though I felt something more than I saw it a change in the atmosphere. I got out of bed and went to the window, and there unusual light in the field behind was a very the motel. By that time Rose was scratching at the screen door, as though she wanted to go I
ugly
—
.
62
.
.
And
and opened it and then stepped out with her.' She paused, her eyes floating around the room, and Paul watched a long column of ash drop off her out.
I
went
to the door
cigarette onto the rug.
'Then what happened?' Francine asked, looking down at the ash on rug and then back to Mrs. Jaleela.
'Rose was my dog,' said Mrs. Jaleela, as though she hadn't heard Francine. 'We were .' She paused to put out her cigarette. both 'You were both what?' said Paul and .
.
Francine together. Mrs. Jaleela sighed. 'Well, Rose and
I
were both pregnant at the
Rose was not her usual adventurous But when we went outside, I saw that
time. So self.
strange light was actually an object. It was just
.
field.
off at
.
.
floating there over the center of the
So strange
.. so strange.
.
.
'
nothing for a moment, then
She stared lit
another
Rose would have been chasing after it and I would have stayed away, I suppose. But somehow I was drawn to it, and Rose was very hesitant. So I started walking toward it, and Rose followed just behind me, growling a little. And then, when I was about
cigarette. 'Ordinarily
fifteen feet
away
—
'
63
There was a slight creaking noise from another room, as though someone had jumped out of bed. Paul and Francine hardly noticed it,
but Mrs. Jaleela seemed startled. She looked
toward the living room door, which was closed, then nervously at them, then back to the door. 'And then?' Paul asked her. 'You were about fifteen feet away and something happened?'
We
'Oh,' said Mrs. Jaleela. 'Yes. about fifteen feet away, and then ject
seemed
.
to change. It didn't look
ferent, really, to explain.
.
it
.
were
the ob-
any
dif-
just felt different. It's difficult
You must both think I'm
.
.
.'
'Oh, no, Mrs. Jaleela,' Francine insisted. 'Please go on.'
'Well
.
.
.'
believe there it
of
Mrs. Jaleela went on slowly. 'I
was
also a
was making. You
humming
change
see, it
in the
sound
was making a sort when we were
sound, and then
about fifteen feet away, the change happened.
The sound began
rising and falling in a very
high-pitched whine.
And
then
I felt
a very odd
sensation, a strange tingling feeling like a
est in
minor
electric shock, that '
my head, and —
all
over,
seemed strong-
There was another sound from the other room, like a patter of footsteps. Mrs. Jaleela's
64
head spun toward the door. 'Oh, dear,' she .' Her voice murmured. 'I so much hoped .
.
faded away.
'What's wrong?' Francine asked her. 'Oh, nothing, nothing.' She put her cigarette out quickly.
'Where was
I
?'
'The tingling sensation,' Paul prompted her.
'Oh, yes.'
Now
she spoke rapidly. 'And
Rose must have felt it too, because she bared her teeth and snarled, which she very rarely did.
I
was suddenly
quite frightened, but
couldn't run very fast because
but
we both went
as fast as
I
we
I
was pregnant, could back to
the motel, and locked the door and pulled
down
the shades and called the police. But by the
time they got there sleep all that night,
and the next day early as
I
it
was gone.
I still felt
I
couldn't
very strange,
checked out of the motel as
—'
At that moment, the vase on the
table in
front of Paul and Francine began to shiver.
Mrs. Jaleela's voice froze in her throat. Her eyes riveted on the vase, and an expression of horror appeared on her face.
The vase
con-
tinued to shiver, and a few drops of water splashed out onto the tabletop. Then, as they
watched, two red flowers rose up out of the
65
vase, floated over to Paul
dropped gently into their
and Francine, and
laps.
Dumbfounded, Paul and Francine stared at the flowers, then turned to each other. Mrs. Jaleela covered her face with her hands
and
shook her head back and forth. The living
room door opened and a little boy appeared. He had thick black hair which hung almost to the shoulders of his white pajamas. His face
was narrow, with a small straight nose, and when he smiled at Paul and Francine, his shining black eyes seemed to close in
slits.
Mrs. Jaleela took her hands away from her face and smiled apologetically at Paul and
Francine. 'I'm sorry
I
times,' she said, looking
act so funny some-
down
then back at them. 'I've been
'But
—
into her lap ill
and
recently.'
' said Paul, then glanced over at
Francine. They silently checked with one an-
But Mrs. Jaleela seemed to think that she herself had imagined it. 'But we saw it too!' Paul and Francine said at the same moment.
other.
'You're very sweet children,' Mrs. Jaleela said sadly, 'but please don't try to It
won't work.' She reached for another ciga-
rette,
66
humor me.
and saw the
little
boy standing in the
doorway. 'Noah,' she said. 'Oh, Noah!
I
wanted you to stay in your room.' The little boy didn't seem to have heard her.
He
continued to stand there,
still
grinning at
Paul and Francine. 'Is he your son?' Francine asked Mrs. Jaleela.
Mrs. Jaleela nodded, a faint smile on her lips.
'How
.
.
.
how old is he?' Paul said.
'Four.'
Noah
still
stood there, smiling at them,
motionless. There
was something very odd and
unchildlike about this behavior that
made Paul
uncomfortable. 'Hello,
Noah,' Francine said hesitantly.
'How are you today?' Noah smiled
at her, but did not move.
'I'm afraid he can't hear you, dear,' Mrs.
'He doesn't And she watched him with her
Jaleela said, lighting the cigarette.
hear or speak.'
faint ironic smile.
'But why?' said Francine, turning to Mrs. Jaleela with a worried expression. 'What's
wrong with him?' know.' She shrugged vaguely. 'They can't find anything physically wrong. Yet he simply does not respond to
'No one seems
to
67
noises,
and has never spoken a word
in his
life.'
At that moment the conversation was
inter-
rupted by an intense and startling sensation.
There was a
flash of red in Paul's brain,
a
and a mental image of a large black animal hurrying toward him. When it was over, he was looking at feeling of surging excitement,
Noah. Noah was laughing. In the distance Paul heard a noise, which part of him knew
was the buzzer on
He heard
the front door downstairs.
quick footsteps on the stairs. The
apartment door swung open, and a large black dog loped into the apartment and into Noah's arms. Mrs. Jaleela passed her hand over her forehead. She coughed and said, 'They're very close.
Noah
just always seems to
Cookie's coming back.' ' Paul said 'But
—
still
know when
reeling
from that
bright, colorful explosion in his brain. Fran-
cine too seemed dazed; he
perienced
it
knew she had
ex-
just as he had. But what had Mrs.
Jaleela experienced?
'Do you
feel all right?'
Paul asked her. 'Oh,
it's
just these headaches I get some-
times,' she said, passing her
forehead again.
68
hand over her
And
then Cookie was upon them. Big and
glossy and black, she put her front legs up on
the couch and passionately licked their faces
with her long tongue. Relief and gratitude flowed over them, and another intense mental
image, this one of
Noah running
across a
The image was a familiar one, and all the more so because, like the dream, it was a field.
black and white image.
'Cookie!'
much
Mrs.
Jaleela
ordered
without
down! Leave
conviction. 'Cookie! Get
them alone!' 'Oh,
it's all
right,' gasped Francine, allow-
ing her cheek to be nuzzled while Paul struggled to get his face out of the way. 'This isn't . . .
Rose?' she managed to add.
'It's Rose's
'Cookie,
daughter,' said Mrs. Jaleela.
darling,
please
them alone. a famous kind
leave
She's a Newfoundland, you see,
of rescue dog, and she likes people.'
After one last wet
Cookie jumped
kiss,
down, almost knocking over the vase of flowers, and trotted over to Noah. She proceeded to bathe his face with her large tongue, and
Noah chortled happily and hugged her again. Mrs. Jaleela, 'Whew!' said Paul. 'Urn was Rose pregnant with Cookie when you saw .
the
.
.
UFO?' 69
'Yes,' Mrs. Jaleela said softly. 'Noah and
Cookie are almost exactly the same age, in fact.'
'I hope you don't
Francine
brushing herself
said,
keep asking you
wondering — ' 'Oh,
mind me asking you
'We
off.
these questions. But
all
this,'
just
I
was
right, dear,' said Mrs. Jaleela,
it's all
vaguely waving a freshly
cigarette at her.
lit
'I trust you.'
'Well, that's sort of about,' Francine
were
.
.
.
like
went
what
was wondering
I
on. 'It
seemed
like
you
you didn't want us to see Noah
know about him; that you were hoping he would stay in his room while we were here.' or
'Oh,' said Mrs. Jaleela. She took a long
drag of her cigarette and
let
the smoke drift
slowly out of her nose. 'Well, I've
been rather worried
phoned
me
about him.
several times
And
I've
—a
all
just
my
Someone has
man
— asking
had the peculiar sensation
of being followed sometimes, side with him.'
just that
it's
lately.
when I'm
She coughed. 'Oh,
it's
out-
probably
imagination.' She gestured with
her cigarette. 'I do seem to be imagining things a lot lately. noticed two
probably
70
men behind
silly
really think I
Still, I
of me, but
us quite often. I
do
have It's
feel threatened
somehow,' she confessed, sounding
slightly
embarrassed. 'I just want to be sure Noah
is
added vehemently. 'He's so helpless. That's why I was so hesitant about seeing you, and why I wanted to keep Noah out of the safe,' she
whole thing, if possible.' Paul and Francine did not even have to look at each other
now
for the dialogue in their
heads to take place. Though their thoughts
were not exactly a
little
in words, the
clearer than they
messages were
had been before,
perhaps because the need was greater.
must be the same two men, from Paul. You must have been right about them followIt
ing us (grudgingly). Let's
Wait. Think about
it.
tell
her.
It will frighten her
even more.
But we can explain about being at the Stardust that night. About the telepathy. We can tell her that we're here to help her and Noah. But she doesn't want to believe in telepathy. I don't think she can.
And
She saw them move but
—
about the flowers.
Psychokinesis.
Whatever her
it
own eyes.
was, she couldn't even believe
She'll just think we're
humoring
her. She'll only trust us if she thinks we're
just
normal everyday
kids.
71
But she must have some kind of telepathy
we tell her, she can help us. But we have to be able to do it on our own. If we too. If
—
They were interrupted by another blast. This one was in searing, vibrant yellow. It was accompanied by no visual image, only color, and constituted nothing more than a bright greeting, a
'Here
I
am! Can
I
play too?'
feeling.
'Oh, dear.' Mrs. Jaleela sighed and bent her head, stroking her forehead again. She looked
up at them with her large children, but
.
.
.
eyes. 'I'm sorry,
I'm afraid I'm getting an-
other headache.' She smiled faintly. 'Did you find out everything
'Um
.
.
.
you need to know ?'
well, I guess so,' said Paul.
'Yes, we'll have a good report,' said Francine.
She stood up. 'But,
well,
we'd love to
come back sometime, Mrs. Jaleela. Could we call you up and come over again sometime soon? You're so interesting to talk
Noah and Cookie
.
.' .
to.
And
She turned toward them.
'They do both seem to like you,' said Mrs. Jaleela, looking at them too. Cookie trotted over to Francine and rubbed her head against her leg, almost as though she understood what they were saying, and Noah was beaming at
72
them again.
'I've never seen either of
them
respond to strangers so strongly,' Mrs. Jaleela
'You do seem to make Noah happy. Of course you can come again.' She stood up. continued.
'Well, thank you very much,' Paul said, as
they walked to the door.
'See you soon,
I
hope,'
Francine.
said
'Good-bye, Noah, good-bye, Cookie.'
Cookie barked sharply and wagged her
Noah's smile grew so wide that
it
tail.
seemed as
though his small face would not be able to contain
Mrs.
it.
Jaleela
'Good-bye,
looked
children,'
at
him and
she said,
smiled.
and gently
closed the door.
This time the two
men were
in a car
parked
down the apartment. Now,
across the street and several houses
from Mrs. Jaleela's however, Paul and Francine were keenly aware of their presence.
block
73
They hurried away from
the house, frequently
men seemed inwere. 'I wonder who
looking behind; but the two clined to stay
where they
1
they are' said Paul.
'I'm not sure,' said Francine, 'but like
them one
bit.
I
don't
They're not on our
side,
that's for sure.'
'How can you tell?' 'Because
if
they were,
to be so secretive
all
why would they have
the time?'
'They must be interested
in
Noah,' said
Paul. 'Francine! Those flowers!
hardly believe 'I
it
I
can
still
!'
know,' Francine murmured. 'What was
that thing you called it?'
'Psychokinesis. It
move 'Noah
things
.
.
means being able
just by thinking about .'
she murmured.
than just telepathy.'
74
to
make
it.'
'He has more
hard to believe,' said Paul.
'It's just so
'But .. I saw have to believe
we both saw it. I guess we it! And the buzzer! He must
it,
have rung the buzzer to thinking about it.' Francine
so strong
it
Cookie
in,
just
by
does telepathy, you sure can
'And when he feel it,'
let
said,
shaking her head.
almost hurts.
what you and- 1 can
do. I
'It's
stronger than
Much
wonder why?'
'Probably because he was in utero when the UFO came,' said Paul, showing off some medical knowledge he had picked up. 'You
womb.' 'Why would that make any
know,
in his mother's
difference?'
said Francine, sounding duly impressed.
'Well, because the fetus is still
— the unborn baby
being formed, and so
susceptible to things that
it's
much more
happen to
it.
Like
if
a pregnant lady takes drugs, a lot of times they have an effect on the baby. And I guess whatit's the same with that telepathy ray or ever
it
was.
when we
got
ful effect
on
I
mean we were seven years
it,
so
it
didn't
us. That's
psychokinesis, too.
I
old
have such a power-
probably
why Noah
mean he was
just a
got
little
unformed blob at the time, so the UFO really did a number on him. I'll bet he was the only
75
unborn baby there, and we were the only kids.'
'What about Mrs. Jaleela? She must have as much telepathy as we do. She probably just refuses to recognize
it
because she can't stand
to believe in it.'
'Well,
don't know,' Paul said slowly. 'I
I
read somewhere that people's brains change
when kids are much easier for them to learn
as they get older. For instance, really young,
it's
languages. Little kids can learn several lan-
guages at once without any trouble. But then
when you grow up, the brain changes and it's much harder to learn new things. So maybe the ray had a bigger effect on us than on Mrs. Jaleela.'
'Well, but whenever
Noah
sent a message,
she said she had a headache.' 'Yes, effect
I
know. Probably the
on her, but not as much as
not enough to
we
UFO
are.'
He
make her
it
had some had on
us,
really telepathic, like
looked behind him again, but the
two men were not in evidence. 'But it had the most effect of all on Noah,' he added.
'And on
Cookie,' said Francine. 'Don't for-
get about Cookie. She
was
humoro, or whatever you
call it.'
76
also in
..
in
'In utei-o,' Paul corrected her. 'Yes, that's right, Cookie is telepathic too.
And you know
what
think that
I
think ?
'Cookie
is
It's
so
amazing
!
I
sending us the dream,' she
terrupted, before he had a chance to say
'Yes!' Paul
'Dogs see the
dream
thoughts
in-
it.
said, too excited to be irritated.
and white, don't they? And black and white, just like the
in black is
we
in
got from Cookie today.'
'And they looked Noah in the field and 'I
—'
just the
same
too,
with
everything.' She sighed.
guess Cookie really loves Noah, and
is
worried about him.' 'It
seems
like they're
each other's best and
only friend,' said Paul. 'They can communicate so well with each other.'
'But Noah can't communicate with anyone else,'
Francine
said, so softly that
barely catch her words. She looked
he could
away from
him. 'It's so sad that he can't hear or speak.'
'But he doesn't need
'Maybe
that's
why he
to,'
Paul insisted.
turned out deaf and
dumb. He can hear what people are thinking
and speak
directly into their minds. It's actu-
ally a better
way to communicate.'
'Oh, you're just so pleased about having yourself that you can't think straight
!'
it
Fran-
77
cine said sharply. 'It
made Mrs.
nervous wreck and turned her freak.
What good did
those two
men
it
little
Jaleela a
boy into a
do them? And now
are after them.'
'And us too,' Paul said, looking behind him again. They were on a busier street now, so it was difficult to tell whether the two men were following them or not. 'But I can't figure them out. Why don't they just come out and say what they want ?' 'Oh, use your head!' snapped Francine.
'Don't you realize? Noah's important, really
He might be the only person in whole world who can do those things If important.
:
the the
wrong people got hold of him, they could use him to make a lot of money or .. or to be a spy or something.'
'You mean those two men might be
secret
agents?' said Paul in an excited whisper.
'Wow,
it's
'Oh, no
just like being in the movies.' it's
not,' Francine said impatiently.
'You don't know anything about it. My father was in the army. There were a lot of things he could never talk about. I still remember how
my
parents used to fight about
it.
When
those
people want something, they'll do anything to get
it.
They
don't care about killing a
few
people to get a secret weapon or something.
78
That's
body
why
they're always so secretive, so no-
will find out
about the horrible things
they do.'
For a short time they walked in silence. Paul's thoughts were accompanied by emotional currents from Francine: images of shadowy, purposeful figures full of menace and without pity. He shivered and forgot about being a daring adventurer. People like that
were too tough for them fleeting
For a instant he even wished that none of to deal with.
had ever happened.
this
'I guess you're right,' he said in a slightly
unsteady voice. 'If some group
like the
CIA
got their hands on Noah, they could do anything.
They could
out anything they
find
wanted, not just about state secrets and docu-
ments but about what people were thinking, regular ordinary people.
And
if
they kept
it
a secret, and nobody knew, nobody would be able to stop them.' 'It's so horrible !' said
her
fists,
Francine, clenching
sounding as though she were strug-
gling not to burst into tears. 'That poor
boy!
What
if
little
they take him and use him and
turn him into some kind of monster?'
'But
maybe we're
getting
too
carried
away,' Paul said in an attempt to be comfort-
79
ing and rational. 'We're probably just imagining
all this.'
'We're not imagining those two men,' said Francine.
'But how did they find out?' 'I don't know! What difference does it make? They must know pretty much about it, or else they wouldn't be following Noah and us.'
'I guess,' Paul said slowly, 'I guess Cookie
must be aware of them. She can probably sense them and how dangerous they are. I mean she has a grown-up dog brain, but Noah's
still
just a kid. He's probably not as
perceptive as she
is.
she can reach out
And
to,
we're the only people
so she has to get us to
protect Noah. We're the only ones
who can
sense her thoughts. That must be what the
dream
is all
about.'
'Yes, but what are
we going to do about it?'
Francine said, her voice rising hysterically.
'And
the full moon,' Paul went on, too in-
what he was saying to be embarrassed by her, 'probably means they're plan-
volved in
ning something at that time. Cookie's trying to tell us to get
Noah away from them
before
then.'
'But how?' cried Francine, her muddled
80
and hysterical emotions now surging through Paul's mind.
'How
are
we going
to get
away from anybody V
him
^
'Shhhh!' said Paul. 'People are looking at us.' They had reached an intersection he knew, and he pulled her off the main thoroughfare onto a quiet residential street near his home.
'What
difference does
it
make?' Francine
'We've already given ourselves away. They know we know. They're watching said bitterly.
us and they won't
let
us get
away with any-
thing.'
Paul made a feeble effort to withstand the
powerful torrent of her hopelessness. Without
And then the hopelessness and fear bit down on him stronger than ever before. 'Look,' he said. He thinking, he looked up at the sky.
grabbed her shoulder and pointed up at the sky.
'Look over there.'
Barely visible in the evening the east, the white
moon
light,
floated
low in
pale and
serene above the trees. Only a narrow lopsided sliver missing
from one edge disturbed
its
per-
fect roundness. 'It's
.
.
.
it's
almost
full,' said
Francine in a
pained hoarse whisper.
'And tomorrow
it
will
be
full,'
Paul mur-
mured.
81
They stood and stared
at
it
helplessly, ex-
periencing without pleasure a vivid sharing of
emotions that only a few hours earlier would
have deed,
filled it
them with magical excitement.
In-
appeared that with practice, their gift
was becoming sharper and Unfortunately they were now
of communication
more
intense.
too terrified to pay
much
attention to
it.
At last Paul tore his eyes away from the moon and made another attempt to organize his thoughts. 'Well,' he said, 'we we're .
.
.
going to have to do something.' 'I
know,' said Francine.
something even though 'Let's go over to
it's
'We have
to try
probably useless.'
my house and sit down and
try to figure out some kind of plan,' Paul suggested. 'It's only about a block
away from
here.'
'What about your mother?' Francine
said
doubtfully.
Paul checked his watch. 'Well, I'm sure she's
home from work now. But
dinner and
stuff.
She'll
alone for a while at least.
she'll
be fixing
probably leave us
And I'm
so sick of
walking around.' 'Oh,
82
all right,'
she said. 'Let's go.'
Francine looked around the house curiously.
Through her mind, Paul became aware of the large clean rooms, the bright rich colors of the
He remem-
rugs and pictures and furnishings. bered what her street was
like,
and experi-
enced a clear brief picture of cramped rooms
and furniture with sheets on
it.
It
occurred to
him that he was lucky to live where he did. 'There's nothing wrong with where I live,' Francine said quickly. 'My mother just doesn't get any alimony, that's all. You don't have to
'But
feel sorry for
—
me.'
' said Paul, surprised all over again
by their quick interchanges of thought. 'I .' He heard noises coming from didn't mean the kitchen. 'Come on, I have to introduce you to my mother. Then we can go somewhere and .
.
talk.'
His mother was standing at the stove, putting pieces of chicken into a frying pan.
When
she turned toward them, Paul said, 'Hi,
Mom,
this is Francine. She's in
my class.'
His mother smiled slightly and nodded. 'Hello, Francine,' she said.
new
'You must be the
friend Paul's been spending so
much time
with lately.'
'We're working on a project together,' Paul
83
told her.
on
'We wanted
to do
some more work
this afternoon, so we're just going to go and talk about it now.' 'You have no books or papers or notes?' his mother asked. it
'We
didn't find
much
at the library today,'
Francine explained. 'Well, we'll be eating dinner in about an
hour,' his mother said. 'Would you like to stay,
Francine?'
'Oh. Thank you. But
my
mother's probably
expecting me.' 'Feel free to
call
her up and ask her,
if
you'd
like to.'
'Well,
maybe
I will,'
'Come on,' Paul
said.
said Francine.
'We have
a
lot to get
done.'
They were almost out of the room when
his
mother said, 'Oh, by the way, Paul. Why were you asking me about Nevada the other day?' 'What?' Paul blushed, looked at Francine quickly, then back to his mother. 'Oh, no reason. I was just wondering about it, since I hardly remembered being there at
all.'
'Are you sure?' She furrowed her brows and looked closely at him. 'Because it's the oddest coincidence. Someone else just asked me about
84
it
this
morning.'
'Who was
it?'
Paul said just a bit too
quickly.
'Oh, a lawyer called
me up
at the office to-
ing this
— excuse us for havpersonal conversation, Francine — he
wanted
to
day.
filed,
He wanted
how
to
know
know about
long
was
I
in
the divorce,
when
Nevada, and so
I
on. It
wasn't the lawyer your father had before.
He
said he was representing your father in some
case and needed
missing from the
'What
did you
some information that was files.' tell
him?' Paul asked appre-
hensively.
'Well, at first
I told
him the dates and
so on.
seemed like a reasonable enough request. Then ..' She stepped away from the stove
It
and she leaned back against a counter, folding her arms in front of her. 'Well, he began asking me about you and it seemed fishy. How old you were at the time, and if the divorce had
had much effect on you; things like that. He even wanted to know where you went to school. Well, I saw no reason why I should answer questions like that.'
'But what did you tell him?' 'Hardly anything, after that. I just said if your father wanted information he could ask me or you directly. After all, he and I are still
85
Then he started giving some other explanation, and I just hung up on him. But it was odd that you asked me about it the other
in touch.
day.'
'Well,' Paul began, feeling frightened, but
same time
at the
about to do, 'the reason Don't
tell
what he was ' asked you was
relieved at I
—
her!
But we need
help. I bet she'll
know what
to
do. She'll think we're crazy.
us about the men,
won't
if
she believes
scared and she
you out of the house and we won't be do a thing.
let
able to
But
And
she'll be
—
Don't
tell
her!
remember?' Francine said Keck was talking about Neout loud. 'Miss vada the other day. I bet that's why you won'Paul, don't you
dered about
it.'
'Oh,' Paul said dully. 'That's right. that
is
why I asked you
'Well,
going to
about
I
guess
it.'
it's
very odd,' his mother said. 'I'm
call
your father tonight and ask him
what's going on.' She turned back to the sputtering chicken.
Upstairs in his room, Paul said, 'Maybe should call the police.'
86
we
'And
them what?' said Francine. 'That we're getting messages from a dog?' 'But the two men! You can tell the police if
tell
somebody's following you !'
'But we can hardly describe them and they haven't threatened us and we've only seen
them a few para
.
.
whatever
.
'Paranoid.'
He
right.'
The
times.
Crazy.'
it is.
He
police will think we're
sighed. 'I suppose you're
turned his desk chair around to
face her and sat down. 'But
'Well
can do day.
.
is
.'
.
.
.
what can we do ?'
She sat down on .
his bed. 'All
we
try to hang around Noah. All
Maybe we should even
skip school. We'll
have to think of some kind of explanation for Mrs. Jaleela. But
we're hanging around,
if
they probably couldn't
.
.
.
take him
away or
anything.'
'But what if they
.
.
.
take us ?'
'Oh, / don't know,' said Francine, and
bounced irritably on the bed. 'We'll just have to see
what happens. I'm scared
too,
you
know.' Paul had been idly staring out of the win-
dow that was beside the bed. Suddenly he stood up and moved toward it. 'Francine !' he whispered.
87
'What? What's the matter?' she said, looking up at him, unaware of the window behind her.
'Francine !'
He was having
trouble getting
the words out. 'Francine. Behind you. Look.'
By
the time she turned around, the two
men
had gotten out of the car and were moving quickly toward the front door.
88
The
doorbell rang.
Standing close together
in Paul's
room, they
listened to his mother's quick footsteps across
the hall and the rattle and squeak of the door
opening.
'Mrs. Rhodes ?' The deep male voice floated
up faintly from downstairs. 'Yes.'
The voices were almost impossible to hear from where they stood. Paul beckoned silently, and he and Francine crept across the upstairs hall to the top of the stairs.
'We'd like to talk to you for a few minutes. May we come in ?' 'But who are you? What do you want?' She sounded slightly alarmed.
'We're here on important government business. If you just keep calm, there won't be any trouble.'
89
'Any trouble?' she said, not calm at all. 'What do you mean, trouble? And how do I know who you are ?' Paul and Francine stood motionless, staring at each other, a mental picture of what was
happening downstairs moving back and forth between them. There was a brief pause in the conversation, during which they both imagined
the
men
some
displaying badges or identification of
sort.
'Oh,
I see,'
Paul's mother said,
now
ing suspicious and almost hostile. 'But see
why your agency
me, and
in
I still
soundI
don't
should have any interest
don't see
why I
should
let
you
in.'
'As a matter of interested
in. Is
fact, it's
not you that we're
your son home?'
Paul watched Francine chew on her
lip.
Though he felt immobilized with fear, his mind was working quickly, as was Francine's, both focusing down at Paul's mother the strongest messages of warning they could muster up. His mother, after
all,
had been at the Stardust
too.
'Oh
.
.
.'
His mother seemed confused. 'Oh
He hasn't come home from the library yet. What do you want with him?' 'We can explain better inside,' the man .
.
90
.
N-no, he's not.
said.
rattle
footsteps, the squeak
They heard
and thud of the door
and
and the
closing,
click of the lock.
'But .' protested his mother. 'But I didn't ' say you could come in like this. I .
.
—
'Please, Mrs. Rhodes. This
than you
realize. It's so
really can't tell
is
more important
important that ..
you very much about
it.
we
You'll
just have to trust us.'
'But what do you want with Paul? What has he done?' 'Nothing, yet. But he interfere with
some very important plans of
ours, plans that are of nificance.
a position to
is in
Highly
.
.
.
international sig-
classified plans.
of everyone, as well as for his
For the good
own
safety,
we
are going to see that he does not interfere.'
'What are you only a
little
boy!
talking about? Paul? He's
You must be
out of your
!'
minds 'But that
man
isn't all.'
Now
it
was the other
speaking. 'Your son also has a positive
value for us, Mrs. Rhodes. I'm not at liberty
why. The fact is that we need him, however, and we are prepared to be very generous.'
to explain exactly
'Ycu must be joking!' She sounded
less
frightened now, and rather skeptical.
91
'We are very serious,' the first man said. 'We are also, at the moment, pressed for time. When will he be back?' 'Oh, ah .. he should be back any minute
now.'
we only have a few minutes to wait, but while we do, we might as well tell you as much as we can of what this is all about.' 'Well,
Now
Paul was sending a different message
to his mother. Francine caught on right
away
and added her own energy to it. And, amazingly, in a few seconds his mother said, 'Well,
why
don't
we
.
study. We'll be
'You're sure
.
.
why
don't
we go
more comfortable he'll
into
my
there.'
He has no
be back soon?
plans for this evening?'
'I'm expecting him and one of his friends for dinner, and we always eat at the same time uh, here down in just a few minutes.' The voices faded as they moved toward the rear of the house. 'Oh, may I ask who his friend is? You see
every day. They should be
.
.
.'
They heard the door to
.
.
.
his mother's study
and the voices stopped. Paul was still watching Francine's face. Even though there was a strong element of 'I told you so,' in her thoughts, he nevertheless felt more respect and less irritation for click shut,
92
her at the
moment than
brilliant!
'You knew,' he whispered. 'You
knew
exactly
ever before. She was
who they were t'
She shrugged. 'I .. I had some experience with that kind of government thing before, because of
my
father, that's
all.
Let's get out
of here.'
'You're really sure that
we
She put her finger to her
lips,
should
—'
then pointed,
indicating that they could talk outside.
made
their
possible
way down
They
the steps as quietly as
and then across the front
hall.
The
made quite a lot of noise, but since the study door was closed, there was a good chance that the men would hear nothing. And since the study was at the back of the house, there was no way they could see door, unfortunately,
Paul and Francine dash across the front yard
and duck behind some thick shrubbery
in a
neighbor's garden.
'Important
plans,'
Paul
said,
'That means Noah.' 'Yes, and they're going to do don't have much time.' 'But it still isn't a full moon.'
panting
slightly.
'So Cookie was one day 'That's 'I
still
it
off,' said
now.
We
Francine.
pretty good for a dog.'
wonder
if
they
know about Cookie?'
93
They might
But thank around! They'd already have
'I don't know.
heavens she's all
it
weren't for her. She's done every-
Come
on.' She started off quickly in the
of us if
thing.
not.
direction of Mrs. Jaleela's apartment.
Paul trotted along beside her. 'But, Francine, are
fere?
I
you really sure that we should
mean,
much Maybe
into so
law.
.
it's
so dangerous,
trouble, .
we
could get
probably against the
it's
maybe what they want
.
inter-
to do
isn't so terrible.'
'But Paul, don't you see? They're not giving us any choice. We have this special gift, and
Noah has that
fantastic power.
We
how
able to decide for ourselves
have to be
to use
it,
and
so does Noah. But once they get hold of us, will be too late.
They
will
it
be telling us what
to do.'
Paul was thinking hard. Logically he was beginning to see that, once again, Francine
was
meant to let Noah own way, they wouldn't
right. 'I guess if they
use his
powers
in his
be afraid of us interfering.
I
mean, they ob-
want to keep the whole thing a secret, what gives them away. And it shouldn't
viously that's
be a secret. It's
It shouldn't
be 'highly
body should know about!'
94
classified.'
a wonderful, important thing that every-
you're catching on,' said Francine. her purposeful expression and her hair
'Now With
blowing back in the gathering evening wind, she looked, suddenly, just the way she did in the dream. 'I swear, Paul, for somebody who's so good in school,
sometimes.
mean,
I
it
sure takes you a while
it's
Anybody who has
fore.
keeps
it
just like you said be-
control of
Noah and
a secret could do anything; they'd
have such
.
.
.
such an incredible amount of
power to control other people.' 'Yes,' said Paul slowly, 'and Noah will only be safe if the whole world knows about him.'
The sky was purple now, the moon huge and bright and hanging low over the horizon. It
was
quite dark under the sighing trees,
and
at once the streetlights nickered on. Paul
reminded of the menacing, swirling the dream.
all
was
lights in
What could they mean?
wonder what your mother was thinking,' said Francine. 'It was pretty amazing the way she told them you weren't home, and then got 'I
them away from the door.' 'It sure was,' Paul said, feeling his mother,
and
also, for
the
first
proud of
time, feeling
something of her equal.
95
'Do you think
it
means she has telepathy
too?' Francine asked him. It
occurred to Paul then that Francine had
been asking him a
lot of questions recently, as
though she considered him an authority about certain things. Something had changed her attitude toward him; she almost seemed to
him now. 'Well,' he said, 'she may have received some effect from the ray, but not much. Even less than Mrs. Jaleela. She did get what we were trying to tell her, but I bet it was pretty vague. She probably thought they were her own ideas, and didn't realize they were coming from us.' 'Paul,' said Francine abruptly, 'we have to respect
tell
Mrs. Jaleela the truth tonight.'
'I thought
you said we couldn't
tell
her.'
now I think we have to, so she'll understand why we have to keep Noah away 'Well,
from those men.'
'And then what do we do ?' 'You keep asking me that!' Francine cried out, startling him. 'I don't know what we're going to do. We'll just have to see what happens.'
They approached Mrs. carefully,
96
avoiding
the
Jaleela's
building
sidewalks
and the
streetlights,
and sneaking through the dark-
ness behind bushes and under trees. There
was
no one else on the sidewalk, but there was a car parked across the street from the building, though inside
it it.
was too dark to tell if anyone was They slid quietly through the front
door and pushed Mrs. Jaleela's
bell.
They waited, Francine's hand on the doorknob, but the buzzing did not come. they're not here?' Paul whispered.
'What 'What
if if
they got them already?'
'Oh, stop
'Who
is
—
'
Francine began.
it?' Mrs. Jaleela's voice
and crackled with
static
through the intercom.
'Francine and Paul,' Francine ing her voice
down
was tinny
in case
said, keep-
anyone was
listen-
ing outside.
'Who is it?' came Mrs. Jaleela's voice again. 'I can't hear you.'
'Francine and Paul,' shouted Francine.
'We were us
in, it's
At in
just here this afternoon. Please let
important.'
last the door
buzzed they were through ;
an instant and clattering up the
stairs.
Mrs.
was standing on the landing outside her door. She smiled wanly at them. 'Hello,
Jaleela
children,' she said. 'I didn't expect you back
so soon.'
97
'We had 'It's
to,
Mrs. Jaleela,' said Francine.
we come in ?'
important. Can
'Certainly.' Mrs. Jaleela ushered to the
same
them
in
seats as before, turned off the
television set,
and sat down across from them.
She picked up a cigarette that was still burning in the ashtray. 'What's on your minds?' she said.
'A
lot,' said
'I just put
Noah here?' But why?'
Francine. 'Is
him to bed.
'And Cookie?' 'She always stays with him at night. Francine, dear,
And
what
—
'
then Cookie trotted into the room. She
made two
short, yelping little barks, twisted
her head in an odd way, trotted around in a
and then barked again. The dream feeling of danger flowed over them, a vivid black and white image of Noah running, and an urgency to act that was stronger
nervous
little circle
than ever before. 'Cookie! Be quiet! What's the matter with
you?' Mrs. Jaleela said sharply. 'It's
'You
okay, Mrs. Jaleela,' said Francine.
see
—
I
— but Noah's
don't
know how
to tell
you this
in danger.'
'What? In danger?' Mrs. Jaleela leaned forward. 'What are you talking about?'
98
'Didn't you say you felt like you were being
followed?' Paul said. called
'And
that someone had
you up and asked about Noah?'
'Yes? Yes? Go on!' 'Well those same
men have been came over
us too, and today they
and
they're probably on their
to
way
following
my
house
over here
right now.'
Mrs. Jaleela stood up. 'What do you mean?
Who are they?' 'They're government agents, from the
CIA
or something,' said Francine. 'They want us,
— you
but they want Noah more, because
have to believe this
— because he has amazing
powers.
We do
And we
can't let them.
a little bit. And they want to take him and keep him secret and use him.
and
she's been
too,
—
And
Cookie has
it too,
'
Mrs. Jaleela was fumbling frantically with another cigarette, her hands shaking. 'Have
you gone insane,
little
girl?' she said angrily.
'What are you trying
to do to
me?
I can't
understand you. Special powers ?'
'But you've seen ably been seeing
it
it
yourself; you've prob-
for years,' said Paul.
'Don't you remember this afternoon? Those flowers, they floated right into our laps.
did that.
I
Noah
know you saw it.'
99
Mrs. Jaleela closed her eyes and shook her head. 'But it's
.
just me,
.
.
but that
it's
isn't real. It's just
.
something wrong with me.
.
.
It
doesn't really happen.'
'But we saw
too,
it
You
Francine. 'It's real!
both saw
Mrs. Jaleela!' cried are not crazy!
We
it.'
Mrs. Jaleela ran her hand through her hair in a confused
manner. 'But
.
.
.
but that's
impossible.'
'No it isn't,' said Paul. 'And that's not all Noah does. He's telepathic. He can tell what we're thinking, he can probably
what
tell
you're thinking, and he can send his thoughts to us. It's because of that
UFO
you saw when
you were pregnant with him. And we were there too, in that us. it
And
for
—
same
motel,
men want
those two '
The doorbell rang. 'Don't answer it!'
and
to
cried Paul
it
affected
make him use
and Francine
together.
'But
this is all
.
.
.
nonsense,' Mrs. Jaleela
murmured, moving slowly into the hall in a kind of daze. 'Maybe there is something to
what you're saying about Noah, but I
don't understand
100
why
.
.
you're so upset,
.
but
why
would those people want
him?' Her
to hurt
hand was poised at the button beside the door. 'Don't answer it !' Francine pleaded. 'But I'm expecting- company,' said Mrs. Jaleela,
what it's
sounding angry again. 'Don't
to do in
my own
house.
And
tell
me
I'm afraid
time for you to go.' She pressed the
button. off
below.
Then
heavy footsteps running up the
stairs.
Mrs.
They heard the buzzer go Jaleela
sound
was
clearly surprised.
like Ethel,' she
'It's
not Ethel,
it's
'That doesn't
murmured. those
cine in a furious whisper.
men !' said Fran'And now they're
going to get in.'
Cookie growled deep in her throat, and
urged them to follow her into Noah's room. 'Don't
tell
them we're here,' Francine whis-
pered to the Jaleela.
them
'And
now
completely confused Mrs.
don't
tell
them Noah's
here. Tell
he's out of town, visiting a relative or
something. Please.'
They
left
Mrs. Jaleela standing helplessly
by the door as the
first
knock sounded, and
ran after Cookie. She led them down a narrow corridor and into a small bedroom. It dark, but there
was was enough moonlight coming
101
through the window for them to see Noah sitting
up
in bed in his white pajamas. Paul
bedroom door
closed the
quietly.
Cookie hurried over to Noah,
who hugged
her and then looked up at Paul and Francine.
He
grinned happily and clapped his small
hands together with excitement, and then greeted them with a flash of vivid, welcoming orange.
A teddy bear bounced twice on the bed
beside him, then did a slow somersault in the
and tumbled to the floor at their feet. ' Paul began 'Now what are we going to
air
—
as the flash died away.
Francine shook her head violently and covered her mouth with her hand. Don't talk.
Think! she ordered.
Can you hear what
they're saying in the
front hall? he asked her.
I'm trying to!
One though
was the
of the men's voices
was
it
clearest,
whether
difficult to tell
it
the voice they had heard at Paul's house.
.
.
.
trust
hysterical
.
.
.
.
.
102
.
.
Don't listen to
.
.
to be afraid,'
just
want
.
son in danger
She's going to give in, I Paul.
.
.
'We
.
'.
he seemed to very important
The truth .. not be saying.
was
.
children
.
.
.
'
know
it,
thought
And
they'll be in
here in a minute, agreed
Francine, her mind in a turmoil.
Cookie broke in on them with a
clear,
urgent picture of the four of them climbing out of the window.
Paul hurried to the window at the back of the room. There outside
it,
was a narrow iron
fire
escape
with stairs leading down into black-
ness. Let's go, thought
Paul to
all
of them.
He
pushed up the window, which protested with a sharp squeak, and Francine gathered up
Noah.
Cookie flowed
out
of
the
window,
teetered uncomfortably on the edge of the fire
escape landing, then turned back to them.
Paul clambered out miserably (he hated high
where he was as he followed Francine's order and opened his arms to accept Noah as she passed him through the window. Noah, still unaware of any danger, wriggled happily in his arms, places), but tried not to think about
sending sparks of excitement through their
What if I drop him? Paul Let me take him.
heads.
Francine emerged onto the
fire
worried.
escape,
Paul handed Noah back to her.
and
Then he
turned and followed Cookie slowly down the stairs,
keeping close to the side of the building.
Cookie hated the
fire
escape as
much
as he
103
did, slipping occasionally
on the metal grating,
but she
made very
the
escape ended abruptly in midair,
fire
little noise.
Unfortunately, fif-
teen feet above the ground.
How stupid! Paul thought angrily. They do
it
so people can't break in this way.
If there's a fire, you're
supposed to jump.
What about Noah? Cookie turned around, licked Noah's foot
with her long tongue, hesitated for a moment, then sailed into the like
air.
She landed
quietly,
a cat, then paced below them, her eyes on
Noah. I can't
jump while I'm
holding him, wailed
Francine on the edge.
Then what are we going to do ? There was a noise in the bedroom above, and a striped, irregular patch of light flashed across them. Paul didn't dare look up, but he clearly heard Mrs. Jaleela cry out, there, on the fire escape
Grab on
jump
to
'Down
!'
him with me, Paul!
We'll both
together!
But
—
Don't think about
it,
just do it!
Paul put one arm around Francine and the other firmly around Noah. One, two, three,
104
Go! counted Francine. They each took a deep breath, and jumped. Their landing was surprisingly, even miraculously, gentle after a fall
from that height;
they both landed on their feet. But they did
not pause to wonder about
it.
steps on the fire escape now,
There were foot-
and Cookie was
urging them on again, looking back at them as she hurried into the shadows behind the building. Obviously, she
get
away from
knew the
best
still
seemed
a marvelous
to
the building without being
seen. Francine tightened her grip on
who
way
to think the
whole thing was
game and without ;
Noah,
looking back,
they stumbled after Cookie into the darkness.
105
8 was a ramshackle garage, and behind it, a dark, narrow alley. There were no lights here and Cookie, being black, was difficult to see. But her thoughts reached out like a bright beacon, leading them quickly and quietly down the alley, around a a corner and into another long alley, and then
At the back
of the building
out onto an unfamiliar street. I
wonder where
she's taking us? thought
Paul. / guess
it
doesn't matter, as long as
we
get
away from them. The sparks coming from Noah suddenly erupted into a purple shower of longing and
want Mommy! Where is Mommy? she? I want her I want her. And he
confusion. /
Where
is
squirmed in Francine's arms.
Noah. We'll see her in a minfun?
It's all right,
ute. Isn't this
106
Fun, Noah, we're having fun fun fun! And, from Cookie, a wave of warmth, comfort, and protection that, after a moment, brought Noah's sparks of excitement back again. / don't
know how much longer
I can carry
him. He's getting pretty heavy.
maybe you can put him down. I think we've lost them. It's lucky his pajamas have Well,
feet.
They were on a busier street now, and Cookie was not moving quite so fast. Francine set
Noah down on
the sidewalk, and they each
took one of his hands. Cookie turned back for a
moment
splashed
to lick his face
them
Good thing
all
;
Noah
chortled and
with affection and
he's not
glee.
moody, thought Fran-
cine.
There were cheap restaurants and bars with bright neon lights around them now. Gritty dust blew along the sidewalk, and a
man weaving down
the street almost
bumped
into Francine. Cookie loped along only a foot in front of them,
sure of where she
moving
slowly, no longer
was going.
'She's not being the leader anymore,' Paul said aloud, not wanting to offend her.
107
'We'll just have to decide
where
to
go our-
'We
can't depend on
stiffened,
spun around and
selves,' said Francine.
her for everything.'
Suddenly Cookie barked loudly.
A
large dark car pulled over to
the curb just a few yards behind them. There
were two men in the front seat, and in the back was Mrs. Jaleela. She leaned out of the window and shouted something at them, but they did not stop to
Hide and go
listen.
seek,
Noah! shrieked Francine
against Noah's intense yellow blast of recog-
and desire to go back to his mother. It's a game! She has to try to find us. This time nition
you take him, Paul. Paul scooped him up. But where ?
No answer came from darted around frantically,
Her head but now there was Cookie.
no familiar alley to be found. This way! commanded Francine. She dashed ahead, then plunged
down a flight of
steps into
subway station. The subway, Noah. The subway is fun! Did you ever go on the subway before? Paul thought desperately at him. Noah turned his head, disturbed, as Paul struggled down the steps with him. But when he saw that Cookie was still with them he relaxed again. a
108
Francine was already at the turnstile, hopping nervously. 'I don't have any money, Paul.'
know if I have any either!' He Noah down and fumbled through his
'But set
I
don't
hand emerged at
pockets. His
change. 'Here, Francine, this this is for
me and
I
don't think
last is
with some
for you and
we have
to
pay
for the other two.'
'But where are they?' Paul turned back to where he had set Noah down, but there was no sign of him or of Cookie. 'But he was just there one second ago!'
'Maybe he went back up mother
the steps to his
!'
'Oh, no!' Paul moaned, and started back for the steps.
'Wait! There they are, on the platform!' cried Francine.
Noah and
Cookie, both looking around with
wonder at the
subway station and the were standing on the other
filthy
crowds of people,
side of the turnstiles, dangerously close to the
tracks.
As Noah peered over
the edge, the
shriek and rumble of an approaching train
came echoing down the tunnel. 'But how did they get over there?' said
109
Paul as he dropped the money into the
slot
and
pushed through. 'I don't know. Just get hold of
him before
the train comes.'
Paul dashed across the platform, grabbed
Noah, and pulled him away from the track as the train screamed into the station. Noah jumped up and down and clapped his hands, sending out exploding sparks more intense
than the high-pitched squeal of the brakes. 'If he doesn't get that under control,
going to drive
me
it's
crazy,' Paul complained as
he picked up Noah and stepped onto the train.
maybe sometime we can try to teach it down, if we ever get out of this mess.' Come on, Cookie. Francine stood in the 'Well,
him
to tone
doorway of the train and beckoned
to the dog.
Cookie peered into the train, then drew her
head back, then peered into the train again.
Come
on, Cookie, it's safe,
get hurt.
Do it for Noah
it's
okay, you won't
Oh, no!
'What is it?' Paul said aloud. He turned away from Noah, still grasping his hand firmly, and looked toward the stairway. The two men had reached the bottom, and Mrs. Jaleela was right behind them. Cookie saw them too, and bounded, at last, onto the train. But the train did not seem
110
inclined
to
move. They watched helplessly
through the train windows as the two men and Mrs. Jaleela dropped coins into the
slots,
and hurried toward them. Where can we go? WJiat can we do? I don't know! You think of something! Mommy, Mommy, here I am, here I am! You
pushed through
the turnstiles,
found us!
But as the two men barreled toward the slammed shut. The men paused for an instant, then ran down the platform searching for a car that was still open. Mrs. Jaleela looked in at them briefly, furiously shaking her head, then turned and ran after the men, disappearing from view. train, the doors of their car
A
moment
later the train
groaned, jerked
forward, and rumbled into the tunnel.
'Did they get on?' asked Paul, peering anxiously toward the back of the car. 'Not on this car, but they still might be on the train.'
Noah fun, but
looked up at Paul and smiled. This is
why didn't Mommy come ?
You'll see her pretty soon, Francine told
him. Isn't
it
fun being on
this train,
and being
with us ? Oh, wonderful being with you! There was a
111
flood of orange,
with ecstatic blue spirals danc-
ing and sizzling across like Cookie,
more
like
You understand me
it.
not as loud as Cookie, but better,
me. You're the only ones.
derful! Only
.
.
like to be afraid.
.
It's
won-
why
are you afraid? I don't
Why
didn't
Mommy
come ?
Lights flashed past them as the train ca-
reened through the dark tunnel. Swaying, Paul
and Francine turned
to look at each other over
Noah's head. 'I don't know what to
tell
him,'
Francine said aloud. 'I'm sure getting tired of only thinking about
how much fun
Paul.
'Why
this
shouldn't
we
is all
tell
the time,' said
him the truth?'
'It's just that if he's scared, he'll
be harder
We have to keep him amused.' Noah, she thought, can you hear other people to handle.
besides
me and Paul and Cookie ?
I listen to
when I try to
How on
Mommy
a
lot.
She
can't hear
me
talk to her.
about other people? asked Paul. Like
this train ?
So much on this train! AU different, confushard to understand. What about that man, right there? asked Francine, indicating a fat man reading a news-
ing,
paper.
Ummmm. 112
There was a brief pause. Well, on
top
it's
kind of: 'The two
men wearing heavy
overcoats and woolen skiers' masks over their
must have been dying of the
faces. 'They
commented Miss Basket, less,
heat,'
the teller. Neverthe-
they remained cool as they
left the
bank
with ten thousand dollars in ten- and twentydollar bills.' Then underneath that it's about riding on this train and hating it and wishing he was in a big car with a driver and how they shouldn't let dogs on the train. He doesn't like Cookie. He wants to kick her! There was a red splash of anger. Suddenly the man's newspaper tore itself out of his hands, hovered in
front of itself
him for an
instant,
and then wrapped
around his head.
Noah! You shouldn't have done that! But he wanted to kick Cookie! For a moment the man just stood there waving his hands helplessly in front of him. Then he peeled the newspaper off his face and swung around angrily. did that?' he demanded. few people in the car turned to look at seeming apprehensive and yet bored, ex-
'What
A him,
.
.
.
?
Who
cept for one old lady
who had witnessed
the
whole event. 'That's what they all say,' she observed in a high-pitched quavering wail.
'They always say that! Leave them
alone, just
113
~4
them alone, I'm sick of all of them. Just them alone, if you ask me !'
leave leave
would be interesting to find out what's going on inside her head,' Paul murmured to Francine, turning sideways to lean closer to her. His eye caught a flurry of movement at the back of the car and he peered closer, then grabbed Francine's shoulder. 'There they are!' he whispered. 'They've been coming !' through the cars and now they're on this one 'It
Francine looked quickly, then spun around.
'We have
to get into the next car!' she said.
'With Noah and Cookie? How can we?' !' 'Paul, we can't let them catch us But just at that moment the brakes squealed, the train jerked several times, almost
knocking them down, then
slid into
a brightly
and stopped. Off the train, fast! They pushed through dragging Noah along with them;
station
lit
ordered bodies,
Francine.
Cookie squirmed in-between
legs,
and they
surged from the train locked in a tight knot of people. 'I
wonder where we
are,' said Francine as
they hurried across the platform, looking for the exit.
'Wonderland,' Paul read. 'That's the name of this stop. Wonderland.
114
How
weird.'
'Wonderland!' that's where we steps.
Francine.
repeated are.
'So
on, there's the
Come
Are they behind us?'
'It's
hard to
tell,
there's so
many
people.'
Where are we going ? Come on, Noah, up the steps. But where are we going ? Wonderland, Noah. We're going
to
Wonder-
land.
But what's Wonderland? It's
a surprise. You'll find out in just a
minute.
At the top
of the steps they found them-
on the edge of a large, windy parking On the other side of the parking lot, the
selves lot.
word Wonderland
flashed in bright red neon
against the sky. Colored lights whirled behind faint tinny music and it, and they could hear distant shrieks. 'It's
an amusement park!' Paul groaned.
'Of course,' said Francine. 'The perfect place to lose them.
Come on.'
her 'But,' said Paul, hurrying along beside amusement rather reluctantly, 'but I hate parks.'
'So what?' she said easy to get lost in
it,
irritably. 'It will there'll
be
be crowds of
115
and it will keep Noah happy. And anyway, I happen to love amusement parks.' Paul sighed and looked behind. There was a streetlight beside the subway exit, which was people,
getting farther and farther behind them now.
men down in
Had
the two
already come out, or were
they
still
the station, or even on the
train ?
'Paul
He
!'
turned back and saw the lights of a
slowly moving car one foot in front of him.
He
darted to the side, barely missing
it.
!'
'Look where you're going .' For one brief second 'But I was just he looked behind again. And in that second he clearly saw the two men and Mrs. Jaleela under the streetlight. One of them pointed toward the parking lot, and they started to run. 'I saw them!' he said. 'They're still following us. They're in the parking lot now!' 'We've just got to get into that park! Carry .
.
Noah he can't go fast enough.' But why are we running away? Noah demanded as Paul clumsily pulled him off the pavement, settled him into his arms, and kept ;
on running.
We're just in a hurry to get there, Francine lamely explained. Noah, it's so much fun
116
there! They have good things to eat, and cotton
candy, and
all
sorts of
games
to play,
and
rides to go on.
The Wonderland sign curved across the top of a large, ornate iron gateway, the entrance to the park.
As Paul ran through
Noah
it,
turned and squirmed in his arms. Wait for Cookie! I want Cookie to come too!
They had almost forgotten about Cookie. She stood just outside the gateway, her tongue hanging out, shrinking back from the crowds and noise on the other
side.
Her dream
feeling
washed over them again, stronger now than it had ever been. They hurried back to the dog, and Francine of fear
kneeled beside her. Don't be afraid, Cookie, just a place
hurt you.
where people have fun. No one
It's
the best
way
to
keep
Noah
it's
will
safe.
Cookie whined deep in her throat, and the
dream
them again. holding Noah. 'Maybe she
feeling flowed over
Paul was
still
knows something we gested, frightened
don't know,' he sug-
now by
the
memory
of the
dream as well as by the pursuing men. 'But what could she know?' asked Francine. 'It doesn't make sense. She's just afraid because she's never been to a place like this before.' She stroked Cookie's back soothingly.
117
Please, Cookie. Everything will be okay. We've
got to get lost inside here or else they'll catch us. It's the only thing
we can do now.
Cookie growled, then turned to look toward the parking
lot.
'There they are!' cried Francine, pointing.
'Come
on, Cookie!'
Cookie turned toward them again and took a few slow steps forward.
A
sort of
spasm
passed over her as she moved through the
gateway. Then she looked up questioningly at Francine.
'Over
Francine
there!'
crowded and we have
to get
directed.
'It's
away from the
entrance.'
Now there was noise all ringing of bells in
game
and throbbing and
around them
— the
booths, music blaring
tinkling, the grinding of
machinery and the clacketing of wheels. Behind
it all
rose the shrieks of people plunging
and spinning through the
air.
Red, blue, and
yellow lights whirled against the dark sky; lacy
chains
of white
glittered
and looped
across the buildings. Fading paint peeled
from
the wooden booths, and brightly colored trash
danced and fluttered past their feet as they hurried through the crowd.
118
Noah squirmed continuously in Paul's arms, his dazzled eyes moving rapidly from one amazing sight to the next. His bleeps and sparks and crackles of wonder and excitement flashed through their heads, not quite blotting
out the tense and foreboding images from Cookie.
They paused beside a large carousel that glittered with many mirrors and garlands of light. Wheezing and puffing with effort, it emitted a blaring, tuneless waltz as the
stiff
wooden horses rose and dipped and children screamed
Noah
ecstatically.
leaned forward,
almost tumbling out of Paul's arms. / want to go on that thing I want to get
on
let
me
'Should we
to ride
on that I want
get on!
take
him on
it?'
Paul asked
Francine.
'Not yet.' She peered anxiously into the crowd behind them. 'It's too soon. I'm not sure we've lost them yet.' They moved on, and Noah was immediately distracted by other sights. All around them were people of all ages, getting in their way and bumping into them. And perhaps it was because there were so
many
different kinds of
people everywhere that Paul and Francine,
though they were doing their best to be
alert,
119
did not notice the ones they were looking out
was too late. The only warning was a sharp bark from Cookie and a sudden flash of panic from Fran-
for until
cine.
it
Paul turned to see one of the
men
holding
a struggling Francine firmly by the elbow. His eyes raced across the crowd and spotted the
other
man and
then Mrs. Jaleela, coming at
him from different directions. Both escape routes were cut off, and he stood frozen, unable to think.
Run, Paul! Francine screamed silently at him. Don't just stand there! Get away from
them! But where? he screamed back at
her.
They're on both sides now!
Over there! To the left! The Ferris wheel! Get on it! They can't get you there! Paul did not think he ran. For so long now, his only object had been to keep Noah away from the men, that no other consideration ;
He sprinted past Francine, man who was holding her, and
crossed his mind.
avoiding the
dashed up the rickety wooden steps at the base of the giant wheel.
howl or Mrs.
He did not listen to Cookie's
Jaleela's
screams as he dropped
some coins into the operator's outstretched palm and allowed himself to be helped, with
120
Noah, into the swinging wooden seat. He did not think as the safety bar clicked into place in
The operator stepped to the side and pulled the lever, and with a heavy groaning sigh the machinery came to life. It was not, in fact, until he was swept backwards with a sudden swift rush high, high into the air that he remembered how much he front of them.
hated Ferris wheels, and realized the significance of those arcs, in the
menacing lights, swinging in
dream.
121
For a moment, but only a moment, Noah was startled by the unexpected sensation. But as they sailed up over the top of the wheel, where all the lights of the carnival were spread out below them, plummeted down toward the ground and swooped up again, Noah erupted with swirling cascades of joy and delight. With his left hand Paul gripped the safety bar. With his right arm he hugged Noah's small body tightly against himself. His eyes were squeezed shut, his teeth clenched, his stomach tightened. He tried not to think about the fact that their only protection
was the
wooden bar, tried to forget that his legs and feet were just dangling out into empty thin
space.
Oh, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! sang out Noah. Oh, the feeling!
everywhere.
All
the
We
people.
122
see everything,
Mommy! Hi
Mommy,
hi
down below! Can you see me? And
swing wildly back and forth as Noah leaned forward to wave. Paul
felt the seat
Noah! Sit back! Don't make it swing, don't move! But why you afraid? This is wonderful, Stop
it,
wonderful! Don't be afraid. Please have fun
with me. I want you
Why am
I
to
have fun.
afraid? Paul asked himself as
another burst of delirious, infectious joy blos-
somed in
his head.
ficult to ignore.
They were
Noah's emotions were
dif-
Cautiously, he opened his eyes.
flying over
a gorgeous sea of lights
and as they dipped down closer, the sea of lights became a sea of faces staring up at them with fascination. And then up again, and again the world was a delicate web of many colors, and they were free in the wind. His hand unclenched a bit on the safety bar, his shoulders relaxed, and he turned his head to the side to see more. Now you feel better! crowed Noah. See how nice? See how fun and nice ?
Now
was high over the park, he even more clearly how the lights be-
that Paul
could see
low and the lights on the Ferris wheel, itself, resembled the swinging lights in the dream.
But that doesn't make
sense, argued the part
123
him that was now beginning to enjoy the ride. Cookie couldn't know we were going to come here; she couldn't know we were going to go on the Ferris wheel. Nobody was thinkof
ing about
Those
it,
so she couldn't have sensed
lights in the
dream must be
it.
just a coin-
cidence; she couldn't have been warning us
against coming here.
And he
relaxed a
little
more, and gave in to
Noah's penetrating waves of joy and the
in-
As they plummeted see that his own group
toxication of the ride.
down again, he could was standing in front of the crowd. Cookie was the closest to the wheel, and just behind her was Francine, the man still gripping her elbow.
They
stood without moving, their
all
eyes riveted on
Noah and
Paul. Francine's
thoughts grew stronger as he swooped closer to them, agonized thoughts of fear lessness.
Everything will be
to broadcast to her. all
We
all right,
all
he tried
can just stay on this
night; they'll never catch us
But
and hope-
now!
at once the great wheel slowed,
creaking, until they were drifting, not soaring.
When
it finally
stopped with a jerk that sent
and forth, they were near the bottom. The operator swung open the safety bar of the seat just below them and the
their seat swinging back
124
people climbed out. Then, to Paul's
moved the wheel
so that their seat
relief,
he
swung one
notch higher up, away from the loading plat-
form. They were the last ones on be the last ones to get
off.
He was
;
they would still
reeling
from Noah's emotions and the pleasure of the ride, but the practical part of him knew that this delay would give him time to decide what to do next.
Do you want
go on again,
to
Noah ? he asked,
reaching into his pocket.
Noah nodded vehemently and bounced up and down on the seat. Yes yes yes again let's go again. The seat swung wildly as they moved up another notch.
Now
they were halfway to
the top.
Paul reached out for Francine. We're going again, he thought as loudly as he could. / have
enough money for one more
ride. It's the only
thing I can think of to do.
Her mood was and the message came through more Don't go on
it
again.
bleak,
feebly
than usual. Cookie's real worried. And it won't do any good. They'll just grab you as soon as
you get
The
off.
seat
This creep has a grip
moved up another
like iron.
notch. Oh, don't
be depressed, he told her. / feel good for
reason. I think
it's
some
going to be okay. I know
125
think of something. If
I'll
maybe we can sneak they're not looking,
He
off
we go on again, it somehow when
and get away.
peered down at her through the maze of
was difficult to see her expression, but she was shaking her head back Can hardly hear you and forth at him.
lights
and spokes.
It
.
.
.
.
.
.
came the faint message. It seemed, however, that she was more worried than she had been just a
moment
to her.
.
.
.
before.
.
.
not again
.
.
to Cookie
.
.
.
better get
.
.
listen
off.
.
.
.
worried, really worried.
The car moved up another almost at the top now.
notch.
They were
He had been
trying to
ignore Cookie's unpleasant images, but
now
he opened his mind to them again. They were
a good deal stronger than Francine's, and out at him with
all
hit
the terror of the dream.
But the terror was vague. She didn't seem to know exactly what she was afraid of; she just wanted Noah off the Ferris wheel. Far below, mingled with the music and the screams
and the babble of frantically. us,
But
if
voices,
we
he projected with
he heard her bark
get off now, they'll catch all
the strength he had.
She doesn't know anything about afraid because she thinks
126
it's
it.
She's just
dangerous.
/ can hardly
.
.
.
too far.
.
.
The
another notch. They were
now
.
.
.
Don't be stupid.
Cookie worries a
.
.
.
.
Just get
off.
moved up
seat
at the very top.
Noah's message was
lot.
He
shatteringly clear compared to the others.
grinned at Paul, swinging his legs back and forth and causing their seat to
creak ominously.
It
sway
occurred to Paul that
hadn't creaked like that before. But still
talking to
— and to
him and
concentrate on anything
it
Noah was
was impossible
else.
it
Cookie
is
to
always
afraid something will happen to me. She doesn't
know how much fun
this
stuff she doesn't understand. I
again! it,
And
to emphasize
is.
A
want
lot of
to
go
how much he meant
gave an extra powerful kick with his
legs.
Then it happened. Paul heard the squeak of metal and a sharp ping as something bounced past him. There was a sickening lurch, and Noah fell heavily against him as the seat gave
No no
no! The unbearable feeling of falling, of nothing beneath him, and a grinding crack and a terrible hoarse scream and black
way.
black blinding panic.
He stopped screaming and opened his eyes. He was still up in the air, and Noah was still clinging to him. And the seat was still there 127
underneath them, but the seat was different
now. With panic ringing and burning through every muscle of his body, Paul twisted his
head head slightly and looked up. One end of the seat, above him now, was still attached to the wheel by its vertical metal bar. But on the other side, the vertical bar had given way.
By some miracle the edge of the seat had come to rest on one of the horizontal crossbeams that held the two huge discs of the wheel together, so that now the seat hung at a forty-five-degree angle. He was sitting on the bottom end, partly on the back of the seat and
Noah was weighing down on him Paul was hugging him with one arm, and with the other he was clutching desperately at the beam that supported them. He was aware now of the crowd screaming below. He moved his head slightly to look down, and the seat teetered precariously. What happened, what happened? Why are we like partly on the armrest. ;
this? Don't let go, don't let go! Noah's panic
and bubbled inside him, but it was no worse than his own. He froze, gripping the beam more tightly, and the seat stopped moving. The horrible
boiled
sick feeling of panic that blistered his nerves
and made
128
his
stomach churn was just as bad
as the awful void
and the hard pavement so
far below them.
Then he heard himself screaming. 'Don't move this thing Don't turn the wheel We'll !
fall off if
!
you do!' His voice sounded ugly,
hoarse and high-pitched with terror.
He wondered
if
above the music and
anybody had heard him all
the other noises below.
But the wheel didn't move. They could probably be seen clearly from the ground. What was happening below? Was rescue on the
way? Very
slowly and carefully he tried to
head again
his
to look
move
down. The crowd below
the wheel was growing fast; tiny, foreshort-
ened figures were running from all over the park to join the sea of faces staring up at them. Directly below he could see Mrs. Jaleela in the grip of one of the men, hysterically waving her arms at them, crying and screaming.
The other man had let go of Francine. She and Cookie had moved closer they were both star;
ing silently up at them. Francine, Francine!
Don't Tell still
let
them
them turn the wheel! We'll to get help.
still alive,
we're
okay. Tell them to rescue us!
He opened to
We're
fall off.
his
mind
to listen, trying
hard
hear Francine's faint thoughts through
129
Noah's panic and Cookie's inarticulate agony. hear me? know what to do. Idea .
.
.
.
.
.
got to try
.
.
.
.
it
.
.
.
the only
.
.
way
communication didn't diminish with distance that way! But all along it had If only their
been improving.
maybe
it
they just kept in contact,
If
I can't hear
would get better now.
you, I can't hear you! Louder, louder, as loud as you can! .
.
.
calm, keep calm.
Listen to me,
.
.
.
good
idea.
do Noah make the thing
try to listen
.
.
.
.
.
it.
.
.
.
.
him what to Her thoughts did seem stronger, but Noah's and Cookie's powerful emotions still covered her up too much. And both his arms were hurting badly now. Hard metal bit painfully into his left arm; his right arm, holding Noah,
tell
.
.
.
ached and quivered and second.
He
didn't
.
felt
.
.
weaker every
know how much
longer he
could keep holding on. Noah, Noah, be quiet!
Stop thinking at me! We've got Francine; she's trying to
tell
to listen to
us what to do.
Shut up, Noah!
Noah
gasped, his head against Paul's neck,
and his small body shook. But his thoughts did waver and grow quiet; and Francine, who seemed to be sending out her message over and over again without stopping, came through a
130
little
more
place so
can
tell
clearly.
me
.
.
.
fix seat
bring you
.
.
.
.
.
secure,
.
.
.
and
.
hold
.
.
the ground.
.
I'll tell
the
me ? Can you hear Again, Francine, tell me again! Noah fix the seat. His power
to do.
Can you .
.
chokinesis there. it
He
.
.
.
put the seat back
.
can do
in place
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
if
it
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
You
man me ? .
.
. .
psy-
hold
it
he understands. Hold
turn the wheel
.
.
.
you back
down.
He
squeezed
Noah
just a bit tighter.
The
seat wobbled again, the panic rose up again,
but Paul froze and in a
moment
the seat
steady once more. Did you hear that,
was
Noah?
Did you hear Francine ?
know what she means. I'm so scared I don't know what she means. But it was clear that Noah too was trying to be brave, for there was less panic now. I don't
Noah. Listen hard. You're a good boy and a brave boy.
And
you're special.
You can do You
things nobody else in the world can do.
can think about things and make them move, like the flowers
you gave
us,
and your teddy
and the man's newspaper on the subway. easy for you to do that ?
bear, Is it
I never think about it;
it
just kind of hap-
131
pens when I want
it to.
You mean nobody
else
can do that ?
No, you're the only one. The wind was gathering force and
now Paul
felt
the whole wheel
The seat rocked terrifyingly. Only by making his whole body rigid and
sigh and sway.
beam with every ounce of strength could Paul make the seat stop moving and his strength was waning fast. Noah, coidd you do that to this seat ? Could you make
gripping
the
—
the seat flat again, so
you do the
that,
it will
Noah, they can bring us down
ground again and
much
die,
to
we'll be okay. It's the
only way. If you don't do
probably
hold us up? If
it,
we'll
.
.
.
we'll
Noah. I can't keep holding on
longer.
I .. I never did anything that big before.
Why
somebody come up and get us? The wind grew stronger, whining around can't
The screams and babbling voices and music far below grew fainter and farther away as the wind sighed
the metal beams and the lights.
more persistently around them, cutting Paul and Noah off. Every time the wheel swayed, Paul a
felt his
little
arm, burning with pain now,
more, losing
its
slip
grip on the beam. Per-
haps they would eventually come with ladders
132
or with nets to catch them, but that would be too late.
now he was
Paul was not strong, and control.
losing
His arm seemed to be detached from
him he wondered
would hold for another minute. There's no time for them to get here, Noah. I'm going to fall soon. Try the rest of
it,
;
Noah. Lift up the
was
before, hold
seat,
if it
make
it flat like it
there steady.
it
As soon
as
they see that, they'll bring the wheel down.
Noah, we're going
He hold felt fall
felt his it
to fall.
arm
steady but
begin to it
no connection to
—
Then the
slip.
He
tried to
seem to work; he at all. Noah! Noah! I'm
didn't it
seat lurched underneath him, rip-
ping his throbbing arm away from the beam
and rising up into the air. Rising up fast. Noah rolled away from him and slid back onto the seat. The loose end kept rising up in little jerks. Now it was higher than the attached end. It kept rising.
He
felt
himself sliding
toward Noah, who was crouched against the other armrest in a little ball, his eyes closed, concentrating. Noah! Stop it! Look at what you're doing! Just hold too high!
it
in place! It's going
Noah!
But he could not reach Noah. This
was prob-
133
ably the most difficult thing
Noah had ever
done, and he needed to concentrate, to focus his
power on
it.
Flat,
Noah! Keep
we'll fall off the other end!
it flat
all
or
Paul screamed at
him with all the power he had. Though Noah didn't open his eyes or respond, he must have heard Paul, because he then proceeded to make the seat level. But not by lowering the free end. Instead, he began raising up the attached end. No, Noah! That won't work! Noah, you're going to There was a terrible tearing sound as the wooden seat tried to pull itself away from the metal bar holding it to the wheel. The bar tried to drag it back, but Noah was raising the seat up, up, higher and higher, until with a screaming, grinding crunch the wood broke loose from the metal, leaving a gaping, splintery wound in the back of the seat where the bar had been attached. Level now, and free,
—
the seat kept on rising.
Paul glanced down at the other people on the Ferris wheel. Before, they had been
whim-
pering and comforting each other and wondering what to do and to get down.
Now
how
they were ever going
they forgot
all
that and
simply gaped at the floating Ferris wheel seat in utter
134
bewilderment and
disbelief.
Paul looked down.
He
realized that he
was
picking up a great wordless cry from the people on the ground far below.
He and Noah
were now about twenty feet higher than the Ferris wheel.
He
could just barely
make
out
the tiny figures of Cookie, Mrs. Jaleela, Francine,
and one of the men. The other man had
disappeared.
Then he heard a
and looked toward the edge of the crowd. There were the flashing siren,
blue beacons of police cars, a white rescue van,
and behind that the ungainly shape of a truck.
There wasn't
much the
fire
fire
truck could
do now, but, Paul assured himself, the rescue
van might come in handy. Of course Paul was terrified.
Who knew
what Noah was going to do next? Still, this situation was an improvement over being trapped and panic-stricken, with his arms breaking and not knowing what to do and being sure they were going to die. If Noah could do this, he could certainly get them safely to the ground if Paul could get him
—
to do
it.
He turned and looked at Noah was still
beside him. ball
the small child
crouched into a
with his eyes closed. The seat was vibrat-
ing rapidly, tickling Paul's rear end and mak-
135
There almost seemed to be a kind of pale glow around Noah, encircling him and Paul and the Ferris wheel ing-
seat,
a strange whining hum.
which was
still
rising.
Noah! Paul tried again. Noah! Look where we are, look what you're doing! Noah, you're taking us too high. Listen to me, Noah! Suddenly Noah opened his eyes and looked
around them. In that second the seat dropped. Noah! Paul screamed as they plummeted down toward the Ferris wheel again. Catch it,
Noah! Catch it! Noah caught it, slapping them both sharply on the rear end as the seat swooped upwards
and the crowd gasped again. But now Noah seemed to have gotten the hang of it. He clutched the bar in front of him, looking around excitedly as their ascent slowed and the seat finally came to rest, floating calmly in midair forty feet above the Ferris wheel and more than a hundred feet above the ground. / can do it! I can do it! Noah cried out, blasting-
Paul with great billowing red clouds
that flickered and sizzled with yellow bolts of lightning'.
We
don't even need that old Ferris
wheel; I can do
it
myself!
Noah, you're wonderful, you're fantastic! cried out Paul.
136
We
can have so much fun, we
can do this again and again. But right now,
you better take us slowly slowly slowly down to the ground. Your mother's going crazy, she's so worried and afraid. Take us down slow so you can
tell
her you're okay.
Oh, yes, she's never been this bad before,
Noah to
agreed, and Paul marveled at his ability
hear her thoughts from this great distance.
We
better go back quick.
Slow, Noah, take
it
slow, Paul cautioned
him, as they began their descent. did
manage
rectly.
And Noah
to descend slowly if not quite di-
When
they reached the level of the
Ferris wheel, the seat veered off to the side
and
circled
around
grinned at the people ing in their seats.
Noah waved and
it.
still
gaping and shiver-
Why not ? thought Paul, and
he waved and smiled at them himself.
hands over his mouth 'They'll bring you down now.
Then he eupped and
called out,
As soon
as
we
his
get back, we'll
take you down. You're
And Paul
all
tell
them to
going to be okay.'
realized, as they glided gracefully
closer to the earth, that the
tremendous joy
him was not coming just from his own relief at being saved. Nor was it coming from Noah and Cookie and Francine. It was that great cry from the whole crowd of people
inside
137
waiting
below.
Now
he
hear
could
thoughts too, and that meant his
was continuing to grow. They were only about twenty ground.
He could
own power
feet
from the
see the tears streaming
Mrs. Jaleela's cheeks. The two
their
down
men were
to-
gether again, whispering to each other. Cookie
was her
trotting in an excited circle tail
and wagging
and barking up at them. Francine was
smiling and crying at the same time. Oh, Paul,
he heard her clearly now, oh, I'm so glad I'm
was so terrible, but now everything's wonderful and we've won now and everything, but I'm the most glad about you, Paul. At the fifteen-foot level, Noah made one last little swoop, dipping down and almost touching the two men, who ducked and covered their heads with their hands. Then the seat rose up again, hovered for a moment before the crowd, and finally settled gently down to earth in the center of the empty space in front so glad,
it
of the Ferris wheel.
138
a
10 her In an instant Mrs. Jaleela had Noah in arms, hugging him against her and rocking back and forth and sobbing. Cookie was hop-
ping and barking around them. Then Francine had her arms around Paul and he was pressing so glad I'm his face against her hair. Oh, I'm stand it I so glad it was so terrible I couldn't have missed you so much it would have
would
somebeen so terrible about Noah but you if know what thing had happened to you I don't
would do. too scared to It was you who saved us. I was thought of think up there, I never would have who saved getting Noah to do that. It was you
I
us.
a tap on his shoulder and they white unistepped apart. It was a man in a breathing appaform, holding some kind of
Paul
felt
139
ratus,
and behind him two more men with a
stretcher.
'Are you all right?' the man said breathlessly. 'Did you get hurt? How do you feel?' 'I .. I guess I feel okay,' Paul said, and shook his that's
all.
left
arm.
arm's a
little sore,
I'm okay.'
'What about the still
'My
panting.
little
He seemed
kid?' asked the man, to need the breathing
apparatus more than Paul 'I'm sure he's
did.
fine,' said Paul,
'but you
could go check.'
He
hurried over to Mrs. Jaleela. There
were policemen on
all sides,
holding back the
crowd around the Ferris wheel, and three more policemen talking to the two large, excited
men who had been following them. The only other person who had gotten through the line of police into the clear space at the base of the
wheel was an attractive, vaguely familiar
young man, who approached Paul now, smiling. 'Excuse me,' he said, 'but are you all right ? You're not hurt or anything ?'
'No,' said Paul.
'Do you feel like talking? We've got !' out what happened up there
'Who 140
to find
are you ?' Paul said suspiciously.
'Oh, he's okay,' said Francine, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and making
dark smudges across her face. 'Tony Andrews, from Channel 8 news,' he said, and turned and pointed behind him. Be-
now
side the police cars, Paul
large blue van, and next to
it
noticed,
stood a
was a
man
a strange contraption on his shoulder.
we have
with
'And
just taken the pictures of the century
with our instant-eye camera.'
you mean you have movies 'You mean of what happened up there?' Paul asked him. .
.
.
'Videotapes. They've already been broadcast locally. will be
And
in a matter of hours, people
watching them
But we have
all
over the world. Our
know what happened up there. You were up there. What was it like? Are you all right? Do you know what happictures
!
to
pened?' do know,' said Paul.
'Yes,
I
'And
we'll tell
cine.
'But
ple.'
She led
you everything,' said Fran-
want you to meet some peohim over to Noah and Mrs. Ja-
first I
The man in white hovered nearby, but did not seem to feel that Noah needed im-
leela.
mediate attention. Mrs. Jaleela was
still
hug-
ging Noah and crying, but she looked around
141
when Francine and Paul and
the
newsman
approached.
'This
is
Mrs. Jaleela, and her son Noah,'
explained Francine, 'and Cookie, their dog.
Noah happens
most amazing person on the face of the earth and Cookie is the most amazing dog.' 'Everything that happened up there, Noah to be the
did,' said Paul.
'Him?' the newsman
said, amazed. 'Him,' insisted Francine. 'Mrs. Jaleela,'
she said
sorry
it
more gently, 'oh, I'm sorry, I'm so had to be like this. But now do you
believe us?'
'Oh,
I
don't
know what
to believe,' Mrs.
Jaleela said huskily. She ran her
hand through
Noah's hair. 'Did you really do
that, darling?
Is it really true?'
Noah smiled
and nodded yes. Mrs. Jaleela's eyes widened, and she held Noah out away from her. 'Noah Did you hear at her,
!
me? Can you hear?' 'Oh, he can hear what people say, I'm sure he can,' said Francine. 'When he bothers to
Most of the time he hears a lot more than just what people say, so he doesn't pay that much attention to their voices and listen,
that
words.'
142
is.
'You're
still
not making- this any clearer,'
newsman said, shaking his head. Mrs. Jaleela was hugging Noah again. 'Well, first I want you to meet some other people,' said Francine, and she led him over to the two men and the policemen, who stepped the
back slightly as they approached. 'Hello,' Francine said pleasantly to the two men. 'I
know your names, but I'd like you to meet this newsman here, from Channel 8. He'd like to know what's been going on here. Maybe don't
you could explain your part in
it.'
The policemen, the newsman, Francine and Paul looked at them expectantly. In that moment, any doubts Paul ever might have had about the motives of the two
men
fell
away.
Their thoughts were far vaguer to him than Francine's, but he could just begin to
them
make
They were not pleasant. There was no joy and relief, no enthusiasm about Paul's and Noah's miraculous escape. Instead, there was only a kind of angry disappointment that included a lot of hostility toward him and even more toward Francine. out.
And, though they had clearly heard Francine's request, they refused to speak.
'Well,
if
you won't talk to him, then
I'd like
to ask you a question myself,' said Francine.
143
'Something I've been wondering about. How did you find out about Noah, anyway?' The two men looked at each other. Then one of them said, 'We've had some other reports about that same
UFO. We
followed one of
them
up,
man
interrupted, glancing blandly but sig-
and it seemed interesting enough to ' make it worthwhile to 'We don't have anything to say,' the other
—
who had been talking. to get back.' He turned to the
nificantly at the one 'It's
time for us
newsman. 'How wide an area do those
instant-
eye broadcasts cover?' he asked him.
'The whole state, at least,' said the news' man quickly. 'But they also get us in The man didn't wait for him to finish. 'Come on,' he said to the other one, and started walking away. The other man looked at Francine briefly, then turned and joined his friend. In a moment they were lost in the
—
crowd.
The newsman looked
after them, shaking
his head. 'Crazy,' he said.
'We had
to fight
that one guy off in order to get our pictures.
Good thing the other one wasn't around then they might have really stopped us.' 'Where was he?' Paul asked Francine. 'He must have gone to call headquarters, or
144
something, to ask them what to do next,' she said.
'Yeah, and too,
a good thing you were there
it's
honey,' said the newsman.
the policemen. 'This
he
little
He
turned to
kid really can fight,'
'She kept that guy away from the
said.
camera more than 'But what was
/ did it all
!'
about?' asked one of
the policemen. 'Well, they wanted to keep said Francine.
Noah
secret,'
'But now that everybody knows
about him there
isn't
anything else they can
do.'
'But who are they?' said the newsman. 'Everything happened so fast I never had a chance to find out.' 'Oh, they're from some kind of government agency,' Francine told him. 'They've been
fol-
lowing Noah and us around for a while. For pretty obvious reasons, they wanted to use
him
own purposes. They were going to him away and keep him secret so they
for their
take
could channel his
develop
it
power instead of
letting
him
naturally.'
'But why were they following you?' 'Because we have mental telepathy too,' said Paul. 'But not as much as Noah. So they wanted to use us, but they were also afraid we
145
would get in the way of what they wanted to do to Noah. And they were right. But I still don't understand how they found out so much about
—'
Suddenly Francine grabbed him by the shoulder. 'Paul!' she cried out. 'Don't you
remember?
We
.
.
.
they were on the elevator
And before that, the drugstore. It was them; now I remember! They probably already knew a little bit, and then we gave the rest away. How could we?' The newsman was still shaking his head as with
us, in the library.
he took out a pen and a pad of paper. 'I'd think you two kids were crazy that
.
.
.
that thing with
if I
hadn't seen
my own eyes,'
he said.
'But now you'd better tell me everything. Keep calm. Just start at the beginning.' He beckoned to another man who was still standing by the van. 'Come on over here, Harry!' he called out. 'Bring the tape recorder. We'll get some more visuals after they tell us their story.'
'Mrs. Jaleela has to hear
it
too,' said
Fran-
cine.
Mrs. Jaleela, still holding Noah, was a bit calmer now. She listened, along with the two
newsmen and the
policemen, as Paul and Fran-
cine told their story.
146
They started at the
be-
ginning, with the dream, interrupting each other frequently, and finished with the amaz-
ing events at the Ferris wheel. 'I never thought
it
would end so .. so were some
perfectly,' said Francine. 'There
pretty horrible
moments
there.'
'Well, you kids certainly have a lot of guts,' said the
newsman.
'It wasn't us as
much as
Cookie,' said Fran-
'Cookie did everything, really. If
cine.
wasn't for her, they'd have us and
it
Noah now,
and nobody would know anything about it, and and who knows what they would be .
.
.
able to do with us
!'
'It's all just so
Mrs. Jaleela said
.. so
She kissed Noah
softly.
gently on the forehead. 'I really
difficult to believe,'
still
.. I
still
don't
know what to think.'
'I can understand your problem,' said one
of the policemen. 'But lady,
what we
all
just
saw was pretty convincing.' 'And for so long I thought I was going mad,' Mrs. Jaleela said, and sighed. 'What a relief to
know I'm not.'
'But what did those two men say to you?' Francine asked her. 'How did they get you on their side?'
147
'Well, they really didn't explain very much.'
Mrs. Jaleela adjusted
was now
resting' his
shoulder, not emitting
Noah
in her arms.
He
head sleepily on her
much
of anything ex-
cept vague wisps of calmness and content-
ment. 'They said they had found out that
Noah was a very important than
exceptional child,
I realized.
much more
And then they asked
him and I didn't know what to say; I was confused. Then they asked me if you two children were there, and they started telling to see
me
that you were interfering with important
plans and that you would be dangerous for
And
was even more and he was gone. terrible !' Her eyes dimmed with tears again, and she stroked Noah.
then, of course, I
we went Oh, it was
frightened, and
into his room,
Noah's hair.
'You two kids sure got
in
way over your
heads,' said one of the policemen. 'I you're lucky
it
turned out the
way
don't think I would have done the if I'd
tell it
you,
did. I
same thing
been in your shoes.'
'But don't you think we were right?' demanded Francine, looking around at the group. 'If they just wanted to do what was good for Noah, why would they think we were dangerous?'
148
'Oh,
don't doubt that you're right about
I
them,' the newsman said. 'You just took a pretty big risk, that's easily
all.
You
have made everything a
could very
worse.'
lot
Francine angrily tried to interrupt him, but the if
newsman ignored her and went
on.
'But
you wanted to get everything out into the
open and convince the world about Noah, you definitely succeeded, that is for sure.'
He was
sounding more and more excited now. 'This story
about
is it.
it is also,
and
going to change the world, no doubt It's
going to change your
incidentally, going to
to tell
you the truth
the whole thing!
And
I
lives
and
change mine
—
cannot wait to break
we were expecting on this park. Man Come all
was a routine story on, let's get some pictures of by the Ferris wheel
!
all
of you, over
seat.'
They posed, smiling stiffly, while the camera whirred, Noah and Mrs. Jaleela in the middle, with Paul and Francine on either side, and Cookie in front. They were getting impulses of minor discomfort from Cookie, brought on by the unfamiliar men and the camera and all the attention. But underneath that, her mind was more at ease than it had ever been in all the time they had
known her.
149
The
police suggested that they ride
in the rescue van,
home
with a police escort for pro-
and the newsman insisted on going with them. Paul and Francine walked over to the van behind the others, with Cookie. She had not had a chance to thank them yet, and kept stopping to lick their hands and faces, emitting waves of gratitude and joy and relief and undying friendship. But also, just before they entered the van, she did flash them briefly with a sharp impulse of admonishment, and the image of lights from the dream. / wish she wouldn't do that, Paul comtection,
plained. It does
make me feel guilty.
They climbed
into the backseat with Cookie.
Mrs. Jaleela, holding Noah, sat in the front
with the driver and the newsman. The two other medical
men
backseat, which
sat in the area behind the
was
filled
with
all
kinds of
complicated medical equipment. Well, Francine answered him, she's just
annoyed that we didn't pay more attention to what she was trying to tell us. It all worked out great, but she thinks it would have been safer if we hadn't come to Wonderland at all. There were more policemen now, parting the crowd in front of the police car and the van as they crunched over the gravel toward
150
the exit from the park. The colored lights had
were grayshapes in the darkness, and the crowd around the Ferris wheel was slowly dispersing. But that's something I was wondering about, been turned
the buildings
off,
thought Paul as the van drove out through the
How
know? Those lights in the dream were the same as the lights on the Ferris wheel! She knew something like the seat breaking was going to happen, and she was gateway.
did she
trying to prevent
it,
to
keep us away.
Do you
understand me, Francine ?
You
don't
mean
that Cookie can predict
—
The future! interrupted Paul. He looked at Cookie, curled up between them, asleep already, her head in Francine's lap. Yes, in some
way
she must be able
Of course, she was getting bad vibrations from the two men, and she was trying to get us to save Noah from them.
And
to.
she was telling us
who Noah was
and everything, and that was the main part of the dream. But she also had some idea how it was going to turn out, not very clear, not the whole thing, just a kind of warning about the future.
Do you
think
Noah has
that too ? she asked
him.
151
He
must. But probably
it
just hasn't de-
veloped yet. Remember, Cookie has a grown-up
and Noah's
dog's brain,
veloped at
And
hardly de-
still
is
all.
what he can do already! Wow, like when he grows up?
look
what's he going to be
'You're sure you're not going to mention our names or where that?' Mrs. Jaleela
we
live or
anything like
was asking the newsman.
'No, not on the next broadcast anyway,' he assured her.
'And you know
protecting you. But I you'll
the police will be
expect that from
now on
be dealing with scientists and doctors
instead of secret agents.
one studied and tested
Noah little
is
going to be
boy, I promise
you.'
way we can prevent that,' murmured Mrs. Jaleela. Noah was sleeping now, and she looked down at him, her 'I suppose there's
no
face beginning to tighten with worry once again.
'No way,' be protected,
said the
now
that
They'll try to keep
pretty
much
once the
newsman. 'But he it's all
it quiet,
out in the open. try to keep
him
out of the public eye, I'm sure,
first blast of publicity dies
people you'll be dealing with
now
down. The
will be con-
cerned with his welfare, you see, just as
152
will
much
as you are. He's a national resource,
but
it's
too late for anyone to use
secret weapon,
Noah,
and
it's
true,
him
as a
that's all to the good.'
head on his mother's shoulder, dreamily opened his eyes and smiled at Paul and Francine. So nice now Cookie not worried any more. She's been worrying with
his
.
for so long, but
now
it's
over.
.
.
And now
I have
you two, Paul and Francine. So nice the way you can understand me so nice . and his eyelids began drifting down again. Only to snap open, suddenly, the same instant that Paul and Francine stiffened in the backseat. Though the black and white images that rushed into their heads were vague and dreamlike, the emotions of fear and warning .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
were not vague at all. Cookie whined deep in her throat and scratched at the air with her paw. She twisted her head in Francine's lap and then with a little whimper began to relax again as the images faded and grew dim. But before they had a chance to react, the newsman looked back over his shoulder at Paul and Francine. 'You two are being pretty quiet back there,' he said jovially. 'I'll bet you're wondering what it's going to feel like to be celebrities, huh?'
153
Paul looked down at Cookie again, and shivered. He was not wondering what it would feel like to
be a celebrity.
what he was going
154
to
He was wondering
dream that
night.
About the Author Born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, William Sleator's first interest was in music. For twelve years he studied the piano, and for five years the cello. In addition, he worked for several years as an accompanist for ballet classes, with one year in
London at the Royal Ballet School. A graduate of Harvard University, William Sleator lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
ten numerous children's books, briar, available in a
among them Black-
Vagabond Book paperback, and
Run and House of Stairs, paperback editions.
He has writ-
available in Scholastic
1
,co
APPLETAPERBACKS
'Tightly
A*
woven suspense and an
involving plot
line. .a thriller
ingeniot
M-4lf
of top-notch -Booklist
A strange thing
is
happening to Francine
Gill:
every
night she has the same nightmare. In it, there's a mysterious, glowing object, an old, broken-down motel, and a small boy who is in terrible danger. Standing next to her in the dream is her classmate, Paul Rhodes. A stmnge thing is happening to Paul Rhodes: every night fact,
he has the fame nightmare— the same one,
as Froncine
in
Gill's.
every cksy at school, Paul and Francine stare at no longer— other. Finally, Francine can stand the dream has become so frightening that she and Paul must do something to stop the horror. Because it is not just the small boy who is in danger, they are in
each
ii
terrible trouble also..
Cover Painting: Richard William
33982 o
M SCHOLASTIC
INC.
78073'00225
ISBN 0-S^0-33TAa-b