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DAVID MOORE THREW the sodden sheet off and leaped from his bed; he ake as soon as his feet hit the floor He stood in the hot darkness, histo pinpoint what it was that had filled him with terrible alar the railing On the horizon there was a brief flash of lightning, followed by the hollow, still-distant ruh and white, and so Moore stood where he was aif it was the thunder that had awakened him; he went back into the room, switched on a lamp, and hurriedly dressed in a cotton shirt and jeans
There was an insistent knock at his door "Who is it?" he said
"Jana Letthe same clothes she&039;d fallen asleep in; her eyes were red-rimmed, and beneath the," she said "I know I heard so" She had rested for only s that watched her froues
"Thunder," he said quickly "It woke me too"
"No!" She shook her head and moved past him to the terrace, where she peered down into the darkness "I thought I heard a wo Jana wince Moore caht?" he asked
"I think so I don&039;t know I tell you, I heard a woet the circulation going
"The man as here e came in," Jana went on "Who is he?"
"His name is Schiller; he was on the U-boat when it went down"
"Then he knows? About what&039;s happened?"
Moore shook his head "No, I didn&039;t tell him"
In the darkness there was a sharp, distant sound of breaking glass Moore grasped the railing, straining to see The next streak of lightning cast strange, long shadows across the streets of the village; there were no lights on, and nothing moved
"What is it?" Jana was tense beside him, her voice a taut whisper
"I don&039;t know" Thunder booht he heard the sudden splitting of tie of the village, and he could hear soh, frantic pitch A noise like a pistol shot echoed across the roofs, and there was the sound of ht appeared, nearer to thehtning flash he thought he could ures in the streets, but then the darkness clai his , went inside to the dresser drawer, and withdrew the auto to do?" Jana asked hi across her face
"I&039; downstairs to check the doors and s" He put the automatic on safety and stuck it into his waistband "I want you to stay in your room and be sure the terrace doors are bolted"
"They&039;re co, aren&039;t they?" It was more of a statement than a question, the voice cold behind it
"Go on"
"No I&039; with you"
"You&039;ll be safer up here"
"No," she repeated, holding his eyes with her own
He shrugged; there was no tiument Moore and Jana went into the hallway and were about to descend the stairs when Moore saw a sliver of light beneath the German&039;s door
He knocked, waited, heard ain Schiller opened the door and stood bleary-eyed, his tie loosened and the top buttons of his shirt undone A chair had been positioned before the open terrace doors, and the bed was still made Schiller rubbed his eyes and yawned "I fell asleep," he said "I was listening to the thunder" Then he noticed the pistol at Moore&039;s waistband, and he was instantly alert "What is going on?" he asked, looking quizzically into their faces
Moore stalked past thethe cut the sky in half, and the thunder echoed He saw that a fewof fireflies across Coquina village
"The gun," the Ger behind him "What is it for?" He took a step toward the other man "I don&039;t understand"
And before Moore could reply there was a crack! near Front Street, frounshot or the noise of glass being broken he couldn&039;t tell, but then there caed wail, one of terrified desperation Moore&039;s ain and in that brief light he saw figures the things h the streets below The screa, and a woman&039;s shrill and hysterical Moore threw the bolt on the doors and, turning away, saw Schiller&039;s face a drawn, pale mask
"What was that scream?" the Ger rapidly at his temple
Moore pushed past Schiller and Jana into the hallway, descended the stairs three at a time in the dark In the distance he heard another voice, shouting incoherently, then drowned in a wave of thunder A naripped hih Check the s, the doors The shutters - soe not yet replaced - get thes out of control, functioning crazily in slow er&039;s body
He reached the front door and shook the knob to test the lock It was secure One of the s facing the porch hadn&039;t been pushed down flush to the frarasped the &039;s top to push it into place and lock it
Lightning streaked, a thin white thread And in its light Moore saw the for froht his breath, slao Inn there was the sudden, electrifying sound of shattering glass
He heard the screen door open, heard the wood splinter as it was ripped froe screaain, and so broken out; he could hear soh Moore whirled around, slammed and locked the door that connected the kitchen with the rest of the hotel He dragged a table across it, at the sa off the safety
And then silence, broken only by his own rapid breathing and the noise of chaos in the village: screa, a cry of pain
So their way in the dark
"SCHILLER!" Moore shouted "WATCH THAT REAR DOOR!"
Soainst the front door wham! whaht, ice flowing in his veins The things have a hammer
He heard the door at the back of the hotel colass and crockery fro into the rooed shutter Jana cried out, and Moore saw the black outline of a figure throw back a powerful arain and again; there was a sharp splintering sound
Moore raised the gun, ai that tore at the shutter, and fired
A gout of flaun&039;s roar ure was thrown backward, and glass tinkled from the broken fra on his face
"Wait," Moore told hi "Keep your eye on that back door, for God&039;s sake!"
A heavy blow struck the door that sealed off the kitchen; glass broke on the other side of it Moore jerked around and fired through the wood, filling the air with splinters and the acrid odor of gunpowder At the saain, and Jana could see it slowly bending inward; she grabbed a chair and wedged it under the knob The shutter at another as being attacked, the claws scratching their way in Moore brought his ars ducked away on either side of the fra in the center of the rear door; he backed away fro broken with a horrified fascination
Aon the roolass One of therasped the &039;s ledges to pull itself the rest of the way in Jana reached to her side for the decanter of ru&039;s head; Moore stepped forward, firing point-blank