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The motel room was too bright. |
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At first he thought that he had forgotten to turn off the lights, and he started to get out of bed. But then he realized that the light wasn't coming from the lamps. It was that strange greenish night vision that he had been experiencing the last few days. |
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So what brought it on? he asked himself. And why did the woman in the dream want him to wake up? |
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He could feel each and every molecule in the room as if he were attached to it by some kind of giant invisible web. Kyna was still asleephe could feel the even beating of her heart and hear the soft whisper of her breath rushing in and out of her mouth. He could even hear the scurrying sound of cockroches under the bathroom sink. |
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But there was something else too. |
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A delicate puff of air brushed his face. Something was moving in the room. Something that from its smell was so vile and unnatural that it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as stiff as the bristles in a toothbrush. |
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Cyrus forced himself to remain calmany impetuous move might provoke an attack. He let his eyes roam the room. Everything appeared normal. He could see each piece of furniture, each shadowy nook with such absolute clarityand yet he was missing it. |
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"Damn!" His exclamation of frustration was little more than a whisper. "Where the fu" |
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A shadow flickered across the bathroom mirror. |
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Cyrus turned his head ever so slightly. |
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The shadow was no longer there. |
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Whatever it was, it cast an awfully big shadow. Yet it didn't seem to make very much noise. |
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Not a lot, just enough to set Cyrus's heart racing. He glanced over at Kyna and for once was thankful that she slept like a corpse. When the bed shook the second time, he eased |
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