I flung, maybe kicked, the woman off, and snaked backward. She moaned somewhere to one side. I couldn’t see the Kid—couldn’t hear him. The watch was visible again, farther away. A rustling.
The watch vanished.
I fired at it.
Two points of light near the floor gave out fire and thunder.
My gun-barrel as close to the floor as I could hold it, I fired between those points. Twice.
Twin flames struck at me again.
My right hand went numb. My left took the gun. I sped two more bullets on their way. That left one in my gun.
I don’t know what I did with it. My head filled up with funny notions. There wasn’t any room. There wasn’t any darkness. There wasn’t anything. …
I opened my eyes in dim light. I was on my back. Beside me the dark woman knelt, shivering and sniffling. Her hands were busy—in my clothes.
One of them came out of my vest with the jewel-bag.
Coming to life, I grabbed her arm. She squealed as if I were a stirring corpse. I got the bag again.
“Give them back, Jerry,” she wailed, trying frantically to pull my fingers loose. “They are my things. Give them!”
Sitting up, I looked around.