All of them listened as the plane could be heard straining and shuddering, as though he were attempting a maneuver it clearly wasn’t designed for, and then there was what sounded like an explosion, which was followed by dead air.
A few moments passed and none of them said anything.
At last Bella Ray said, “As for us ... we’ve decided to stay.” There was more dead air. “More music after this moment of silence.”
Williams stayed kneeled for what seemed a long time. At length he stood and began pacing slowly. And then he began walking, just walking— into the dark, into the sage.
He waved a hand in the air. Not now, it said. I need to be alone.
He walked until he came to a brushy rise which overlooked the prairie, which was bathed in moonlight now that the clouds had parted some, and looke
