“Hurry up!” shouted Maldano. “We have to go! Now!”
But I couldn’t, of course; I had to gather the medicines. I had to save Galatia, our Aphrodite on a scallop shell. Had to think of home and a final place to rest. “It’s not safe, damn you!” I cried, sweeping pill bottles with my arm, filling the plastic bag. “That thing, it’s still out there!”
I gazed out the window at the Holiday Inn, saw the creature creeping forward with its body slung low, intently, single-mindedly, like a wolf or a great cat. I jerked to look at Maldano and saw that he too was aware of it; that he had apprehended the animal and was trying to figure out the motorcycle’s gears—that he was kicking down into 1st, which was correct, and releasing the clutch. And then he leapt forward, suddenly, and travelled about 50 fee
