Doc Tanner was close at his elbow, looking at the way each painted image was reproduced and diminished, drawing the eye in and in and in through each miniature until the detail blurred.
“Who is Emily, Ryan?”
“Yeah. Heard you mention the name ‘fore this, Doc. Someone you know?”
“I knew her, Ryan. A woman of excellent wit and beauty. One day I will tell you But not now. It was this picture. I can hear those logs as they crackle and spit. Smell the freshness of the pine needles. Hear the excited laughter of young children as they wait to open the presents that jolly Saint Nicholas has sent them. The family parlor at Christmas. Damp moss and dry leaves. Belladonna, macassar oil and parsley. Peppermint oil and ipecac for those who had dined well but not wisely upon the turkey and the plum pudding.” There were fresh tears again, glistening on his cheeks.
Embarrassed by this flood of memories, Ryan turned to look out the broken panes of glass to where the rest of the group was gathering wood to burn. And yet he was still deeply puzzled by the things Doc had said. Things that Ryan had never known. Things that seemed to him to come from such an antique past that it wasn’t conceivable that Doc Tanner could recall them from personal memory.
It wasn’t possible.
DESPITE ALL THEIR EFFORTS, the fire was proving stubborn to light. Most of the wood was damp and green, and nearly all the kindling they found was also wet. At Krysty’s suggestion they tried the calendar, though Doc Tanner came close to objecting. But the card proved too thick to do more than lie there sullenly smoldering.
“How ’bout that?” Jak Lauren asked, pointing to the wood-framed counter that was built into the wall.
“Break it up, Whitey,” Finnegan said. “Give it plenty of fucking boot and it might splinter dry.”
The skinny little youth walked up and patted the solid structure, running his hands over it and testing the thickness of the wood and the amount of give when he leaned on it.
He took a couple of paces back, closing his pink eyes for a moment in concentration. The other six watched him closely. Ryan in particular was fascinated that such a frail body could harness such devastating power. It wasn’t anything mystical, in the way that Krysty could fold her mind inward and draw on the force of the Earth Mother, Gaia. This was simply a great skill.
Jak gave a single, explosive grunt and lashed out with his foot, the whole front of the counter caved in, splitting lengthways as if a chainsaw had ripped through it. Without a pause, like a dancer, Jak wheeled on the other foot and kicked again. This time the entire left side fell away from the wall, leaving only one part still attached. A third kick demolished that.
“Fucking fan-fucking-tastic!” Finnegan whooped. “This’ll burn real good.”
“What’s that?” Lori asked.
“Where?” J.B. said, moving to help Finn clear away the shattered splinters.
“There. The hole in the wall. It was hidden before by the wood.”
The Armorer stepped over the wreckage of the counter and stooped where the girl was pointing. Then he spotted the shadowy hole that was no bigger than a couple of house bricks. “Something here.”
“What?”
“Box. No, a tin, Ryan.”
“Could be boobied, J.B. Watch it.”
“Too well hid. Looks like it’s been here since the big fires.”
There was the scraping of metal on concrete as he eased the tin box from its hiding place and laid it on the floor near the shards of wood. They gathered around it, their need for a fire momentarily forgotten, even though the temperature had fallen so fast and so low that the gas station seemed filled with the mist of their warm breath.
“Got a lock,” J.B. said.
“I’ll blast the bastard apart. One round from the Beretta’ll open it up like cracking an egg,” Finnegan said eagerly.
“Why not just try and lift the lid first?” Ryan suggested. It was open.
J.B. looked inside, then handed it to Jak. “Here, kid. You found it. You can have it.” He winked over his shoulder at Ryan. “I saw it,” Lori said.