WATCHERS by Dean R. Koontz

the many good moments and happy times over the past six months, and the

retriever seemed to be at least slightly soothed by Travis’s voice.

Unable to move at all, the dog was of necessity incontinent. A couple of times

he peed on the plastic-covered mattress. With no distaste whatsoever, with the

same tenderness and compassion a father might show in caring for a gravely ill

child, Travis cleaned up. In a curious way, Travis was even pleased by the mess

because, every time Einstein peed, it was proof that he still lived, still

functioned, in some ways, as normally as ever.

Rainsqualls came and went during the night. The sound of rain on the roof was

mournful, like funeral drums.

Twice during the first shift, Jim Keene appeared in pajamas and a robe. The

first time, he examined Einstein carefully and changed his IV bottle. Later, he

administered an injection after the examination. On both occasions, he assured

Travis that right now they did not have to see signs of improvement to be

encouraged; right now, it was good enough that there were no indications of

deterioration in the dog’s condition.

Frequently during the night, Travis wandered to the other end of the surgery and

read the words of a simply framed scroll that hung above the scrub sink:

TRIBUTE TO A DOG

The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the

one that never deserts him, the one that never proves Ungrateful or treacherous,

is his dog. A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health

and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow

and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will

kiss the hand that has no food to offer; he will lick the wounds and sores that

come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his

pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains.

When riches take wing and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his

love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

—Senator George Vest, 1870

Each time he read the tribute, Travis was filled anew with wonder at Einstein’s

existence. What fantasy of children was more common than that their dogs were

fully as perceptive and wise and clever as any adult? What gift from God would

more delight a young mind than to have the family dog prove able to communicate

on a human level and to share triumphs and tragedies with full understanding of

their meaning and importance? What miracle could bring more joy, more respect

for the mysteries of nature, more sheer exuberance over the unanticipated

wonders of life? Somehow, in the very idea of a dog’s personality and human

intelligence combined in a single creature, one had a hope of a species at once

as gifted as humankind but more noble and worthy. And what fantasy of adults was

more common than that, one day, another intelligent species would be found to

share the vast, cold universe and, by sharing it, would at last provide some

relief from our race’s unspeakable loneliness and sense of quiet desperation?

And what other loss could be more devastating than the loss of Einstein, this

first hopeful evidence that humankind carried within it the seeds not merely of

greatness but of godhood?

These thoughts, which Travis could not suppress, shook him and drew from him a

thick sob of grief. Damning himself for being an emotional basket case, he went

into the downstairs hall, where Einstein would not be aware of— and perhaps be

frightened by—his tears.

Nora relieved him at three in the morning. She had to insist that he go

upstairs, for he was reluctant to leave Keene’s surgery.

Exhausted but protesting that he would not sleep, Travis tumbled into bed and

slept.

He dreamed of being pursued by a yellow-eyed thing with wicked talons and

foreshortened alligator jaws. He was trying to protect Einstein and Nora,

pushing them in front of him, encouraging them to run, run, run. But somehow the

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *