67. Roland Closes the Briefcase
Roland, with a wild grin, surveyed the new town he had just acquired, Merriview, and watched as its residents looked up at him, mouths wide open. They were beaming with pure joy. They were distracted by the sky, or else they might have seen his mask fall, even for a moment. It was hard to maintain the disguise during this part.
But not for very long. He would be among the few to know how to hide when the sheriff returned.
Roland snapped the briefcase shut.
68. Everyone Loves Fireworks
Grady was still lying on the football field when he awoke. Above him, fireworks in red, green, yellow, and white exploded. A voice asked, “Grady isn’t that beautiful?” His wife. Marianne grinned at him with teeth that were white in the darkness.
Grady sat upright. Grady sat up. Around him, the town was grinning at the sky. The sky that had been a chasmic void hours before. What happened to him while he was asleep?
All of them were smiling.