Starman Read Free Page A

white. The trailer ran through the projector gate and began to flap repeatedly against the takeup reel. She was blinking away tears by the time she shut off the machine. The light faded, along with something less immediately visible. Putting the heels of both hands against her eyes, she pushed firmly and rubbed in opposite directions. Then she clasped her arms across her chest and drew in a deep, shuddery breath.
    As she stumbled toward the bedroom she fought to convince herself that she hadn’t done anything as immature as having gotten drunk. Her depression was due not to excessive consumption of alcohol but to the loss of something deeply felt. As yet she wasn’t sure whether watching the movies again had been a good idea or not. The wine muddled both her thoughts and her emotions, which was just as well for her peace of mind.
    She closed the bedroom door behind her more out of habit than necessity, crossed to the bed. A bottle of sleeping tablets waited on the nightstand. She dumped a couple into her left hand and found herself hesitating, staring at the bottle. The thought passed quickly. She put the bottle back on the table, screwing the cap back in place with careful deliberation.
    The pills went down without a chaser. The wine was too tempting. Besides, she wasn’t thirsty anymore. She staggered a little as she wrestled her jeans off and flopped down onto the bed. She started to remove her sweater, wondered why she was bothering, and fell back on the sheets. Consciousness fled with blissful speed.
    Far out on the lake a loon cried out uncertainly. There were uncomfortable rustlings in the reeds and bushes when a sudden, unnatural breeze sprang up around them. Owls raced for the safety of their trees while nocturnal gatherers sprinted for their burrows. Something fast and white-hot was streaking across the sky, heading for the forest.
    It came in low over the treetops, tumbling unsteadily. It went through the first trees as though they were made of papier-mâché, igniting the tops of those it merely brushed while incinerating the ones it struck head-on.
    The fire was spreading rapidly by the time the explorer was able to emerge from his damaged craft. He scanned the burning woods, the ridge of earth that defined the rim of the impact crater his vessel had gouged. Only flames moved around him, and these he could ignore.
    Finally he moved, abandoning the craft and rising to ground level. The humus-heavy soil was smoking all around him. The fire continued to spread, engulfing trees and brush in every direction.
    A rising whine became audible above the excited crackling of the flames. The whine became a roar as several fighter-bombers shot past directly over the impact crater. They disappeared into the western sky. The explorer didn’t doubt they’d be back. He considered his options and surroundings, and then he began to move.
    Traveling with incredible swiftness, he went right through the flames. The only witness to this impossible feat was a startled, panicky deer searching for its own escape route.
    The four aircraft returned and made another pass over the devastated section of forest. They were moving much too fast to pick out fine details, and in any case the fine detail they would have found most interesting had by now moved a good distance away from the conflagration.
    Smaller trees the explorer cleared, large low-hanging branches he ducked beneath. He traveled with an instinctive feel for the mass and position of objects in his path. Eventually the woods gave way to a long, treeless strip of something hard and flat. It cut through the forest to left and right. Lights appeared at the far end of the road, moving toward him.
    Curious, he rose and hovered, taking the time to examine the peculiar land-bound vehicle which was approaching from the north.
    The young forest ranger was trying to steer the pickup and see through the forest at the same time. He held onto the wheel with one hand and the CB mike with his