F Paul Wilson - Novel 05 (54 page)

 
          
She
watched him a moment, ready to give him a fourth shot, almost hoping he'd move,
but he was out. She dropped the chair. She looked at the bed.

 
          
And
saw Sam, looking up at her.

 
          
Gingerly,
Julie stepped over Nathan to get to the bed.

 
          
Sam
was watching her with her sunken, luminous eyes. She lifted her hand
—
her arm muscles were so weak
—
and
Julie grasped it, clutching it between both of hers. Her fingers were cool,
damp.

 
          
"Sammi!
You're awake. You've come back to us."

 
          
"Julie,"
she said in a voice as dry as the heather out on the moors, and weakly squeezed
Julie's hands. "Julie ... I had the weirdest dream. And you were in
it."

 
          
Julie
felt that pressure building up in her chest, felt her eyes filling. Oh yes, she
thought. Let it come.

 
          
"Was
I?"

 
          
"Yes.
It was an awful dream, but in it you said you loved me. Isn't that weird?'

 
          
"No.
That's not weird, Sam. And it wasn't a dream. It's true. I do love you."

 
          
And
then she couldn't hold back the tears any longer. She wrapped her arms around
her twin, clutching her tight. She buried her face against Sam's shoulder and
sobbed. "You're my sister, and I love you. ..."

 
          
"You're
crying, Julie," Sam said. "You never cry."

 
          
Julie
tried but couldn't answer. She felt Sam's free hand start to stroke her hair.
Like those other hands ...

 
          
"Does
this mean we're friends now?"

 
          
Julie
could only nod against her shoulder. Oh,
yes.

 
          
"Good.
I always wanted us to be friends, but..." now Sam's voice started to
catch, "you never seemed to. Twins should be friends."

 
          
The
simple truth of that only caused Julie to cry harder.

 
          
"Don't
cry, Julie. We're gonna be all right."

 
          
Finally
Julie found her voice again.

 
          
"Yes,
we are, Sammi." She sat up and wiped her eyes. "We're going to be
better than all right. We're going to be the best. The two of us. I'll see to
that. We'll see to that. But first..."

 
          
She
turned and sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at Nathan's still form,
sprawled on the rug. She had to pull herself together now. Something had to be
done about Nathan. She had to call the police but there was no phone in this
room. What if Nathan came to while she was out calling?

 
          
Only
one way to solve that: Take him with her. Drag the monster down the hall by his
ankles.

           
She knelt beside him, got her hands
under him, and flipped him onto his back.

 
          
"Oh,
God!"

 
          
"What's
wrong?" Sam asked from the bed.

 
          
Julie
stared at Nathan's white face and open, unseeing eyes. Then she noticed the
empty syringe protruding from his chest wall. He wasn't going anywhere.

 
          
Relief
swept through her.

 
          
"What's
wrong, Julie?" Sam asked again.

 
          
"Nothing,
Sammi," she told her. "Nothing at all. Everything's fine now."

 
          
And
they sat there together, with so much to say and yet
—
saying nothing.

 
          
Because
they had plenty of time now.

 
          
F.
Paul Wilson, a
practicing medical doctor, is the author of eighteen
previous novels, including the New; York Times bestsellers The Keep and The
Tomb. His most recent work was Deep As
the
Marrow. He has been
a
finalist
for the Nebula, World Fantasy, and Bram Stoker awards.

 
          
Matthew
J. Costello
is the author of fourteen novels and numerous nonfiction works.
His articles have appeared in publications ranging from the Los Angeles Times
to
Sports Illustrated.
He scripted the bestselling CD-ROM interactive
dramas The 7th Guest and The
1
I th
Hour.

 
          
And
watch for
. ..

 
          
DNA
Wars, the new novel by F. Paul Wilson and Matthew J. Costello, coming from
Warner Aspect in April 1998.

 
 
          
Practicing
physician F. Paul Wilson chilled us In
The Keep
and his bestselling
medical thriller
The Select.
Matthew J. Costello is the genius who
scripted
The 7th Guest,
the bestselling CD-ROM Interactive drama of all
time. Now they combine their Imaginations to take us on a speeding virtual reality
ride where terrible secrets Me waltlng-ln a woman's deeply burled memories of a
shocking crime.

 
          
Samantha
Gordon has doctors mystified: There Is no known physical cause for her deep
coma. Nonetheless, Samantha Is dying. Her only hope Is her twin sister, Julia,
a research scientist who has invented a virtual reality program that will let
Julia enter Samantha's mind. The risks? Inescapable madness and sudden death.
For once Julia enters the erotic, mysterious landscape of her sister's
memories, she must relive them. And In this dark world of macabre revelations a
killer Is hiding, and the race for her own life will begin ...

 
          
"WILL
KEEP YOU TURNING THE PAGES."
—
RocKy
Mountain News

 
          
"A
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE THAT WILL LEAVE THE READER GASPING RIGHT UP TO

 
          
THE
NAIL-BITING FINALE."
—
Rick Hautala, author of
Impulse

 
          
An
Alternate Selection of The Literary Guil and of doubleday book club
⁸

 
          
$6.99 US/$8.99 CAN.

 
          
I
SB*    0-446-60473-9

 
 
          
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