He moved quickly to Thorn, keeping the dogs at bay while Thorn began to climb over. His clothes torn, his face bloodied, Thorn struggled upward on the fence, suddenly falling hard upon the top of it, and impaling himself through the armpit with one of the rusted spikes. Crying out in pain, he forced himself upward and fell hard to the earth on the other side. Jennings followed, triggering his flash as he went, then throwing it at the howling dogs as he jumped down on the other side. Thorn was staggering as Jennings crabbed him, half carrying him toward the cab, the cabdriver gazed groggily out at them, then gave of moan of horror. He reached for the ignition, but the keys were gone. He raced out, helping Jennings load Thorn into the back seat of the car. As Jennings ran to the trunk to retrieve the car keys, he glanced back at the dogs, which were now going wild. They were smashing themselves into the fence, howling with anger; one of them tried to leap over and almost made it, but was impaled by the neck, blood shooting out like a fountain. In their frenzy the other dogs leapt upon him, eating him alive as his legs kicked wildly and his voice wailed with rage.

The cab sped away with its back door flapping open, the driver shocked as he gazed into his mirror at the two men in the back. They no longer looked like men, but tangled masses of blood and clothing. And they clung to each other, weeping like children.

Chapter Eleven

The cabdriver had taken them to a hospital emergency room, removed their baggage from the car, and then sped away. Thorn was dazed so Jennings answered all questions, giving false identities and a story that seemingly satisfied the hospital authorities. They had been drunk, he said, and wandered onto private property marked with warning notices that the premises were patrolled by dogs. It was on the outskirts of Rome, but he could not remember where; just that there was a high fence with spikes that his friend had fallen upon. Both were treated for puncture wounds and given tetanus shots, then told to return in a week for blood tests to make sure the injections had done the job. They changed their clothing and left, finding their way to a small hotel and signing in under false names; the concierge insisted they pay in advance and gave them the key to a single room.

Thorn was on the phone now, desperately trying to reach Katherine, as Jennings paced the room.

"They could have killed you, and they didn't," Jennings said fearfully. "It was me they were after, they kept going for my neck."

Thorn lifted his arm to silence Jennings; a dark stain of blood showed through his shirt.

"Do you hear what I'm telling you, Thorn?! They were going for my neck\"