BooksBarbecue
Back Whirlwind Save as PDF
Chapters (95)
  1. Title Page
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. 63
  65. 64
  66. 65
  67. 66
  68. 67
  69. 68
  70. 69
  71. 70
  72. 71
  73. 72
  74. 73
  75. 74
  76. 75
  77. 76
  78. 77
  79. 78
  80. 79
  81. 80
  82. 81
  83. 82
  84. 83
  85. 84
  86. 85
  87. 86
  88. 87
  89. 88
  90. 89
  91. 90
  92. 91
  93. 92
  94. Also by DAVID KLASS
  95. Copyright Page

“Maybe that was because I was running for my life,” I blurt out, and for just a second anger rings in my voice. I stop and take a few breaths, and get myself back under control. “I went from a monster in a Manhattan penthouse to a speeding train to a motorcycle gang. You weren’t there, P.J. You don’t know what it was like. So I don’t know how you can judge me.” I pick up my story and describe meeting Gisco, and how he tricked me into going to the Outer Banks, and ditched me in a locked barn.

Then I hesitate a long beat, and I start to tell her about Eko.

55

55

P.J. lets me get through the whole Outer Banks part of the story without interrupting. Then she asks softly, “So you were able to dive to the bottom of the ocean because this Eko girl gave you a necklace with magic beads?”

“Not magic,” I tell her. “Condensed oxygen in solid form.”

“Where’s the necklace?”

“Right here.” I take it off my neck and pass it to her.

“You still wear it?”

“I might need it again. You never know.”

“No, you never do.” She fingers the beads, and then looks right at me. “It’s nice. She has good taste.” P.J.’s eyes probe my own.

I hold her gaze and don’t say anything.

Seconds pass.

“So what happened next?” P.J. finally asks. “You were in an open boat with that telepathic dog, in a storm.”

So I finish my strange tale. I describe surviving the hurricane, and being picked up by the trawler Lizabetta, and how I was taken to Dargon’s island, where I found Firestorm and used it to wreck the trawler fleet.

“So I guess I did what I was supposed to do,” I tell her. “I fulfilled my mission—the reason I was sent back a thousand years. On some level, that means a lot. But when Eko and Gisco disappeared … I was suddenly left all alone. I started to realize that I’d saved a future I didn’t know, and completely screwed up my life in the present.”

“My life, too,” P.J. says softly. “I was walking home from a babysitting job when a town police car pulled up. A cop waved me over, and asked me if I’d seen a gray van drive by. I leaned down to answer, and he sprayed something cold on my face. When I woke up I was bound and gagged, and on my way to the Amazon. No goodbyes to Mom and Dad, no idea what was happening. Just … taken.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I don’t know what I could have done to prevent it, but it’s terrible.”