And then there were screams and a great upheaval from the crowd, and we turned in time to see that the girl with the vending tray had produced a gun, produced it and was pointing it at Se Santo. Pointing it at him even as the sky boomed and Luther drew his own, shooting her in the arm; as the rumble of the approaching dinosaurs intensified and the announcer exhaled, catching his breath, and said, at last, “I think Lovely Bones got the money. I think Lovely Bones was first. It was an eyebrow finish. And Bromtide was the second. Bromtide was second and Caligula and Mesozoic Nights each tied for third. It was very close. That was an eyelash finish ...”
But by then, of course, the cloud was upon us. And as it turned out, I had been right. For it was the Flashback come again.
––––––––
“The c
