Chapter FiveTHE 'ACCIDENT'
Lori struggled with the latch on the gate, heard the car accelerate behind her, felt the awful rush of air and then the bumper struck her at the knees and threw her over the hood, back again, and crushed her legs against the back fence. She thought of the Dumont family and the fatal screech of the Concorde three years before, as she free-fell through the air in her own backyard. She landed on her spine and then… nothing. Black night and golden stars, and forgetfulness.
Lori's father had been drinking. His eyes were black discs, his nose and mouth distorted and his breath stank. The car almost cut her in half. She was thrown twice over the hood onto a picket fence, slid to the ground in a welter of blood and flesh, and lay crumpled on the concrete driveway while
