Ravens [antikvár]

Romeo was driving down from tlie Blue Ridge Mountains in the baffling twilight, going too fast, when a raccoon or possum ran in front of the car. The impact was disturbingly gentle. No thud—just a soft unzipping, beneath the chassis. Still, it tore at Romeo's heart. He braked and pulled over. Shaw awoke. "What's wrong.?" "Hit something," said Romeo, and he got out and started walking back up I-77, hunting for the carcass. Shaw followed him. A tractor-trailer bore down on them with a shudder and the long plunging chord of its passing. Then the night got quiet. They could hear their own footsteps. Cicadas, and a sliver of far-off honkytonk music. "God," said Shaw. "This is it. We're really in the Southr But they found no trace of the animal. They walked quite a ways. They waited for headlights so they could scan up and down the highway. They backtracked and searched along the shoulder. Nothing—not