بخش 05 - فصل 36

36 Gallison leads Holly and Jerome away to . . . well, to somewhere. Hodges sits on the crate with his head lowered and his hands planted on his thighs. One of the roadies approaches hesitantly and offers to call an ambulance for him. Hodges thanks him but refuses. He doesn’t believe

Brady could hear the warble of

an approaching ambulance (or

anything else) over the din

‘Round Here is producing, but

he won’t take the chance.

Taking chances is what

brought them to this pass,

with everyone in the Mingo

Auditorium,

including

Jerome’s mother and sister, at

risk. He’d rather die than take

another chance, and rather

hopes he will before he has to explain this shit-coated clusterfuck. Only . . . Janey. When he thinks of Janey, laughing and tipping his borrowed fedora at just the right insouciant angle, he knows that if he had it to do over again, he’d likely do it the same way. Well . . . most of it. Given a do-over, he might have

listened a little more closely to Mrs. Melbourne. She thinks they walk among us, Bowfinger had said, and the two of them had had a manly chuckle over that, but the joke was on them, wasn’t it? Because Mrs. Melbourne was right. Brady Hartsfield really is an alien, and he was among them all the time, fixing

computers and selling ice cream. Holly and Jerome are gone, Jerome carrying the .38 that belonged to Hodges’s father. Hodges has grave doubts about sending the boy into a crowded auditorium with a loaded gun. Under ordinary circumstances he’s a beautifully levelheaded kid, but he’s not apt to be so levelheaded with his mom and

sis in danger. Holly needs to be protected, though. Remember you’re just the backup, Hodges told the boy before Gallison led them away, but Jerome made no acknowledgement. He’s not sure Jerome even heard him. In any case, Hodges has done all he can do. The only thing left is to sit here, fighting the pain and trying to

get his breath and waiting for an explosion he prays will not come.