am tried to pass the car in front of him, but the next lane was blocked. The Ford that had been chasing him pulled alongside and tried again to force him into the concrete barrier on his right. He swerved back to his left, glanced off his pursuers’ fender, and squeezed between the old T-Bird and the car ahead of him.
As he passed an entrance ramp he caught sight of Hadley’s BMW racing onto the expressway. It shot across three lanes and accelerated to catch the dueling cars. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sam wondered if Hadley would let the man and woman in the Ford live.
Emil gripped the wheel of the T-Bird and got ready for another attack on Sam. He hoped to force him off the highway and take him alive, but if Sam died in the attempt it really didn’t matter. Either way Jasmine would come and Emil would have accomplished the wishes of the Ones. They would take him as one of them. And if he himself died in this effort, they would say his name with respect, as they did the names of others who had tried and perished. The Ones were the reason he came to America, the reason for his life, and he would give it gladly.
From the corner of his eye, he saw a BMW on his left. He turned and saw the passenger, an older man with gray hair and mustache, raise his sunglasses to look back at him.
In another moment, Emil would have recognized Hadley. Now their eyes met and Emil no longer cared about Sam, or the Ones, or his life. There was nothing left but Hadley’s terrible and wonderful eyes, and a far away voice he strained to hear. He didn’t hear Angela’s screams, or feel her fighting for control of his car. He didn’t notice their seat belts pop free as if alive, or feel the impact of the side of his skull against the windshield as the car rocketed into the back of a suddenly stalled semi.
Later, police and EMTs would find Emil still staring wide eyed, his lifeless head and shoulders on the crumpled hood of the Ford. And that night, a veteran ambulance driver would awaken screaming and sweating from a dream of Emil’s eyes and the voice that he almost heard in his sleep.