Under the Dome

Carter, who had gone prayerless even longer than he’d gone tearless, almost said yes. Then he remembered how sly the boss could be. He probably wasn’t being sly now, was probably beyond that, but Carter had seen the man at work and was taking no chances. He shook his head. “Say your prayer. And if you want to get all the way to amen, you really have to make it a short one.”

On his knees, back to Carter, Big Jim clasped his hands on the cushion of the sofa, which was still dimpled from the weight of his not inconsiderable fanny. “Dear God, this is Your servant, James Rennie. I guess I’m coming to you, like it or not. The cup has been raised to my lips, and I can’t—”

A large dry sob escaped him.

“Turn out the light, Carter. I don’t want to be crying in front of you. That’s not how a man should die.”

Carter extended the gun until it was almost touching the nape of Big Jim’s neck. “Okay, but that was your last request.” Then he turned out the light.

He knew it was a mistake the instant he did it, but by then it was too late. He heard the boss move, and he was Christing quick for a big man with a bad heart. Carter fired, and in the muzzle-flash he saw a bullet-hole appear in the dented sofa cushion. Big Jim was no longer kneeling in front of it, but he couldn’t have gone far, no matter how quick he was. As Carter thumbed the button of the flash-light, Big Jim drove forward with the butcher knife he had filched from the drawer next to the fallout shelter’s stove, and six inches of steel slid into Carter Thibodeau’s stomach.

He screamed in agony and fired again. Big Jim felt the bullet buzz close by his ear, but he didn’t pull back. He also had a survival-watchman, one that had served him extremely well over the years, and it was saying now that if he drew back he would die. He staggered to his feet, pulling the knife upward as he rose, eviscerating the stupid boy who had thought he could get the best of Big Jim Rennie.

Carter screamed again as he was split open. Beads of blood sprayed Big Jim’s face, driven by what he devoutly hoped was the boy’s last breath. He pushed Carter back. In the beam of the dropped flashlight, Carter staggered away, crunching through spilled Froot Loops and holding his belly. Blood poured over his fingers. He pawed at the shelves and fell to his knees in a rain of Vigo Sardines, Snow’s Clam Fry-Ettes, and Campbell’s Soups. For a moment he stayed that way, as if he had reconsidered and decided to say a prayer after all. His hair hung in his face. Then he lost his grip and went down.

Big Jim considered the knife, but that was too labor-intensive for a man suffering from heart problems (he promised himself again that he would get that taken care of as soon as this crisis was over). He picked up Carter’s gun instead, and walked to the foolish boy.

“Carter? Are you still with us?”

Carter moaned, tried to turn over, gave up.

“I’m going to put one high up in the back of your neck, just as you suggested. But I want to give you one final piece of advice first. Are you listening?”

Carter groaned again. Big Jim took this for assent.

“The advice is this: Never give a good politician time to pray.”

Big Jim pulled the trigger.

12

“I think he’s dying!” Private Ames shouted. “I think the kid’s dying!”

Sergeant Groh knelt beside Ames and peered through the dirty slot at the bottom of the Dome. Ollie Dinsmore was lying on his side with his lips almost pressed against a surface they could now see, thanks to the filth still clinging to it. In his best drill sergeant’s voice, Groh yelled: “Yo! Ollie Dinsmore! Front and center!”

Slowly, the boy opened his eyes and looked at the two men crouched less than a foot away but in a colder, cleaner world. “What?” he whispered.

“Nothing, son,” Groh said. “Go back to sleep.”

Groh turned to Ames. “Unbunch your panties, Private. He’s fine.”

“He’s not. Just look at him!”

Groh took Ames by the arm and helped him—not unkindly—to his feet. “No,” he agreed in a low voice. “He’s not even slightly okay, but he’s alive and sleeping and right now that’s the best we can ask for. He’ll use up less oxygen that way. You go get yourself something to eat. Did you get any breakfast?”

Ames shook his head. The thought of breakfast hadn’t even crossed his mind. “I want to stay in case he comes back around.” He paused, then plunged. “I want to be here if he dies.”

“He’s not going to for awhile,” Groh said. He had no idea if this was true or not. “Get something out of the truck, even if it’s only a slice of bologna wrapped in a slice of bread. You look like shit, soldier.”

Ames jerked his head toward the boy sleeping on charred ground with his mouth and nose cocked to the Dome. His face was streaked with filth, and they could barely see the rise and fall of his chest. “How long do you think he’s got, Sarge?”