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And land on concrete. I roll. Smash into the side of a parked car.
I pull myself up on the bumper and look around.
This feels real. I smell the exhaust fumes. Feel the too-hot sun on my back.
I turn and look behind me. No bugs. No dead angels.
Maximum Overdrive is just across the street.
I want to run, but all I can do is limp.
I stumble into the shop. It’s full of customers. They look at me. Is this real? It could be a movie. But which one?
“Oh, my ears and whiskers,” I say. “How late it’s getting.”
“Fuck me,” whispers Kasabian. Then he yells, “Candy!”
It’s definitely too hot in here.
I THINK I’M asleep for a long time.
Allegra comes by a lot. Vidocq comes by too.
“Hey old man.”
“Hey yourself,” he says. “Look at you. Always getting in trouble. Always worrying people.”
“A born drama queen,” says Allegra.
“You have to admit, when you get sick it’s always something exotic,” says Candy.
“Next time, you get bitten.”
“I did.”
She holds up her hand. It’s wrapped in gauze. I didn’t notice until now.
“You all right?”
“I’m fine. Just a little sore. I was counting on you being my houseboy for a while, but, well, that’s not going to happen is it, Camille?”
I look at Allegra.
“What did that bug get me with?”
“Some kind of Hellion neurotoxin. Nasty stuff. Between that and the fever, we were amazed you made it home.”
“Thanks for fixing me up.”
“Thanks for getting medicine for Eugène. Candy told me about the angel.”
I look at the blister on my wrist. It’s already gone, but there’s a new circular scar.
Candy sits down next to me.
“You need a shave,” she says.
“How long was I gone?”
