Read Starman for Free Online

standing next to the railing. His hair was flowing skyward, as though he was standing on a powerful fan. Floating just above his outstretched right palm was a tiny burning globe. A strange musical sound came from the naked figure and the globe seemed to respond to it. All her fears returned tenfold. But she couldn’t stop staring.
    “Rendezvous third dawn-break, original retrieval area. Emergency transmission concluded.”
    The musical emanation stopped. The glowing sphere began to rise, slowly at first. When it reached a point some hundred feet or so above the calm water of the bay, it suddenly accelerated. Save for the miniature sonic boom it produced as it shot heavenward, she would have thought it had simply disappeared.
    The sound broke her paralysis and she was able to start backing toward the bedroom, feeling her way as she retreated through the bedroom doorway, her eyes never leaving the front entrance until she was safely inside. She closed the door behind her, locked it, and began searching through her clothing. When she didn’t find what she was looking for there she moved on to her purse, then her jacket. She finally found the car keys in a side pocket, right where she’d left them. She held them as tightly as she would have the forty-five.
    Without pausing to slip on her pants, which she tossed over an arm, she opened the bedroom window and climbed over the sill. It was only a short drop to the ground.
    There was gas in the tank. She’d filled up before turning off the highway, not wanting to find herself stuck at the cabin without a quick way out. Her intention had been to be ready to flee from unbearable memories. Now she found herself running from something much worse.
    Surely she could get the car started and backed out of the carport before he could react! It was an older car but it was as finely tuned as a Tina Turner song. Scott had always kept it tuned perfectly. Scott had always . . .
    She turned the corner toward the carport and felt strong hands on her shoulders.
    No more fainting, not now, not again. That wouldn’t make the nightmare go away. So she started screaming instead. If he’d slapped her, or yelled at her to stop it, or thrown her to the ground, she would have quit. But he did none of those things. He just stood there holding onto her and staring at her out of those strangely deep eyes.
    Her hysteria was washed out by the rumble of a forestry service helicopter as it thumped past overhead. It was on its way to join its brethren in fighting the fire across the lake. Now the man who looked like Scott but wasn’t a man shook her. Not hard, but sufficient to choke off her screams.
    She gagged, caught her breath enough to choke out, “Who are you? What are you? What do you want with me? Please, let me alone.”
    “We go,” he said. It was Scott’s voice this time, just slightly different. Just as the man holding her was slightly different.
    Another helicopter trundled past. She waved frantically at it but the pilot wasn’t looking downward. His attention was on the fiery destination ahead. He was talking to his copilot, estimating how many minutes remained before they reached the flames and trying to decide from a combination of visual observations and radio reports where best to dump the load of fire retardant chemicals they carried in the chopper’s belly.
    The man who looked like Scott turned and pointed toward the carport. “We go,” he said again. He headed back into the house, pulling her along with him. Inside she watched as he dressed himself in the chinos, checkered shirt, and a windbreaker. After a moment’s thought he added socks and loafers. Underwear he ignored.
    Then he escorted her back to the car, watched carefully as she slid behind the wheel, and climbed in next to her. He gave her no chance to lock him out. Not that she would have considered doing so anyway. Not while he still had the gun.
    He watched closely as she turned the key in the ignition. Her hand was