The Gates: A Samuel Johnson Tale by John Connolly

Author:John Connolly [Connolly, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult, Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Humour
ISBN: 1439172633
Amazon: B002QJZ9Y0
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2009-10-06T05:00:00+00:00

XIX

In Which Assorted Foul Things Begin to Arrive, and Nurd Discovers the Joys of Motoring

NURD FELT HIS FINGERTIPS begin to tingle again, but this time he was ready. He was wearing an assortment of rusty armor, some of the few possessions he had been permitted to retain in exile, to protect himself from any unseen eventualities. As he was about to be torn out of one world and hurled into another, this meant just about every possible eventuality was unseen. Only his head remained uncovered because the helmet no longer fit correctly.

“Maybe your head has swollen,” Wormwood had suggested somewhat unhelpfully as he tried for the third and last time to force the helmet over Nurd’s ears.

Nurd had responded by hitting Wormwood hard on the head with his scepter.

“Now your head is swollen,” Nurd had replied. “Leave the helmet. It must have taken a dent.”

The tingling spread to the rest of his body. It was time. Nurd wondered if he would get to see Samuel again. He hoped so. Samuel was the only creature who had ever been kind to Nurd, and the memory of the boy’s company made the demon smile. He was determined to become friends with Samuel, if he could avoid being crushed by household appliances, or hit by trucks.

“Good-bye, Wormwood,” said Nurd. “I’d like to say that I’ll miss you, but I won’t.”

With that he blinked out of existence, leaving Wormwood alone once again.

“Good riddance,” said Wormwood. “I never liked you anyway.”

He looked around at the great Wasteland, which stretched emptily in every direction.

He felt very lonely.

• • •

At CERN, the collider was generating impacts at a startling rate, creating a constant stream of explosions. As the collisions released their energy, the collider filled with more blue light.

In the main control room, Professor Hilbert and his team were frantically trying to turn the collider off, to no avail.

“We’re not in control of it,” he told Professor Stefan, who was pacing anxiously in the manner of someone who sees his job about to go up in smoke. Given the amount of energy being given off by the collider, it wasn’t the only thing in danger of doing so.

“If we aren’t, then who is?” asked Professor Stefan.

Professor Hilbert reached for the volume button on the nearest computer, and turned it up to full. The control room filled with the sound of whispering: many voices speaking in an assortment of ancient tongues. Despite their panic, all activity ceased as the scientists listened, their faces betraying confusion, yet also curiosity. After all, this was fascinating! Dangerous, and very possibly fatal to all of mankind, but undoubtedly fascinating.

Then a single voice rose above the babble, a deep voice filled with eons of loneliness and jealousy and rage. It spoke just two words.

It said: “It begins.”

“I think,” said Professor Hilbert, his face pale,“that he is.”

• • •

Nurd popped into existence again in the world of men just at the point where his body felt as though it were about to be crushed to the size of a pea.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.