EDITOR'S NOTE: This concludes our serialization of Lee Thomas's DAMAGE. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have, and I thank Lee for allowing us to run it. All previous chapters are archived for a limited time only. Please visit the author at http://www.leethomasauthor

38

The snow fell, and the children stood at the windows watching the feathery flakes drop from the sky, all hoping that the next day of school would be canceled. Frank tapped the top of the music stand with his baton to get his students' attention, but it was a half-assed attempt at best. He smiled, rested the baton on the lip of the stand and joined the kids at the window.

He looked out at the stables, the ... (more…)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Look for a new chapter from Lee Thomas's DAMAGE every Wednesday and Saturday. All previous chapters are archived for a limited time only.

37

Ansen Riggs, drenched beneath the pelting storm, stood at the lake's edge, watching his god work over the remains of the ridiculous man who'd thought himself a hero. The bands of shadow whipped and tore beneath the glowing surface of the lake as the funnel coursed and spun above. Abol would only need moments with the carcass he had tossed away, and then Riggs would be blessed with the union.

To the north, the remainder of the city went dark as the brutal weather destroyed the toys of technology. Soon, this place would cease to exist and ... (more…)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Look for a new chapter from Lee Thomas's DAMAGE every Wednesday and Saturday. All previous chapters are archived for a limited time only.

36

The Earth still cried.

Olivia Cantrell sat on the floor of her apartment, staring at the flickering light from her candle, now nearly burned through. No matter what pains she took to bind Douglas McQueen, his power proved too strong, and the sky wept. The wind wailed. In the apartment next door, the Isaacson's screamed at one another. Glass shattered, furniture crashed. Olivia rocked back and forth amid the flame's undulating light, wrapping ribbon around the small doll in her hand.

Already, a binding charm - with its cobwebs and fly and ... (more…)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Look for a new chapter from Lee Thomas's DAMAGE every Wednesday and Saturday. All previous chapters are archived for a limited time only.

35

Doug struggled to his feet in the stable. He looked around frantically and was grateful to see that Riggs had not yet broken through the wall. Again stunned by the transportation, he clung to a low stall door until his head cleared.

These were Riggs' places, he realized. These were his temples, and they were united. Outside, these locations were miles from one another, but from within, they were a closed circuit, one giving way to the next like train cars positioned on a circular track.

He walked down the corridor, beneath cones of ... (more…)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Look for a new chapter from Lee Thomas's DAMAGE every Wednesday and Saturday. All previous chapters are archived for a limited time only.

34

Frank stood by the door of the apartment, waiting for Rebecca to fight her way into a puffy blue jacket, while Lisa finished a note to Doug. In his pocket, Frank carried Doug's map. Finished securing herself in the jacket, Rebecca flipped the hood up over her head and said, "Ready."

Rebecca, unaware of the severity of the situation, was seeing all of their actions as a great adventure, but Lisa was having a tough time of it, Frank could see. Not only did she have to carry resentment and anger about Doug, but now she was also saddled with ... (more…)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Look for a new chapter from Lee Thomas's DAMAGE every Wednesday and Saturday. All previous chapters are archived for a limited time only.

33

"Dr. Floyd read something to me," Doug explained to Frank and Lisa, both of whom sat on the sofa while Doug paced beside the window. "He told me that I said it during one of my spells. In the last hour on God's last day."

Seeing that his brother was about to say something, Doug held up a hand so he didn't lose his train of thought. "Riggs has finished with his symbols. But, he's not exactly done. Something is going to happen tonight. All of this - the murders, the spell circle - it was all just leading up to something else."

"What?" Lisa ... (more…)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Look for a new chapter from Lee Thomas's DAMAGE every Wednesday and Saturday. All previous chapters are archived for a limited time only.

32

"Drive on down to the back of the stables," Nancy said. She wrapped a strand of her graying hair around a finger and fidgeted in the passenger seat of Frank's car. "They paved the trail over last year, so we shouldn't get stuck."

Frank squinted through the oscillating sheets of water, one hitting from the left only to be wiped away by a more violent wave from the right. The world was gray and miserable as if covered in soot, and he could barely see the hood of his car, let alone the road Nancy mentioned. "What road?"

"It's to the back of ... (more…)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Look for a new chapter from Lee Thomas's DAMAGE every Wednesday and Saturday. All previous chapters are archived for a limited time only.

31

Nature's onslaught of Pierce Valley, a blinding downpour of rain brought to electric life by frequent and fierce lightning flashes, continued through the morning, sending the river spilling over its banks, knocking out the power to two-thirds of the city's homes and covering the town in a shadow so dark that the street lamps came on at one-forty that afternoon. The entire western region of Washington State took nature's primal beating, and like all animals, the people cowered in awe at its power. They placated themselves with hot soups ... (more…)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Look for a new chapter from Lee Thomas's DAMAGE every Wednesday and Saturday. All previous chapters are archived for a limited time only.

30

Lisa turned away from the window with its display of driving rain and hard, slate sky. She had spent the first hour at Frank's doing everything she could think of to avoid Doug, and then found herself annoyed to see how easy he'd made it for her. Ever since rushing them through the door, he'd been absorbed by something on his computer screen. He'd spent a few minutes chatting with Rebecca, asking about her sleepover at the Tuckers' and making sure she knew how to work the remote control for the television in Frank's room, but once their ... (more…)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Look for a new chapter from Lee Thomas's DAMAGE every Wednesday and Saturday. All previous chapters are archived for a limited time only.

29

Donald Barber drove through the downpour, each drop of rain that rapped on the roof of his BMW pissing him off just a little more. Reed had one hell of a lot of nerve not returning his calls. It wasn't like Donny wanted to get back together with the pathetic old queen; he needed to pick up his things from Thompson's house, and then he didn't care if he ever saw the asshole again. They were his things, and Reed had no right holding on to them, even if Donny had given him a little tap and sent him through the window of Hamster Home Pet ... (more…)