O l i v e r B e n j a m i n
you couldn’t imagine.”
“So when is this Armageddon supposed to take place?” Don
Wong asked, worried that he might have missed his boat.
“I don’t have any idea. I’ve been forcibly replaced as manager of
the event, not to mention cut off from the world for a while. Don’t you
have a telephone or anything?”
“We did, but business hasn’t been so good. The line’s been
disconnected.”
Gareth suggested that they drive to the nearest store and try to
pick up a newspaper. Gareth, Don Wong, Shiva, Victoria, Harvey,
Milo and Spinoza piled into Gareth’s car and set off on the thirty-mile
trip, leaving the MLF masses behind.
Don Wong tried to ask Harvey what happened to him, but it was
useless. The once erudite and pedantic Harvey had been reduced to a
confused silence. Something was clearly wrong upstairs. His journey
to lands beyond had evidently been damaging in some way, and now
all he could manage was to smile sheepishly and pat Spinoza on the
head. It proved an equitable arrangement for the two of them, but
frustrating to the others. Gareth suspected correctly that it was
Barth’s doing, but he could not imagine to what end Harvey’s noodle
had been fried.
By the time they arrived at the store, it was nearly dusk and the
elderly shopkeeper was closing up for the evening. They anxiously
grabbed at newspapers and found to their astonishment that the end
of days was already upon them.
“Good lord!” cried Gareth, looking at the photographs on the
front page, “That kid Bob, and the costumed freako! How did they get
to be—?”
The shopkeeper ambled over to the odd group of strangers and
chuckled.
“Say there! That monkey can read?” he said, “Why that’s just
delightful. Y’all from a traveling circus or something?”
“Blue Blazes! What time is it? Do you have a television set?” Don
Wong exclaimed impatiently.
“Why sure I do. Me and my old lady got our living quarters out
back behind the store. I reckon you’ll be wantin’ to see that
Hollywood game show, the Human Race, huh? Well, then. Follow
me.”
The seven followed the slow-moving shopkeeper to his modest
lodgings behind the store. To their dismay, it took him nearly a full
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