Atropos continued to flail weakly with the scalpel. Ralph ducked two or three of these strokes easily, then slid one hand toward the throat of the creature lying beneath him.

[“Ralph.” No.” Don’t."’] He shook his head at her, not knowing if he was expressing annoyance, reassurance, or both. He touched Atropos’s skin, and felt him shudder. The bald doc uttered a choked cry of revulsion, and Ralph knew exactly how he felt. It was sickening for both of them, but he didn’t take his hand away. Instead, he tried to close it around Atropos’s throat and wasn’t very surprised to find he couldn’t do it.

Still, hadn’t Lachesis said that only Short-Timers could oppose the will of Atropos? He thought so. The question was, how?

Beneath him, Atropos laughed nastily.

[“Please, Ralph. Please just get my earrings and we’ll go.”] Atropos rolled his eyes in her direction, then looked back at Ralph.

[Did you think you could kill me, Shorts? Well, guess again.] No, he hadn’t thought it, but he’d needed to find out for sure.

[Life’s a bitch, ain’t it, Shorts? Why don’t you just give me back the ring? I’m going to get it sooner or later, I guarantee you that.] “Fuck you, you little weasel.”] Tough talk, but talk was cheap.

The most pressing question was still unanswered: What the hell was he supposed to do with this monster?

Whatever it is, you won’t be able to do it with Lois standing there and watching you, a cold voice that was not quite Carolyn’s advised him. She was fine when she was pissed off, but she’s not pissed off now. She’s too tenderhearted for whatever’s going to happen next, Ralph. You have to get her out of here.

He turned toward Lois. Her eyes were half-closed. She looked ready to crumple at the base of the archway and go to sleep.

[“Lois, I want you to get out of here. Right now. Go up the stairs and wait for me under the tree.] The scalpel flashed up again, and this time it almost sliced off the end of Ralph’s nose. He recoiled, and his knee slid on nylon. Atropos gave a mighty heave and came within a whisker of rolling out from under. At the last second, Ralph shoved the little man’s head flat again with the heel of his hand-that, it seemed, was allowed by the rules-and replanted his knee.

[owww! Owww! Stop it! You’re killing me!]

Ralph ignored him and looked at Lois.

[“Go on, Lois! Go on up! I’ll be there as soon as I can."’]

[“I don’t think I can climb out on my own-I’m too tired.”] [“Yes, you can. You have to, and you can.”] Atropos subsided again-for the moment, at least-a small, gasping engine under Ralph’s knee. But that was a long way from being enough. Time was passing topside, passing fast, and right now time was the real enemy, not Ed Deepneau.

[“My earrings-“I [“I’ll bring them when I come’ Lois. I promise.

Making what looked like a supreme effort, Lois straightened and looked solemnly at Ralph.

[“You shouldn’t hurt him, Ralph, not if you don’t have to. It’s not Christian. “I No, not at all Christian, a capering little creature deep inside Ralph’s head agreed. Not Christian, but still…

I can’t wait to get started.

[“Go on, Lois. Leave him to me.”] She looked at him sadly.

[“It wouldn’t do me any good to ask you to promise not to hurt him, would it?”]

He thought about it, then shook his head.

[“No, but I’ll promise you this much: it won’t be any harder than he makes it. Is that good enough?”]

Lois considered carefully, then nodded.

[“Yes, I think that will do. And maybe I can make it back up, if I take it slow and easy… but what about you?”] [“I’ll be fine. Wait for me under the tree.

[“All right, Ralph.”] He watched her cross the filthy room, Helen’s sneaker bobbing from one wrist. She ducked beneath the arch between the apartment and the stairway and slowly started up. Ralph waited until her feet had disappeared from view, then turned back to Atropos.

[“Well, Chumley, here we are-two oldpals reunited. What should we do? Should we play? You like to play, don’t you?”] Atropos immediately renewed his struggles, simultaneously waving his scalpel above his head and trying to buck Ralph off.

[Quit it! Get your hands off me, you old faggot.”

Atropos thrashed so wildly that kneeling on him now was like kneeling on a snake. Ralph ignored the yelling, the bucking, and the blindly waving scalpel. Atropos’s whole head was now sticking out of the slip, which made things a lot easier. He grabbed Lois’s earrings and tugged.

They stayed where they were but earned him a hearty, pained scream from Atropos. Ralph leaned forward, smiling a little.

[“For pierced ears, aren’t they, pal?”] [Yes.” Yes, goddammit.”

[“To quote you, life’s a bitch, ain’t it?”] Ralph seized the earrings again and ripped them free. There were two small fans of blood as the minute holes in the lobes of Atropos’s ears became flaps.

The bald man’s scream was as sharp as a new drillbit. Ralph felt an uneasy mixture of pity and contempt.

Little bastard’s used to burtz’ g other people, but not being hurt himself Maybe he’s never been hurt himself Well say hello to how the other half lives, pal.

[Stop it. Stop it.” You can’t do this to me.”

[“I’ve got a ewsflash for you, buddy… I am doing it. Now why don’t you Just get with the program?”] [What do you think you’re going to accomplish by this, Shorts? It’ll happen anyway, you know. All those people at the Civic Center going to go bye-bye, and taking the ring won’t stop it.] Don’t I know it, Ralph thought.

Atropos was still panting, but he had stopped thrashing. Ralph felt able to look away from him for a moment and send his eyes on a quick tour of the room. He supposed what he was really looking for was inspiration-even a small bolt would do.

[“Can I make a suggestion, Mr. A.? As your new little pal and playmate? I know you)re busy, but you ought to find time to do something about this place. I’m not talking about getting it in House Beautiful or anything like that, but sheesh. What a sty."’] Atropos, simultaneously sulky and wary: [Do you think I give a fuck what you think, Shorts?] He could only think of one way to proceed. He didn’t like it, but he was going to go ahead, just the same. He had to go ahead; there was a picture in his mind that guaranteed it. It was a picture of Ed Deepneau flying toward Derry from the coast in a light plane, one with either a crate of high explosive or a tank of nerve-gas stowed in the nose.

[“What can I do with you, Mr. A.? Any ideas?”] The response was immediate and unequivocal.

[Let me go. That’s the answer. The only answer. I’ll leave you alone, both of You. Leave you for the Purpose. You’ll live another ten years.

Hell, maybe another twenty, it’s not impossible. All you and the little lady have to do is butt out. Go home. And when the big bang comes watch it on the TV news.

Ralph tried to sound as if he were honestly considering this.

“And you’d leave us alone? You’d promise to leave us alone?

[“Yes.”

Atropos’s face had taken on a hopeful look, and Ralph could sec the first traces of an aura springing up around the little creep. It was the same low and nasty red as the pulsing glow which lit the apartment.

[“Do you know something, Mr. A.?”]

Atropos, looking more hopeful than ever: [No, what?] Ralph shot one hand forward, grabbed Atropos’s left wrist, and twisted it hard.

Atropos shrieked in agony. His fingers loosened on the handle of the scalpel, and Ralph plucked it free with the ease of a veteran pickpocket lifting a wallet.

“I believe you.”] [Give it back.” Give it back.” Give it back!

Give it-I In his hysteria, Atropos might have gone on shrieking this for hours, so Ralph put a stop to it in the most direct way he knew.

He leaned forward and slashed a shallow vertical cut down the back of the big bald head poking out of the hole in Lois’s half-slip. No invisible hand tried to repel him, and his own hand moved with no trouble at all. Blood-a shocking amount of it-welled out of the line-cut. The aura around Atropos had now gone to the dark and baleful red of an infected wound.