Baker stood there, shaking his head, a confused expression on his face.

Baker stood there, shaking his head, a confused expression on his face.

Baker moistened his lips and swallowed. "We . . . uh . . . we spotted someone in the alley . . . that is,

Rosie did . . ." He gazed down at the body of his fallen partner, lying on the sidewalk in a sea of blood.

"Oh, Jesus . . ."

"Come on, Baker," Loomis said, his tone softening. "Come on, man, pull yourself together."

Baker drew a deep breath. "Rosie spotted someone in the alley, bending over one of the bodies, and

ordered him to freeze over the P.A. while I got on the radio and called for backup. Henry's unit pulled up

about the same time. While I was calling it in, Rosie got out of the car. Henry and Seavers took up

position at the corner of the building over there." He pointed. "I was on the horn to the guys at the other

end of the alley, telling them to keep back and watch for crossfire. Then I saw Rosie taking up a shooting

crouch position at the mouth of the alley. I yelled at him to get back and . . ." He took a ragged breath

and let it out slowly. "And that . . . that thing in there straightened up and turned around . . . Christ, I

never saw anything like it in my life."

Modred went around the car and started heading down the alleyway.

"Wait a minute, where the hell are you going?" asked Baker.

"It's all right, Joe," Paul said, watching as Modred approached the body of the entity's first victim and

crouched over it. "He knows what he's doing."

"Well, at least that makes one of us," said Loomis tightly. He glanced at Baker. "Go on."

"It wasn't human," Baker said. "That face . . . Its eyes were glowing, like red lights, and then it howled

and these two beams came shooting from its eyes. Got Rosie right in the chest. It happened so fast! He

never even had a chance to shoot. Henry and Seavers opened up. They must've hit it. It staggered, then

straightened up again and shot those beams at them. The whole wall at the corner of the building came

apart. I was behind the car, braced over the hood, and I emptied my piece at the damn thing, but I don't

know if I hit it or not. And the next thing I know, I hear these hoofbeats coming fast and I turn around

and see these two riders bearing straight down on me on two white unicorns. Looked like they were

going to slam right into me. I yelled and ducked down and they went sailing right over the car and down

the alley and then . . ." He shook his head. "Next thing I knew, they were just gone."

"What do you mean, 'just gone'?"' asked Loomis.

"I mean, they all disappeared. The creature in the alley, the two riders . . . suddenly, they just weren't

there."

Loomis stood silent, staring down the alley. The flashing lights of the police cars were strobing off the

building walls, lighting up the street in a cacophony of color. The noise of police radios echoed in the

night. A crowd was starting to gather behind them, across the street and on either side of the parked

police cars. People were staring out the windows of the upper stories of the surrounding buildings.

One of the officers came over to Loomis. "Seavers is dead," he said flatly. "Henry's alive, but he's hurt

bad."