Page 398 of Fallout (Crank 3)

Clouds like I’ve never seen before.

In Texas, stormers are huge, black

beasts. These are big, all right.

But they’re white, with giant silver

underbellies. Bellies, I hear,

that will open and bleed snow.

The threat of an approaching blizzard

is frightening. Exhilarating.

FRIGHTENING AND EXHILARATING

The words sum up a lot of what

I’m thinking about right now. A

blizzard

seems the least of my worries.

Let’s see. Closer and closer

to Reno, the thought of home-

coming

looms like a monster, spreading

its arms in some kind of welcome.

The idea of meeting long-lost

family seemed a whole lot

better

in Texas. Especially waltzing

in on Christmas Eve. I can hear

it now. “Would y’all just

look

what Santa brought this year!”

Except they don’t say “y’all”

in Nevada, do they? OMG.

I so don’t belong here. But,

for

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