| "Jinkies," Flagg laughs, heading off into the haunted house....and
to those who've summoned him.
Meanwhile, in another reality, a black dragon lands in an isolated abandoned
cornfield gone to seed.
Theo thers watch in silent bemusement as Queen Astra draws a crude door
in the dirt. She completes it by drawing a doornob, and the picture suddenly
becomes reality.
"Okay, it'll be a bit disorienting stepping through the doorway," Astra
warns, "Not only are we suddenly going from horizontal to vertical in as
far as gravity is concerned, the field generated by the door is keeping
all alien micro-organisms out. In other words, no Captain Trips."
It had already been established by Roland, via his "special feel" that
the thinny that he and the others came though back in Topeka had not allowed
Captain Trips though to Mid-World (gods know why) and thus every soul was
safe. The Dark Tower was apparently keeping things working well enough
in that regard.
"First, we'll be traveling through another Earth, near the VLA by the
maps," Astra says, checking her map, "Then we'll travel through the Land
of Xanth......perhaps we can visit a healing spring and even the Fountain
of Youth before we finally arrive on Terra Prime to go onto a spot nearer
to the Dark Tower, on another Path of the Beam."
Roland unconsciously ran his left hand through his hair, self conscious.
He'd, in relatively recent times, lost half of his right hand and a big
two to some aquatic monster lobster like things. That and there was a lot
of grey in his hair now. He was quiet a bit older from the last time he'd
seen dear Susan. Before, even when it had come to light through their quiet
discussion back in the mono Susan had made it clear that the age difference
meant nothing to her. She was still very much in love with him....and Roland
found (damning himself all the way) that he was still too much in love
with Susan to do the right thing and spare her the spectacle of marrying
an obviously older man. Well, there was the fact that she was with child....his
child, and marraige was the only honorable thing.....but.
Ack....I think I need one of the cabela of the psyche to sort this
out, Roland thought to himself, trying to sort out the rationalization
and the reality....trying to figure out what best to do for Susan.
It became moot when Astra revealed the special nature of one of the
lands they'd be traveling through.....
-
 "It's
like coming full circles in a sense," Roland whispers, diving through the
door that Astra has opened...and into the desert beyond with a bunch of
radio telescopes all over the place!
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