The man with the long thin scar on his face suddenly broke free from the chain of hands he had with the others, hunched low and darted across the rough gray cobblestones to the other side of the street.

He looked around. Nothing happened and he stood up and stretched. The only sound he heard was the swish of the others as they continued to move steadily along the wall in front of him, their eyes straight ahead.

“Come join me,” he said. “It’s quite wonderful over here. There is nothing to fear.”

Five others dropped their hands and then stepped toward him. The one-eyed man with the girl, the man in the suit and loosened tie, the one with the empty pistol, and the old woman who had joined them a few days ago and had seen it all before. She shook her head at them.

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And Furious Anger

Recently we got our first book club invitation, which is a sign of literary maturity, right? Next it’ll be a supper club. When you think about it, patterns in life don’t change that much. Internet, video games, evolving social norms — they don’t significantly alter the intricacies of living. At least it doesn’t appear so to us. The Bible might not change much, but translations affect all texts. Gore Vidal has changed in a post-9/11 world, or so says Christopher Hitchens. Deadspin’s got “regular guys,” and Fine Books has news on Kerouac’s ever-evolving estate. Finally, a book list in The Rumpus from which all the contributors choose, and Miep Gies, guardian of Anne Frank’s writings, has died. Her efforts had a huge impact. Now that’s some change we can really believe in. – Andrew Geer

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