Mysteries & Detective Stories
All I did was ask what he'd given the horse. I didn't say the words illegal doping. I didn't say anything about cheating. I asked a simple question. What did you just give the horse?
The stage beneath her began to turn, and then suddenly it was not a stage, but a carousel populated by wolves and wild dogs and other dark beasts. They were fixed in place on the carousel, and yet somehow they were alive, roaring and howling as the carousel spun faster and faster through the darkness. The bench she'd been sitting on had become a vicious hound. It yapped and growled as she clung to its black fur in terror.
Halfway down the run I knew I was skiing the best I ever had. If I kept pushing, I would easily stay at number one.
Beneath my helmet, I grinned my grin of fear. And as I cut into a steep turn, I saw it. But couldn't believe it.
Wire. Black wire stretched between two trees at waist height. I was flashing toward it at thirty meters per second. Hitting the wire at that speed would slice me in two.