The women’s Correctional Facility was fenced off and condemned, marked with signs warning against trespassers, and left to crumble while the government allocated funds to more pressing public works. The new fence was strong, and its base was embedded deep into the turf. It took the fox several weeks of digging, and all his reserves of patience to tunnel beneath it.
Once he had accomplished this engineering feat, he trotted into the building through the massive hole in the wall and set about constructing his new den in a cell close by. He could detect the scent of his mistress there, faded but sweet and tangy.
An emissary came from the rats. “This is our castle,” the rat said. “What are your intentions, fox?”
The fox appreciated how straightforward the rat was. He was a fox, but he was getting older. Perhaps it was time to quit with tricks and risks, find a mate, and stay close to his skulk. “My intentions are humble, I assure you.”
“And they are?” pressed the rat.
“I hesitate to say aloud,” the fox said. “It’s a little embarrassing.”
“Speak,” said the rat.
“All right,” the fox said. He tipped his head shyly. “I’ll whisper it. Come up close to me and I’ll whisper it to you.”
The rat came close. The fox could have bitten her head off—it was his talent, each of God’s creatures has at least one—but he didn’t.
“I want to be at peace,” he said.
·
The morning after Thanksgiving, Lila drives to the gravel turnaround on Ball’s Hill and parks. She pops Andy, bundled in his infant snowsuit, into a baby carrier. She starts to hike.
Maybe they could put their Humpty-Dumpty marriage back together, Lila muses. Maybe, if she wants him to, Clint could love her again. But does she want him to? There is a mark on Lila’s soul, the name of the mark is Jeanette Sorley, and she does not know how to erase it. Or if she wants to.
Andy makes small, amused noises as she walks. Her heart aches for Tiffany. An unfairness and a randomness knits into the fabric of everything and it inspires as much awe in Lila as it does resentment. The icy woods creak and tick. When she gets to Truman Mayweather’s trailer, it’s frosted with snow. She gives it just a passing glance and moves on. Not far to go now.
She emerges into the clearing. The Amazing Tree isn’t there. Jeanette’s grave is not there. There is nothing but winter grass and a haggard oak stripped of its leaves. The grass wavers, an orange shape flashes, vanishes, and the grass resettles. Her breath steams. The baby hums and expresses what sounds like a question.
“Evie?” Lila moves around in a circle, searching—woods, ground, grass, air, milky sunshine—but there’s no one. “Evie, are you there?”
She yearns for a signal, any kind of signal.
A moth flutters from the branch of the old oak tree and settles on her hand.
AUTHORS’ NOTE
If a fantasy novel is to be believable, the details underpinning it must be realistic. We had plenty of help with those details while writing Sleeping Beauties, and we are enormously grateful. And so, before we leave you, here’s a tip of our Red Sox caps to some of those who helped us find our way.
Russ Dorr was our primary research assistant. He helped us with everything from RVs to facts on how quickly kerosene degrades. He also made valuable contacts for us in the world of women’s incarceration and corrections. Because we needed to visit a women’s prison—get boots on the ground, so to speak—our thanks to the Honorable Gillian L. Abramson, Justice, New Hampshire Superior Court, who arranged a field trip to the New Hampshire State Prison for Women in Goffstown, New Hampshire. There we met Warden Joanne Fortier, Captain Nicole Plante, and Lieutenant Paul Carroll. They took us on a tour of the prison and answered all of our questions patiently (sometimes more than once). These are dedicated corrections officers, both tough and humane. It’s quite possible that the situation at Dooling Correctional might have been resolved peacefully if any of them were on staff—lucky for us they weren’t! We can’t thank them enough.
We also want to express our gratitude to Mike Muise, a corrections officer with the Valley Street Jail, in Manchester, New Hampshire. Mike passed on lots of good info on intake procedure at police stations and prisons. Officer Tom Staples (retired) helped us furnish the armory at the Dooling Sheriff’s Office with a fine supply of weapons.
We conceived of the shaky ground on which Lion Head Prison was built from our reading of Michael Shnayerson’s superb nonfiction chronicle Coal River.
Where we got it right, thank those folks. Where we got it wrong, blame us… but don’t be too quick to do so. Remember that this is a work of fiction, and from time to time we found it necessary to bend the facts a little to suit the course of our story.
Kelly Braffet and Tara Altebrando gave us enormously helpful readings of an early, much-longer version of the novel. We are much obliged to them.
Thanks are due to all the folks at Scribner, and in particular to Nan Graham and John Glynn, who coedited the book with tireless efficiency and panache. Susan Moldow lent moral support. Mia Crowley-Hald was our in-house production editor, and we are grateful for her hard work. Angelina Krahn did a wonderful job of copyediting a long and complex manuscript. Katherine “Katie” Monaghan is the tireless publicist who worked to get news of the book out there. Stephen’s agent, Chuck Verrill, and Owen’s agent, Amy Williams, both supported us through this long effort and worked together as if they had been doing it their whole lives. Chris Lotts and Jenny Meyer sold the foreign rights all over the globe, and we thank them for their efforts.
Steve wants to thank his wife, Tabitha; his daughter, Naomi; and his other son, Joe, known to his readers as Joe Hill. Owen wants to thank his mom, his sibs, Kelly, and Z. All of them understand the difficulty of the job, and made time for us to do it.
Last but hardly least, we want to thank you, sir or madam, for reading our novel. We appreciate your support more than words can say, and hope you enjoyed yourself.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
STEPHEN KING is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes The Bill Hodges Trilogy—Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel), Finders Keepers, and End of Watch—and the story collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. His epic series, The Dark Tower, is the basis for a major motion picture starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. IT is also now a major motion picture starring Bill Skarsgård. King is the recipient of the 2014 National Medal of Arts and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.
OWEN KING is a graduate of Vassar College and the MFA program at the Columbia University School of the Arts, he is the author of the novel Double Feature and We’re All in This Together: A Novella and Stories. He is the coauthor of Intro to Alien Invasion and the coeditor of Who Can Save Us Now? Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories. He lives in Upstate New York, with his wife, novelist Kelly Braffet, and their daughter.