Taken from the Preface

Thanksgiving morning - 0238 hours - Two figures shivered in a puddle of water on the pavement, in a death embrace, face to face, crying, kissing, giggling ironically and shuddering, a fifty something man and woman. Both were covered in blisters, clothing burned away for the most part, skin ruddy and swelling, patches of charred tissue, blobs of rendered fat and sleet floating in 2” of water. It was a pathetic sight - star crossed lovers, literally welded together by the intense heat of a gasoline fire, blood streaming from their mouths, noses and various gunshot wounds, the man’s head pierced by a round, the woman’s stomach oozing blood slowly from a couple of holes. Emergency lights from a dozen vehicles that made it that far, lit up the overpasses with a holiday like twinkle, as sleet fell, hissing through the trees, bushes and rattling on vehicle roofs. A burned out semi and box trailer that had fallen between the overpasses southbound, the box trailer ruptured and smoldering ominously as rain and sleet poured in on 25 tons of high explosive material. It was only a matter of time before the reaction hit the critical point of detonation - the rain and sleet only adding more raw oxygen to the reaction. It was a well thought out, diabolical device contrived by the minds of fanatics. The paramedics on the scene could waste little time with this over their heads. The whole interchange was littered with wrecked and burning vehicles, the paramedics searching frantically for victims in the darkness and shadows. They come upon this pathetic scene, the dying couple shivering and mumbling to each other like two children and pecking each other with kisses. The woman mentioned something about kelp floats making the best doll heads and diving to the bottom to cut them free. The talk was random and off-the-wall, the speech of delirium. The woman referred to the man as “Orry” and the man referred to her as “Junior” or “Freckles”. A woman paramedic burst into tears as they ranted at the paramedics trying to carefully separate them for transport. The two vomited from shock and then faded out.

“It’s so romantic!” a lady paramedic sobbed. “Getting blown sky high ain’t - we’ve got to move out, you guys.” Why were they victims? Who caused it? Why was their love so strong for each other, willing to sacrifice their very lives for each other? Read on.