Contents
Book Three: Double Feature — 18.
Overview
During a blackout interrogation, King Sorrow speaks through Donna, publicly exposing Joe Valentine as Norman Barclay and rejecting attempts to bargain. He manipulates Boone to attack Valentine, triggering Salem to open fire. Boone is killed and Nurse Lansing is fatally hit. Power returns, revealing Sorrow’s ear-ripping was a hallucination.
Summary
With the power out and the door locks dead, the interrogation stalls as Donna exhales smoke and King Sorrow speaks through her. Little Rock (Boone) panics; Francis forces him back, and Salem clubs him down. Valentine—secretly Norman Barclay—greets Sorrow, who mocks his fear and foretells lasting terror for survivors.
Barclay offers tribute on behalf of corporations and the U.S. government. Sorrow sneers, demanding "Nebraska" and listing American atrocities to claim he already commands their allegiance. When Barclay begs to trade lives, Sorrow lures him close, then seemingly slashes off Barclay’s ear with a monstrous claw erupting from Donna’s mouth.
Sorrow then tempts Boone by promising to spare him if he kills Valentine. As Boone, entranced, raises his nightstick, Francis orders intervention. Salem fires repeatedly; glass shatters, chaos erupts, and Van is pinned under Nurse Lansing. Boone is struck in the neck and shoulder yet presses on until a fatal headshot drops him. Salem keeps firing until Francis stops him.
Valentine writhes, convinced his ear is gone, while Van realizes Sorrow’s maiming was a shared hallucination: it isn’t Easter yet. Donna’s eyes flick serpent-yellow as Sorrow mutters “Oops,” and the generator surges back, restoring lights. In the harsh glow, they find Lansing’s blood on Van—Lansing has been killed in the crossfire as men rush in and the electric locks release.
Who Appears
- DonnaMedium for King Sorrow; manifests smoke and serpent eyes as Sorrow speaks and stage-manages violence.
- King SorrowSpeaks through Donna; exposes Valentine as Norman Barclay, rejects bribes, manipulates Boone, and triggers deadly chaos.
- Joe Valentine (Norman Barclay)Corporate fixer unmasked; tries to bargain with Sorrow and is psychologically mutilated by an induced hallucination.
- John Leonard Boone (Little Rock)Panicked guard compelled by Sorrow to kill Valentine; advances with nightstick before being shot dead.
- SalemArmed guard who opens fire in the exam room, killing Boone and inadvertently contributing to Lansing’s death.
- Mr. FrancisAuthority figure directing guards; tries to stop Boone and to rein in Salem’s gunfire.
- Nurse LansingCovers Van during the shooting; accidentally killed, his blood revealed when power returns.
- Van (Donovan)Witness under restraint; narrates chaos, realizes the ear-ripping is a hallucination, and discovers Lansing’s death.
- Dr. PatrickMedical staffer who tends to Valentine amid the gunfire and confusion.