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Page 109
As they began their descent on the other side of the mountain, Abby saw a smattering of buildings and houses despite the greenery and walls that created barriers at the sides of the freeway. Roadside placards grew in density, and the number of exits from the freeway also increased. Then there were more buildings and less unoccupied land. Towns much larger than Barstow melted into one another. So many people!
Abby's uneasiness began as a tingling in the small of her back as they passed signs for a town called Colton.
Sometimes she had a similar sensation when about to have a vision, so she closed her eyes and waited. Two in one day? That had never before happened. But no vision came. Instead, teeny, painful pinpricks began to creep up her spineprickles of anticipation and dread.
The closer the Bronco drew to Los Angeles, the stronger the sensation became.
More than once, Abby had to steady herself to keep from shivering. In the past, she had dreaded her visions. Now she wished for one to relieve the otherwise unmitigated sense of foreboding that filled her. But nothing happened.
Nothing except the growing intensity of her feeling.
She glanced often at Mike. The impassive expression on his well-defined features did not change. He apparently felt nothing, so there must not be a universally disturbing aura about the city. That meant her special sense was alerting her to . . . what? She did not know. Her only

 
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