Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King

Careful, ma'am. It's bloody hot.

You were saying?

My..

Husband is... lost.

Missing.

Here in Crouch End?

Oh, Mr. Frehman.

- Mrs. Frehman. - Hi.

Now, shall I call a porter to help you with those bags?

- No, thank you. - Okay.

I do have a message for you, sir.

The caller did insist that I give it to you

as soon as you returned.

- Here. - Oh, why, thank you.

- Thank you. - Have a wonderful day.

- You, too. - Goodbye.

Oh. Hello.

Pardon us.

- What floor? - Nine.

- But I'll do it. - Not a problem.

No! Don't push..

It.

My wife grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin.

Elevators are still a mystery to her.

I'm superstitious about pushing the elevator button twice.

They say that it's bad luck.

Never hurts to be careful, does it, dearie?

I cannot believe I did that.

It was so embarrassing.

No. No, it's fine.

I hear that the British love Americans

coming over here and scaring their old people

into an early grave.

You did this.

Not all lawyers are romantic cripples, you know.

They're beautiful.

Mmm!

So are you.

Thank you.

My mother told me to marry Anita Fenburg.

Oh.

But I couldn't get my head around

spending the rest of my life trapped with someone

whose last name translates into "Swamp City".

Well, look at you now.

Mr. Free-Man.

You got caught.

No. I surrendered.

You know, if we keep doing this, we're never gonna get

to the Victoria and Albert museum.

I'm devastated.

Please don't. It'll just be business.

Oh, you're right. It's the office.

- Yeah. - Oh, I should get it.

Mm-mm.

Hello. Hey.

Your ambition can wait.

Now, what you should take is me.

You big thief.

Weren't you supposed to give this to me?

I forgot all about that.

"Dear Lonnie, now that you're finally here in London

you must come to the house for dinner tomorrow at 6:30

if that's convenient.

Regards, John Squales."

Who's John Squales?

He's our solicitor, uh, lawyer, here in London.

We worked together on the Betton Steel merger.

He said that I was uncommonly bright.

Actually used the word "Uncommonly"?

I may have added that last bit

but he did say that I was smart.

Rumor has it that he's the next head

of the executive committee.

You okay about having dinner with him tomorrow?

It would be tonight. He sent that yesterday.

Oh, crap.

Oh. Battery low.

I just charged you, you sucker.

What are you gonna tell him?

We're coming.

It's our honeymoon. Can't we be alone?

Please, there's not a chance he's still expecting us.

- Hey, John. Lonnie Freeman. - Lonnie..

You're not gonna believe this. I just got your note.

Listen. About dinner tonight..

- You saved us a spot. - Huh?

Great. Sure. Fire away.

Right. Right. A cab to Crouch End.

No, no, no. It sounds really simple. I'll see you at 6:30.

- Bye. I'll talk to you.. - Talk to you, too.

You're gonna love him.

Crouch End?

That's an ugly name.

- You owe me. - Big time.

- Yeah. - Thanks.

You're welcome.

I need the ladies room.

- They call it the loo here. - Oh!

- It's over there. - Okay.

You know what I was thinking?

At the rate we're spending money, I'm gonna

have to work until I'm 90?

No, no, I was thinking

that if you thought we had time

maybe we could go back to the hotel

and renew our wedding vows.

- Which vows? - You know..

The ones that go "I do you, you do me

till death do us part."

- Those vows. - Uh-huh.

I love those vows. Yo!

Excuse me.

What can I do for you, man?

My wife and I are trying to figure out

how long it'll take us to get somewhere.

- Where is it you wanna go? - Uh, Grand Hotel.

This time of day, with traffic, 30 minutes.

Okay, and how long will it take us

to get from the hotel to Crouch End?

I'm sure I can't help.

It's a place for strangers not to go.

No. I got a friend that lives on the outskirts.

Hear what I say, man. Don't go to Crouch End.

What happened?

I don't know.

I mentioned Crouch End and he got all weird on me.

What did he say?

Something about strangers don't go there.

Between the Jamaican accent and the reggae

I m.. I missed something.

Oh.

What do you wanna do?

Besides that.

We still got time. It's only a little before five.

I'll get a cab. You relax.

We waited over 30 minutes for a cab.

Isn't that a little odd?

A pinch unusual, sir.

Unusual? I say it's close to unheard of, my friend.

Yes, sir. Where to then?

Crouch End, please.

- Crouch End, you say. - Right.

Heigh-ho for Crouch End.

Cut it out. That feels too good.

- I think that's the point. - Stop it.

What about the driver?

I tip him well, he sees nothing.

Lonnie, anybody can see in.

- Oh! - Okay. Alright.

But remember if I happen to keel over in the middle of dinner..

- Don't say that. Take it back. - What?

You don't joke about something like dying.

Take it back.

- Fine. I take it back. - Good.

Pardon me, sir. Do you have an address?

Yeah.

Somewhere.

- Lonnie, did you see that? - What?

It said "Sixty lost in underground horror."

Isn't that what they call the subway here?

Yeah. That or the tube. Was it a crash?

I don't know.

Sir, was there a subway crash here recently?

Collision, ma'am? None that I know of.

- Weird. - I don't know where I put it.

- Did I give it to you? - What?

The napkin I wrote the address on.

- No. - What's bothering you?

That headline. "Sixty lost in underground horror."

It's like sailors drowned at sea.

Ooh! Gooseflesh.

My grandma always said that someone

was walking over what's gonna be your grave.

Honey, grandma was a whacko.

Don't be mean.

She may be a little eccentric, but she's sweet.

Think about it.

The woman will only plant her vegetable garden

at midnight when the moon is full.

Sweet or not, she is not from our dimension.

She is a little weird, isn't she?

Pardon me, sir. Did you say "Dimension"?

Where you're going, Crouch End..

It's a place where there's a thin spot is what they say.

What the hell's a "Thin spot"?

A thin spot between what we see as our world and the other.

- Uh-huh. - Other?

What the gentleman said.

Dimensions.

The only thin thing around here is his grip on reality.

Ah, perfect. Besides a low battery, I have no signal.

Alright, when we get to Crouch End

I'll call again and get Squales' address

tell him you lost it.

- I lost it? - Yeah.

A good lawyer never accepts blame.

Then, baby, you're gonna be a great one.

Finally.

What is it?