The gunslinger took a single bullet from his belt and stepped towards Blaze's cage first.
He raised the bullet on the backs of his fingers, then started to pump his knuckles in sequence, making the bullet appear to roll back and forth along the back of the gunslinger's hand.
Blaze watched it. "Hey, that's neat."
Roland nodded. "Yes. Are you feeling a little tired?"
Blaze suddenly looked tired, indeed. "Very. Is this your magic? It's cool."
Roland nodded impatiently. "Yes. Now be quiet. When I tell you to wake up, you're going to be at the peak of your physical strength. You will want to break the bars on your cage with your bare hands, and you are going to. Do you understand?"
Blaze nodded absently, his eyes never leaving the bullet.
Roland went on. "I must warn you, chances are good that you will be so tired after exerting yourself to break this cage, you will not want to move. If this happens, would you like me to hypnotize you again then so you do not feel fatigued?"
Blaze shrugged. "Okay."
Roland nodded. "Good. Now wake up."
Blaze's eyes flashed with realization. He seemed suddenly unable to sit still. He took a step forward and grasped two of the bars on his cage. He began to try and pull them apart.
For a few moments, nothing seemed to be happening. Not enough Roland thought dismally. I'll have to get Pseok out to help the others.
Roland turned to Pseok, and began rolling the bullet again. "Pseok. See me very well. Are you feeling tired?"
---
Streak has worried. If there was a gunslinger about, Fisher would have likely left by now. And he likely knew that she was gone, as well; he would have taken all the Breakers he could with him, and when he found Streak missing, it would mean trouble for her.
---
Fisher took a moment to reread the last few posts. He had to admit, between himself and Dave, quite a complicated mess had been made of this story.
He only wondered what happened to Dave.
---
Dave had walked down the road until sunset. He reached a new town, and knocked on the door of the first friendly house he had seen.
A middle aged woman answered the door. "Hello?"
Dave smiled his best You're-an-elder-and-a-stranger-so-let's-be-careful smile. "Hi there. I'm a little lost ... and, uh, I have to get online. I need a computer."
The woman looked skeptical. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be inviting strange boys into the house." And she closed the door.
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