“No,” said Charlie. “You know who lives here? Only one guy. A guy who gives you goose-pimples just to think of him.” Charlie dropped his voice very low. “The Lonely One.” “The Lonely One?” “Born, raised and lives here! All that winter, Tom, all that cold, Doug! Where else would he come from to make us shiver the hottest nights of the year? Don’t it smell like him? You know darn well it does. The Lonely One … the Lonely One …” The mists and vapors curled in darkness. Tom screamed. “It’s okay, Doug.” Charlie grinned. “I just dropped a little bitty hunk of ice down Tom’s back, is all.”
