i try to squeeze him but he steps away from me , shaking his head , his face suddenly stark white and terrified-and in that second i get it , we both do , and alex opens his mouth but it seems to take forever , and at the exact moment i realize why i can suddenly see him so clearly , framed in light , frozen like a deer caught in the beams of a truck ( the regulators are using floodlights tonight ) , a voice booms out through the night : `` freeze !