Godfall by Van Jensen

Godfall by Van Jensen

Author:Van Jensen [Jensen, Van]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: FIC028000 FICTION / Science Fiction / General
Publisher: Nebraska


Twenty-Three

Gradually, the weight fell away, and David found himself able once again to move. He strained his aching neck to see that he sat in an easy chair in a small living room, another chair across from him. A TV on one wall, a few small paintings and grainy family photos. He’d seen this place before, he was sure of it. He squinted at one of the photos. A father, mother, and a boy. A little boy with a hunched back. Jimmy. He was at Jimmy’s house, the house he’d inherited from his parents.

“What was in the cup?” David asked, words slurring.

Jimmy leaned forward in his chair, hands on his knees. Dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. He was smiling.

No one else was in the room, but still David tensed, testing out how his hands responded as he gripped them into fists. Would he need to fight again? He was wearing the same shirt and sweatpants but no robe.

“You shouldn’t have done what you did, David,” Jimmy said. “You should’ve just asked. We would’ve told you. We aren’t hiding . . .”

“What was in the fucking cup?” David asked, his voice firmer.

“We had to show you. So that you could see the truth of Anum,” Jimmy continued, as if he hadn’t heard David. “You saw him, didn’t you? What did he say?”

It was all there, locked in his mind, as clear as it had been when he experienced it. The horrifying explosion into space, the dissolution of everything he knew to be real, including himself. And the giant. Saying . . .

No. It didn’t matter what it had said, what he had seen. It was a dream. Just a dream. David glared at Jimmy.

“I thought you were one of us,” David said.

Jimmy pulled at one of his ears.

“One of what?”

“Part of this town. Not one of them. Coming in and ruining everything.”

Jimmy looked off, then back to David. His smile was gone.

“Ruining our perfect little town. Heh. My folks, they never had enough to keep food on the table. They couldn’t afford to send me to the doctor for my back. At school, you all made fun of me every day. You’d all run away from me, call me a monster.”

“Jimmy. We were friends.”

David remembered. It seemed like fun. Harmless. Now . . .

“You know, Spady grew up right there. Right next to me. If Spady had lost his arm as a kid, you would’ve just made fun of him, treated him like a freak. But he was good at sports, so you all took him in. But me? I was stuck here, by myself. Alone, until they came. It may sound stupid to you, but they really don’t want to hurt anybody. They know that when he awakens, all this pain is going to go away.”

They sat silent for a bit.

“I’m just trying to find out who killed my cousin,” David said. “If anyone there had anything to do with it . . .”

Jimmy shook his head.

“They didn’t. I promise you that.



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