Paradise Rising by P.G. Shriver

Author:P.G. Shriver
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: YA Science Fiction
Publisher: TCS Publishing
Published: 2020-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

The bus was less than half full; the time of day for workers commuting to their jobs had passed. Most of those sharing the bus with them were the very old. Doctor appointments probably, Cheater guessed as Jaz found a seat close to the back, a couple rows away from anyone else.

The rocking of the bus nearly made Cheater fall asleep. As she closed her eyes, her head against the window frame, knees pulled up against the seat in front of her, Jaz spoke very softly near her ear, not wanting others to hear them. His warm breath startled her, the proximity of his face to hers created a sensation of intimacy she hadn't known for a long, long time.

“I should warn you, probably. That drama I told you I could give you will be the Beast. He shows up at the hospital every day on his lunch break. Trying to play the sad husband routine, I guess. We’ll likely run into him. At least, that’s what I’m hoping.”

It was then that the full plan came to them, during the ride to the hospital, all of the small details of events they hoped would transpire.

The bus ride took the loop around town to the hospital, the airport, and the largest shopping mall in the city. The ride gave them plenty of time to work out the details of how to save his mother’s life and land the Beast in prison.

“So, what exactly happened to your mom?” Cheater gave up her dingy city view framed by the grimy bus window. She looked at Jaz; they had thought it best she sit next to the window, just in case. She squinted at him.

“Only I know…” He whispered so the old people around them wouldn’t hear.

“The cops said she was mugged, left to die on the street. I know the truth. The Beast took her downtown, where all the dealers hang out, pretendin’ he was takin’ her to dinner. He went down there to make a buy, and she caused a scene about it, but after that gang leader recognized her as mine and Bree’s mom, he shot her in the head, and to cover up his own part in it, the Beast filled a needle and pumped it into her veins, made it look like she was usin’.

“That’s what made the cops suspicious; she never had a record for nothin’, but the Beast did.

“He dumped her body in an alley for some unsuspecting person to find. All the while, he’s livin’ it up, gettin’ high on his purchase back at the apartment, and she’s layin’ there in that cold, dark alley, slippin’ into a coma because of that gangbanger shootin’ her. Cops found her before I could. All he would think about was her layin’ in the alley, but never where.

“Doctors think she’ll come out of it, but I know better. At least she’s not hooked up on all those machines and stuff, keepin’ ‘er alive. She just won’t wake up. I used to talk to ‘er every day; I’d tell her about.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.