Runtime--A Chameleon Moon Short Story by RoAnna Sylver

Author:RoAnna Sylver
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Sylver Lining
Published: 2016-09-20T11:49:29+00:00

Regan did not breathe. He didn’t move a muscle. He stared up at the apparition in black skinny jeans floating in front of his face and fought the urge to run, scream, or fade away into nothing. Instead, he focused on remaining upright without passing out, neck frill flaring out and dropping down with every deep breath.

“Well?” Hans prodded, looking mildly put out. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

He didn’t. Slowly he reached up to adjust his headset, and the young man’s sharp features twisted into a mocking smile. Just because he looked like a teenager didn’t make any of this less terrifying.

“He can’t hear you,” Hans explained patiently. “I cut the signal. Guess you might call me, uh… a ghost in the machine?” He waited, as if expecting his captive audience to laugh.

“Why?” Regan managed to whisper, though his throat still felt painfully tight.

“Why what?” Hans looked disappointed that Regan hadn’t appreciated his little joke. “Why’d I want a little privacy, talk to you one-on-one?”

Regan nodded, not trusting his voice.

“Because I want to hear your answer,” Hans said slowly, as if this should all be very simple. “About the offer I made a week ago. The one you couldn’t refuse? Getting out of here?”

Silence. Hans waited. When he finally got an answer, it wasn’t the one he expected.

“CyborJ.”

“What about him?” Hans stared blankly, giving his head a little shake.

“Not leaving… without…”

“Oh, God, that guy? We just got some peace and quiet.”

Regan stared. He thought he was recovered enough to talk in a regular tone now, but stayed silent anyway.

The young man floating above him gave a dramatic sigh and flopped back, flinging his arms out like falling backwards onto a bed. Instead he folded his arms and floated on his back, staring up at the sky and barrier. “He got a name, or…?”

“Jay.”

“Like, besides his screen name or whatever? I don’t call you Lizard or… Stealth Infiltrator Whatever, even though that’s what you are.”

“His name is Jay.”

Hans thought for a second. “Yeah, because that definitely makes sense for a genius hacker, just put your name right in your…” He shook his head and rolled over so he was lying down in midair level with Regan’s face, resting his chin in his hands. “Actually, I don’t care. Do we have a deal or not?”

Regan took a deep breath. Shut his eyes. Thought about living. “Get us out of here.”

“Sure, you bet. Long as you kill Garrett Cole.”

“What?” His eyes flew open. When he forced them back into focus, past the shock and clinging fog and the wild conviction that he’d misheard, he saw Hans’ blue eyes staring back at him: sleepily amused, and much too calm.

“You heard me.”

“You didn’t say anything about—you want me to kill someone? We never—”

“Oh, I’m sorry, my mistake.” Hans was suddenly much closer, and his eyes much narrower. “What is it you do, again? Sneak into places you shouldn’t be, see and hear things you shouldn’t see and hear, find every secret, grab every shiny thing… and sometimes you make people disappear.

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