Socket 1 - The Discovery of Socket Greeny by Bertauski Tony

Author:Bertauski, Tony [Bertauski, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: socket greeny ya science fiction adventure
Publisher: Tony Bertauski
Published: 2012-03-07T05:25:31+00:00

* * * * *

I was sitting up. I think.

“I’m going to stay with Socket tomorrow,” Mom was saying. “I’ll make the meetings by projection. I’ve already forwarded apologies that I can’t return in person, but I think they will understand. If all goes well, I’ll be back the next day.”

She was right in front of me, digging through her briefcase. Spindle was next to her, standing at full attention. His face was dull.

My blood was like syrup. I was afraid to turn my head. It might fall off.

On a floating chair.

In a hallway.

Mom wasn’t standing, she was walking.

We were just in a room. Now we were going through a doorway. We entered the dank stalactite parking garage. Mom’s car was at the bottom of the steps. Servys stood at the open doors. One of them took Mom’s briefcase and loaded it into the back seat. Appendages grew from the ones next to me and took my arms. Their fingers were soft and tacky. They helped me inside the car and shut the door. When I looked out, Spindle was already gone.

The car banked sharply to the left and we flew through the wall and over the boulder-strewn field. A crescent moon was fading in the sky as the sun was about an hour from rising. The dashboard was illuminated with instruments, casting an orange glow on Mom’s face, accentuating the lines pulling her eyes. We drove without lights.

“Spindle had to be washed out.” Mom pretended to steer. “The Authority wanted him deactivated for his involvement in the incident. They suspect he somehow helped you escape the Graveyard through an unmarked exit. They think he had something to do with Pivot’s disappearance, too. The Commander had to compromise with the Authority. Spindle’s personality was deactivated.”

I rubbed my neck, felt the raised line where the clamp was surgically implanted. The seat sensed my discomfort, wrapped tightly against my neck and applied heat. Live oaks blotted the moon from view in a black sky. We were already in South Carolina. I couldn’t remember going through the wormhole.

“I don’t like this.” I touched my lips. They didn’t feel right. “My voice sounds weird. This doesn’t feel like my skin.”

“Your body is adjusting. It’ll take a few hours for your nervous system to accept the limitations of the clamp. Soon enough, you’ll feel just like you did before all this started.”

“Why’d you let them do this to me?”

“Many Paladins aren’t in favor of your awakening. The clamp bought us time to change some minds.”

“You want me to be a Paladin?”

She sighed. “If they vote to permanently disable your awakening, you won’t be the same. You’ll be alive.” She wouldn’t look at me. “Just not the same.”

Just like Spindle.

She took her hand from the steering wheel and plunged her thumb into the moody. I was tempted to pull it away from her and make room for my thumb. I’d try anything to take this deadness away. If the moody helped, then a big fat thank-you goes out to the drug companies.

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.