Quake (In Real Time Book 1) by Chris Mandeville

Author:Chris Mandeville [Mandeville, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Parker Hayden Media
Published: 2018-05-28T18:30:00+00:00

Daylight. Above is an unfamiliar ceiling. My mouth is dry. My eyes, too.

I remember...a wormhole. Mirrors. Falling. I time-traveled.

Oh my God—time travel is real.

I remember...a man in the street. Called me a Jenny. Helped me. I couldn’t hear, but now I can. I hear wheezing. Is that someone breathing?

I tense my muscles to sit up, and my whole body hurts. I let out a moan as I collapse back against the pillow.

The snoring stops. A man’s face appears above me. The man from last night.

“You’re alive. That’s good. For us both.” He smiles. He’s making a joke.

“Help me sit up?” I ask, my voice hoarse.

I hold out my hand and he pulls me to a sitting position. The pain is tolerable. I scootch back and lean against the wooden headboard.

The blanket covering my legs is plain, but that’s the only plain thing in the room. The walls are papered in heavy pink and red roses with greenery so dark it’s almost black. There’s a dressing table with an elaborately carved wood-framed mirror. The single window is covered with a gauzy curtain that lets in the light, flanked by heavy red drapes. A chair in the corner—where I presume the man was sleeping—is overstuffed and covered in red tapestry cloth.

Since this man obviously knows I’m a Jenny, and seeing as this room is so fancy, I’m pretty sure I know where I am, and I let out a breath of relief. “Thank you for bringing me here. I lost my bag and the matchbook.”

He looks puzzled. “Where do you think we are?”

“The Palace Hotel...?”

The man erupts into laughter. He’s laughing so hard he has to sit in the chair. After a moment he slaps his knee and wipes his nose. “I think that’s the funniest thing I ever heard.” He sighs.

“Why? Where are we?”

“A brothel. Not the best in town, but the only one a man of my color won’t raise any eyebrows. Or fists.”

“A whorehouse? Why did you bring me here?”

“You needed somewhere to sleep it off, so I had two options: this or the church.”

“I wasn’t drunk!”

“I know, but you might as well have been, and I didn’t see anyone else coming to help. Lucky I was scouting that area. I can’t believe you arrived alone, and so out of it—that jeopardizes all of us.”

I’m about to say I wasn’t supposed to be on my own, but I catch myself. I don’t know him or his agenda.

“What on earth happened?” he continues. “I’ve never seen travel sickness so acute on someone so young. How many times have you been in?”

“Been in?”

“In the wormhole.”

“This is my first time.”

The shock on his face is genuine, or he’s an exceptionally good con. He lets out a low whistle. “Jee-sus. How long were you in?”

“Look, I appreciate your help. Really, I do. But I don’t know exactly where, or when, I am. Or who you are.”

He extends his hand. “Oscar Sinclair.”

“Allie.” I shake his hand. “Allison Bennett.”

There’s something familiar about him, and I don’t think it’s from last night.

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.