Ann Marie's Asylum (Master and Apprentice Book 1) by Christopher Rankin Read Free Book Online Page A

good to have a visitor once in a while.”
    “Doesn’t he have family that visits?”
    Suddenly, something in The Sheriff’s face changed. The ends of his mustache twitched and the edges of his mouth collapsed. He had been hit by some flash of horror. The terrible glimmer seemed to leave a deathly imprint on his face. Ann Marie immediately regretted asking.
    He answered, “I’m afraid I’m all the family Dade has.” Just before she left, he gave her a strange set of instructions. He said, “When you go down that red hallway and get to the elevator, don’t freak out. Nothing’s gonna hurt you. Just get inside.”
     
    ...
     
    Later that day, Ann Marie found the red hallway and began her march to the elevator. Something ahead was moving but it was too difficult to identify in the dim lighting. At first, she thought it was a guard dog pacing back and forth in front of the elevator doors. A strange sound echoed down the hallway as well. It sounded like a metallic click-clack, like big claws on the floor.
    It was odd enough to stop her in her tracks for a moment. She pushed herself to walk a little further. The doors to the elevator started to become clear in the red lights. She took a few more steps. The click-clack sound was gone.
    Just then, something lunged at her. It appeared so quickly and the light was so dim that the thing was a merely a blur. Ann Marie immediately panicked and ran away so fast that her shoes nearly came off in the process. When she got back to the white lights of the safe hallway, she remembered what the Sheriff had told her: Don’t freak out.
    She marched back down the hall. Whatever the thing was, it was waiting for her in the same spot. About the size of a golden retriever, it had eight metal legs and dozens of flashing red lasers for eyes. The insect-like machine looked like it had been inspired by a scorpion or preying mantis. It had a segmented polished metal tail that looked like it could shred through a chainsaw. The end was barbed with what had to be a powerful laser. She knew it had to be one of the corporation’s DeathStalker drones.
    The titanium insect clicked and clacked its legs on the floor as it scanned her. She just looked at the beast and said, “I’m Ann Marie. It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. DeathStalker.”
    The thing didn’t get in her way at all as she walked through the elevator doors.
    She pressed the button and another ruby red laser beamed down from the ceiling and scanned her. “Welcome Doctor Bandini,” said the computerized voice.
    The elevator climbed to the very top of the Asylum. When the doors opened, Ann Marie noticed a rather large, grey house cat staring at her and purring. The cat meowed at her before running off. She stepped into a bright open space, surrounded by large windows, computer monitors and shelves filled with strange-looking technology.
    She called for Dade Harkenrider but got no response.
    The place contained some of the normal things one would expect to find in a laboratory. She noticed a large fume hood, filled with a complex apparatus of glass tubing and heating elements. Half-built prototypes and parts of DeathStalker metal exoskeletons were everywhere. There were several sophisticated computer workstations as well as a whole factory’s share of electronics. Most of it looked built by hand. Dade’s home definitely looked like the hangout for a technical wizard.
    She noticed another cat across the room. This one seemed interested in something strange, a piece of equipment that Ann Marie couldn’t even begin to identify. When she walked over to the thing, two more cats, one orange and one calico, were facing the object. All the felines seemed quite fascinated with whatever it was.
    An enormous cylinder as black as a tank of crude oil, the thing was tall enough to climb from the floor to the ceiling of the lab. The black monolith was nearly as wide as a small bathroom. When Ann Marie got close, she could hear what sounded like the