ASCENSION by EJ Wallace Read Free Book Online

asked.
                  “Jake?” a voice hissed. It nearly made Jake jump out of his skin. The man who asked was sitting in the booth behind him.
                  “Yeah nice t-”
                  “Don't turn around!” the man hissed.
                  “Oh, sorry,” Jake said.
                  “Yeah, save it. Here's how it works, kid. You leave the envelope with the money under a cup of black coffee, and I leave you a napkin with an address scribbled on it. Understand?”
                  “Well, that doesn't seem like a very good deal,” Jake mused aloud.
                  “Nobody likes a wise guy, kid. I've got other offers, you know. My van's practically full as it is.”
                  “Okay, okay!” Jake said. “Relax. I was just kidding. So, where exactly is the drop off point once we pass the border?”
                  “Ever hear of a place called Toronto, kid?” Jake couldn't see the man, but he could hear the smile in his voice. “Hope you like the cold.”
                 
     

Chapter 3
    (Sophie)
     
     
                  Sophie shivered as the arctic wind pierced her coat and slithered down her back. The land was blanketed in snow. Swirls of it were being kicked into the air by the wind, creating a frosty fog that nibbled at Sophie's nose, the only real skin left exposed by her massive parka.
                  Sophie looked up. The snow-dusted tavern in front of her was called The Frozen Tusk. A strange name, but not an uncommon one for Canada. Sophie slipped inside, thankful for the warm air, even if it did carry the odor of scotch and cigars with it.
                  Sophie let her hood down and grabbed a seat at the bar. The gruff bartender had salt and pepper stubble on his face. His eyes sagged and were bloodshot, weary, like an old dog. He watched Sophie warily. Somehow, she didn't think they got too many female customers here.
                  “You need sumtin’?” the bartender asked. Sophie caught a glimpse of the calendar behind him. It was her birthday, she realized. A whole year had passed since she left the orphanage. She had spent all that time traveling from place to place, seeing the world. Just as she had always wanted. Living life one lottery ticket at a time. It was a hard life, harsh, and it was getting harder. The other day she had lost. She picked the wrong lottery ticket. Her visions were also getting fewer and farther between. They used to be so close to the surface, pulsating, yearning for freedom. Now it seemed as if scarcely any remained. As if it had withered and died inside of her.
                  Night, however, was a different story. She kept having the same dream, a whispering window, warnings of darkness descending. Each time she would plead with herself not to go towards the window, not to get in reach of those flailing drapes. She would, though, every time, and every time, they would strangle her, and she would feel the pain of it. Sophie would be forced to watch, as if it were a world away. She hadn't had a good night’s sleep in days, and dreaded the darkness.
                  “You hard on hearing? I said, do you need sumtin'?” the bartender growled.
                  Sophie snapped out of her trance. “Just water, please,” she said, feigning a smile. The bartender grimaced but filled her glass. As she touched it, though, several visions bombarded her. The glass had changed over twenty hands in the past two days and had never once been cleaned. Then she got a vision of one man slobbering into it as he hunched over the bar in a drunken stupor. Sophie pushed it away, but her throat was so dry, and her lips so cracked. She pushed the vision out of her head and drank down the cool water greedily.
                  “Where you coming from?” the