FutureImperfect by Stefan Petrucha Read Free Book Online Page A

no. You have to be able to imagine to see me, but it’s really more like redistricting—same pie, different slices.”
    â€œRedistricting? Redistricting what? What kind of pie?”
    Its huge index finger poked Harry in the chest. He felt as if he were being tapped with the base of a telephone pole. “The self-pie. Like Elijah said, it has loose boundaries. Slice it one way and you might find your feminine side, like Elijah, but slice it deep enough and you wind up outside again, where you’ll find something like me.”
    A giant white glove reached down and squeezed Harry’s hopelessly tiny hand between its massive thumb and finger. It took him a moment to realize the thing was shaking hands with him.
    â€œCongratulations. You the man. You made it all the way to nothing.”
    â€œUh…thanks?”
    It pulled, yanking Harry into a seated position. Then it crossed its legs and sat in front of him.
    â€œYou’re welcome, but let’s get down to it. You’ve got questions, I’ve got answers, some of which may even be true. Before we go any further, I want to spell out the deal. You ask whatever you like, and I’ll answer, but for every question you ask, I’m going to hit you, really, really hard.”
    Without thinking, Harry asked, “Why would you do that?”
    SWAT!
    The next thing Harry knew, he was skidding along the terrain, scraping the uneven surfaces like a rock skimming ripples in a pond. When he finally slowed, rolled, and settled into a moaning heap, the giant Fool trotted up, shaking the trails with his steps— thud, thud, thud .
    It leaned over and looked at the fallen Harry. “Because I feel like it.”
    Harry touched the side if his face. No bruises. He felt his arm and ribcage. No broken bones. Everything hurt though. Still, he couldn’t keep from asking, “Can you tell me how to stop Jeremy, save Siara, and get rid of the Quirk inside me?”
    WHACK!
    Again, Harry flew, crashed, rolled, slowed, and stopped. Again, the Fool trotted up— thud, thud, thud
    â€œThat was three questions, but since there’s one answer, I’ll let it go. No. You have to figure that out yourself. I’m not your advisor. I’m more like the scorpion in the fable. You know, he can’t get across the river so he asks the frog for a ride? The frog says, Are you nuts? You’ll sting me! The scorpion says, Why would I sting you? I’d drown, too. So the frog says okay. Halfway across, the scorpion stings him. The dying frog asks, What’d you do that for? The drowning scorpion says, Sorry, it’s my nature.
    â€œMe, I’m a force for chaos and I don’t act out of character. In fact, I’m not even really helping you. I just am. You move closer or farther away from me.”
    But why? Harry thought, just barely managing to keep from asking out loud. Again, the expression on the thing’s face told Harry it knew what he was thinking. It was waiting, smiling, probably looking forward to thwacking him again.
    Biding his time, Harry rubbed his jaw.
    Bemused, the Fool said, “You know, you don’t have to ask me anything if you don’t want to. But this is where we’re alike, see? You’re like the scorpion, too. You’re going to ask, even though you know you’ll get thwacked. Then I’ll hit you and you’ll get up and ask again. That’s what I like about you, Harry.”
    It was right. Despite the certain pain, questions raced each other to his mouth.
    â€œWhat’s the voice I hear when I look in someone’s trail?”
    THUNK!
    Thud, thud, thud
    â€œYour filter, talking back. It does what’s easiest—turns everything into a story.”
    â€œWhy could Todd Penderwhistle enter his life trail when I can’t enter mine?”
    SHUNK!
    This time after he hit the ground, Harry rolled for what felt like a half mile, slamming his side and shoulders into the