Halfkinds Volume 1: Contact by Andrew Vu Read Free Book Online Page B

to him.
    “That science team probably ran
into him and killed him,” Tiago says.  “Mom was right, they want to experiment
on us like we’re a bunch of freaks.”
    “Now let’s not jump to
conclusions,” Oscar says.  He stands up from his sitting position and looks
Tiago straight in the eyes.
    “It’s the only conclusion!” Tiago
yells.  “What else could have happened?”
    Oscar is silent.  He knows Tiago
is right, but doesn’t want to admit it.  Admitting it would show the truth that
we were not welcome in this world, that we would be killed without hesitation.
    “What do you think we should do
now?” I say, interrupting the conversation in order to ease the tension.
    “Well first thing’s first, we’re
running out of supplies.” Tiago replies.  “We’ll need to go into the city and
get some food.  But we can’t do it now, not in broad daylight.  We’ll have to
wait until the sun goes down.  We’ll only be safe moving in the shadows, to
avoid running into anyone.  We’ll need enough supplies to last us until we
decide to move on.”
    “Move on to where?” I ask.
    “Away from here.  We need to leave
Primm,” Tiago says.
    “Oh, really?” Oscar says
skeptically.  “And where do you suppose we run to.”
    “The Moon,” Tiago says.
    All of us are shocked by the bomb
that Tiago has laid.  Leaving our home was hard enough.  Leaving Primm would be
even harder, but leaving Earth, that was just insane.
    “The Moon?!”  Oscar yells. 
“You’ve lost it.”
    “You know as much as I do that the
Moon is probably our only bet for living a safe life,” Tiago says.  “Leonard
was killed by a government agency.  Do you think they’re going to leave us
alone now?  Do you think even if he hadn’t died, that we could hide around
Primm forever?  We’ve been hiding all our lives, I’m done hiding.  I want to
live in freedom.”
    “But why the Moon?” I ask him.
    “The Moon may have been finished
terraforming fifty years ago, but it’s far from being as organized as Earth,”
Tiago says.  “There are still areas of the Moon that are uninhabited and
developing.  Areas away from governments or scientific agencies, away from the
kinds of people who are and will be looking for us.  These kinds of places are
the only ones left for us.  If we stay here on Earth, we’ll be found and
killed.  At least on the Moon, it will be a lot harder for anyone to track us
down.  It’s our only option if we want to live a full life, and not one in
hiding.”
    “But how do we get there?” Candy
asks.  After learning Tiago’s plan, Candy suspects there will be tech
involved.  My guess is she knows the answer to her question, and her expertise
will come in handy.  She is not asking ‘how do we get there’, but rather ‘how
can I help us get there’.
    “There are teleport stations in
Primm,” Tiago says.  “They can instantly transport us from one station to a
larger hub that will teleport us to the Moon.  I did research a while back,
before all this happened, and if we can connect to the San Francisco teleport
hub from Primm, then we can get to the Moon via the station there. ”
    “But we can’t waltz into a station
without causing a commotion,” my brother, Isaac, says.  “We won’t be able to
hitch a ride in broad daylight, we don’t have credits, so how are we going to
get access to a live one?”
    “We’ll have to break into one of
the stations at night,” Tiago says.  “Once we’re in, Candy, we’ll be counting
on you.  We’ll need you to figure out how to operate a teleporter and send us
out of here and to San Francisco.  Then when we make it to a station there,
you’ll need to send us to the Moon.  Are you up to the task?”
    Candy looks hesitant yet eager at
the same time.  She moves her hairy arms and puts her long fingers on her
chin.  She walks forward and then backward, dragging her other knuckle on the
ground, much like a chimp would.  She wants