I Am God by Giorgio Faletti Read Free Book Online Page B

clearing, with a line of trees between them. No sooner did he feel the ropes on his wrists than a gag was stretched over his mouth.
    The same fate befell his buddy, whose show of resistance was rewarded with a blow with a rifle butt in the small of his back.
    The man in the red headband approached with his usual sly air.
    ‘You people who use napalm so easily ought to know what effect it has. My people have known it for some time now …’
    He indicated a vague point in the sky in front of him.
    ‘The planes will be coming from that direction, American soldier.’
    He put the dogtags back around their necks. Then he turned his back on them and left, followed by his men. They were alone now, looking at each other from a distance. Then, from that point beyond the trees, in the sky in front of them, came the noise of an engine. The Cessna L-19 Bird Dog appeared as if by magic over the rim of the vegetation. It was on a reconnaissance mission and was flying low. It had almost passed them when suddenly the pilot made a turn, bringing the plane even lower. So low that they could clearly see the figures of the two men inside the cockpit. Soon afterwards the aircraft returned to the sky from which it had come. Time passed in silence. Then a whirr, and a pair of Phantoms arrived at a speed that in their fear they saw as a series of still images. With them came a roar like thunder. Only after that, by some strange quirk, the lightning flash. He saw that light grow and grow and become a line of fire that advanced on them, like some kind of dance, devouring everything in its path until it reached them and hit …
    ‘… my buddy full on, Ben. He was incinerated. I was a bit farther away, so I was just hit by a wave of heat that reduced me to this state. I don’t know how I survived. And I don’t know how long I was there before the rescue team arrived. My memories are very confused. I know I woke up in a hospital, covered in bandages and with needles stuck in my veins. And I think most men would take a lifetime to feel the pain I felt in those few months.’
    The boy paused. Ben understood that it was to let himabsorb what he had just told him. Or to prepare him for what he said next.
    ‘The Vietcong used us as human shields. And the men on the reconnaissance plane saw us. They knew we were there. And they attacked all the same.’
    Ben looked at the tips of his shoes. Anything he said would have been pointless.
    He decided to go back to the present, and the suspicion nagging at him. ‘What are you planning to do now?’
    Little Boss shrugged nonchalantly. ‘All I need is somewhere to use as a base for a few hours. There’s a couple of people I have to see. Then I’ll come fetch Waltz and leave.’
    The cat, as indifferent as all cats, got up from its owner’s knees and arranged its three legs in a more comfortable position on the bed.
    Ben moved the chair away from the wall and let it drop to the floor. ‘I get the feeling you’re going to get in trouble.’
    The boy shook his head, hiding behind his non-smile. ‘I can’t get in trouble.’
    He took off his cotton gloves and held his hands out to Ben. They were covered in scars.
    ‘See? No fingerprints. Wiped out. Whatever I touch, I don’t leave any trace.’
    He seemed to think for a moment, as if he’d finally found the right name for himself.
    ‘I don’t exist any more. I’m a ghost.’
    He looked at him with eyes that asked a lot even though they were ready to concede little.
    ‘Ben, give me your word you won’t tell anyone I was here.’
    ‘Not even—?’
    He interrupted him curtly, before he’d even had time to finish the sentence. ‘I said nobody. Ever.’
    ‘Or else?’
    A moment’s silence. Then from his tortured mouth there emerged words as cold as those of the dead.
    ‘I’ll kill you.’
    Ben Shepard realized that the world didn’t exist any more for the young man. A shiver went down his spine. Little Boss had left to fight a war against other