Near Future 1: Awakening by Randal Sloan Read Free Book Online

the box, pointing to one of the pieces, "These almond chocolates are the best. You should start with one, but make sure you save one for last."
    When Miranda did as she was told, biting into one of the pieces Andrea indicated, she exclaimed in pleasure, "Ohh! You're right. This is so good. Now I know that I really, really like chocolate. Thank you so much!"
    Every day Andrea did something else for her. Miranda started looking forward to her visits. During one of those visits, Andrea pointed to her crutches and said, "When you get a little better with those, you will have to visit the area at the end of the hall. It is designed for our patients to feel a little closer to the outside world. It has a water fountain, plants and the sun shining in from a huge glass ceiling. I think you will enjoy it."
    So, late in the week Miranda was excited about being able to walk with her crutches and leave her room. She immediately walked toward the area that Andrea had described to her. As she approached the area, two girls close to Miranda's age came out of a doorway. One of them, a pretty girl with long blonde hair, really wasn't looking where she was going and almost ran into Miranda. The girl gave Miranda a rude stare and an exasperated sigh, like it was all Miranda's fault. She was favoring her ankle which was in a brace, and she immediately grabbed for support the arm of the other girl, who looked to be slightly younger. The second girl, while not as pretty as the blonde, had a more pleasant demeanor and shoulder length brown hair. The blonde finally mumbled "Sorry" and then dragged the other girl with her toward the door at the end of the hall.
    The sudden event caused a wave of dizziness to overtake Miranda, and she almost fell, but a young man rushed to her side and caught her arm. He helped her to a chair where Miranda decided that maybe she should sit down.
    The young man, who Miranda thought was just a little older than her, was the picture of the dashing hero rushing to her rescue. He looked a lot like the second girl with the same color hair and the same eyes, but he had a rather athletic build and Miranda thought he looked quite good in the sweater vest he was wearing. The vest had the logo of the local university on it. He said to Miranda, "Hi, I'm Ezekiel Caldwell, everyone calls me Zeke. I'm sorry about that. Are you alright?"  
    Miranda nodded slightly, still trying to get her dizziness under control. "Yes," she said. "Just a little dizzy I guess."
    "The blonde is Caitlyn Erwin. She is a force of nature, but she's a very good soccer player. The other girl is my sister Emily, and the two of us got 'volunteered' to bring Caitlyn here for a therapy appointment. Caitlyn has a minor ankle injury, and she has been making a major deal of it. Because she is the best player on the team, she expects special treatment."
    Miranda laughed. "It's ok, I'm alright, but thanks for your help. I'm Miranda Summerlin, from the room down the hall."
    "Well, then you really should get special treatment, and obviously you're having to deal with a lot more than a minor ankle injury. So if there is anything I can do to help, let me know."
    "Hopefully", he said, "I will be seeing you a lot more. Caitlyn says that she will have to continue her therapy for some time, because she must be able to play again at her best!"
    Miranda laughed at that and said, "Well you know where I will be. At least for the next little while, I think."
    "Then I will see you soon," he said. He followed the others out, stopping briefly to give her a last wave as he left. Miranda found herself really hoping that she would see him again. There's something special about him. Miranda couldn't help but smile.
    #
    On the drive back to school, Caitlyn talked constantly about the soccer team, and that it was a good thing they were between terms since she was sidelined with her ankle. They had a really big game coming up, and she had to get ready for it. Luckily for Zeke's sanity, it