Nightmare’s Edge by Bryan Davis Read Free Book Online

Nathan said. “He had a little run-in with a mirror, so that might have kept him away for a while.”
    “I heard about that. Nice going. I wouldn’t mind taking a mirror to that creep myself.” Gunther glanced over his shoulder and gestured at a duffle bag lying on the floor. “By the way, I thought you guys might be hungry, so I brought some crackers and stuff. Help yourselves.”
    Nathan rummaged through the bag and passed around the food. As he handed Daryl an apple, he asked, “So what’s going on back home?”
    Daryl planted an elbow on her armrest. “Before I lost contact with Dr. Gordon, he said news reports were buzzing about sound waves getting bent out of shape. It started with mid-range musical notes. If someone played a middle C on a piano, it didn’t sound right, like the frequency got warped in the air. Then it spread to all sorts of sounds, and finally it killed analog radio and TV broadcasts. At least that’s what Dr. Gordon thinks, since he couldn’t get any reception.”
    “And then you got cut off from him.”
    “Yep. Just before it happened, I asked Dr. Gordon to call my father to let him know I’m all right, but I’m not sure he understood. Even his voice sounded weird, like he was doing whale-speak — you know, long, moaning notes, like Dory when she talked to the whale in Finding Nemo . I suggested that he switch to digital encoding, but I don’t think he heard me.”
    “So Earth Red people probably can’t talk to each other.”
    “That’s my take, unless they all learn whale-speak.”
    Nathan blew out a sigh. It was like the Tower of Babel all over again. The world would be in chaos soon, if it wasn’t already.
    He turned toward Kelly, but she showed no sign of concern. Her mind seemed far away, and a sweet smile made her face seem to glow. He smiled back. No doubt defusing the bomb, as she had put it, gave her reason to celebrate. Maybe Kelly Yellow would have a better life than she’d had.
    After they drove out of the city and onto a narrow country lane, Gunther glanced back and forth between the mirror and the road. “We’ve got trouble.”

4
    TO DANCE OR DIE
    Daryl turned around and looked out the back window. “Zone police?”
    “Looks like we picked up two of them,” Gunther said.
    Nathan swiveled in his seat. A pair of red cars with gold racing stripes and flashing lights roared up from behind, splashing through the fast-melting snow. One blared a horn as it passed Tony’s pickup and pulled within a few feet of Gunther’s bumper.
    “What’re you going to do?” Nathan asked.
    Gunther pressed the gas pedal, making his engine whine. “I can’t outrun them, not in this hay baler, but I’m not about to get shot or stunned by those sonic rods.” He nodded toward the back. “Open the hatch. I have a surprise for them.”
    While Nathan climbed toward the rear, Gunther continued. “Daryl, look under your seat and get the first-aid kit.”
    Daryl bent over. “For what? To bandage your brain when it explodes?”
    Nathan opened the rear hatch, swinging it out and up, and hustled back to his seat.
    “It’s a fake kit,” Gunther said. “I keep a gun inside.”
    “You’re going to shoot them from the driver’s seat?” Daryl slid out a white metal box, withdrew a short, fat-barreled pistol, and squinted at it doubtfully. “You’d be better off with a good blaster at your side, kid.”
    Gunther took it from her. “It’s a sound-wave gun Solomon and I invented. It neutralizes a sonic rod, but since there are two zone cops, I can’t stop them both if they use different frequencies.”
    Nathan looked back again. One of the police cars shifted to the left lane and eased closer, its lights flashing and siren blaring as it pulled up to their side. The other car drew so close behind the van, the driver’s gaunt face and pale complexion became clear.
    “It’s a stalker!” He glanced at the car to their side. That driver and a man in the passenger seat also looked