Socket 1-3 - The Socket Greeny Saga by Tony Bertauski Read Free Book Online Page B

anything.”
    “Timeslicing is a stoppage of relative time.
Since this incident, you have heard random thoughts. Has this not
happened to you?”
    I don’t like this guy.
    “We know this to be true, but your
cooperation will make this transaction easier.”
    He didn’t need me to answer. He wanted me to answer. So I nodded. Fine. There’s your transaction, weasel.
    The servy pulled its rubbery arms off,
merged back into the wall. Three spots of blood beaded on my arm. Blood, skin, tissue, muscle. You forgot a chunk of
brain.
    Agent Pike eyebrows shifted again. More
pressure.
    The dimpling sensation was deeper, more
intense. I grabbed the bottom of the chair. A line of sweat popped
up on my lip. That last wave went deep, like the dentist forgot to
numb me before drilling.
    “Only Paladins have the ability to cease
relative time,” he said. “It is not magic. We have the ability to
alter our metabolism to move and think infinitely faster than the
ordinary human, to experience time stopping. The ability can
be performed only in short bursts before the body consumes all its
energy. You were very hungry after timeslicing, were you not?”
    He paused. We know this to be
true .
    “Your timeslicing ability was activated by
an unknown presence that approached in the form of a shadow. This
person was traced to the Garrison, but we do not know the
identity.” His nostrils flared, blowing hot air. “Tell me who the
shadow is.”
    I barely remembered what happened; how would
I know who the shadow is? This guy was a moron if he thought—
    My eardrums popped. The air thickened.
    “You are sixteen years old.” Agent Pike’s
voice was now unusually loud, slightly echoing. “Paladin cadets do
not timeslice until they are twenty. Your activation is an
anomaly.” His lips moved softly, no more than a whisper, but the
words rang. “WHO ARE YOU, SOCKET GREENY?”
    [Agent Pike, back down the mental
pressure.]
    His stare locked me in the chair. I couldn’t
move. It was a full blown seizure. The chair legs rattled.
    [Agent Pike! You are ordered to back off!
The subject is unstable; you must stop the pressure
immediately!]
    A black tunnel collapsed around me. My head
split. No, not my head. My mind . Pike went looking for
answers. Psychic fingers pushed inside like cold spikes. I let out
a howl that died in the dense air. Memories hurtled out of the
blackness, falling at random. Things I’d forgotten played like
movies.
    Two years old. Dad pulled me from the car
and Mom came around. The room was large and dank. Musty . The
parking cave. Dad carried me and his footsteps echoed. A man
greeted him. Shook his hand.
    “He’s showing signs,” Dad said.
    The man ruffled my hair. His breath minty. I
hid my face in Dad’s shoulder. “We’ll keep an eye on him,” the man
said.
    Icy pain cut me. Pike dug deeper.
    I was four, holding Dad’s hand. The carnival
lights illuminated the night that smelled like straw and sugar. I
ate something fried on a stick. Dad tore off a piece, popped it in
his mouth. “You want to go on that one, Socket?” he said.
    A capsule ride shot straight up, disappeared
above the lights.
    “Trey,” Mom said. “I don’t think that’s a
good idea. He’ll get scared.”
    I held his rough hand and we climbed inside
the capsule. It was humid and smelled like puke. We strapped into
the seat and I was thinking Mom was right. I grabbed Dad’s arm when
we blasted off, buried my face in his coat.
    “It’s all right, Socket,” he said. “It’ll be
all right.”
    Mom waited for us when it was over. She was
wringing her hands but she was smiling. Smiling.
    Pike plunged deeper. Memories popped like
bubbles, overlapping each other. Confusing one with the other. I
was spinning. Faces passed. Days went by. The memory wheel
stopped.
    I was five. The colorless sky was cold.
    Men were dressed in dark uniforms with white
gloves, standing in line. They lowered a casket into the ground,
draped a flag over it. Dirt thudded