The Silver Sphere by Michael Dadich Read Free Book Online

chimed in unison. Behind
the words, an unclear melody floated, one that made his entire being ache from its
elegance.
     

     
    "Wh-who are you?" He yawned.
    "The Fugues. Tell Throg the Fugues have sent you, and
he will take you to safety."
    His body was steered—in fact willed —to travel the direction
the Fugues wanted him to go. Walking was surreal—rubbery and foggy—as if he couldn't
quite touch the ground. His legs moved of their own volition, wobbling beneath him.
Trees and bushes almost seemed to stand aside for him to pass, like a dream.
    Then his mind cleared and everything became real again. The rumbling
of a river echoed, and the sudden return of reality bothered him. Before, the trees
had been strange colors. Now only a few plants—mainly flowers—were different from
those on Earth. Tree trunks were brown, leaves were green, and the forest floor
was covered in pine needles and mulch.
    He reached the riverfront by stumbling down a hill, and knelt
down. He cupped his hands and doused his face with the freezing cold liquid. The
trip hadn't been terrifying, being led by those voices, though it had shaken him
a bit. Chilly water dripped along his neck and cheeks. Wet hair plastered to his
forehead.
    He squinted out across the stream, turned, and looked back the
way he had come. "What in the blazes happened?"
    A single memory burned bright: the Fugues had sent him to find
Throg.
    He rose from his knees and followed the river downstream.

 
    At Captain Jack's, Nick Casey's favorite restaurant, he ate a
bowl of French onion soup and a Captain Jack's burger next to his friend Cliff.
The next morning was going to be an early one for class at Densmore College, so
he said goodbye to Cliff after eating and walked out to the parking lot.
    The sounds of shouting and yelling erupted, and a van screeched
by as the cries of a woman slashed the air.
    Nick raced over to her. "What's wrong?"
    "My baby!" she shrieked, tears welling in her eyes.
"They've got my baby!"
    "Call the police," he yelled.
    Without another word, Nick launched down the street. The van
stood only a few blocks ahead, forced to stop at a light behind ten other cars.
He picked up the pace, his shoes slapping against the hard concrete, his heart smashed
and his lungs already ragged.
    He reached the van just as the light turned green, and jumped
onto the back and latched himself to the door. A girl wailed inside, so he grappled
the handle on the double door and wrenched it open.
    The girl wasn't alone. A burly man shouted, "What the hell?
Get out!"
    Nick stumbled inside as the van lurched to life. He curled his
hand into a fist and slammed it into the man's stomach, winding him. Just as Nick
stretched for the girl, the man growled and knocked him into the side of the van.
    A muffled voice came from up front. "Keep the kid quiet,
Jordy!"
    "Some nutcase got in! But he's not leaving," Jordy
growled, glaring at Nick as he held him against the metal wall.
    Nick glanced over at the teenage girl, who couldn't have been
much older than fourteen. Long honey hair framed her terrified expression, and snot
ran down her chin from her nose. She squatted while crying, her face scrunched.
    "Run!" Nick gasped.
    She was tied down, and rage filled him. What sort of monsters would kidnap a little girl? A sudden well of power hit him and Nick threw Jordy
from him. The kidnapper's head smacked into the other side of the van and he dropped
to the floor, hard.
    Nick whirled around and pulled at the knot in the girl's ropes
until it loosened. "I'm here to help," he whispered.
    Jordy groaned off to the side, writhing with his head in his
hands.
    "My name's Nick Casey. Please, trust me."
    She wiped her eyes and sniffled. Not once did she look away from
the felled man. Her voice came out in a choked whisper. "Okay, I'm E-Emily
L-Lawson."
    Nick pulled her into his arms. "On the count of three, I'm
gonna jump, all right?"
    Emily nodded, her body shaking as she rose. Though she was in
at