The Whisper by Clayton Emma Read Free Book Online Page A

He was one of the few people who’d not come to London as a refugee.
    But as they waded down Greek Street, they noticed how much worse it looked. The last time they were there, some of the buildings were still occupied. Lights shone in windows, and people waded past them in the street. Now the old shops and restaurants looked empty and the water around them was deserted.
    “John will still be here,” Abe said. “Soho John would never leave.”
    But when they reached the pub, they looked through the window and saw water lapping against a dark bar. All the brightly colored bottles, glinting glasses, and chattingpeople were gone. They stepped back and looked up, hoping to see a light in the first-floor window and saw that the roof had fallen in.
    “Oh no,” Abe said. “I can’t believe it. John’s gone.”
    “I bet he didn’t leave until the roof fell in,” Kobi said.
    “I bet he didn’t,” Abe replied bitterly. “He would have stuck it out ’til the end. I hope he wasn’t upstairs when it happened. I don’t know what to do now.”
    Abe pulled his companion from his pocket and searched through his address book. His hands were so cold, he almost dropped it in the water. “I don’t know where else he could be,” he said. “He’s always been here.”
    “Try calling him,” Kobi suggested. “His number will be the same.”
    “Oh yes, of course. I’m so cold, I’m stupid. We have to get out of this water.”
    Kobi sat on the slimy windowsill while his father called John. It was very cold. He shrank down in his coat, buried his hands in his pockets, and awoke the borg kittens that were sleeping there. This made him think of Audrey. He’d been building these kittens for her before he left Barford North. As they squirmed against his fingers, he felt a pang of loss.
    Why? he wondered.
    He’d always been a loner. When he moved to Barford North, it was weeks before he spoke to Mika. He’d been a brilliant pilot in the game, Tom’s game partner, but it hadn’t hurt him to stay away from the arcade after he realized something was wrong. Because he was one of those rare, lucky people who discover at an early age what they’re good at. He was a talented industrial robotic engineer, like his father.Kobi could transform scraps of metal into beautiful animals. But now his friends seemed more important.
    He watched his father wade back and forth across the street, talking to his friend John, and felt cast out and alone.
    Abe ended his call looking relieved and happy.
    “John’s moved to an old office block along the river,” he said. “He’s going to come and meet us. He said to wait for him here. He’ll be about an hour.”
    “OK,” Kobi replied.
    This was good news. Now they had somewhere to stay, but an hour was a long time to stand knee-deep in freezing water.
    His father sat next to him and hugged his coat.
    Nevermore
craarked
.
    The borg raven was in Kobi’s rucksack, squashed between his back and the pub window.
    Kobi took off his rucksack. The bird was sticking its head out of it. A beady silver eye met his. He pushed the raven down and refastened the zip. He’d built this creature with his own hands and he didn’t want to lose it to the water.
    While father and son waited for John, they shared a box of cold noodles. But when the noodles were gone, the cold began to get to them. Kobi tried to doze to make the time pass faster, but every time he closed his eyes and drifted, he began to feel bad and he didn’t know why. At that moment, the implanted army was trying to escape from the fortress, and he was feeling it faintly, but he was not connected.
    “Are you sure you’re OK?” his father asked.
    “Yeah,” Kobi said. “What time is it?”
    “Just gone eight. We’ve still got fifteen minutes. Let’s move around a bit. I can’t feel my legs.”
    They waded down Little Compton Street, trying to stay in view of the pub, but as they passed a dark building, Kobi noticed a camera attached to