Time Spent by J. David Clarke Read Free Book Online Page B

that?"
    "Heard she was in
juvie."
    "Just got out of jail."
    "What did she do?"
    "That girl is crazy."
    ______________________
     
    "Oh YEAH? What are you gonna DO
throw some MEATLOAF at me?"
    Mia's fists glowed. "Something
like that," she said.
    Brock's glowing eyes fixed on her
hands.   "unknownenergydetected spectraclanalysispending
dangeralertdangeralert"
    Mia threw her hands forward and a
ball of yellow energy exploded outward, crashing into Brock like a
giant bowling ball. His enormous body braced itself, and the energy
crackled around him, then faded.
    "analysiscompleteenergycompatible.
MMmm Daddy LIKE... acquireacquire"
    "Oh shit." Mia backed
off.
    Tendrils fired off from Brock's
fingertips, trailing thin wires back to his hands. Mia threw
herself backwards, trying to avoid them. Four of them landed in the
back of a passerby who had seen Brock and started to run. Circuitry
spread out from the points of impact to cover the man within
seconds.
    Mia clambered to her feet and
turned to run, when pain exploded in her left temple. One of the
tendrils had hit her there, driving a spike into her face. She
reached up and tore it free, throwing it aside, but the pain was
intense, and something was left there, just under the
skin.
    "targetattained. YEAH baby you
MINE now! conversioninitiated"
    ______________________
     
    The hole widened, and through it,
Mia saw a sea of madness. She saw a deep green forest. There were
faces in the trees, and accusing eyes in the clouds.
    All of them were staring back at
her.
    Mia gasped. The sound of their
terrible keening filled the air. The wind buffeted her even harder,
and Mia's head felt as if it would split open.
    The forest grew, trees reaching to
the heavens and clouds spreading out to darken the sky. And in the
center of the forest, Mia saw a ring of dancing women. A pile of
dead animals lay at their capering feet, their naked forms covered
in blood.
    ______________________
     
    After school, Mia found Amber
waiting for the bus outside.
    "Hey," she said.
    Amber smiled. "Hey. What
happened?"
    "I'm stuck here on Saturday," Mia
said. "But it was worth it."
    They laughed.   I like her
laugh,   Mia
thought.
    "I'm really sorry you got in
trouble, though," Amber said. "I feel like it was my
fault."
    "Your fault? Uh, no. That Brock
guy is an asshole."
    Amber nodded.
    "Hey, you wanna go talk somewhere?
We can sit in the bleachers and pretend we're watching baseball
practice."
    "Um, well, I have to get home. My
parents..."
    "Oh, come on...we can talk for a
while and then I'll get my dad to come get us. You won't be
late."
    "Okay."
    They climbed to the top of the
bleachers and sat. Baseball practice was underway, but Mia and
Amber were not interested in that. Mia could not get her mind off
the place where their knees were touching.
    "So, what happened," Amber said,
"what Brock, what he did."
    "With your arm."
    "Yeah..."
    "Do you want to talk about it?"
Mia asked.
    Amber shook her head, eyes wide.
"No, no, it's just, it's old. That's old stuff. I don't do that
anymore."
    "Okay."
    "I used to do it. I went through a
bad time. But I'm okay now."
    "I hope so."
    Amber nodded. "I am, yeah. I just
didn't want you to think I was crazy. Or anything."
    Mia laughed. "I don't think that
at all."
    "Good."
    "After today, you probably think
I'm the crazy one," Mia said, laughing.
    "No!" Amber took Mia's hand in
hers. "No, I don't. You're..."
    Words died on her lips. Their eyes
met, and Mia leaned close...
    Suddenly a brown haired girl
several rows below them jumped up and cheered. "SIMONNNN!!" One of
the players had apparently hit a home run. There was sporadic
clapping from the kids in the stands.
    Mia looked at Amber. "Wow, someone
likes Simon a lot, huh?"
    They laughed.
    "I like your laugh," Mia
said.
    Amber smiled. "It's you. You're
different from everyone else."
    "Is that good or bad?" Mia
asked.
    "It's good. It's like...you have
something inside you. A spark."
    Mia considered this, then snapped
her