The Impossible Future: Complete set by Frank Kennedy (mini ebook reader .txt) 📕

The first pegs twinkle. He isolates each, sees their paths, as if able to slow time. Maybe if he reaches out, he might swat them away, one by one, and kill Carver in the process.

No such luck. They hit him like the first time. Chest. Chest high. Beneath the ribs. Center abdomen. Then higher, as Carver adjusts his aim. The shoulder. A millimeter above the neck brace. A burn on the side of his neck.

There. That one. He stares at the last incoming peg eye-level. He’s too late. Umph.

The peg explodes. He lurches. His skull shatters. A lightshow and a white-hot blade tear into his brain. Thoughts, dreams, emotions dissipate like dandelion petals in the breeze.

A hole opens in the back of his head, and blood gushes. …

“Fuck me!”

Michael stood in the Bengalese River, his blast rifle firing at an invisible target. What the hell was that?

Maya ran to his side. “Michael! Michael, what happened? What are you shooting at?”

He jerked away at her touch. For an instant, he didn’t know Maya or this world. Echoes from the base fought each other for his attention, rising out of the cold, empty dark.

Only when Aldo arrived did Michael reset.

“Come on, 3-L-T,” Aldo said. “What did you see?”

“It don’t make sense. It felt like a waking dream, and then it was something more. Carver, he shot me in the head.” Aldo handed him a flask of water. “Thanks. It was crazy. Carver was here. Twice. But I know it wasn’t him. Yet it was.” He took a long swig. The water was fresh and crisp. Michael made his way back to the rock where he sat moments earlier.

“Look, I’m sorry for scaring the shit out of you two. It must be the DR29. They told me not to become too immersed for too long.”

“Yes,” Aldo said. “DR29’s have always played games with the more hypersensitive brain functions. Memories, in particular, tend to stretch and bend. My fault, Cooper. I should have warned you to take more frequent breaks. Eh. DR29s. Never cared for them.”

Maya stood over him, massaging his shoulders.

“Calm yourself,” she said. “This will pass. I think you’re still processing your grief about what happened in the mountain. We’ve only been here an hour. It’s still fresh for all of us.”

“It wasn’t like my memory bent or twisted. It felt sharper, like I was picking up the pieces I missed the first time. The flash pegs hit just like I remembered, but not the one here.” He rubbed his forehead. “It wasn’t a ricochet, like you said. It went through. It blew my brains out. But I know it didn’t because I sure as hell wouldn’t be sitting here.” He looked around. Eden? Huh. “Or maybe I would. Any chance we all died on Tamarind? If there’s a heaven, this ain’t the worst option.”

When they didn’t respond, Michael looked up. Aldo and Maya were locked in a biting stare, which gave Michael a chill.

“We’re very much alive,” Aldo said. “What is heaven?”

“Never mind. I don’t think Chancellors are allowed. There’s not enough leverage in the universe.”

Maya laughed. “Good. Your sense of humor is returning. I think he’s snapping back, Aldo. Agree?”

“No, Maya. I don’t. We have to deal with this now. You wanted to put it off, but he’s remembering.”

Michael twisted around. “I’m sorry, what?”

“We have a long road ahead of us, Aldo. Michael, it’s nothing. Aldo and I will sort it out later, after we put some time between ourselves and the station.”

“I was not wrong,” Aldo insisted and walked away.

“What the hell’s going on between you two?”

“I’m old,” Aldo said without turning around. “I’m a coward. I’m easily duped. But I’m not worthless. My eyes work fine. I know what I saw. Now, Maya. Tell him.”

Michael jumped off the rock. “The fuck is wrong with you?” He pivoted to Maya. “What’s he going on about?”

She held her hands to her hips and for an instant, glared at Aldo as if he betrayed her. But she dropped the animus and softened her features. Maya the friend, counselor, mentor.

“Aldo’s right. I wanted to wait on this matter. What you know too soon might affect choices later. Michael, we’re so close to the end.”

“End of what? Be straight with me.”

“Fine.” She smiled like a sister wanting to comfort her little brother. “You and I have done some horrible things. We’ve killed many people. Do you still keep count?”

An unexpected question. “I stopped a while back.”

“Most of those you’ve killed, you shot them in the head. Yes?”

“It’s efficient. Flash pegs do the job with a single shot.”

“Because they’re brutal. They penetrate the strongest bone and disintegrate the tissue in and around their path. Nothing shy of the strongest military-grade helmet can disperse them.”

He saw the truth in her eyes, but it was too insane to conceive.

“Maya, spit it out already. Please.”

“Remember the way Aldo reacted in the lab when he saw you?”

“Yeah, like he didn’t think …”

Fuck. No way. Don’t you say it.

“When Aldo opened the lab door, you were lying against it. You had a hole in your head as wide as my thumb, and your blood was pooling beneath you. I asked him to help me drag you into the lab. I said you would recover. He thought I was out of my mind. He said our only hope was to jump to Hiebimini and take our chances. He refused to help. Still, I got you inside before the people from Euphrates arrived. I proved Aldo wrong. You were out for less than ten minutes.”

A chill raced through his blood. This story was sheer madness.

“Maya.” He caught his breath. His heart raced. “What happened to me in that