Read Online Fear and Aggression by Dane Bagley - Free Book Online

what seemed to the best day
of his life with his older brother, and then the state of confusion
for several days, followed by moving away and in with his grandpa.
Although he loved his grandpa, he felt a terrible loneliness, and
longing to be with his sisters and parents.
    Grandpa Rickson also felt the terrible pangs
of losing his only child. But after the acute phase of grief
passed, he felt happier than he had in years with Mark in his home,
and being back at work. He had felt a great concern of inadequacy,
but he was a man with a sense of duty. Still, there was a lot of
adjusting for two people thrown together amidst dreadful grief.
Grandpa Rickson, unlike Mark’s father, was not a man of many words,
nor was he affectionate like Mark’s mother. He was not fun-loving
like Mark’s sisters, and indeed did not have much of a concept of
life outside of working and television. He did like baseball, and
he had always wanted a boy to throw the ball around with. So for a
little while he would take Mark out in the apartment parking lot
and throw a ball. This was past him now, as his body was not up to
it, and he used the excuse that he was afraid they may break
something in the parking lot.
    Although Mark didn’t think on his
circumstances much, being the last day of summer, he was reminded
of the limited experience he was having; no trips, no siblings
around, very few activities, and his sense of emptiness and
loneliness was evident in the melancholy state he was in.
    “ Hey, Markey,” Grandpa
shouted in an unusually enthusiastic manner from his room. “Come
‘ere, look’t this.”
    Mark, feeling the fatigue of inactivity, and
being zoned out with music and daydreaming, almost answered back,
“Come here and tell me,” but since Grandpa sounded unusually
excited, he decided to drag his tired body into Grandpa’s room.
    “ What’s up,
Gramps?”
    “ Steve’s got his mission
and all.”
    “ Where to?” Mark
interrupted.
    “ Dunno, but he’s callin’
us...I think this afternoon, lookee ‘ere.”
    “ What? Oh, cool! Yeah,
he’s gonna call any minute. Wow, they let Captains do anything.”
Adrenaline began to seep into his veins, and he could feel a touch
of lightheadedness. He sat on the bed and just smiled while
Grandpa, feeling excited himself, continued to go through
email.
    “ I’ll answer and talk for
just a couple of minutes, then’ll let ya finish up his fifteen
minutes. All right, Markey?” No answer followed, as both of them
pricked their ears in anticipation of the phone ringing.
    After a few minutes of silent anticipation
the phone rang, and Mark got up instinctively—like a track runner
to the sound of a gun—and answered the phone. “Hello? Hey, Steve!”
As he saw his Grandpa’s irritated look, he remembered the deal.
“Gramps wants to say hi for a minute,” and he handed him the
phone.
    “ Hi, Steve, good ta ‘ere
from ya. You doin’ alright up ther’?”
    “ I'm doing great, Grandpa.
How are you and Mark getting along?”
    “ Just fine. Just fine. So
what’s yer mission gonna be, eh?”
    “ We’re going into an
unanalyzed region. I’ve got a great crew. I'm real
excited.”
    “ We’re shore proud’ve ya,
Steve. You'll do real well now. ‘Ere’s Markey, so goodbye now.”
Ryan would have loved to talk to Steve for a little while longer,
but he knew that Mark was dying for the phone, and fifteen minutes
is nothing on a phone call to a loved one that hasn’t been seen by
his family for a while.
    “ Hey, Steve, man, you’re a
Captain. What’s it like?”
    “ It’s great, I’m pretty
excited. How are you doing?”
    “ Alright, I start back at
school tomorrow. So that bites.”
    “ I hear you. Did you have
a good summer?”
    “ No, I didn’t do anything.
So, what’s your crew like? Do you have any babes on
board?”
    Chuckling, Steve replied, “We’ve got one
woman on board. She’s in charge of medical and research.”
    “ So she’s your alien
dissector; cool.