Read Online And It Arose from the Deepest Black (John Black Book 2) by Keith Soares - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Keith Soares
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closely, gauging what I meant. Trying to see if I was that confident. And I wasn’t. “One way or the other,” I made myself say. She looked away, but before she did, I saw the lines of worry deepen on her face.
Mom shook her head slightly. “You have to fly. Otherwise, it just takes too long. Train or bus would be days . But flying is complicated. Security, lots of people around. I don’t see how it can be done. Someone will notice you. They’ll remember you from the news.”
“Mom. When I went to the capital, I pushed a lot of minds. At the bus stop, on the bus, in the city.” Suddenly, I was certain. “I think I can do the same at the airport. All I need to do is make sure people don’t recognize me. Recognize us . So Bobby can help, too.”
“John, a single airplane can have hundreds of people. In the airport, there will be thousands.”
“Yeah, but I only need to push the ones who are near me. You know, like when we flew to see Grandma and Grandpa that time, and we sat in, like, row 68 or something? I didn’t have any idea who was in row 10, did you?”
“No, unless I walked past them on the way to my seat.”
“And that part’s fine. I can push people as I move past them. Once I’m sitting somewhere, I just need to make sure the people around me don’t recognize me. So, I think I can do it. Airport, plane, city, whatever.”
Mom relented, but just barely. “Okay, but what about buying a ticket? That’s going to cost a fortune. I don’t know if I even have the money. Since your Dad passed —” She stopped for moment, unsure. “Anyway, if I buy a ticket, your name will be on it. There’ll be security…”
“For security, I can just push their minds again. Easy. I’ve done it to cops before.”
“That’s hardly something to be proud of,” Mom said.
I just shrugged. “And I don’t want you to spend all your money on me, Mom.” It was true. I never so much as asked her to get me a phone, even though every other kid had one. Well, except Bobby, but his parents were just jerks. “I mean, I think what we’re going to do is really important, but we might fail. I couldn’t bear it if I failed and sent us to the poorhouse.”
“There’s no such thing as a poorhouse, John. If I don’t pay the mortgage, we’re homeless.”
“Well, I couldn’t bear that, either.”
“And if you fail, they’re coming here anyway, right? Home or no home.”
“Gee, no pressure,” I said.
“Okay, how are you going to get a ticket? No, two tickets. Without what little money I have.”
“I don’t need a ticket. I just push here, push there, and everyone lets me right on board. No questions asked.”
“That’s stealing.”
“I know, but I won’t do it unless we’re sure the seats will be empty. We can find flights in the middle of the night or something — besides, that’ll mean less people around. And we’re doing it to try to save lives. Including our own.” I looked at Holly and saw the fear in her eyes. I smiled at her with what I hoped was winning confidence.
“What about a place to sleep, if you need it?”
I reminded her about the night I’d spent in the hotel suite when I’d gone to meet Sol in the capital. She shrugged. “More stealing.” But she got very quiet, considering everything.
Holly tapped on the table again, so I explained the idea to her. Still, she was confused.
But won’t people still notice that you’re gone, Johnny?
It was a good question, and one I didn’t have an answer for, so I repeated it to my mom. A mischievous look spread across her face. Like she was going to enjoy pulling the wool over the eyes of the world. “John, you don’t look well,” she said. “I think you might be coming down with the flu.”
I grinned back at her. The simplest ideas were often the best. A little time locked away in the house, where no one would see. Or so people
Mom shook her head slightly. “You have to fly. Otherwise, it just takes too long. Train or bus would be days . But flying is complicated. Security, lots of people around. I don’t see how it can be done. Someone will notice you. They’ll remember you from the news.”
“Mom. When I went to the capital, I pushed a lot of minds. At the bus stop, on the bus, in the city.” Suddenly, I was certain. “I think I can do the same at the airport. All I need to do is make sure people don’t recognize me. Recognize us . So Bobby can help, too.”
“John, a single airplane can have hundreds of people. In the airport, there will be thousands.”
“Yeah, but I only need to push the ones who are near me. You know, like when we flew to see Grandma and Grandpa that time, and we sat in, like, row 68 or something? I didn’t have any idea who was in row 10, did you?”
“No, unless I walked past them on the way to my seat.”
“And that part’s fine. I can push people as I move past them. Once I’m sitting somewhere, I just need to make sure the people around me don’t recognize me. So, I think I can do it. Airport, plane, city, whatever.”
Mom relented, but just barely. “Okay, but what about buying a ticket? That’s going to cost a fortune. I don’t know if I even have the money. Since your Dad passed —” She stopped for moment, unsure. “Anyway, if I buy a ticket, your name will be on it. There’ll be security…”
“For security, I can just push their minds again. Easy. I’ve done it to cops before.”
“That’s hardly something to be proud of,” Mom said.
I just shrugged. “And I don’t want you to spend all your money on me, Mom.” It was true. I never so much as asked her to get me a phone, even though every other kid had one. Well, except Bobby, but his parents were just jerks. “I mean, I think what we’re going to do is really important, but we might fail. I couldn’t bear it if I failed and sent us to the poorhouse.”
“There’s no such thing as a poorhouse, John. If I don’t pay the mortgage, we’re homeless.”
“Well, I couldn’t bear that, either.”
“And if you fail, they’re coming here anyway, right? Home or no home.”
“Gee, no pressure,” I said.
“Okay, how are you going to get a ticket? No, two tickets. Without what little money I have.”
“I don’t need a ticket. I just push here, push there, and everyone lets me right on board. No questions asked.”
“That’s stealing.”
“I know, but I won’t do it unless we’re sure the seats will be empty. We can find flights in the middle of the night or something — besides, that’ll mean less people around. And we’re doing it to try to save lives. Including our own.” I looked at Holly and saw the fear in her eyes. I smiled at her with what I hoped was winning confidence.
“What about a place to sleep, if you need it?”
I reminded her about the night I’d spent in the hotel suite when I’d gone to meet Sol in the capital. She shrugged. “More stealing.” But she got very quiet, considering everything.
Holly tapped on the table again, so I explained the idea to her. Still, she was confused.
But won’t people still notice that you’re gone, Johnny?
It was a good question, and one I didn’t have an answer for, so I repeated it to my mom. A mischievous look spread across her face. Like she was going to enjoy pulling the wool over the eyes of the world. “John, you don’t look well,” she said. “I think you might be coming down with the flu.”
I grinned back at her. The simplest ideas were often the best. A little time locked away in the house, where no one would see. Or so people
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