Read Online Community by Graham Masterton - Free Book Online
Authors: Graham Masterton
Tags: Speculative Fiction
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Krugerâs hand. It was stunningly cold.
âPleased to meet you,â he said, but at the same time he had a feeling that he had met him before, or seen his picture someplace. He was square-faced, with tangled white eyebrows like snow-covered briars, pale gray eyes, and rimless eyeglasses perched on the end of his nose. For no explicable reason, Michael thought:
atom scientist
.
âEmilio was a very good man,â said Walter Kruger. âOne of the best. Unselfish wasnât the word for Emilio. Kind, thoughtful, considerate. God rest him. Iâm afraid you have a lot to live up to, Gregory.â
âWell, I donât think Iâm going to be here for too long,â Michael told him. âI have a few difficulties remembering stuff, but once Iâve sorted those out â¦â
Walter Kruger gave him an odd look with those pale gray eyes of his, as if he couldnât really understand what he was talking about, but then he patted Isobel on the back and said, âWeâd better get inside. We donât want Kingsley getting impatient, do we?â
âKingsley?â asked Michael. âIs that Kingsley Vane, from the clinic?â
âThatâs right,â said Isobel. âHeâs the chair of the Trinity Community Association. He lives here too, of course. He has a big house out near the lake.â
They entered the hall, which was already crowded with at least two hundred residents. Isobel led Michael to two seats near the front. After all that walking from the clinic, and then from Isobelâs house, he sat down with relief, propping his walking-stick against the seat in front of him.
Considering there were so many people here, the hall was strangely hushed. Michael twisted around in his seat to see if he could recognize any of those people who had been standing out in the street last night. Maybe it was his eyesight, which was still somewhat blurry; or maybe it was the white winter light that was coming in through the tall windows which lined the hall on either side; but he found it difficult to focus on any of their faces. There was only one â a pretty girl who was sitting at the opposite end of the row of seats immediately behind him â and she was so familiar that he turned around twice more to look at her.
He nudged Isobel and indicated the girl with a nod of his head. âThat girl at the end, the one in the blue knitted hat with the bobble on top. Do you know who she is?â
Isobel was about to take a look herself when a door at the back of the hall suddenly opened and Kingsley Vane appeared, casually dressed in a white reindeer-patterned sweater and red corduroy pants. He stalked over to the rostrum with a slit of a smile on his face, carrying a large black folder under his arm.
He laid the folder on the rostrum and opened it, and then he slowly swiveled his head from side to side to take in his audience, so that to Michael he looked even more like a bird of prey than he had when he had first met him.
âA warm welcome to all of you,â he said. He paused for effect, and then he said, âI wonât pretend that the winter months have been at all easy for the residents of Trinity, and I know that for some of you these months have brought loss, and tragedy. I look around this hall today and there are several familiar and well-loved faces missing. We mourn them, as we mourn the passing of all those who brought richness and love and meaning to our lives.
âToday, however, I also see some new faces â people who will bring to our small community both freshness and vibrancy. We greet them with open arms, and thank them for the contribution that they will be making to our existence here, even if they are not yet aware of how valuable that contribution is going to be.
âNow â to get down to business â I have here a list of all the social events which are scheduled for the next three months, plus all of the committee
âPleased to meet you,â he said, but at the same time he had a feeling that he had met him before, or seen his picture someplace. He was square-faced, with tangled white eyebrows like snow-covered briars, pale gray eyes, and rimless eyeglasses perched on the end of his nose. For no explicable reason, Michael thought:
atom scientist
.
âEmilio was a very good man,â said Walter Kruger. âOne of the best. Unselfish wasnât the word for Emilio. Kind, thoughtful, considerate. God rest him. Iâm afraid you have a lot to live up to, Gregory.â
âWell, I donât think Iâm going to be here for too long,â Michael told him. âI have a few difficulties remembering stuff, but once Iâve sorted those out â¦â
Walter Kruger gave him an odd look with those pale gray eyes of his, as if he couldnât really understand what he was talking about, but then he patted Isobel on the back and said, âWeâd better get inside. We donât want Kingsley getting impatient, do we?â
âKingsley?â asked Michael. âIs that Kingsley Vane, from the clinic?â
âThatâs right,â said Isobel. âHeâs the chair of the Trinity Community Association. He lives here too, of course. He has a big house out near the lake.â
They entered the hall, which was already crowded with at least two hundred residents. Isobel led Michael to two seats near the front. After all that walking from the clinic, and then from Isobelâs house, he sat down with relief, propping his walking-stick against the seat in front of him.
Considering there were so many people here, the hall was strangely hushed. Michael twisted around in his seat to see if he could recognize any of those people who had been standing out in the street last night. Maybe it was his eyesight, which was still somewhat blurry; or maybe it was the white winter light that was coming in through the tall windows which lined the hall on either side; but he found it difficult to focus on any of their faces. There was only one â a pretty girl who was sitting at the opposite end of the row of seats immediately behind him â and she was so familiar that he turned around twice more to look at her.
He nudged Isobel and indicated the girl with a nod of his head. âThat girl at the end, the one in the blue knitted hat with the bobble on top. Do you know who she is?â
Isobel was about to take a look herself when a door at the back of the hall suddenly opened and Kingsley Vane appeared, casually dressed in a white reindeer-patterned sweater and red corduroy pants. He stalked over to the rostrum with a slit of a smile on his face, carrying a large black folder under his arm.
He laid the folder on the rostrum and opened it, and then he slowly swiveled his head from side to side to take in his audience, so that to Michael he looked even more like a bird of prey than he had when he had first met him.
âA warm welcome to all of you,â he said. He paused for effect, and then he said, âI wonât pretend that the winter months have been at all easy for the residents of Trinity, and I know that for some of you these months have brought loss, and tragedy. I look around this hall today and there are several familiar and well-loved faces missing. We mourn them, as we mourn the passing of all those who brought richness and love and meaning to our lives.
âToday, however, I also see some new faces â people who will bring to our small community both freshness and vibrancy. We greet them with open arms, and thank them for the contribution that they will be making to our existence here, even if they are not yet aware of how valuable that contribution is going to be.
âNow â to get down to business â I have here a list of all the social events which are scheduled for the next three months, plus all of the committee
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