Read Online I Am Phantom (Novella): Subject Number One by Sean Fletcher - Free Book Online Page B

necessary.
    “Hey, kiddo.” A familiar voice called.
    I whirled around.
    “Dad? What are you doing out here?”
    He pushed open the passenger side door and I
clambered inside. “I could ask you the same—Drake! You’re soaked! And
it’s practically freezing outside!”
    “I kind of slipped into the river.”
    My dad’s concerned face tightened as I buckled
my seat belt and he turned up the heater to full blast. “Geez, Drake. You could
have called me.”
    I waggled my waterlogged phone at him. “Not
possible.” He stared at me for a long time. Then he threw the truck in gear and
we rumbled the rest of the way into Maize.
    “How’d you know where I was?” I asked. My dad
chuckled, but there wasn’t any humor in it. The lines in his face were still
tight.
    “Out doing the same thing you were, probably;
clearing my head. Without taking a polar plunge. I like to come out here and
get some space. Then I came upon this idiot kid just walking on the side of the
road.” He looked over at me. “Really, Drake? You slipped into the river? That’s
the best excuse you could come up with?”
    I just shrugged.
    “So you were just out walking, maybe thinking a
little too hard, and then slipped and tumbled what, fifty feet? into the
water?”
    I shrugged again.
    “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”
    “No, Dad. That’s what happened.”
      We
were close enough to read the water tower in Maize (Go Bulldogs!). My dad
rubbed his eyes and ran a hand down his tired face. Then he stared straight
ahead as we rolled past the only shopping district and through the other side
towards our house.
    “You know,” he said, breaking the silence, “when
you go to college, wherever you decide to go, your mom and I won’t be there
with you.”
    Great. Back to the college thing. I started to
open my mouth, but my dad went on,
    “And there might be things that don’t have a
clear answer. You may be in a situation where you can’t tell right from wrong.
But I want you to know that your mom and I are proud of you, whatever decision
you make. You’re an amazing young man, and I know these last few years haven’t
been the easiest for you,”
    My eyes snapped towards him. Was he saying what
I think he was saying?
    “But college will change all that. You can be
who you really are, who you want to be. But one thing you must always do,” he
shook his finger out in front of him as his headlights came across Briarsridge
Lane. “A man stands his ground for what he believes. That is all he can do,
physically or not, he can stand his ground. And I know you can do that, Drake,
I know you can. And if you do that, well,” he threw the truck into park and
killed the engine, letting the country silence settle over us. “Well, you can
be whoever you want.”
    I couldn’t say anything. My throat had tightened
up. Whether it was from what he was saying or how much water I’d swallowed
during my brisk swim I didn’t know. My dad pulled the keys out and laughed
softly.
    “You know, I heard the weirdest story from the
Brooks brothers this morning. Something about them just walking in the woods,
minding their own business, when a savage deer attacked them…”
    In the reflection of the window, I grinned.

 
 
    Liked
the sample? Great! Grab the full book on Amazon:
    https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Phantom-Sean-Fletcher-ebook/dp/B00Z7KJJJG

 
    Thanks for reading!

 
    About the Author:
    Sean Fletcher was born in the
broiling, arid state some people lovingly refer to as Texas. He is the author
of the I Am Phantom series, as well as the upcoming sci-fi adventure trilogy In
the Depths of Darkness. He has taught writing classes at the Pacific Northwest
Writers Association conference, writing groups, libraries, and writing
workshops. When not making things up and putting them on paper, he can be found
hiking, biking, or traveling. You can visit him on his website: https://seanfletcherauthor.com , or on his Facebook page: