Read Online Once We Were Human (The Commander Book 1) by Randall Farmer - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Randall Farmer
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never seen before.
It was brilliant.
He thought Focus es were bright. This was far brighter than a Focus, so bright he couldn’t even sense what it was. The sheer strength of the glow numbed his metasense with terrifying intensity.
His first instinct was to flee. He looked down at the ground as it sped by and waited for the train to slow further.
At two miles, he spotted the dross underneath the brightness, more dross than he had ever seen in his admittedly short experience as a Crow. He no longer wanted to flee. He needed it.
He did worry about the dross source and whether the brilliant Transform could sense him or not. He had no sense of contact such as he shared with Sinclair, though. No sign the Transform had noticed him at all.
Bob squatted as the train took him past that terrible brightness and out of range again. With a start, he realized the train had almost pulled to a stop. He had to get out now. He opened the boxcar door, jumped from the train, tumbling as he hit the ground, and ran.
“Hey!” a man shouted behind him, but he continued running.
Bob never looked back, but ran for the next two miles, along roads lined with factories, mills and warehouses. Then he walked toward where he had sensed the brightness, unable to resist the temptation. Fifteen minutes later, past more mills and factories, he sensed the glow again, an immense sea of dross.
He sensed carefully all around him. No other Crows. “Maybe they panicked,” Bob said. “Or perhaps this is just too dangerous.”
Maybe he, too, would be wiser to leave this mystery alone. The sea of dross, larger and deeper than he had ever seen before, could easily be the bait in a trap.
The temptation was too great. Bob needed that dross. His hands shook at the mere thought of leaving it behind.
His tongue went dry and an almost sexual anticipatory pleasure coursed through him when he metasensed it. He hadn’t known how bad his craving was for dross until he found this .
He would stay until some more immediate threat drove him off.
It would have to be a very large threat.
Bob suspected he would be here for a long time.
Chapter 2
“The Focus Transform is unique. In the major transformation the bacteria crosses the blood-brain barrier of a woman and grows an extra organ in her brain called the metacampus. The metacampus gives a Focus the ability to sense and manipulate juice, and thus keep other Transforms alive. Only women experience major transformations.” [“Don’t Panic – It’s Just a Disease”, by Dr. Lewis Jeffers, as printed in many magazines and newspaper supplements in 1955]
Tonya Biggioni: September 17, 1966 – September 18, 1966
At the checkpoint, Tonya’s driver Danny rolled his window down. Crisp Appalachian air wafted in as the grizzled police officer leaned down to inspect the four in the car. “No entrance to the public,” the policeman said with a wave of halitosis-scented warmth. “There’s been a Monster transformation. Authorized personnel only.”
Tonya sighed. She had a hundred things she needed to be doing, most of them far more important than driving out to the Appalachian hills to goggle over a Monster transformation. Nothing to be done about it, though. She turned away and let her people deal with the cop.
From the front passenger seat, Ralph watched the man with wary hostility. He and Danny were Tonya’s bodyguards, and Ralph was good at wary hostility. He thought Tonya ought to have four bodyguards. Always. Tonya’s household could not afford it.
Danny gave the officer a small leather folio containing Tonya Biggioni’s FBI-issued identification. The man inspected it and backed away after he read the contents. He handed the folio back through the window with the tips of his index and middle finger, as if he feared contamination, and waved his hand in the general direction of the small road behind him. “Agent
It was brilliant.
He thought Focus es were bright. This was far brighter than a Focus, so bright he couldn’t even sense what it was. The sheer strength of the glow numbed his metasense with terrifying intensity.
His first instinct was to flee. He looked down at the ground as it sped by and waited for the train to slow further.
At two miles, he spotted the dross underneath the brightness, more dross than he had ever seen in his admittedly short experience as a Crow. He no longer wanted to flee. He needed it.
He did worry about the dross source and whether the brilliant Transform could sense him or not. He had no sense of contact such as he shared with Sinclair, though. No sign the Transform had noticed him at all.
Bob squatted as the train took him past that terrible brightness and out of range again. With a start, he realized the train had almost pulled to a stop. He had to get out now. He opened the boxcar door, jumped from the train, tumbling as he hit the ground, and ran.
“Hey!” a man shouted behind him, but he continued running.
Bob never looked back, but ran for the next two miles, along roads lined with factories, mills and warehouses. Then he walked toward where he had sensed the brightness, unable to resist the temptation. Fifteen minutes later, past more mills and factories, he sensed the glow again, an immense sea of dross.
He sensed carefully all around him. No other Crows. “Maybe they panicked,” Bob said. “Or perhaps this is just too dangerous.”
Maybe he, too, would be wiser to leave this mystery alone. The sea of dross, larger and deeper than he had ever seen before, could easily be the bait in a trap.
The temptation was too great. Bob needed that dross. His hands shook at the mere thought of leaving it behind.
His tongue went dry and an almost sexual anticipatory pleasure coursed through him when he metasensed it. He hadn’t known how bad his craving was for dross until he found this .
He would stay until some more immediate threat drove him off.
It would have to be a very large threat.
Bob suspected he would be here for a long time.
Chapter 2
“The Focus Transform is unique. In the major transformation the bacteria crosses the blood-brain barrier of a woman and grows an extra organ in her brain called the metacampus. The metacampus gives a Focus the ability to sense and manipulate juice, and thus keep other Transforms alive. Only women experience major transformations.” [“Don’t Panic – It’s Just a Disease”, by Dr. Lewis Jeffers, as printed in many magazines and newspaper supplements in 1955]
Tonya Biggioni: September 17, 1966 – September 18, 1966
At the checkpoint, Tonya’s driver Danny rolled his window down. Crisp Appalachian air wafted in as the grizzled police officer leaned down to inspect the four in the car. “No entrance to the public,” the policeman said with a wave of halitosis-scented warmth. “There’s been a Monster transformation. Authorized personnel only.”
Tonya sighed. She had a hundred things she needed to be doing, most of them far more important than driving out to the Appalachian hills to goggle over a Monster transformation. Nothing to be done about it, though. She turned away and let her people deal with the cop.
From the front passenger seat, Ralph watched the man with wary hostility. He and Danny were Tonya’s bodyguards, and Ralph was good at wary hostility. He thought Tonya ought to have four bodyguards. Always. Tonya’s household could not afford it.
Danny gave the officer a small leather folio containing Tonya Biggioni’s FBI-issued identification. The man inspected it and backed away after he read the contents. He handed the folio back through the window with the tips of his index and middle finger, as if he feared contamination, and waved his hand in the general direction of the small road behind him. “Agent
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