Read Online The Ferryman by Amy Neftzger - Free Book Online Page A

next job?”
    “How efficient you are!” Fate clapped her hands together as she grinned, her white teeth too brilliant in the sunshine.
    “I just want to get this over with and get on with my life.”
    “You may be so busy trying to get your life over with that you forget to enjoy it.”
    “I don’t need advice from you,” Karen snapped.
    “Don’t you?”
    “I need you about as much as I need to be handcuffed to a wild rhino in heat. Your lessons aren’t as valuable as you think they are,” Karen barked, and this made Fate laugh.
    “You really shouldn’t be so entertaining,” Fate said as she attempted to catch her breath. She leaned over and placed both her hands on her knees as she breathed in gasps. “If you stay this much fun I may never let you go.”
    Karen resisted the urge to slap Fate. Would anything happen if she did? Maybe. Maybe not. Slapping Fate across the cheek would feel very satisfying, but how long would the satisfaction last? And what could Fate do to retaliate? Karen didn’t know, and the thought left her feeling uneasy. If she wanted to outwit Fate, she would need to learn patience. No strategy would be effective without it.
    “I’m glad my struggles are entertaining,” Karen said dryly. She waited several moments for her blood pressure to recede. After a few deep breaths she felt calmer. “The purpose of your visit,” Karen said and motioned with her hands to hurry the point. “What was it that you wanted?”
    “Not here,” Fate replied. “The park is lovely, though. It’s unfortunate that the work is elsewhere.”
    “Would you like to take my car?” Karen offered as Fate took her by the arm, and Karen felt the odd sensation that she was free-falling for a moment. She felt weightless and somewhat dizzy. Worried that Fate was taking her into another time or dimension, she tried to cry out but couldn’t get enough air to scream. Then it felt like her whole body was being pulled through a drinking straw. Her stomach lurched forward and went through first, followed by the rest of her body folded backwards. She felt uncomfortably elongated and hoped her bones weren’t breaking from the pressure of being squeezed.
    Karen stumbled and nearly fell, but she braced herself and took a moment to plant her feet firmly before looking around. As she was swaying and regaining her balance and before she could focus on her surroundings, she was distracted by the smell of something rotting. It was so foul that it overpowered all of her other senses. She blinked several times and the graffiti ridden brick walls and trash dumpster came into focus. She was in a downtown alley. The hot summer sun was baking the waste into a bacteria-laden mess with a scent more sour and rancid than the average politician’s soul, Karen thought. She winced at the sharp pain which shot down the back of her neck each time she turned her head. She reached up to massage the injury.
    “Oh, that will be sore for a few days. Maybe a week or two,” Fate remarked casually. She didn’t appear to notice the filthy surroundings or act concerned that any of it would stick to her.
    It must be nice to know the future and be fully aware of what would hurt you and what wouldn’t, Karen thought.
    “You could have warned me,” Karen replied as she surveyed the alley in which they had landed.
    “Certainly not! You’d tense up and really be injured then.”
    Karen looked away in disgust. This was when she spotted the ghost. He was sitting in a doorway tipping a bottle back and draining the contents. The liquid poured through his vaporous body, but that didn’t dissuade him. He threw the glass bottle aside and started on another.
    “He’s drunk,” Karen said. She thought back to her last assignment and how the ghost had wanted to taste alcohol, but he never seemed to become intoxicated no matter how much he consumed.
    “Yes. For five years now,” Fate nodded.
    “How did he do that?”
    “That’s what happens when