Read Online Under My Skin (Wildlings) by Charles de Lint - Free Book Online
Authors: Charles de Lint
Tags: Fantasy
Ads: Link
gets there, the doors pop open on a white van that's been parked in one of the disabled parking spots. Men in SWAT gear fan out from the van. Behind them are a couple of guys in dark suits.
I want to shout a warning but I don't have to. Danny sees the men and he bolts toward the boardwalk.
And then it happens.
I've never seen it for real before—except for that thing Cory did with his head, switching from human to coyote and back again. This is different. Surreal. One moment there's a kid trying to escape, the next he's changed into—I'm not sure what. Something like a deer, but with small, spiral horns.
The SWAT guys shoot him— bam, bam ! It sounds like a car backfiring. Almost before he hits the ground, they're throwing some kind of net over him. They roll him up in it and toss him into the back of the van.
Elzie leans against the railing as though her knees have gone weak.
"Oh, Danny," she says. "Why couldn't you just have stayed away?"
I look back at the van, feeling sick.
"They killed him," I say. "They just up and killed him."
Elzie shakes her head. "No, those were tranq guns. They just want him down for the count so they can take him away. Not as harsh as using Tasers, but damn!"
She smacks the railing with her palm.
Everything has happened so fast that it's over before most people even have the chance to notice. Some kid on the boardwalk has his phone out, shooting a video, but one of the agents runs over and grabs it away from him. The kid protests until the agent opens his suit coat and shows the kid something. I don't know what it is. His badge, maybe? His gun? Whatever it is, the kid shuts right up.
The other men are talking, then they look down the pier. The one who took the phone from the kid starts toward us.
Elzie gets up and starts to walk away from me. "Got to go," she says. "What's your cell number?"
The argument we were having appears to be forgotten.
I tell her the number.
"I'll call you," she says and heads briskly toward the restaurant at the end of the pier.
I turn to watch her go. Though she doesn't appear to be exerting herself, she's really motoring along. But it's not going to do her any good. There's nothing on the other side of the restaurant except for the Pacific Ocean and it's a ten- maybe fifteen-foot drop to the water.
When I look back, the man in the suit has almost reached me. I brace myself for whatever he's going to do to me, but he goes right by my bench, talking into his Bluetooth. He's chasing after Elzie, not me.
I realize that's my cue to leave.
I stand up, pop my skateboard into my hand and go the other way, toward the parking lot. As I walk by the van, an itchy nervous tension has me feeling like I've had too much caffeine. I drop my skateboard to the pavement, but before I can push off, a hand falls on my shoulder.
I almost growl at the touch, stopping myself before the sound actually comes out of my mouth. I turn to find the other guy in a suit has stopped me. The guy back on the pier was white, this one's Hispanic. He drops his hand and flashes me a picture ID billfold with the letters "FBI" prominently displayed on it.
"That girl you were talking to," he says.
I give him a puzzled look. "You mean the one with the dreads?"
He nods. "How do you know her?"
"Am I in trouble?"
I let some of my nervousness spill into my voice. I hope it sounds like anybody would when a Federal agent stops them, not that I'm guilty of anything.
"I want to know what your relationship is."
I use Cory's advice again. The best way to lie is to have your story be mostly true .
"I just met her," I say. "She's some kind of eco-freak, but she was pretty cute so I let her go into her spiel."
I can't tell what he's thinking behind those dark sunglasses. I don't let myself look at the van where they've got Danny tranquilized and wrapped up in a net.
"What kind of spiel?" the agent asks.
I shrug. "You know, the usual. Save the whales. We're destroying the planet. Don't eat
I want to shout a warning but I don't have to. Danny sees the men and he bolts toward the boardwalk.
And then it happens.
I've never seen it for real before—except for that thing Cory did with his head, switching from human to coyote and back again. This is different. Surreal. One moment there's a kid trying to escape, the next he's changed into—I'm not sure what. Something like a deer, but with small, spiral horns.
The SWAT guys shoot him— bam, bam ! It sounds like a car backfiring. Almost before he hits the ground, they're throwing some kind of net over him. They roll him up in it and toss him into the back of the van.
Elzie leans against the railing as though her knees have gone weak.
"Oh, Danny," she says. "Why couldn't you just have stayed away?"
I look back at the van, feeling sick.
"They killed him," I say. "They just up and killed him."
Elzie shakes her head. "No, those were tranq guns. They just want him down for the count so they can take him away. Not as harsh as using Tasers, but damn!"
She smacks the railing with her palm.
Everything has happened so fast that it's over before most people even have the chance to notice. Some kid on the boardwalk has his phone out, shooting a video, but one of the agents runs over and grabs it away from him. The kid protests until the agent opens his suit coat and shows the kid something. I don't know what it is. His badge, maybe? His gun? Whatever it is, the kid shuts right up.
The other men are talking, then they look down the pier. The one who took the phone from the kid starts toward us.
Elzie gets up and starts to walk away from me. "Got to go," she says. "What's your cell number?"
The argument we were having appears to be forgotten.
I tell her the number.
"I'll call you," she says and heads briskly toward the restaurant at the end of the pier.
I turn to watch her go. Though she doesn't appear to be exerting herself, she's really motoring along. But it's not going to do her any good. There's nothing on the other side of the restaurant except for the Pacific Ocean and it's a ten- maybe fifteen-foot drop to the water.
When I look back, the man in the suit has almost reached me. I brace myself for whatever he's going to do to me, but he goes right by my bench, talking into his Bluetooth. He's chasing after Elzie, not me.
I realize that's my cue to leave.
I stand up, pop my skateboard into my hand and go the other way, toward the parking lot. As I walk by the van, an itchy nervous tension has me feeling like I've had too much caffeine. I drop my skateboard to the pavement, but before I can push off, a hand falls on my shoulder.
I almost growl at the touch, stopping myself before the sound actually comes out of my mouth. I turn to find the other guy in a suit has stopped me. The guy back on the pier was white, this one's Hispanic. He drops his hand and flashes me a picture ID billfold with the letters "FBI" prominently displayed on it.
"That girl you were talking to," he says.
I give him a puzzled look. "You mean the one with the dreads?"
He nods. "How do you know her?"
"Am I in trouble?"
I let some of my nervousness spill into my voice. I hope it sounds like anybody would when a Federal agent stops them, not that I'm guilty of anything.
"I want to know what your relationship is."
I use Cory's advice again. The best way to lie is to have your story be mostly true .
"I just met her," I say. "She's some kind of eco-freak, but she was pretty cute so I let her go into her spiel."
I can't tell what he's thinking behind those dark sunglasses. I don't let myself look at the van where they've got Danny tranquilized and wrapped up in a net.
"What kind of spiel?" the agent asks.
I shrug. "You know, the usual. Save the whales. We're destroying the planet. Don't eat
Similar Books
