EXCERPT:
There it was again.
A tickling on the edge of her safety
net. She always put her confusion barrier up when in the city. Anyone wanting to approach her would be
stifled at five paces away, their decision to approach would waver and hopefully
they would give up their effort. Any
other pedestrian, not concerned or not noticing her would walk right on through
it. It was a handy device that kept her
safe and a secret she shared that put her mother’s mind at rest.
Besides, you never knew when someone
from the ‘Nursery’ might be checking up on your life. Cursed people. Thank God she’d escaped, been adopted by
loving indulgent parents and was managing to live her life to the fullest
The
sensation tickled her back again and she stopped mid-stride, turned and looked
down the street. There he was again, the
same young man who’d stared at her in the supermarket the other day while she’d
been shopping with her mother. He had to be about her own age - too young to be
a government agent. What did he want from her?
Probably some creep who stalked people, unless it was a co-incidence?
Could he be g-altered too?
Did he recognise
her from the Nursery? The children had
mixed socially when they were growing up until the magic age of seven. Any
friendships formed were then split asunder as some stayed, some were adopted
and some seemed to vanish overnight. His face didn’t ring any bells in her
memory. Had he been adopted as well? To be out in the world he must have. Those
‘conscripted’ didn’t enjoy the luxury of free will.
She ran her gaze
slowly over him, taking in his tall frame, broad shoulders and thick, dark
hair. He met her gaze with equal
interest before she turned and walked on. She could feel his indecision
prickling again behind her. If he really wanted to talk to her then her
confusion barrier would be stopping him.
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She could feel his puzzled
thoughts bouncing off her barrier, as other pedestrians streamed past close to
her and wove between them. No doubt he couldn’t work out how they could get
close to her and he couldn’t.
She wondered if he’d work out how break
through the barrier. No one else had so far. It wasn’t that she was against men
or found the opposite sex unattractive. It was simply a matter of safety first.
On reaching the corner she took the steps into the train station at a run, glad
to be out of the wind and stopped to read the digital notice board’s moving
message. There was a ten minute wait
till her next train on Platform three. Should she get a coffee to sip on the
train? She checked her barrier, no
tickling, no irritation. He must have given up, or moved away. Pity, obviously no stickability. He’d looked
rather nice too. Ah well, he might try again and she just might let him
approach next time.
BUY LINKS:
Amazon:
Secret Cravings Publishing link:
No comments:
Post a Comment