Across The Universe With A Giant Housecat (The Blue) Read Online Free PDF Page A

her plate and covered them with chocolate syrup.
    “True.” Instead of the chicken leg, I searched for something boneless.
    Eventually, all three plates were filled and we sat down to eat. The food was delicious. Leo ate everything on his plate of variety, licking the plate afterwards.
    “I’ll get him seconds,” I offered, getting up, since I was ready to get seconds myself. Three days with no food was really taking its toll on my appetite.
    Leo ate four full plates of food. I ate three myself, but got too full to have a fourth. Katelyn’s meal consisted mostly of desserts.
    “What time is it?” I wondered aloud as I finished my last bite. We never cared about the time of day in space, where it didn’t matter. Now, I knew I would have to remind myself to check the time every so often as long as we were on the base.
    Katelyn glanced at her tablet. “Local time is three in the afternoon.”
    “Ugh! I thought it was still morning here.”
    “What’s the hurry?”
    “I’m supposed to get to Medical, remember? Before I go see Northe.”
    “Go now, then,” Katelyn suggested.  
    “Really? You’ll be ok by yourself?”
    “I’ll keep Leo with me. Don’t worry. I’ll finish eating about nine more ice cream cones and then we’ll go explore the base.”
    “Don’t do anything idiotic or dangerous. This isn’t space; there are rules here.”
    She pasted on an angelic expression. “Of course.”
    “Good. I’m holding you to that.” Wiping my mouth on a napkin, I left her at the table and headed for the nearest elevator.
    Four decks up was Medical. I found it easily, since I had practically lived there during the weeks following the accident. It hadn’t changed much since then.
    Inside, a palm scanner awaited me in the entrance to the waiting area. I pressed my hand into it, and a pleasant voice spoke. “You have successfully signed in, Alan Michael Wolf. Please take a seat.”
    I complied, selecting one of the plush chairs against the wall. Several colorful potted plants, probably engineered to emit soothing aromas, stood nearby. Inhaling the scent, I relaxed into the chair’s fluffy embrace. How long had it been since I had sat in a chair like this? Certainly the seats on the Dragontooth were not nearly so plush. Soft music played in the background: a mixture of pianos, flutes, and harps.  
    I hadn’t had much opportunity to relax this well in—well, I didn’t know how long. I hadn’t slept well after Randew Larsen’s initial declaration of intent to murder me. After he was gone, I’d been anxious with curiosity over this trip and what the Stellar Intrepid could want from me. Well, I still hadn’t found out yet, but for the moment, it didn’t seem to matter.  
    My eyes wandered to the newsfeed monitor perched on one of the walls. A newscast was playing about some odd radiation activity a pack of scientists had noticed off in some corner of space. Good. Nice and boring news. Nothing about destroyed planets or kidnapped sisters, like the newscasts I had stumbled upon last year.
    The plush chair felt so warm around me. All the food I had eaten was starting to make me sleepy…

Chapter 6

    “Mr. Wolf? Alan?” Someone was tapping me on the shoulder. I opened my eyes—when had I closed them? A woman dressed in a teal nurse’s outfit stood over me, her hair pulled tightly back and her expression pleasant. “I’m so sorry to have to wake you! People sometimes fall asleep in here—we try to adjust the atmosphere so it relaxes patients. I’ll have to adjust it again; it’s not supposed to make you completely fall asleep.”
    Well, that feature was certainly new. Scrambling to my feet, I shook my head. “No, it’s probably fine; I was just tired.” So I had been right—the place was designed to soothe its occupants.
    “Follow me. It’s not this way in the rest of the rooms, so your head will clear in a moment.” Of course. They didn’t want the doctors about to fall asleep in the middle