Dance For The Devil Read Online Free PDF

her life was awful. So dismal that sometimes Amy felt like going to sleep and never waking up. But Jason listened to her and understood her, and he was the only person on earth who really cared about her. She might not be a rocket scientist but she sure the heck wasn’t going to do anything to screw this up.
    “Here it is,” Jason said, leading her to a room at the far end of a long hallway . A sign on the door read: Trespassers will be fined, shot, tortured, mutilated, executed, and then prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Enter at your own risk!
    Amy laughed . “That’s friendly.”
    Jason smiled. “Keeps the riffraff out. Come on in.”
    “Wow, you must have over a hundred posters.”
    “I collect them. They have to be retro, though. The older, the better. This one’s my favorite: Alice Cooper biting a snake’s head.”
    “Looks like he’s drinking the snake’s blood. Gross.”
    “Yeah, my dad says rockers used to do that. Dad went to a concert and said Alice Cooper killed chickens and snakes and then threw the bodies into the audience. He said it was really cool.”
    “Sounds disgusting.”
    Jason cocked his head. “True, but wouldn’t it be wicked to see? Not that I agree with it, of course, but I think a person should experience everything. Don’t you?”
    “I guess so. I haven’t given it much thought.”
    “This poster is my other favorite.”
    “It looks like a cigarette ad.”
    “It is, from the seventies. It’s totally subliminal, see? Look at the girl’s arm, its fake. You can tell by the angle. Her real arm goes down like that, grabbing the guy’s crotch. See? You can see the shadow.”
    Amy flushed . “No wonder he’s smiling like that.”
    Jason looked pleased. “Exactly. They’re really selling sex. If you were flipping through a magazine you probably wouldn’t notice it , but your brain would. And the next time you went to the supermarket to buy milk, your subconscious would tell you to buy that brand of cigarettes instead.”
    “Does everyone do that? I mean, with advertising?”
    “No, it’s illegal. But lots of companies still do, they’re just more discreet now. I’ve heard that movie theaters flash single-frame images of popcorn. They probably do it on TV, too. Ever notice how hungry you get watching television?”
    “Seems brilliant to me, selling people things while they don’t even realize. Holy cow, look at your gaming system. It’s awesome.”
    “Dad put it together for me. Got some prototype stuff that’s not available yet. I’m testing it for them.”
    “Got any good new games?”
    “Tons, but I prefer the old stuff. I’m really into Dungeons and Dragons. It’s totally retro but I love how it sets the standard for a dimension where anything is possible. Oh, and there’s Doom.” He passed her the cartridge and she studied the cover. It showed some muscle-bound guy blasting beasts in the bastions of hell. “Doom pioneered the first person shooter genre. It’s arguably the most important video game every created, revolutionised the industry. Have you played it before?”
    “No, but I’ve heard of it... I think.”
    “It’s a great way to connect with people from all over the world. The online multiplayer death match is unreal. You have to be careful because you get so into it you can play for hours. I’ve stayed up all night before and didn’t even realize until sunrise. It was killer-hard going to school.”
    Amy nodded appreciatingly. “Show me?”
    Jason flicked on the power button and a sixty-inch screen lit up the far wall. “Choose your weapon. Shotgun, chainsaw, rocket launcher...”
    “Gross. Um, I’ll take chainsaw.”
    “Okay. Now you have to navigate through the surface of Phobos and fight the demons. If you see anyone, kill him. Everyone is the enemy.”
    Amy was clumsy with the controls and promptly got killed. Jason smiled encouragingly. “It takes a wh ile to get the hang of it, then it’s second nature. Here, let