Frek and the Elixir Read Online Free PDF

ballistic-style machine-gun hanging from one bone shoulder, and his skull was burned black, as from a fire, with tendrils of singed hair and crusts of burnt skin. “Soul Soldier here. I’m just pickin’ up a message for new recruit Frek Huggins. Goob Doll Judy passed it to me. Groove on it, Skulls.” Soul Soldier flicked the joints of his spectral skeleton hand and blood-red urlbuds flew across the walls to the two other Skull Farmers.
    â€œWhoo-eee!” said Gypsy Joker, catching a bud. “Frek Huggins got company comin’. Anvil fallin’ down at him.”
    â€œTell me more,” said Frek, pleased to have the toons drawing him into their game.
    â€œAnvil’s what they call it,” said Soul Soldier in his dark, gravelly voice. “The Govs have had Skywatch Mil trackin’ it for a couple days. Came down through the asteroids. AN onymous V ector, I nterste L lar. Last night they found out it’s headed for Frek Huggins.”
    â€œAn anvil from the forge of God,” said Strummer in a cracked whisper. He plucked the strings of his guitar and crooned the phrase again, rounding it into a verse of song.
    An anvil from the forge of God
    Is falling toward a young man’s bod,
    It’s coming closer night and day
    He doesn’t think to run away.
    Strummer’s papery voice gave Frek a chill. “What are you talking about?” he asked uneasily. Toons always mind-gamed you to get you into the play, but this routine seemed unusually gollywog.
    â€œLot of alien activity last night,” said Soul Soldier. “Your world’s gettin’ real funky. After the Anvil hit the atmosphere, the sucker darted around so swoopy that the Skywatch jelly-eyes lost it in the foo-fightin’ fog. And then a big fat flying saucer cruises over Stun City, with some kind of human voice on its radio sayin’ as how the Anvil’s addressed to Mr. Frek Huggins. What it is, Frek. Had any company this morning?”
    â€œKac, Huggins,” interjected Stoo. “The Skulls never ran a level like this for me yet. What makes you so gaud?”
    â€œI don’t know,” said Frek, forcing a laugh. He had a sudden memory flash of that dark shiny shape he’d glimpsed in the farthest recess of the space under his bed. But it couldn’t be. The toons were just playing with him was all. “I’ll handle that Anvil,” he said, making his voice firm. He aimed his prop gun and squeezed his trigger finger, expecting to see simulated bullets shoot across into the toons’ sky, expecting to see some Y2K saucer UFO icons darting away in response. But the toons were ignoring his prop gun.
    â€œThis is realtime,” said Gypsy Joker, watching Frek with his hot red eyes. “We ain’t jivin’ you. There’s something come down to Earth lookin’ for you, Frek, and don’t nobody know what it is or where it’s hiding.”
    Suddenly Sao Steiner walked into the room. Her voice was cold and all business. “Frek, I just got a message from Lora. There’s two counselors over at your house to see you. Go talk to them before they have to come over here to get you. Kolder’s furious. What on Earth have you been up to, you odd little boy? Stoo—he didn’t ask you to do anything geevey, did he?”

2
The Thing Under Frek’s Bed
    A watchbird appeared as soon as Frek got back in the air, and it followed him all the way home. It was a gray, beady-eyed little thing, a tweaked hummingbird kritter with the slick bump of a tiny uvvy on the back of its neck. The watchbird’s one color accent was its narrow, scarlet beak.
    A man and a woman were standing by Frek’s garage waiting for him. They wore uvvies and powder-blue overalls. Counselors. Mom was standing next to them. Geneva and Ida watched round-eyed from one of the house tree windows. The counselors’ shimmering teal blue lifter beetle was nibbling on the grass