Socket 1 - The Discovery of Socket Greeny Read Online Free PDF Page B

limitless,
but first we must survive to realize it.”
    “Are you one of them?”
    “In a way.”
    “What’s that mean?”
    “It means the answer is complicated. There’s
a lot to understand, you’ll have to be patient. For now, just know
that we can do things that normal people can’t.”
    She touched the control panel. Something
thumped beneath the car. And then we were moving forward, only we
weren’t rolling. We were hovering. The car was flying. Not fast
like spaceship fast, it was more like a slow hover that crossed
over the impossible terrain. The wheels had folded beneath the car.
No one was getting across this ground without one of these.
    “You got to be shitting me.”
    “Watch your language, Socket.”
    I sat back, realized I was still holding onto
the door. We were halfway to the red cliff when I relaxed. “What’s
this place called?” I asked. “This club, or society.”
    “The Paladin Nation.”
    “This is it, here?” I pointed at the looming
cliff.
    “No, it’s all over the world. This is just
one of the compounds.”
    I watched the cliff get closer. “We’re not in
South Carolina anymore.”
    She almost smiled, I could feel it.
     
    * * * * *
     
    There was no door in the side of the
mountain. Instead, we passed through it, like it was only an
apparition, into an enormous cavern. Mom touched a few buttons on
the console and the car gently sank to the ground.
    The cavern was dome-shaped, complete with
authentic dripping stalactites. Caves and jungles? Maybe that
wasn’t a dream.
    Mom pushed the steering wheel up and locked
it out of the way. She gathered items from the backseat. I still
hadn’t let go. I had just taken my first ride in a flying car, hit
a transportation wormhole, and now I was parked inside a mountain
somewhere in the world that had mountains.
    A large, gray sphere emerged from the wall.
Several more appeared, floating inches above the ground like super
sized lookits. They took position around the car, waiting.
    “Servys,” Mom said. “Technology is a bit more
advanced here. You’re going to see some things that don’t exist in
the outside world yet.” She had her thumb buried in the moody,
again. A look of eerie relief was on her face.
    “I wish you’d stop that.”
    She closed her eyes, pushed her thumb in
deeper. “There’s so much to do, Socket. I just need to catch my
breath.”
    “You don’t have to save the world.”
    She tucked her hair behind her ear with her
free hand. “Sometimes the world needs you and you have to be there.
You’ll understand one day. And I hope you find more strength than
your mother.”
    I gently pulled her thumb from the moody, red
and swollen. “You’re plenty strong.”
    “Let’s hope so.”
    She opened her door and stepped out. I turned
to mine—a silver man was at the window. He had no face.
     
     
     
     
Faceless
    His egg-shaped head was featureless. No eyes
or nose, mouth, ears or chin. Just a smooth, egghead with an
eyelight pointed at me.
    “Welcome to the Garrison, Master Socket.” He
waved a silver hand. “Do you need help exiting the vehicle?”
    If I didn’t see the colors move on his face,
I would’ve sworn a real person said it. He looked like he was from
a movie, standing six feet tall on two legs: A humanoid mech. The
arms and legs were sinewy like an Olympian. And to top things off,
he wore a loose plum-colored overcoat, sleeveless, cinched at the
waist. But sure, why not. This was already shaping up like a dream,
why not send in the flying dragons.
    Mom was out of the car, explaining something
to him. The servys repositioned themselves around her. One went to
the back of the car, returned with her briefcase firmly gripped by
an arm that had grown from its spherical body. The robe-wearing
silver mech pointed at me. I was still grabbing the door. So far
I’d looked at everything through the safety of a window. Getting
out was another level. I reluctantly opened the door.
    I’ve been here