Tangled Intersections Read Online Free PDF

that night, what little strength he’d had left fled his
bones. “E-E five.” How he hated the unsteady quiver in his
voice.
    “ What suite?”
    He got a better hold of himself this
time and raised his head. “Fifteen twenty eight.”
    “ You’re nearly there.” The
attendant guided him forward and together they walked to the
intersection. They paused, checking the lights. They were blue.
Corridor clear.
    But as they passed through
the transporter lane, the hairs on the back of Grison’s neck stood.
A searing sensation cramped his gut so bad he nearly doubled over.
He knew in his very soul they were being watched. There was someone
or something behind them and whatever watched them also waited , patiently, for
them to make a mistake. No. For him to make one. Shivering, he
wrenched his shoulder from the guard’s grasp and stumbled over his
feet, breaking into awkward a dead run. His legs, pumping as fast
as they could work, were nonetheless unable to match the speed of
his pounding heart. The screaming panic in his head refused to
stop. No. No! Don’t let it get me. Don’t
let it get me.
    Panting, he shot through the sliding
door and collapsed on the floor on the other side. Every breath
constricted in his chest, pushed out with a wheeze. Near sobbing,
he shut his eyes and hugged his legs close. He’d escaped death this
time, but barely.
    Chanting, “I won, I won, I won,” he
whispered himself to sleep.
     
     
     
    Nidi Station
    Habitation Zone E5, Suite
1528
    Morning
     
    Grison woke on the floor cocooned in
fabric. His head banged and beat like a thrumming drum. From the
intercom above him came an announcement:
    Attention all Nidi Station
habitants. Incoming supply ships are scheduled to arrive today at
eleven thirty. Please queue early and have your credits ready if
you intend to purchase directly from the docking bay. Otherwise,
all station stores will be resupplied with perishable goods in
floor-section order. Unloading will commence once direct exchanges
have completed. Please do not interrupt the flow of traffic in the
main corridors and obey all safety regulations.
    The message repeated, this
time in Universal and Parsi as well as the clipped, broken tones of
this sector’s merchant’s tongue. When the intrusion ended, Grison
ceased rubbing his sore head and laid his cheek to the cheap carpet
over the metal deck grating. Again, it said, Cah cahh nuh. Cah cahh nuh. Mixed
with the system environmentals’ Craaawk.
Vroooom. Craaawk. Vroooom , the veritable
symphony of noise relaxed his strained nerves. He yawned and sat
up, surveying the room. The bag containing ill-fitting clothes
still lay on the floor. The blue duffle remained on the coffee
table, untouched. He didn’t feel the urge to open it right that
second. The right moment would come soon enough.
    Stubbornly, he forced his
tired limbs to rise. In the shower, he did the best he could to
erase all traces of green from his body. When he got out, the air
whooshing around his nakedness caused him to tremble. Again, he
hated his own weakness. Without strength a man was nothing. I must be strong. He
lifted his chin, looking in the mirror, and let the towel
fall. Enough cowering. I’ve been cowering
too much.
    He told himself it was
merely the sudden change in environment that had him so rattled, so
not himself. Pull your act together. Stop
acting like a fool.
    In a way, the terrible
green liquid had done him a favor. It had burned away the outer
shell, separated the wheat from the chaff. I will no longer be that trembling man in the sheet.
His eyes burned insistently in the
reflection. I will conquer
this.
    From his left, he heard
the station’s air coolers making the sound, har-rooom ka-tem, har-room ka-tem ,
and Grison’s mind made out a voice above the repetitive tone. It
said, trouble ahead, trouble
ahead . Gritting his teeth, he squared his
shoulders and gave himself one last bolstering look in the mirror
before heading out to get