The Indestructible Man Read Online Free PDF Page A

and broken hammers littering the stage, the wires inside snapping and ringing like gongs. The violence of the impact shocked even Bobby. The audience was still as the sawdust settled onto the stage and the first few rows. Several people curled into fetal positions in their seats, sure he had gone too far this time. An old lady in the front row shouted, “Somebody help him!”
     
    “Christ,” Bobby said under his breath as he waited for Romulus to dig himself out.
     
    Sure enough, once the whole auditorium was in a panic, a hand emerged from the rubble. His right arm thrust out, then his left, and finally he stood up, waist-high in splinters, a coat of sawdust clinging to his face, hair, and eyebrows. Bobby plugged his ears to block out the wild applause.
     
    And then the show was over, and Bobby felt a shiver rack his body. He wheeled himself little by little toward the stage. Romulus took a long dusty bow, slivers falling out of his hair, and before Brooks could pull him back Bobby was surrounded by people jumping out of their seats and cheering. The Human Marvels took the stage, joined hands and took a group bow. Bobby rolled closer, stopping about twenty feet from the stage. He noticed Jackson Wayne a few rows up, standing but not applauding; the Colonel glanced at him and his lungs froze.
     
    Romulus waved to someone backstage, and a tall, willowy young woman with long strawberry-blonde hair reluctantly stepped out. She held his hand, and the furry strongman’s, and faced the crowd. Romulus leaned over and kissed her cheek, which drew a long “ awww ” from the crowd. Bobby squinted hard, hoping to find some obvious difference in the young woman’s face, her hair, the way she carried herself, but his last doubts had vanished. He was thirteen again, and loved her, wanting only to see her smile and wave at him from the stage. He folded his hands in his lap, spectators swarming around him, prepared to sit still until they tipped him over and trampled him.
    Brooks pushed his way through the crowd, exchanging insults with a few people, and grabbed Bobby’s wheelchair handles. “I knew this was a bad idea,” he said, and tried to push Bobby toward the double doors.
    “No,” Bobby said, clinging to a support beam. “Just leave me alone.”
    Brooks shrugged and let go. “Suit yourself. I’m goin ’ outside for a smoke. Just don’t take too long; I’m on breakfast duty tomorrow.”
    Bobby remained until the auditorium was almost empty, his face in his hands, feeling as though an icicle had been plunged into his chest. When he could breathe again he started up the aisle, hoping Brooks had not left without him. As he neared the exit he was startled by light, quick footsteps on the stage behind him.
    “Excuse me?” It was a young woman’s voice.
    Bobby stopped a few feet short of the doors. “Yeah?” He did not turn around.
    “Bobby? Bobby Mercer?”
    “Uh-huh.” He craned his neck slightly. Behind him, halfway between the stage and the exit, was Abigail Wheat. She had bound her long red-gold hair in a ponytail, and she smiled when she saw his face.
    “Do you remember me? Rock Valley Junior High? It’s me, Abigail Wheat. Well, Wayne now.”
    He turned to face her, his hands trembling on the wheels. “I remember you.”
    She cupped her hands together and smiled. “I thought I recognized you. I’d heard you still lived in Rock Valley. It’s been—what? Eight, nine years?”
    “Ten.”
    “Wow. That long. God. I always wondered what happened to you after….” Her gaze shifted to his wheelchair, then the floor. “Well, after.” She took a deep breath and smiled. “It’s good to see you again. How have you been?”
    His terror began to subside, and he started to relax. “Okay, I guess.”
    “That’s great,” Abigail said. “Let me get Romulus. It’d mean a lot to him that you came. Can you stick around a minute?”
    Bobby felt an icy lump in the base of his throat. He wanted to get up and