The Time Travelers, Volume 2 Read Online Free PDF

handle. A drop of water lay neatly on the rim of the spigot. It grew larger, and fell. The paint was not peeling. The red was shiny, as if painted that morning. There was no rust around the iron rim. In fact, beautiful brass trim covered the place where Tod had just put his lips.
    What if the water’s poisonous? he thought. Oh, that’ll be great. I can’t wait to announce that downtown. You know those tourists who overpaid for my bottled water? Well, get the hospital beds ready.…
    Using the pump for support, Tod stumbled to his feet. He felt disoriented, or else carsick.
    A girl was standing there. He didn’t remember running into anybody else at Stratton Point.
    But this was not anybody.
    She wore an enormous dress, yellow satiny stuff cascading all around her. She had really strange shoes on—but then, Tod’s mother often wore shoes that a normal human would never shove over his toes. She had on an amazing necklace—but then, Tod’s sisterwore necklaces made of anything from crystals to plastic bear claws. This girl’s hair, however, was in a class by itself. Long separate cylinders jostled for space on her shoulders and delicate tiny wisps lay sweetly on her cheeks and forehead.
    I’m in the middle of a photo shoot, he thought.
    The girl was staring at him with an incredulous expression, and now she was extending her hands, slow motion, as if she wanted to dance. “Yeah. Hi,” he said nervously. “How are ya? I’m outta here, sorry I interrupted.” He looked around to see the camera crew and retrieve the water carrier.
    No camera crew. No water carrier.
    No picnic ground. No parking lot. No car.
    In fact, no road.
    The sickness rolled over him again, and he focused once more on the girl. She was very pretty, although Tod tried not to judge these things; it just got him interested in the girl, and he was not ready to allocate time to girls. She was laughing, she was coming toward him, it was some creepy joke, it was—
    She hugged him.
    Tod had never had a girlfriend. Never been hugged by any female person except a relative, and then usually under orders. She was amazingly soft. She was definitely and completely not a boy.
    She was laughing with delight. “Who are you?” She released him. “I’m Devonny. Have you come forme? Is Strat with you? How did you do it? I am so happy to see you! How are you going to save me?”
    “What?” said Tod, feeling that his life had just come apart in some essential way. “I’m Tod Lockwood,” he said, because he was still sure of that.
    “Annie’s brother!” she cried, clapping her hands.
    She was wearing gloves. Tod had never seen anything so strange in his life. The gloves were lace and her real fingertips stuck out. Around her wrists the lace was gathered with living flowers, a sort of rose bracelet. The lace muffled her clap, giving it a strange, indoor sound.
    “Annie sent you,” she said joyfully.
    Tod felt marginally better. It was not surprising that his sister, who was nuts, would have friends who were nuts and dressed crazy. “Nope, Annie’s still in Norway,” he said. “This is my own business. I sell bottled water.”
    A lace hand flew to her mouth and an expression of horror crossed the girl’s face. “What do you mean, Annie’s in Norway?”
    “Well, you know, she got accepted in a student exchange, and she’ll be in Scandinavia for six months. Then we take an exchange student in our house. She’ll be back in February.”
    “She sent you instead, then,” said the girl, and her smile became peaceful. “I,” said the girl, “am Devonny Stratton.”
    “Cool. I didn’t know there were any Strattons left,” he said. He kind of liked the name Devonny. “Town’s owned the place for fifty years.”
    “What place?” she said.
    Yes, undoubtedly a friend of Annie’s. They were nothing but computer errors, Annie’s friends. Or viruses, depending on his mood.
    That had been some drink of water.
    Tod knew every inch of Stratton Point,