Time Spent Read Online Free PDF Page B

okay. Miss Clark,
can you hear me?"
    There was no answer.
    "BETH!" Brandon shouted.
    The man lowered himself down. He was
equipped for rescue operations, with a helmet light, hand lights,
first aid kit, belt full of other equipment.
    Brandon stepped back, and sat down on the
grass. His feet felt like they were on fire.
    A short time later, the man climbed out, and
conferred with the other rescue workers.
    "Can you move the rock?" Brandon asked,
climbing to his feet.
    "We're gonna get some ropes down there and
winch it free," the man said, placing his hands on Brandon's
shoulders. "I'm sorry son, but you need to prepare yourself."
    "Prepare myself for what?" Brandon said.
    "Your friend isn't breathing. I checked but
was unable to find a pulse. I tried to resuscitate her, but-"
    "Wait, what? What are you saying? Not
breathing?"
    "We're gonna get her out of there, but it
looks like your friend didn't make it. I'm really sorry."
    "Didn't make it? What are you talking about?
I found her! I saved her! What do you mean didn't make it?"
    "I'm sorry," the man said, and went back to
the crevice to help lower the ropes.
    "No," Brandon said, shaking his head. "No!
NO!" He fell to his knees and pounded his fists into the ground.
Tears spilled down his cheeks. "NO!!!"
    ______________________
     
    Tommy's hand tightened around his neck.
Brandon clawed at his hand but couldn't move it. It was like...like
trying to move a stone.
    You're a hero, Brandon. You're my hero.
    Brandon jammed his feet into the earth and
launched Tommy and himself into the air. He spiraled up, rocketing
faster and faster. Then he curved back down. From this high, he
could see the entire countryside, all the way to the mountains. He
aimed for the mountains and struck the rock like a missile. He
blasted through the mountain and emerged on the other side, sending
a shower of stones into the valley below.
    Tommy was still hanging on. He couldn't hurt
Brandon while he was flying, but he wasn't letting go.
    "Still here, bitch," he said. "Your Superman
shit ain't stopping me!"
    "I tried to come up with a super-hero name,"
said Brandon. "Couldn't think of one."
    Tommy laughed.
    "Know the problem with super-hero
names?"
    No reply.
    Brandon rocketed into the city, flying low
between the buildings. A contrail of white cloud formed behind them
as they moved faster and faster.
    BOOOOOOOM!!! A wave of air began
crashing outward from them, shattering the glass windows as they
passed.
    "HUMAN ROCKET," Brandon said, and turned
upward above a construction site. He flew up above the clouds, then
turned back down and used the pull of gravity to accelerate until
Tommy was barely hanging on. He struck the girders and steel beams
in the half-constructed building and blasted through them, causing
the entire structure to collapse on them. Once he hit the ground,
he blasted back up, pulling Tommy right through it all.
    Still Tommy hung on.
    Brandon again zoomed through the city,
flying low until he saw a building fire.
    "HUMAN TORCH," he said, and flew through the
window of the burning building. He began flying in corkscrew
pattern through the city, the wind of his passage pulling the
flames along with him.
    Tommy's grip began to slip.
    Brandon flew low, until he saw a tanker
truck parked outside a truck stop. After he made a pass to be sure
there was no driver, he circled back and aimed for its center.
    "HUMAN BOMB," he said, and struck the
tanker, blowing a hole right through it. As he passed through the
oil he held his breath and slowed, allowing the flames trailing him
to catch up. The oil ignited and the tanker blew, sending burning
oil and fragments of metal exploding outward.
    Tommy's hand was no longer around his
neck.
    Brandon flew up for a bit, catching his
breath, then flew back down to look for Tommy. He found the giant
lying in the center of the wreckage, unconscious. He hadn't been
harmed, protected as he was by Brandon's power, but he hadn't known
to hold his breath. The fire had