Tremor Read Online Free PDF Page B

making her light-headed, the kiss or the turning of the ride.
    â€œDo you ever wonder what this place was like before the States?” Faith asked, pulling away as their eyes met.
    Dylan put a hand on Faith’s knee and let his mind send the cup spinning in circles.
    â€œThey have better theme parks than this in the States. Disneyland West is supposed to be a million times better. I don’t think humankind is hurting for rides.”
    â€œBut this is different, isn’t it?” she asked.
    â€œHow?”
    She couldn’t figure out how to put it into words, so she just sat there, feeling a slight faintness as the teacup moved around and around. A theme park outside the walls of the States was different from one inside. It just was. Like the library they used to go to. The books were different from the stories on the Tablets.
    â€œYou wouldn’t understand,” she finally said.
    â€œI’d like to fight you on that, but I think you’re probably right,” Dylan said. “Magic Mountain is the same inside or out. They have a Magic Mountain inside the States. The difference is, this one is empty and the rides aren’t as good.”
    Dylan let the ride come to a stop.
    â€œIn there we’d be fighting off an army of five-year-olds trying to get inside one of these teacups,” Faith said.
    â€œYeah,” Dylan agreed. “And they’d be making a lot of noise.”
    â€œSome of them would be crying for their moms.”
    Dylan looked up into the night sky and thought about what the park might have been like. “But most of them would be laughing. People would be crowded around, eating cotton candy and taking pictures. And the big rides would be going by, making everyone look up. Our friends would talk us out of these dumb kiddie rides, and we’d work our way through the crowds until we found ourselves standing in line for Goliath. I’d be nervous, but I wouldn’t let it show; and when we got on, we’d all be laughing. We’d go up that first long climb, all of us looking over our shoulders at the people and the lights down below. And then we’d reach the top, flatten out for a few seconds, and you’d squeeze my hand really hard. Then we’d start screaming.”
    This was one of the reasons Faith loved Dylan. He found his way to what she was trying to say without her having to say it.
    â€œIt’s lonely out here sometimes,” Faith whispered. She hated crying, but she was so angry and sad about so many things the tears were starting to form.
    â€œI’m not going anywhere,” Dylan said, taking her hand as Faith made the teacup spin around in a soft circle. She closed her eyes and imagined them at the top of the roller coaster, the wind just about to start blowing her hair back, her best friend, Liz, in the front seat. She imagined Liz leaning back, the curls of her dark hair flopping over her shoulder. And reaching out to her, she held on to Liz’s outstretched hand, like Liz had always liked.
    The cup started spinning faster, and the ride was moving along its usual route again. The ride kept going around and around, faster and faster. In her imagination, they were all flying down the roller coaster, laughing and screaming. Faith leaned back, let her hair fly in the wind, and then her little fantasy turned dark and terrible. In her imagination she looked down at the ground, but it was too late. The hammer was already flying through the air; Clara Quinn was already smiling up at her. The two parts of the hammer—the ball and the chain—slammed into Liz’s head. She didn’t even see it coming, so the last thing Faith heard in her mind was Liz laughing. Liz’s head moved violently sideways, an anvil carrying the rest of her body out of the ride, because of course they weren’t wearing seat belts—who wore seat belts in a nightmare? The last thing Faith felt was the soft skin of Liz’s