Voice Read Online Free PDF

then.
    “Sorry about that. I was seeing whether I could get a better connection going.”
    “Well, stop it.”
    “Already stopped.” Jemma hesitated. “Do you feel pain from the tests normally?”
    “Some. It’s worse when I actually try, so, you know, I usually don’t. Doesn’t really seem to matter whether I’m actively Talking to you or not, though, when they inject me with this shit.” She sent the equivalent of a wince. “Still hurts either way, and it hurts more the longer it takes the drug to wear off.”
    “It does.” She took a breath. “All right, they really want us to work on this connection. It’s a little stronger today than it was at first. Can you feel it? What’s in the background, not the words, but my presence, almost.”
    “I think so. I mean, if it’s getting stronger, maybe we should just keep Talking, right?”
    It wasn’t a horrible suggestion. Familiarity did seem to play a role, and it would give Jemma a chance to think about other things she might try.
    “That seems fine for now.”
    “Okay, so, you and Jack. You said it was bad timing. Do you mean with the mad scientists and the captivity and whatnot? Cause how I see it, that’s kind of the best time to have a special someone, isn’t it?”
    Jemma never really had been big on the “girl talk” thing. When she had made friends, they were typically other people like her, into books, science fiction, school. A theoretical discussion on time travel was more frequent than the occasional relationship discussion. Those, when Jemma did feel the need to talk, she usually saved for her sister. What would she say to Jilly?
    “We didn’t know each other, really, until after we started Talking. We got to know each other that way first.”
    “I mean, that’s kinda like meeting online, right? That’s not too weird.”
    Jemma smiled. “I guess not. Anyway,” she said, shifting the subject to something potentially more comfortable, “what do you like to do in your free time? When you have options, I mean.”
    “You mean before I got stuck in this hell hole?” she asked, bitterness lacing her tone. “Basketball, mostly.” April sounded somehow both excited and resigned. “Practice takes up a lot of time, but it’s worth it. Then there’s school and all, and any free time leftover I pretty much just hang out with a few of my teammates. What about you?”
    Jemma opened her eyes and looked at Dr. Harris, who nodded at the monitor and then gestured for her to continue. She did, closing her eyes again first. “Books. I work in a library, normally, and I love reading. I watch TV shows sometimes, but usually I stick to reading.”
    “That sounds lonely to me.” April didn’t add anything for several seconds, and Jemma remembered realizing how much worse this whole situation would be for someone social like Jilly. “It sounded like you had Jack though, right?” she continued finally. “How’d you get split up, anyway?”
    She thought for a moment before responding. “We escaped the place we were being held. We met up with someone who was able to figure out what I told you yesterday about the Event and why they were studying us, and we figured our chances were better if we split up.” She didn’t want to spell out all the chances they were hoping to improve on, not with Josh having hinted at trying to get the machines to read the actual words, but she sent along her regret at the choice.
    “That was a shitty decision.”
    “Yeah.” She used her thumbnail to pick at her index finger, still unable to rub her arm without some pain. “I can’t undo it now, though. I don’t think they’d let me Talk to him if we were in the same facility, either, not after we escaped.”
    “How’d you manage to do that, anyway?”
    “Distractions, luck, and help.”
    Silence again, for a moment. “My parents were always pretty protective, so I didn’t get into the whole dating thing until I got to college. I’ve been keeping it