Cry For Tomorrow Read Online Free Page B

roar of the unfiltered engines spooked the phantoms still fluttering between the freaks and sent the humans scrambling for shelter. Unfortunately, only a few were able to reach the sanctuary of the dark buildings behind them before they were cut-off by the giant metal beasts erupting from the shadows all around them.
    “Damn! The bikers must have been there all along, just waiting for their buddies to arrive,” swore Jake as we watched the hover-cycles screaming through the streets, circling the park.
    To my surprise the freaks trapped out in the open did not panic or scatter and run off, shrieking in terror. They gathered together, back-to-back, so that at all times there was someone facing the antagonists and the remaining children were protected at the center.
    “Come on, let’s get out of here,” hissed Jake as he started moving in the direction of the sheltering shadows of the alleyway.
    I nodded my head in reluctant agreement and was getting to my feet when I was driven to the ground, gasping in pain. Jake hit the pavement only seconds after me, his head clasped in his hands, moaning in pain.
    “ Awww! Damn! Halie, close your mind,” Jake gasped as he dragged me under cover.
    I was aware of Jake’s hands on me and I could hear his voice, I even knew what I needed to do, but for the moment all I could manage was huddling in the shadows with my arms wrapped around my head to keep it from exploding. It took almost more will power than I thought I had, but I finally forced my lungs to take several shuddering breaths and I shut my mind against the crushing pain. On some level, I was aware that this attack had not been aimed at us. It was the backlash of a blast of psi energy being directed at the bikers by the freaks. They had obviously resorted to using their most effective weapon in hopes of driving away the threat.
    “I-I’m okay now,” I moaned. With my mental barriers in place I was able to block out most of the waves of telepathic energy emanating from the cluster of freaks trapped in the open. I slid closer to Jake so I could watch the confrontation between the bikers and freaks.
    I was pleased to see that there was considerable confusion in the ranks of the bikers now. Some had lost control of their bikes and had tumbled to the ground, causing others to crash when they hit them. Others were walking or weaving their cycles erratically between those who had fallen, not sure what they should do next.
    Warned by the whining of the dog crouched at my side, I slapped my hands to my ears, struggling to shut out an irritating high-frequency buzzing that was tearing at the barriers in my mind. “Damn! What is that sound? It’s got to be coming from some kind of electronic device.”
    Fighting the waves of pain, I tried to focus my attention on the disoriented group of bikers, looking for the source until my attention was drawn by the deep rumble of a man’s voice rising above the sound of the engines, calling orders to the bikers. His arrival, and the steady rise in the frequency of the electronic emission, seemed to give the bikers the encouragement they needed.
    As they regained control of their cycles, the bikers began to circle the cluster of freaks, chanting threats and obscenities to the blank-eyed men and women trapped between them. When one of their own would succumb to the telepathic attack, rolling his eyes up into his head and fall over, jerking spasmodically, they would just go around him, tightening their circle.
    “Hey, where’d all the ghosts go?” I whispered in surprise. The phantoms were the epitome of curiosity and seemed fascinated by any gathering of the humans. It was not characteristic for them to leave.
    “Into hiding, I’m afraid, and if I’m right, that buzzing we’re hearing at the back of our minds means that someone out there is using an electronic mind-warp to disrupt the freaks’ defense. Even the ghosts don’t like it,” Jake whispered back. “I don’t like the looks of