Kev Read Online Free Page A

lucky when I found out I would be rooming with
him.
    Clive and I had the same classes and always
sat next to each other. He liked to pass notes to me in class,
notes that detailed all of the challenges I would face on The Show.
Some of them were ridiculous, like “survive in the vacuum of
space,” and “battle Excretorian ants,” but others I knew were
challenges I would really face, like, “keep Clive from suffocating
you,” and “jump out of a two-story window.”
    I survived his challenges, always harmed, but
never permanently injured, and Clive always said things like, “You
just don’t get it,” and “Are you terminally stupid?”
    Every now and then, I remembered a girl, a
nameless girl, who may or may not have been real. She was in my
dreams, both waking and asleep. I heard her voice. Sometimes, I
felt her kiss.

 
    Toward the end of the school year, my aunt
agreed to have Clive stay with us for the summer, so Clive and I
made our plans, Clive focusing on creating challenges for The Show,
and me focusing on finding other things we could do. I told him
about my fort, the one thing I truly remembered from my past
life.
    A new family had moved into my old house.
They had no children, but despite that, had not taken down the
fort, knowing my story and happy to let me play there.
    Summer came and Clive and I went to my aunt’s
house. We spent most of our time playing in the fort. Clive helped
me fix it up a bit, and we brought some toys over. Clive said
having just a journal and some pens would be too boring.
    I knew the journal was mine, but I never
peeked inside. If I had, I would have learned quite a bit about
myself. If I had, I would have remembered the voice. I would have
remembered my parents, and I would have remembered the girl and
Clive. But, open it I did not.
    “New challenge,” said Clive.
    “What? What are you talking about?” I said,
having completely forgotten about The Show.
    “See that tree?” said Clive, pointing to a
tall pine tree. “You have to climb up all the way to the top.”
    “You’re going to regret this,” said the
voice. I looked around, wondering if someone else was near. “I’m in
your head, dummy.”
    “Who is this?” I said.
    “What?” said Clive.
    “Not you,” I said to Clive.
    “You don’t need to speak out loud,” said the
voice. “Just think. Anyway, don’t climb the tree.”
    “Why not?” I thought, wondering if I had gone
mad.
    “Trust me. You don’t want to do it.”
    “Well, are you going to climb or what?” said
Clive.
    “One second,” I said to Clive.
    “Who are you?” I thought.
    “I’m you, you moron. Don’t you remember?”
    “No. What are you doing inside my head?”
    “I am saving you from a world of pain,” said
the voice.
    “Kev, climb the tree,” said Clive.
    “What are you talking about?” I thought.
    The voice didn’t answer. I turned to Clive,
forgetting about the voice, and said, “What do I get if I win?”
    “Your life. Anyway, you only win a prize if
you win all the challenges,” said Clive.
    “How many challenges are there?” I said,
wondering what kind of game we were playing.
    “An infinite number,” said Clive.
“Climb.”
    I made it about two thirds of the way up the
tree and stopped. The branches were much thinner at that height and
I didn’t think they would hold my weight. “I can’t go up any
higher,” I said.
    “Yeah, you can. Anyway, if you don’t make it
to the top you lose.”
    “What if I lose?”
    “You die.”
    “Funny.”
    “I’m not kidding,” said Clive.
    I moved up a few branches and stopped again
after I heard a branch crack. “Seriously, I’m going to fall,” I
said.
    “Keep going,” said Clive.
    I made it up another two branches before the
branch I stood on snapped, sending me falling to the ground, my
body slamming against branches as I fell. I hit the ground and
screamed. I could see my thighbone poking out of my pant leg.
Moments, later, my leg returned to