The Cyber Chronicles Book II: Death Zone Read Online Free Page A

pressed against him, willing
the next Change to come soon.
    When at last
the brown and green flickers came, he lifted Tassin onto the rock,
ignoring her sleepy protests. Purr was already on it, but before
Sabre could join them, the world warped and Changed. A shaggy tree
trunk appeared centimetres from his nose, and he jerked back in
surprise. As soon as he tried to move away, however, he became
aware that his feet were stuck. His ankles vanished into the shaggy
tree, swallowed to the calves. Quelling a spurt of panic, he
reminded himself that the Flux-reality was not solid yet, and he
could still get free. He leant back and pulled steadily on one leg.
Purr noticed his predicament and offered encouraging, if
unnecessary advice.
    "That's it,
just pull, it'll come out."
    Tassin hopped
down and gasped when she saw the reason for his immobility. "Are
you all right?"
    "I'll be
fine," he said, "as soon as I get my feet out of this damned
tree."
    The wood clung
to him like semi-set cement, and sweat popped out on his brow as he
struggled. He glanced around at a warm forest of massive trees,
some ten metres in diameter, towering over a floor of soft brown
leaves. Purr had resumed a tropical garb of short fur, and Tassin
shed the petticoats, stuffing them back into the pack. Sabre could
not meet her eyes, embarrassed by their prior closeness, and
scowled at the tree trunk as he pulled his feet from the
Flux-reality wood. When at last he got free, he was hot and sweaty
and rather cross.
    The new
Flux-reality seemed to be a pleasant one. Inviting pathways wound
between banks of thick ferns and moss-covered tree trunks. Sunlight
filtered down to pattern the lush forest floor with golden dapples.
Tassin exclaimed in delight when they came to a sparkling blue
lake, but Purr tested the water and declared it unreal. They
skirted it and walked on, following the twisting paths that this
world's creatures had made. The eerie stillness pressed in on them,
only the soft sounds of their footfalls breaking it. Birds flitted
amongst the trees, pausing to puff themselves up in silent song,
unafraid of the strange intruders who trod the deep paths. When a
shaggy brown creature shambled out of the trees and whiffled a long
snout at them, Sabre stopped in alarm.
    Purr chuckled.
"Flux-reality. No sound."
    Sabre detoured
around the beast, and it watched them go, then shuffled away. After
an hour of walking, Sabre became aware of a thudding sound, and
looked at Purr. The mosscat's ears, which appeared to have doubled
in size, swivelled. Heavy footfalls approached, and Purr
nodded.
    "Real-reality.
Hide."
    The mosscat
dived behind a grey boulder, and Sabre bundled Tassin after him. He
pushed her down behind the rock and peered over it. A three-metre
tall, ape-like creature came into view, stomping between the trees.
Tusks curled up from its undershot lower jaw, and its beady red
eyes glared around. It radiated hostility, and its vast knuckles
almost dragged on the ground. Sabre breathed a sigh of relief as it
tramped past, sniffing the air. The brown and green flickers of
Change shot through the landscape, and the world warped into
rolling, open grassland, leaving the three of them huddled behind
nothing.
    Purr rasped,
"Keep still!"
    The monster
roared and shook its fists at the Flux-reality, apparently angered
by its fickleness, but luckily it did not look back. When it
vanished over a distant hill, they stood up, and Sabre turned to
Purr.
    "That's what
happens when you hide behind Flux-reality and a Change comes
along."
    Purr sneezed
and shrugged, smoothing his bottle-brush fur. "There isn't always a
convenient bit of Real-reality about when you need it, you know.
You have to take your chances. I told you it would be dangerous
here. What did you think I meant?"
    Sabre could
find no fault with his argument, and turned away with a snort. They
walked on, the grassland stretching away around them like
undulating green velvet, dotted with a few out of place