The Supernaturalist Read Online Free Page A

building. Maybe not.
    They hugged the wall, avoiding the brunt of the rainstorm. Below in the streets, auto-alarms were activated by the mutant drops. Security firms never responded to auto call-outs during a rainstorm. It was always weather conditions or very foolish carjackers.
    Cosmo rounded the final corner on to the roof, a flat expanse of slick, tar-coated felt, punctuated by a stairwell box, like a submarine’s conning tower. The box’s corrugated roof was buckling under the rain’s onslaught. And suddenly, the downpour stopped, as though God had turned off the water. Another characteristic of Satellite City’s freakish weather.
    ‘Someone up there likes us,’ said Ziplock.
    ‘It’s a bit late for that,’ commented Cosmo, shaking the water from his hair. ‘Let’s go.’
    They padded across the saturated felt. With every step the roof sagged alarmingly, and in several spots the support girders were visible through sparse strands of felt. The connecting building was one storey down. As a landing pad it left a lot to be desired. The rooftop was littered with the remains of a squatter camp. Breezeblocks lay like discarded dominoes and sparks spluttered from the cracked casing of a rooftop generator.
    Cosmo hooked his toes over the edge, trying not to think about the drop.
    ‘You think we can make it?’ he asked.
    Ziplock’s reply was to rear back from the brink.
    Cosmo was undeterred.
    ‘I think we can make it. I really think we can.’
    ‘I don’t think you will. Either of you,’ said someone in nasal tones. Anybody who spoke like that either had a bad cold, or a broken nose.
    Cosmo and Ziplock turned slowly. Marshal Redwood stood in the rooftop doorway, lips stretched in a huge grin. Tears were streaming down his cheeks.
    ‘I took the elevator,’ he explained. ‘You two are dumber than recycled sewage. What did you think? Going up would fool me?’
    Cosmo didn’t answer. It wasn’t really a question. Water was dripping from the coils in his hair, down between his shoulder blades. Perhaps that was what made him shiver.
    ‘We surrender, Marshal. Don’t we, Ziplock?’
    Ziplock was too petrified to answer.
    ‘Too late for surrender. You’re armed fugitives now. I can’t take any chances. You gotta be wrapped.’ Redwood took the throw-down from his vest, dropping it at their feet.
    Cosmo’s breath came in short gasps.
    ‘Please, Marshal. We’re on a rooftop. It could be hours before they get us in the vat.’
    The vat was an acidic compound used to dissolve the cellophane.
    ‘I know,’ said Redwood, the craziness in his eyes shining through the tears.
    Redwood marched over to Ziplock, gathering a bunch of his lapel in his fist. He leaned the terrified boy over the lip of the roof.
    ‘This is the last lesson, Francis. You better learn from this one.’
    Ziplock began to giggle, hysterical laughter that had nothing to do with happiness.
    Redwood placed the rod against his forehead. ‘I’d advise you to shut your mouth, Francis. You don’t want any plastic going in there.’
    ‘Do your worst, Redwood,’ shouted Ziplock, eyes wide. ‘I can’t get any more scared than I am right now.’
    Redwood laughed, causing a fresh spurt from his tear ducts.
    ‘Oh I don’t know about –’
    Then Ziplock’s jumpsuit ripped. One too many cleanings had left it with the strength of wet cardboard. Redwood was left holding a rose-shaped bunch of material, and Ziplock was left at an angle he couldn’t correct.
    His final word was to Cosmo. ‘Sorry,’ he said, and slipped over the edge.
    It wasn’t a long way down. Schoolchildren have jumped from higher trees and escaped without so much as a twisted ankle. But when Ziplock went over, he went over backwards, dragging Cosmo behind him.
    There was no time for prayers or screams. Cosmo’s life did not flash before his eyes. One moment he was pleading with Marshal Redwood, the next land and sky flipped and he was face down in the next building’s rooftop