The Last Book in the Universe Read Free Page B

you,” I say, trying to get my brain in gear.
    I’d been deep inside this crazy, confusing dream about Coley Riggins rescuing the proov girl, or maybe the proov girl was rescuing him. Doesn’t matter. What matters is paying attention to Billy Bizmo, because you never know what Billy is really thinking, and that’s just one of about a thousand different things that makes him dangerous. Billy with his sharp, crooked nose, and curly hair like tufts of rusty iron, and his ratty yellow teeth, and the pale scars on his neck and jaw where somebody tried to kill him once and missed. Somebody no longer among the living, guaranteed.
    â€œThis junk come from the stacks?” he asks me, even though he already knows the answer. “That’s all he had, the one they call Ryter? You sure he’s not hiding nothing rich? Nothing special?”
    â€œHe’s just an old gummy,” I say. “That’s all he had.”
    I can’t believe I’m lying to Billy Bizmo, boss man of the Bangers. What do I care about the old man or his stupid pile of papers? But it’s too late to take back the lie, and anyhow Billy seems more interested in the edibles.
    â€œExplain,” he says, holding up a carboshake.
    So I tell him about the proov girl. How she came to the Maxi with her teks and told them to provide for me.
    â€œProvide for you?” Billy says, fingering the scars on his neck as he mulls it over. “Why you, boy? Why you in particular?”
    I shrug. “I was there, I guess.”
    â€œYou mean this proov girl was looking for a charity case?”
    â€œI dunno what a charity case is, Billy.”
    â€œNever mind. What did you say to her? Tell me exactly what you said.”
    â€œShe asked me what they call me. I told her.”
    â€œAnd that’s it? Your name?”
    â€œThat’s it.”
    Billy crouches so he can study my eyes and see if I’m lying. That always makes me feel like I’m lying even when I’m telling the truth, which I am about the proov girl. The thing that makes Billy scary isn’t his size, because he’s not that much bigger than me. It’s in his eyes. Sometimes his eyes are bright and interested and that makes you want to please him, and then he blinks and his eyes are dead and you’re scared he wants to make you dead, too, just for the cool of it. Just because he can.
    â€œHmmm,” he goes. “I’ve heard about this proov girl. She’s a slummer. You know what a slummer is, Spaz? Huh?”
    â€œNo,” I admit.
    â€œA slummer is a proov who likes to mix with the rest of us. Gives ’em a thrill they can’t find in Eden. You know what happens to a normal who gets mixed up with a proov, if the rest of the proovs find out?”
    â€œNo.”
    Billy makes a slicing sign across his throat. The idea seems to amuse him. “Forbidden, Spaz boy. They’ll splash you. They’ll cut your red. They’ll blow you into particles. So keep away from the proov girl. You see her again, run like your life depends on it. Because it does. Do you believe me?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œGood boy. Always believe Billy. That’s rule number one. And what’s rule number two?”
    â€œAlways obey Billy,” I say.
    â€œExcellent! Third rule?”
    â€œAlways speak true to Billy.”
    â€œFantastic!” He’s acting delighted with me, but I don’t know if it’s for real or a game he’s playing. “Not bad for a spaz boy! Keep it up, kid! Follow Billy’s rules and you may live to be as old as that gummy you ripped off.” He hands me the proov girl’s carboshake. “Go on,” he says. “Enjoy. Have a taste of Eden.”
    A moment later they’re gone and I’m alone in my cube. For some reason I’m shaking. No, not for some reason. Because I lied to Billy Bizmo. I broke his rules. If he finds out, he might decide to have me