Zero II Read Free

from side to side. Alan felt his jaw drop as he witnessed life all
around him taking place at a speed much slower than his own.
    People stood still as he moved
forward. Birds hung in the air, their wings stuck in place. There was no noise.
Everything around Alan looked like a picture, lifelike but unmoving. Alan
pulled to a halt, his mind trying to make sense of the impossible. As he
stopped, everything around him began to move at a normal pace once again. People
continued about their way both on the sidewalk and in the park; horns blew and
birds ascended and descended in flight.
    No way. There’s no way you’re that
fast.
    Alan crouched in a kneeling position
as he tried to piece together the puzzle whose pieces were all around him.
Thoughts of superheroes, mutants or evolved humans passed across his mind. In
all honesty there was no telling what he was now. All he knew was that he could
move and he could move fast.
    From that moment on Alan promised
himself things would be different. Plans started to form in his mind of how he
could put this gift of speed to use. His stomach rumbled again.
    Priorities, man; food first, money
later. Now, what sounds good?
    Tingling and laughing out loud, Alan stood
from his crouching position. Feet firmly underneath, he ran.

6
Present Day
    “Hi. Sorry I don’t want to disturb
your reading time—Oh, Spartans, very cool. Hope you don’t mind me looking
at your book. I’m not trying to be nosey or anything, just trying to make
conversation and not let this get awkward.”
    Alan raised his eyes to see a dark
haired woman about his own age. Large black-rimmed glasses framed her eyes. Jeans
and boots marked her either as someone who had not anticipated or didn’t care
she was going to a bar where Austin Martins and Ferraris were valeted on a
regular basis. “I’m sorry do I know you?”
    “Nope, not yet. Do you mind if I sit
down?”
    “Listen, I don’t want to be rude. I’m
sure you a great person but tonight—“
    “Oh, oh, no. Do you think I’m hitting
on you?”
    Alan raised an eyebrow.
    “I mean not that I don’t think you’re
attractive. I mean, my gosh, have you seen your arms?” The young woman shut her
pink lips tight. Her fair skin turned as red as the outside of an apple. “I am
so not good at these types of things.”
    She took a seat at Alan’s booth across
from him disregarding his attempt to politely decline her company. “Listen,
let’s start over.” The young woman extended a fingernail polished hand that
matched her red face, “My name is Danielle Turner.”
    Alan pursed his lips and set his book
on the table. He reluctantly shook the woman’s hand. Four years of running from
his past and denying the underprivileged path his adolescent life had taken,
Alan was used to using aliases, “Connor Moore.”
    Danielle released his hand and
laughed, “Alan, please if you are going to use a fake name at least choose one
that’s not so obvious.”
    Alan felt his posture straighten. If
she wanted to get his attention, she had it now. Alan was a name he had left a
long time ago. “How do you know that name? No one has called me that in a very
long time.”
    Danielle took a deep breath. “Listen,
this is not going at all how I planned. I told him I wasn’t good at this kind
of stuff.”
    “Told who?”
    Before she could answer, the waitress
appeared at the side of their table. “Hello, can I get you something to drink,
Miss?” She motioned towards Alan’s bottle of whiskey. “Perhaps a glass?”
    “What? No.” Danielle said with the
slightest hint of disapproval. “I’ll have a Shirley Temple please.”
    The waitress nodded, her mouth
beginning to drop open before she turned to fulfill the order.
    “Shirley Temple, huh?” Alan asked.
    “Yeah, I’m a lightweight. Give me a
drink or two and—“ panic washed over Danielle’s face again as she found
herself in the middle of a sentence she didn’t want to finish.
    Alan felt his lips twist into a