Free 90_Minutes_to_Live by JournalStone Page A

never mind . It's fast, boy, real fast."
    "You'll have to take us for a ride Grampa."
    "Sure, sure. But right now I've got to go inside and take a nap. Just got myself a brand-new kidney you know."
     
    *   *   *
     
    From the senseless void where he slept, consciousness returned and he groped for the control pad. As the bed elevated and his vision and hearing returned on cue, he recalled fragments of a lingering dream.
    He was young again. He was running—running as fast as he could. Not chasing or being chased, just running; the sheer freedom of it was exhilarating. The dream shifted and he was driving his car, a young beauty in the passenger seat, her red hair flying wildly from the air stream of the open window. He couldn't see her face but remembered her laugh and the engine ' s sound as it accelerated. He had felt a chill. A familiar, disturbing sensation of being overcome by cold. It had driven him from his dream and back to reality.
    Now he heard another sound–not from the dream–a real sound. The sound of lovemaking. Unmistakable moans of pleasure, labored breathing, a rapturous cry–sounds he had not heard in…he couldn't remember how long it had been. He realized it must be Amber and her fellow.
    Why not? They were young, full of life. He wished he still could but he hadn't been able to for a long time. The drugs were incompatible with his nano bugs and he refused an implant. He imagined it would be as much fun as poking somebody with a stick. Yet he still had the inclination–dry and dusty as it was.
    He waited a while after the sounds of passion ceased, then made plenty of noise of his own before he came out. He found Amber and Shon sitting at his dining table. They'd made a meal out of what they'd found in his fridge and were going at it with youthful exuberance.
    "Hi, sleepyhead." Amber jumped up from her seat and kissed him on the cheek. She was all aglow, bubbling over with enthusiasm. She almost made him feel guilty about being such an old curmudgeon. Almost.
    "Are you hungry?" she asked. "I hope you don't mind–we helped ourselves. We were fammed."
    "I told you to make yourselves at home, girl and I meant it."
    "It's swank and plenty Mr. Glucorde," spoke up Shon. "Ease-on and face."
    "You kids are speaking English, aren't you?"
    They both laughed.
    "I'll eat later. I'm just going to have some juice. You two go ahead and finish, then I'll take you for that ride I promised."
    "Are you sure, Grampa Ben? You ' d better eat something."
    "Don't be trying to mother me girl," he said, admonishing her with his finger. "You don't have the wrinkles for it."
    The refrigerator door slid open at his touch and he chose a plastic container. He steadied himself as his vision blurred momentarily. Must not be awake yet, he thought.
    "How long you two planning on staying?" he asked as he filled a glass.
    "I don't know Grampa," Amber replied hesitantly. She glanced at Shon with a look that said there was a disagreement. "We haven ' t decided. We don't want to impose for too long."
    "Hell, girl, I don't hardly ever get any visitors. You both stay as long as you like. I'm sure you'll get bored with an old fossil like me long before I get fed up with you,” he took a drink from his glass, frowned, and made a noise as if to spit out what he'd swallowed. "Damn! Tastes like metal. They can put a man on Mars but they can't make a decent glass of lemonade. I don't envy you kids–having to live in this screwed-up world."
    "Screwed-up?" asked Amber.
    "You know," Ben replied, " messed up , made into a mess, disgusting, like that juice."
    "Some of us won't input the mess," Shon said. "We're going to change things."
    " Shon ," said Amber, censuring him.
    "Good for you." Ben poured the remaining juice into the sink. "I was all fired up to change the world when I was your age too. Yeah, we thought we could stop a war by singing songs and handing out flowers. We found out the hard way the world didn ' t want to change. Maybe you