Free A Pinstriped Finger's My Only Friend by Robert T. Jeschonek Page B

its descent and blasting it through the parquet floorboards, leaving a smoking hole.
    "Can you believe this?" Judd is as captivated as a Christian witnessing the Second Coming. His grin has actually gotten bigger ...
    (Not humanly possible!)
    ...and I swear there's a little trail of drool at the corner of his mouth. "It's so freakin' sick , I can't stand it!"
    "True dat, bruh." I don't know why I nod in agreement. He only has eyes for the super-game.
    "I need to get up there! Oh my God!" He's vibrating with excitement. "I need to get up there!"
    Just as he says it, the game gets even wilder. The levels themselves start moving, shuffling like a deck of cards. The top level moves to the middle, the middle level moves to the top, the bottom to the second-highest position...and then they shuffle again! Even as this is happening, the players continue flying from one court to the other, changing games and levels and switching sides with seemingly random abandon.
    Meanwhile, dozens of lighted mirror-ball spheres leap out of the walls and spin through the action, bathing everyone and everything in swirling multicolored rays. And then there's the music, a crazy cacophony of hip hop/metal/techno/classical...
    ( Classical ?)
    ...drowning out even the deafening roar-stomp of the crowd, which has started to riot...
    (Or is it part of the game ???)
    ...flooding the massive superdome with pulsating waves of sound that feel loud and powerful enough to melt your eardrums and pulverize your brain.
    (Just turn it to powder .)
    "I need to get up there!" Judd says it with far more conviction this time, like he's had a full-on epiphany and has no free will in the matter at all. It's just a fact . "I really need to!" More like a demand .
    "I hear ya', dude." I totally get that this is a dream come true for him. Oogachucka would like nothing better than to get him up there in the thick of it, dive-bombing with the best of 'em...
    (Even though it would make me dizzy as spit !)
    ...but I'm a little under-juiced on the super-power-handing-out side of the house these days.
    Maybe someone else can make this happen. "Why dontcha ask her ?" I point at a lone figure spiraling down from the chaos, headed straight for us.
    Her blazing red shoulder-length hair whirls around her as she drops. He calls out her name, shouting to be heard above the blasting music and the roar of the riot.
    Kaela smiles and gives him a little wave in reply.
    "I'll bet she can help." I bend at the first and second knuckle as I talk. "She sure looks happy to see you."
    Kaela lands in front of us and poses with her fists on her hips, smirking. "How's it hanging, honeybunch?" She looks just as devilish in this world as at home. If anything, her glowing golden eyes make her look even more wicked.
    Judd hasn't been himself since things went wonky, but he reaches deep and switches on the charm. "It's hanging much better since I saw your beautiful face." He flashes her a wink. "You're an amazing athlete , you know that?"
    "As a matter of fact, I do ." Kaela twirls a lock of red hair around her right index finger.
    (If only I was that finger!)
    "I just wish I could get up there with you," says Judd. "Could you help me out with that, Kaela?"
    She gives him a look like he just asked her to attach an elephant's head to his butt. "You know I can't, Judd. Carrying non-players into the game isn't allowed."
    Judd fidgets, hopping from one foot to the other. "No, I meant isn't there some way I can participate ? Like, a pill or a device or something?"
    "Ju-udd." Kaela rolls her eyes. "Is this some kind of joke ? You know you can't fly unless you were born this way."
    The wind goes out of Judd's sails instantly. "Which I wasn't." As the realization kicks in, he looks away from her and slumps.
    "That's okay, honeybunch." Kaela jumps over and kisses him on the lips. "I love you even if you are a ground-hugger." She follows the first peck with a deeper, hotter kiss...
    (Even I felt that one!)
    ...but