Free Crimson Rain by Tex Leiko Page B

waiting, ” she said in a tone Max couldn ’ t decide was seductive or not.
    When he returned three minutes and twenty-six seconds later, he was washed, smelling nice, and wearing a paisley - patterned silver and black button-down shirt that matched his form nicely and a pair of blue jeans, along with black combat boots. He was hoping that he wouldn ’ t fight any more this evening, but he no longer knew what to expect. His eye was swollen and throbbed. He wanted to sleep, even though he ’ d spent most of his day in a drug - induced coma.
    “ Well, after seeing you, nothing I can do would compare, ” he said with sincerity.
    “ Don ’ t suck up for our school days, Max, ” she scoffed.
    “ I ’ m not. I mean it. I didn ’ t even expect you to be here when I didn ’ t see you in the hall. Thus, the frantic throwing myself into doorknobs. You know, I don ’ t make it a favorite pastime to do activities that will make me piss out blood in the morning, right? ”
    She let out an innocent giggle and smiled with her feline teeth glinting in the light, inviting him toward her.
    “ The way you threw yourself into that doorknob, you could have fooled me, ” she said with a smirk.
    “ I was trying to. By the way, not that I am complaining or anything, but how did you know where I lived? And how did you get into my apartment? ”
    “ Wouldn ’ t you like to know? ”
    “ That ’ s why I asked. ”
    “ Too bad. You ready to get a move on or what? ”
    Completely perplexed, Max just stared Crimson in her majestic eyes. He thought about saying nothing, but then decided against it . “ I ’ m locking it behind us. Unless you know some reason I shouldn ’ t. ”
    “ I don ’ t know anyone dumb enough to not lock their door when they aren ’ t around. Even in this nice neighborhood, ” she said with a smile. “ Now come on before it ’ s over. You have to see this. ”
    At that, he locked the door, she took him by the hand, and down the hallway they strode.

Chapter Six

The Show
     
    “ So, tell me…what do you hear? ”
    “ Hear? Are you nuts? I give the Psyker Scream bots at my clinic. I ’ ve never even dreamt of giving them to myself. ”
    Crimson and Max had shown up late to the Psyker concert. The fans were in the audience, not behaving the way one would think for a metal techno fusion band that boasted the world ’ s most amazing and bizarre acoustics known to man. Instead of the crowd shoving, moshing, hopping , and crowd surfing, they were standing there doing nothing but staring at the stage. Some of the fans were staring at each other, but nobody was acting rowdy.
    It was surreal . T he band members , Surge, Zax , and Badger , were all on stage. They were apparently playing their instruments. The set had started about an hour before Crimson and Max arrived. But nobody seemed to respond to the music; nobody showed any form of excitement.
    “ So, you don ’ t hear anything? Nothing at all? ” Crimson asked, staring intently at Max.
    “ No. ”
    “ Close your eyes; try harder. ”
    Max looked at Crimson as if she had lost her mind completely. How many times did he have to tell her that he didn ’ t have the modifications? There was no way for him to hear the music. He drew a breath in deep. He was in pain from the beating he ’ d t a k en earlier; his eye was still swollen , and his hand had a stinging pain from the cuts he ’ d inflicted on himself. He held his breath for a count of five and closed his eyes as he released it. He concentrated on trying to hear the guitar.
    “ Where. Was. The. Blind. Guard. Tree. Yellow. ”
    Max opened his eyes and looked at Crimson; he gave her a befuddled expression. “ What did you say? ” he questioned.
    “ I didn ’ t say a thing, big boy. ” Her tone was purposely seductive and condescending at the same time. “ So tell me, what do you hear? ”
    “ Words. They don ’ t make any sense, though. They ’ re just…swimming , disconnected . I