Free World Walker 1: The World Walker by Ian W. Sainsbury Page A

surface.
    "Anything useful in this message? Like how to avoid people trying to kill me or experiment on me? And how about what I'm supposed to do with this power? And what if I don't want it?"
    "Don't try to kid me," said Seb2. "I am you, after all."
    "What do you mean?" said Seb.
    "You want it all right," said Seb2, leaving the bench and joining Seb by the water. "All those comic-books, all that science fiction and fantasy - you've always wanted this. What about the vampire phase - you were half-convinced they were real and used to hang around graveyards hoping to be bitten."
    "Oh, please," said Seb. "I grew up."
    "Yeah, yeah," said Seb2, "but you always had a bit of a 'chosen one' complex, even after you 'grew up.'"
    "Doesn't everyone?" said Seb.
    "How would I know?" said Seb2. "Anyway, you lucked out. You've been chosen. Now we have to decide what to do about it. As for people trying to kill you, you can relax. Can't be done."
    Seb took a deep breath, his head aching.  
    "I can't die?" he said.
    "So far as I can see, no, you can't," said Seb2. "But, like I said, I'm operating with limited information here. Your body can repair any damage, that much I'm sure of. So the brain tumor, the damage done by the bullets, we hardly broke a sweat. Problem is, you have no real control at the moment."
    "Tell me something I don't know."
    "Billy Joe would have come to you much, much later if it hadn't been for the tumor and suicide attempt. I think you would have been an old man when he came to you. I think he saw something in you that hadn't yet developed, a seed only he could detect. He hopes you will grow into this power."
    "He hopes?"
    "My impression is you're needed in some way, he took a huge risk passing this to you now, but his hand was forced in some way. And the risk was made worse because he can't help you, he had to leave and he won't be back any time soon."
    "So what the hell am I supposed to do?"
    "I think you can find him...when you're ready....but everything is partial, foggy. There's so much of his message I can't understand. It was meant for me - you - when we were ready."
    Seb2 stretched a hand out toward the water. Close to the edge, it began to bubble, then suddenly grow calm. Seb2 took a step forwards and stood on the surface of the pond. He smiled.
    "Always wanted to be able to do this," he said. He took a few more steps, then turned to face Seb.
    "You're not helping the messiah complex any," said Seb. He looked on as Seb2 stood on a column of water, rising to a height of about 12 feet.
    "You need to learn to do some of this stuff," called Seb2.  
    "Great," said Seb. "I'll get right on it. Just as soon as I've mastered flying and shooting lasers out of my fingertips." Seb2 dropped gracefully to the surface of the pond and stepped back onto dry land.
    "No need for sarcasm," he said. "Ok, I can't hold this any longer. You have a train to catch. Listen for a minute. That Westlake character wasn't playing games. He'll have the airports, bus stations and train stations watched. You can't rent a car without a credit card and I'm guessing he'll get a heads-up if you use it. Stay away from ATMs. Oh, and don't bother trying to use your phone."
    "Why not?" said Seb.
    "They might be able to track us using it,"said Seb2. "Maybe that's how they found the apartment so fast. It travelled with us, but when you wake up, I'll dump it. They'll probably find it, but we'll be on our way by then. "  
    "Wait a second," said Seb, "if you can beam me up to Union Station, why not make it somewhere further away, somewhere they won't find me."
    "Would if I could," said Seb2. "Problem is, I can only reach out a few miles in any direction. I don't make the rules. I don't even know the rules. I'll get back in touch once I can figure out a way to do it without you getting run over. Get off the train at Albuquerque."
    "Where am I going?" said Seb.
    "Where do you think?" said Seb2. "Alien central. Roswell, New Mexico."

Chapter 9

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