Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Head Games


“You!” he barked as he dismounted.  “Stay there!  Keep those hands where I can see them!”

 The normal-sized man with the tiny wrinkled head raised his arms.  “These hands?” he asked.


 The rider was all in black, with some thick and undoubtedly bullet-proof vest and an oily black gun slung over his shoulders.  He reached back to touch this gun as if drawing some shallow sense of strength and security from it, which of course he was.  He also had a small stone around his neck on a tether, a coldstone, and this was busily giving off purple sparks.  But in the glare of his headlamp the rider hadn’t noticed.

This old man was strangely built, like he hadn’t enough head but had entirely too much neck.  “The park isn’t safe tonight,” the rider told him.  “You should return to your home.”

“Mind turnin’ that off, lad?” the old man asked.

“Sorry,” said the rider, and he reached up to switch off the pink light of the helmet.

“Yeh have somethin’ in your eye,” the old man added.

“I…huh?” 

The rider pulled the goggles up and over his helmet.  And then he winced when he saw that, while the old man was still standing before him, his head had just now disappeared.

(From Cold Cereal)

9 comments:

Amy Phillips said...

My son has gotten off the school bus with Cold Cereal the past two days and exclaimed, "This book is so good!" He's a big fan, but to be honest, I'm wondering how he can read so much of it DURING THE SCHOOL DAY. The bookmark's moving, but...math? Anyone?

(Big kudos to you.)

Adam Rex said...

Thanks, Amy! And hi to your son. And, um, buckle down and stay in school and whatever.

Kiana said...

You wrote a new book??? YESSSSSSS!!!!!! Happy dance time!! They sell it in Canadian bookstores? YESSSSSS!!!! I AM SO HAPPY!!!! I can't wait to read this.

Janna Banana said...

Just finished Cold Cereal. I must say, absolutely on par with Smekday. Wonderful! Can't. Wait for the next!!

Adam Rex said...

Thank you so much for saying so, Janna!

Jorge@jlacera.com said...

http://io9.com/5895535/marylands-enchanted-forest-is-like-candyland-after-a-neutron-bomb-strike

Anonymous said...

Adam I'm 11 and I'm wondering, can u talk to a few cereal companies and see if (for a limited time) change their labels to the cereals from the book (with the characters of course) including Harvey, Mick, and all the others

Adam Rex said...

Oh man, that would be great, Anonymous. I don't think they'd go along with it unless my book got super famous, though.

Anonymous said...

I'll have to tell all my friends about it then.....i just finished the book too ill probably be renting out my copy though and I'd be super happy about the cereal thing too