Read Shift for Free Online

knocked her drink over, spilling it all over my lap. It was freezing.
    “Come on,” she said.
    I brushed the cubes of ice away and stood up. The room span and my knees felt as if they were made of jelly. I couldn’t get my legs to work. “I can’t feel my lips,” I said.
    Aubrey rolled her eyes and yanked me out from behind the table. She shoved me in the direction of the sofas and somehow my feet agreed to move.
    “So we’re stopping them then?” I asked, slurring slightly.
    “Yes.”
    “But there are five of them.”
    Aubrey ignored me and headed for the SLF. The gorilla guy stood up to block her path. He laid a hand on Aubrey’s shoulder and the world flipped.
    They moved in a series of half-finished movements, as if different images had been layered on top of each other. It was like watching two films playing on the same screen at once and it made me feel a little sick. In one layer, Aubrey grabbed the ape’s hand and twisted his arm around his back. In the other he dodged her grab and wrapped his hand around her neck. A new layer appeared as Aubrey’s leg flew up and her boot connected with his face. He spat blood.
    Then everything righted itself and the ape’s hand was hovering over Aubrey’s shoulder. He hadn’t even touched her.
    That was the first time I saw Shifters fighting. And it’s not something I will ever forget. Both versions of what had just happened struggled to find a place in my muddled brain. Neither seemed to make any sense.
    The big guy stepped aside and Aubrey approached Zac. The girl with the pink hair had a strange smile on her face and her eyes were rolling in her head.
    “Unplug her,” Aubrey said.
    “Aubrey, it’s good to see you,” Zac said and he sounded genuine. His sharp features went soft and he leant forward as if trying to distance himself from the girl drooling next to him.
    “Unplug her.”
    “You’re looking especially fine, Brey. Although blue never was your colour.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re still with them. I always thought you’d be the first to go.”
    “Did you hear what I said?”
    Zac glanced at the girl. “She’s in deep. Unplug her now and I won’t be responsible for the fallout.”
    “ARES will be here in five minutes.”
    Zac twitched and then gathered himself. “The stims aren’t against the rules. But as far as I remember a Bluecoat being seen in a place like this was.”
    “You let me worry about that. You’ll be busy worrying about spending the next seven years in prison. By the time they let you out, entropy will have set in.”
    “Entropy? Come off it, Aubrey. You of all people know what I think about entropy,” he said and smiled, his perfect white teeth flashing. There was something about that smile. Something knowing.
    Aubrey tilted her head, considering him. Then snapped back to centre. “You’ve got five minutes,” she said, holding up five fingers.
    “Come on, Aubrey,” Zac said. “You should give it a go. Are you telling me there’s no choice you were too frightened to make? Nothing you wished you’d tried, but didn’t want to get caught? No guy you wished you’d…?” He raised a suggestive eyebrow.
    Aubrey’s eyes tightened. If that had been me under her stare I’d have wanted to crawl away. But Zac met her head on. “It’s not real,” she said. Which wasn’t exactly the same thing as saying no.
    “It’s as real as it gets.”
    “So is that some kind of virtual reality thing then?” I said, pointing at the wires entwining with the girl’s hair.
    “Nothing virtual about it, my friend,” Zac said, not taking his eyes off Aubrey. “It’s reality I’m offering here. Pure and simple. Consequence-free.”
    “What you’re offering is a lie,” Aubrey said. “You might think the stimulators work in a closed environment, but there are always consequences. You just don’t know them yet.”
    “Looks like your friend would like to give it a go. Looks like he’s so excited he’s