Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse by Kaleb Nation Page A

worse!" He began to rant at her about what had happened that morning on the way up.
    Bran, having heard it all before, started to watch the people walking by the booths. He spotted one of their neighbors, and across the grass, Rosie at the jewelry stand, looking at something.
    For a moment, his gaze was grabbed from her by a man who was wandering down the path. The man didn’t look strange at all but for some reason, he didn’t seem to be acting right. He kept looking from one person to the next, and finally he saw Rosie, and started to move closer to her.
    What’s he doing? Bran wondered, watching him closely. Rosie didn’t see him, and the man started to move in her direction through the crowd, though he only glanced at her every few steps. A big truck drove by on the road behind them, honking to the people at the fair in greeting, and Rosie laughed at something the booth owner had said.
    "And then," Sewey went on beside Bran, "this man named Mr. Rat comes and…"
    Sewey’s voice seemed to fade into the back of Bran’s head, like a distant echo. A strange feeling began to creep over him, something he had not felt before, almost electrifying. He didn’t know what it was, but it felt as if his senses were abruptly coming around and he could see and hear a hundred times better than before.
    He couldn’t tear his eyes from the strange man moving next to Rosie, and he saw her laugh again and start to turn from the booth. And in that split second, something happened.
    Suddenly, the man leapt at her, shoving her to the side and into the booth. Bran jumped to his feet, and Rosie screamed, people in the crowds falling over as the man pushed her.
    "Rosie!" Bran shouted. The man grabbed for her purse, trying to get it from her. Her arm was caught in the strap, though, and she screamed when he pulled her with it.
    Bran leapt off the table and started to run for her, his heart pounding. Sewey and Adi spun, but Bran was already gone, and the man dodged a booth owner and started running toward the road, Rosie struggling to get her arm out as he dragged her behind him.
    "Someone help her!" a woman screamed. A police officer ran in her direction, only to trip over a cable holding the tents up. Bran’s feet pounded against the grass, and he saw the man give a final jerk on the purse, sending Rosie falling into the middle of the road. The man dashed off, leaving her behind.
    "Help!" Rosie screamed, struggling to stand, just as Bran got to the end of the sidewalk.
    "Rosie!" he shouted. She was trying to sit up, sobbing. He reached the road and was almost to her when all of a sudden, he saw something rushing in their direction out of the corner of his eye.
    He turned his head, and in a moment, it seemed as if time stopped. He could hear the beating of his own heart in his ears. And he saw a freight truck, coming right at them down the road.
    No! his mind gasped. He heard the crowd behind him, shouting. He heard Rosie scream, trying to move. And he heard the horn of the truck, the driver unable to stop. It was rushing closer, faster, its horn ringing in his ear, and Bran’s eyes widened as it came.
    And then, it happened.
    It was as if something broke free within him. There was a rush, then a quick cold jolt that washed over him as if he had been hit by a tidal wave on a freezing night. He saw the truck coming at them, he saw the grille on the front, closer and closer. He saw the driver, trying to stop, he saw the license plate—all of it at once. And in a sudden motion, he swung his hands out in front of him and Rosie, as if something else was controlling his reflexes, as if he could stop the truck right there. He saw something blue, like a wall in front of him, translucent at his hands, and though he didn’t know what was happening, a second later the truck was upon them.
    It slammed into him full force and he gritted his teeth together, and all else around him melted away—the sounds, the colors, the people. He heard the smashing