Infinite Testament by Greg Ness Page A

than
that.”
    Ronnie held out the pool stick, planning to swipe Bruce’s
head off. Bruce crouched in position, bending his knees and preparing for
the worst. Ronnie could attack at any second. Bruce found himself
in a fight and he had no idea why.
    But he had to fight back.
    Bruce kept a far enough distance from the stick.
Normally, he’d have taken Ronnie down by now. But the stick could prove
lethal. And there was no telling how far Ronnie wanted to take this.
    Bruce watched the stick with a hawk-like gaze. Ronnie
swung it at his head and it whistled around at a blazing speed. At
mid-swing, Bruce fell backward to the ground and reached out his hands.
He kept his eyes locked on the stick and caught it. It was an incredible
move. The fierce impact stung his hands and quite frankly, he was lucky
they didn’t break.
    Bruce ripped the stick out of Ronnie’s hands and leapt to
his feet with a new weapon in hand.
    Bruce kicked Ronnie backwards. Ronnie stumbled,
giving some space between them. Bruce tilted his head at Ronnie and
smiled. He held out his hands at his side, still holding the stick, and
asked, “You want to talk about this like normal people now?”
    Instead, Ronnie charged. Bruce gripped the pool stick
like a baseball bat. He had no choice: he swung at Ronnie’s head.
And connected. Home Run. Ronnie collapsed to the ground and the
stick shattered over his head. Bruce hit him so hard, he immediately fell
unconscious.
    Stephen watched in awe. David had just slain
Goliath. Not that Bruce could truly be considered a David with his
athletic ability, but Ronnie had become huge in the last few years.
    Bruce walked over to Stephen and tossed him the pool stick,
“Will you take better care of your equipment? You’re endangering the
lives of everyone here.” Bruce smiled, unfazed by what just
happened. He didn’t know what Ronnie wanted and he didn’t care. The
guy was a loser and would always be a loser. Probably had too much to
drink and came stumbling in to the school looking for trouble.
    Mr. Lewerk ran to Ronnie’s limp body on the floor.
“Oh my god, oh my god,” he mumbled to himself. He huffed as he checked to
make sure Ronnie was okay. “Who is this?”
    “Doesn’t go here,” Bruce answered, “I thought you were
checking the people who came in.”
    Mr. Lewerk had no response. On second thought, he
couldn’t wait to be rid of Stephen and Bruce.
    They were in the midst of watching the football game. The thunderous roar of the crowd shook their seats. The six of them
sat in the student section, typically a bit more crowded and rowdy than other
sections. Some students sat, some stood, and some didn’t even watch the
game. Bruce had all but given up the search for Sara Ixley and now
focused on the action on the field. On his left, Stephen laughed with
Taylor and Jess. They weren’t paying much attention to the game at
all. On his right, Natalie watched the game with an intense focus; she
was a diehard fan. Past Natalie was Vince. What was Vince
doing? He sat straight, watching the field with the blankest of stares on
his face.
    “Hey Vince,” Bruce said loud enough to transcend the crowd
noise.
    Vince turned his head as if Bruce just woke him up.
    “Yeah?” Vince asked.
    “Did you know Natalie is a biological engineer?”
    Vince’s face lit up. He looked at Natalie and, with
his face, asked, “Really?”
    She smiled and nodded. “Really,” she replied without
saying a word.
    That was all Vince needed to know to make the trip
worthwhile.
    Bruce turned his attention back to the game. He was
the odd man out now. In his isolation, Bruce soaked up the scene.
There were thousands of people in the crowd. Security was easily
noticeable in their bright yellow jackets. Bruce’s eyes wandered from the
yellow jackets down to the sidelines. Players, coaches, trainers, and
cheerleaders roamed the sidelines. The Michigan State cheerleaders caught
Bruce’s interest immediately. They moved in perfect