Read The Miranda Contract Online
Authors: Ben Langdon
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Fantasy, #superheroes, #Urban, #Science Fiction, #Adventure, #Coming of Age, #Paranormal & Urban, #Superhero
The Miranda Contract (28 page)
The door opened and the group of doctors entered, equally surprised and appalled seeing Halo on the floor. He felt Castus in the room, too. There was a clear increase in the room’s temperature. He felt trapped but weak. There was no way he could walk out of the room.
“Are you alright, son?” a doctor asked.
Halo vomited again.
And then Parhelion was kneeling beside him, a reassuring hand on Halo’s back.
“Just breathe,” the man said. “Everything will be alright, once your stomach settles.”
Halo nodded and wiped his sleeve across his mouth. He turned to look at the superhero and was taken in by the man’s impressive white smile.
“Thanks,” he mumbled and coughed a little. “I think I …”
“No need for talking right now,” Parhelion said. He turned back to the others and spoke, but Halo tuned out, his head still spinning.
A nurse and an orderly helped him to his feet, their hands lifting him from under his arms. They moved him outside and as he stumbled away from the Celestial Knights and from the comatose Mad Russian, he regained a little of his strength. He saw the elevator doors ahead of him, the exit, and he could imagine the staff room above and the car park beyond that.
The nurse made a joke. Halo smiled and managed to pull away from their support. They let him stagger by himself, but stayed close. He knew them and felt comforted by the concern in their faces. These were real people. Small, unpowered, unimportant, real people. He had seen that concern, that love, before. It reminded him of the dream, of his mother.
And he wanted that back.
More than anything.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you for reading the novel. Choosing to pick up this book, to jump in to the story of uberhumans and popstars, is the greatest outcome for me.
However,
The Miranda Contract
would never have seen the light of day without the support, feedback and friendship of my writing group. Originally brought together by the grandfather of Australian science fiction, Paul Collins, our little group has gone on to become a beautiful monster of imagination in its own right. Thanks to Linda Bibby, Hayley Barry-Smith, Mark Glazebrook, Fleur Guenther, Michael Greene, Kathryn Hall, Leanda and LynC. I hope you enjoy the story and take pride in knowing you helped shape it into what you now hold in your hands.
There were eight beta readers for this novel, and their feedback and enthusiasm for the ‘whole story’ was invaluable and kept me going when it would have been easier to give up. Matt Langdon and Megan Langdon provided streams of positive advice, bringing in their experience of heroes and bookshops. Megan, especially, brought objective eyes to the novel having never read the genre before. Thanks for reading out of your comfort zone. Brian Healy brought his vast knowledge of novels and comics (not to mention his professional knowledge of music), and Leah Sung brought a set of librarian’s eyes to the book. Sallie Muirden, a noted author and writing teacher in her own right, continued to provide support and encouragement, and Jodie Webster from Allen & Unwin also provided a professional perspective on the novel’s strengths and weaknesses. Hayley Barry-Smith and Kathryn Hall spent the most time with Dan and Miranda, coaxing them into existence over the course of years. I like to think of them as Dan’s ‘stand-in’ mums.
The idea of writing a superhero novel comes from my (many) years of reading X-Men comics as a teenager, but also from the Uberworld community of writers and gamers. While there have been dozens of Uberworlders, I’d like to send special thanks to Chris De Young, Mark Floyd, Christopher Lockheardt, Neil Ma, Andy Matthews, China Pittenger, Rob Rogers, Noah Thorp, Ben Trafford, KL Wilson and Darren Woods. Of those talented writers, I need to especially thank Noah Thorp for his character, Suleyman the Great. I hope I did him, and his backstory, justice as Sully.
As a high school teacher I come across avid readers every day and I would like to thank my colleagues and students: past, present and future. I draw inspiration from you even when you don’t realize it. Joe Logan needs a special thanks for the unlikely key word, ‘up-cycled’, which formed the basis for Dan’s rehabilitation program. It’s amazing what comes up on long road trips.
And finally, thanks to my family, because all writers test the patience of loved ones. Jack, Eliza and Luca. You don’t realize how amazing you are.
February 2014
Ben Langdon was born in Geelong, Victoria, and is a graduate of Deakin University and the University of Ballarat. He is the editor of
This Mutant Life
, a Neo-Pulp anthology.
This is his first novel.
Twitter @LangdonBen
Published by Kalamity Press, Portland Australia
Copyright © 2014 Ben Langdon
All rights reserved.
No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
ISBN: 978-0-9875-3084-4
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cover design by Milan Jovanovic of Chameleon Studio.
Interior design by Benjamin Carrancho of
Damonza
.
Table of Contents
