Make Willing the Prey (Dreams by Streetlight) Read Online Free Page B

needs,”
Jina said in a slurred voice.  “It needs some good, live music.  Not this
electronic, high speed, dizzy trash.”
    “Jina, let me back into the band
and I’ll get us a gig here, I promise.”  Stan reached around Jina, grabbed a
pretzel and dipped it into the caviar.  Sandy glared at him, and he let go of
the pretzel with his hands in an, “Ok, ok, back off,” posture.
    Jina didn’t notice a thing and
smiled at him.  “Of course you’re back in the band.  We’ve missed you.” 
She nuzzled her face into his neck.
    “Great, Jina.  I’m glad.  Hey,
how about you come over to my place tonight.  I’ll show you around my new
apartment, and...”
    “I’d love to, Stan.”
    Sandy gave her an, “Are you
crazy,” look.  Jina appeared apologetic for a moment, and then she giggled.
    “Good,” Stan replied.  “Let me go
tell my friends where I’m off too, and I’ll be right back.”
    “You don’t mind driving home
alone, do you, Sandy?” Jina asked.
    “No, I don’t.  What I do mind is
how much you are going to regret this tomorrow morning.  You are too drunk to
make a decision like this.”
    “You can’t stop me.”  Jina shook
her head defiantly and chugged down the last of her drink.
    “Is he sober enough to drive?”
    “He says he hasn’t had anything
to drink tonight at all.”
    “That worries me, too.  Jina, he’s
sober and you’re drunk.  He just wants to take advantage of you.”
    “I don’t care.  It’s been a while
since I had some, Sandy, and it’s been driving me crazy this whole week. 
Especially with all of your roses, and all that…”
    “Jina, I have half a mind to hold
you down and not let you—”
    “Hi, I’m back.  Are you ready to
go, my sweet?”
    “Yes, my love.  I’ve been ready
all my life.”  Jina bust out into a fit of laughter, and Stan half-carried her
as she staggered out the door.
    Sandy shook her head and ate
another caviar-coated pretzel.  One of these days, Jina was going to wake up. 
But until then...
    She put the lid back on the jar,
paid for the two drinks she promised to buy plus the one she drank, plus Jina’s
drinks, gathered up her roses, and left.
    The streetlight over her car had
gone out in the short time she had been in the bar.  A little nervous at the
lack of illumination, she hastily unlocked her door and placed the roses in the
back seat.  Before getting in, she glanced at the brick wall to see if she
could still see her drawing. 
    The wall was completely black. 
Even without the overhead lamp, light still shone from down the street.  There
should have been enough to see the chalk roses.  But she couldn’t.  She couldn’t
even tell that the wall was made of brick.
    And there was something else that
wasn’t quite right.  She squinted her eyes.
    The wall was moving.
    Her instinctive reaction was to
dive into the car and squeal away.  But logic told her that walls don’t move
without a reason, and if she didn’t find out why, right now, it would haunt her
for weeks to come.
    So slowly, she stepped around her
car door and towards the wall. 
    Inches away, the image came into
focus.  Light glimmered off millions of tiny black bodies.
    Ants.
    The entire surface was covered
with shiny, black army ants.  Several moved away at once to reveal part of an
unharmed chalk rose.  They converged again.
    The jar of caviar fell from her
hand to the pavement and shattered.
    She stood in a petrified stare. 
Never had she seen anything like it before.  They were only on the wall,
nowhere else.  Not the sidewalk, not the pavement.  The mass stopped where the
wall met concrete.
    As she stared, an eerie feeling
crept over her.
    Something hit her head, and she
screamed, flinging a clump of self-entangled ants out of her hair.
    She didn’t feel safe until she
got home.
     
     

     
    T he phone
rang at 4:00am. 
    Jina’s tired voice crackled on
the line.  “Sandy?  I’m so sorry to call you this late, but can