Halting the Reaper
The Stasis Stories
#4
Laurence E Dahners
Copyright 2020
Laurence E Dahners
Kindle Edition
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
Author’s Note
This is the fourth book of the Stasis Stories.
Though this book can “stand alone” it’ll be much easier to understand if read as part of the series including:
A Pause in Space-Time (The Stasis Stories #1)
The Thunder of Engines (The Stasis Stories #2) and
Radiation Hazard (The Stasis Stories #3)
I’ve minimized the repetition of explanations that would be redundant to the earlier books in order to provide a better reading experience for those who are reading the series.
Other Books and Series
by Laurence E Dahners
Series
The Ell Donsaii series
The Vaz series
The Bonesetter series
The Blindspot series
The Proton Field series
The Hyllis family series
Single books (not in series)
The Transmuter’s Daughter
Six Bits
Shy Kids Can Make Friends Too
For the most up to date information go to:
Laurence E Dahners website
Or the Amazon Author page
Table of Contents
Other Books and Series
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
Author’s Afterword
Acknowledgments
Other Books and Series
Prologue
Kaem Seba in Middle School
Kaem walked down the hall toward the classroom, lost in his own troubles. Bullied by the boys, ignored by the girls, he got along well with his teachers.
Getting along with teachers got him bullied even more.
Up ahead, Rob Sanders, once a nemesis of Kaem’s, burst out of a classroom and plastered himself against a wall as if frightened.
Since Kaem had used his dad’s one-punch strategy on Rob several years ago, Rob hadn’t been that much of a problem for Kaem, but he always kept a wary eye on the boy. For a moment, he wondered what’d alarmed Sanders, then realized Sanders was acting. He wasn’t really terrified; it was part of one of his horrible jokes or tricks.
Nick Helmer, one of Rob’s friends, called out, “What’s happening?”
Rob, still acting fearful, said, “Making room for Dirty Dezzy to get by without contaminating me.”
As Nick plastered himself to the other side of the doorway, Kaem watched in dismay. He thought, You guys are such assholes. Somebody ought to stand up to you, make you stop doing stuff like this.
Timid Dez Lanis came out the door, eyes on the floor, trying to pretend she didn’t notice the two boys. Or what they were saying. Or the stares of the others, Kaem among them.
Kaem noticed the stain on Dezzy’s blouse. Her disheveled blonde hair. Her frayed shoes, one with a split sole. He knew Dezzy often had an odor and assumed her family must be poor. Poorer even than we are. Her clothes looked secondhand. And why the odor? Too poor to afford… what exactly? He wondered. Soap, hot water? Can’t afford the laundromat?
Probably the laundromat, he decided. I should do something to help, he thought. Say hi. Walk with her. Act like I’m not afraid of her germs or whatever it is that Rob’s pretending to be terrified of.
But in the end, Kaem found himself paralyzed. Worried that his own low social status would fall even further if he befriended the girl. Afraid that, even though she had no other friends, she’d reject him for being black, or sickly, or a teacher’s pet. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d found that those of the lowest social status were the ones most likely to put him down—perhaps as a way to feel better about themselves.
As Dezzy walked past, her eyes—full of unspilled tears—rose to look into Kaem’s.
He felt like she’d just looked into his soul. She gave him a tiny nod as if to say, “I understand why you can’t help.”
Do something! he raged at himself. Say something!
Instead, he watched her go by, realizing at the last moment that he was standing far enough from her path that it looked as if he was avoiding her germs the same way the others were.
As the years went by, it was an event Kaem would often look back on with regret.
***
When Dez got home from school, her mother was still asleep. Dez quietly went in and borrowed her mom’s phone and charger. Out in the kitchen, she plugged in the phone and started using it to do her homework, hurrying to get it done before her mother got up.
To Dez’s great relief, she’d finished her homework and submitted it to her teachers’ inboxes before her mother woke.
Unusually, her mother wasn’t in a bad mood this particular afternoon. She even cooked dinner instead of sending Dez for takeout. They had a pleasant meal. Dez’s mother wasn’t particularly good in the kitchen, but she cooked so seldom that Dez looked forward to it.
It didn’t last. As they ate, Dez’s mom was already starting to get edgy and irritable.
When Dez got up from the table, her mother frowned, “What the hell happened to your shirt?”
Quietly, Dez said, “One of the boys threw a spoonful of spaghetti at me.”
“What an asshole. Is that his idea of flirting?”
Dez shook her head. “He’s just mean.”
“What’s his name? I’ll call his mom.”
Dez’s eyes widened. Her mom was likely to call when she was in a terrible mood and make a complete hash of things. “No!” Dez said, a little more abruptly than she’d intended. She followed that up with a calmer, “I’d rather deal with it myself.”
Her mom stared at her a minute, then said,
