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Crescent [Phil Rossi] 9 2009 July , Join the Chart Rush! Get your copy of Crescent @ Please support the author of Crescent by Amazon.com at 1 pm est ordering a print copy of the book. Phil gets paid on copies sold. (Click The Cover to go directly to the page) CLI C K O N THE C OVER A BOVE TO ORDER YOUR C OPY TOD A Y . COPYRIGHT NOTI C E : ALL RIGHTS RESERVED . However, we are granting you a limited licence to share this work (please help us spread the word... share this!) in its entirety, free of charge. You may not modify the file in any way, and you may only print one copy for your personal use. You may NOT use the file for any commercial purpose, nor charge a fee, 1 replicate the file in print or any other method, store it for future uses which may violate copyright, or claim it as your own. Crescent [Phil Rossi] Phil Rossi C rescent Please support the author of Crescent by ordering a print copy of the book. Phil gets paid on copies sold. CLI C K O N THE C OVER A BOVE TO ORDER YOUR C OPY TOD A Y . COPYRIGHT NOTI C E : ALL RIGHTS RESERVED . However, we are granting you a limited licence to share this work in its entirety, free of charge. You may not modify the file in any way, and you may only print one copy for your personal use. You www.dragonmoonpress.com may NOT use the file for any commercial purpose, nor charge a fee, 3 replicate the file in print or any other method, store it for future uses which may violate copyright, or claim it as your own. Crescent [Phil Rossi] Phil Rossi C rescent Please support the author of Crescent by ordering a print copy of the book. Phil gets paid on copies sold. CLI C K O N THE C OVER A BOVE TO ORDER YOUR C OPY TOD A Y . COPYRIGHT NOTI C E : ALL RIGHTS RESERVED . However, we are granting you a limited licence to share this work in its entirety, free of charge. You may not modify the file in any way, and you may only print one copy for your personal use. You www.crescentstation.net may NOT use the file for any commercial purpose, nor charge a fee, 5 replicate the file in print or any other method, store it for future uses which may violate copyright, or claim it as your own. Phil Rossi (Crescent) Crescent Copyright © 2009 Phil Rossi Cover Art © 2009 Neil Aschliman All rights reserved. Reproduction or utilization of this work in any form, by any means now known or hereinafter invented, including, but not limited to, xerogra- phy, photocopying and recording, and in any known storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without permission from the copyright holder. ISBN 10 1-896944-52-3Print Edition ISBN 13 978-1-896944-52-4 Dragon Moon Press is an Imprint of Hades Publications Inc. P.O. Box 1714, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 2L7, Canada Printed and bound in Canada or the United States www.dragonmoonpress.com www.crescentstation.net This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Please support the author of Crescent by ordering a print copy of the book. Phil gets paid on copies sold. CLI C K O N THE C OVER A BOVE TO ORDER YOUR C OPY TOD A Y . COPYRIGHT NOTI C E : ALL RIGHTS RESERVED . However, we are granting you a limited licence to share this work in its entirety, free of charge. You may not modify the file in any way, and you may only print one copy for your personal use. You may NOT use the file for any commercial purpose, nor charge a fee, 6 replicate the file in print or any other method, store it for future uses which may violate copyright, or claim it as your own. Crescent [Phil Rossi] (ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ) The journey to bring Crescent to the page began, as of this printing, two years and two months ago, almost to the day—when I released the first episode of a podcast that became bigger than I could have imagined. In that span of time, there have been many late nights and just as many early mornings spent doing my damndest to craft the best story I could possibly tell. I’ve now come to realize that the journey began long before I wrote the opening sentence to Crescent. Many people have inspired and supported me along the way. I’m going to use this page to express my humble thanks to the following: Jen, for the seemingly endless solo nights and the unflagging support, for being one of the first sets of eyes to read the very first iteration of Crescent. Bren, for your laughter. Zach, for being the other first set of eyes and for your general demeanor as a surly bastard. Scott, for taking me under your wing and giving me honesty. Tee, for the beers, ears, and shoulders. Gabrielle, for making me a better writer. Lindsay, for coming in and influencing my writing at the right time. Steve, for keeping that barstool warm. Gwen for taking this book on. All of my listeners, for making this happen. And thanks to Mom, Dad, Lisa, and Laura for being there from the beginning. I had this dream— there was an alligator… and a baby. Please support the author of Crescent by ordering a print copy of the book. Phil gets paid on copies sold. CLI C K O N THE C OVER A BOVE TO ORDER YOUR C OPY TOD A Y . COPYRIGHT NOTI C E : ALL RIGHTS RESERVED . However, we are granting you a limited licence to share this work in its entirety, free of charge. You may not modify the file in any way, and you may only print one copy for your personal use. You may NOT use the file for any commercial purpose, nor charge a fee, 7 replicate the file in print or any other method, store it for future uses which may violate copyright, or claim it as your own. Phil Rossi (Crescent) (DEDICATION) This novel is for Jennifer and Bren Please support the author of Crescent by ordering a print copy of the book. Phil gets paid on copies sold. CLI C K O N THE C OVER A BOVE TO ORDER YOUR C OPY TOD A Y . COPYRIGHT NOTI C E : ALL RIGHTS RESERVED . However, we are granting you a limited licence to share this work in its entirety, free of charge. You may not modify the file in any way, and you may only print one copy for your personal use. You may NOT use the file for any commercial purpose, nor charge a fee, 8 replicate the file in print or any other method, store it for future uses which may violate copyright, or claim it as your own. Crescent [Phil Rossi] (PROLOGUE ) Warm morning light fell from sun globes suspended high above Main Street, Crescent Station. The bazaar buzzed with activity as residents of the station went to and fro on their Saturday morning errands. Some shopped at rickety stands of metal and fake wood, examining fruit and vegetables with discriminating interest. Squealing girls stepped out of fashion booths, showing off potential purchases to their friends. Merchants shouted the merits of their goods, each seller trying to out-yell the next. A sidewalk cafe bustled with waitstaff ferrying out omelets and coffee to hungry patrons. A pub was across the busy causeway from the cafe, and the raucous sounds of a televised sporting event drifted through its metal batwing doors. “This is boring,” Brian said as he tossed a few empty aluminum cans at the big, black collector robot’s feet. The machine looked foolish when it bent over to snatch up the scattered drinking containers. Its multiple arms whirred and clicked as they swept down and came back up with Brian’s trash, then crushed each can and placed it into the bin on the robot’s back. “I’m sick of playing with the bots, Will. We’ve been doing it all morning long.” Brian ran a hand through the mess of red hair atop his head. “Yeah. I know… ” Will picked another can out of the trash and cradled it in his chubby hands. In truth, he never really got bored on Main Street. He liked to watch the people come and go. Fussing with the bots was Brian’s idea. Will would have been happy to sit in the cafe eating hash browns and watching the girls in the fashion booths. His stomach growled. Brian looked up at Will and smiled, his green eyes twinkling. “I found something cool the other Please support the author of Crescent by day. I haven’t checked it out yet, though. Thought we should go there together.” Brian glanced ordering a print copy of the book. Phil gets around and said in a conspiratorial voice, “Think I can trust ya?” “Waddya mean?” Will said. “Yeah. Tell me what is!” paid on copies sold. “I dunno, man. You’re not gonna tell your parents, are you?” “What? No. Why would you say that?” Will’s round cheeks flushed. He knew why. CLI C K O N THE C OVER A BOVE TO ORDER YOUR “Remember how they tanned our hides when they caught us playing on L Deck?” Brian asked.