Read The Darkness to Come for Free Online Page A

looked around, and then glanced at the menu. “Man, I don’t know. This joint is outta my price range, dawg.”
    “I knew you were going to say that. I think it’s reasonably priced.”
    Although they had been best friends since middle school, they looked nothing alike. Joshua was tall and broad; Eddie stood maybe five-four and was skinny as a drink of water, as Joshua’s mom liked to say. Joshua was clean-shaven and kept his hair cropped close to the scalp; Eddie had a dark mustache and a completely bald dome, giving him the appearance of a younger Montel Williams.
    “The agreement was ten bucks or less, man,” Eddie said, surveying the menu with a scowl. “You’re outta order. Means I get to pick the next three spots.”
    Since high school, Eddie had been running a jack-of-all-trades, computer consulting business. He built computers from spare parts, fixed them, designed software, built web sites, probably hacked into web sites . . . he’d mastered virtually everything involving the machines. He was so good that when some of Atlanta’s most prominent firms needed a consultant to give advice on their networks, security systems, or whatever, they called Eddie and paid exorbitant rates for his counsel.
    Joshua estimated that, by now, Eddie was probably a millionaire. Not just because he ran a successful business, but mostly because he was the most tight-fisted person Joshua had ever met in his life.
    Eddie drove the same Honda Civic he’d bought his senior year in high school, fourteen years ago. The car probably had a half million miles on the odometer, but Eddie kept up the maintenance religiously, and the car hadn’t failed him yet. He rarely bought new clothes: Joshua was certain that the navy-blue hoodie and jeans Eddie was wearing that day came from the same pile of clothing he’d used to wear in high school.
    The only thing Eddie splurged on was electronic gadgets. He was a big-time gear head. He used his Blackberry so frequently that it might as well have been surgically fused to his body.
    As much of a cheapskate that Eddie had always been, Joshua never expected him to get married, but a decade ago, Eddie wed Ariel—a beautiful woman who shared his frugal ways. They had a two-year-old son and lived in a cozy Victorian in Candler Park.
    “This place isn’t that expensive,” Joshua said. “Besides, I hear the food is good. I’m going to order a burger.”
    “You’re going to pay nine dollars for a hamburger? Damn, dawg. I could buy four or five burgers at The Varsity for ten bucks.”
    “Come on, man. You earn enough to buy a meal here.”
    “It’s not what you earn, it’s what you save,” Eddie said, his characteristic response whenever Joshua criticized his ultra-thrifty ways. “If you’re a paycheck away from being homeless, you ain’t financially independent, dawg. How many brothers and sisters in ATL pushing these new, leased luxury cars and wearing designer clothes could live off their savings for ten years if they lost their jobs or businesses?”
    “I guess you’re going to tell me,” Joshua said, used to the lecture.
    “Bet you could count ‘em on one hand.” Eddie wriggled his fingers for emphasis. “Financial independence is being able to tell your boss to kiss your ass, walk out the door, and live a normal life for years without getting a check from anybody.”
    “As cheap as you are, you could probably live two lifetimes on the money you’ve socked away.”
    “Hey, that would be all right.” Eddie grinned, bobbed his head. “But I get to choose the next three lunch spots, seriously.”
    “Fine. So long as you don’t have me waiting in line at a local soup kitchen.”
    “Whatever, man.” Eddie laughed.
    The waitress stopped by their table. Joshua ordered the chop house burger, and a Coke. Eddie asked for chips and salsa—one of the least expensive items on the menu—and a glass of water.
    After the waitress departed, Eddie said, “So what’s been happening,