Read Online Buried Alive! by Gloria Skurzynski - Free Book Online Page A

arcade. They could stay where they stood, statues in the snow, yet standing still would make them perfect targets if Chaz decided to shoot. And what about Nicky?
    He watched Nicky’s hands grip the sled, saw his eyes widen with fear, his lips part slightly as he took several quick gulps of air. If Jack rushed the basket, it might give Nicky the chance to run, but for Jack it would be suicide. All of these thoughts fired through the neurons in his brain in rapid succession. No, there was no answer. They were trapped.
    Sasha and Kenai quivered in their harnesses, anxious to go forward and yet compelled by Chaz to stay. “Whoa,” he commanded again as he stepped off the claw break. Jack knew that in a matter of seconds, Chaz, and Nicky, would be gone.
    The yapping of the dogs echoed off of the sheer mountain wall. The dogs! They might be the answer. If Jack could spook the dogs—in his mind’s eye he saw the sled heave forward, saw Chaz rock back and lose his balance to fall onto the frozen creek bed. If Jack could make that happen, in that split second they’d have a chance to escape. It could work. But how could he spook those dogs? His eyes snapped to the ground where he saw several broken branches with bleached-out needles, and next to them a crooked stick the size of a ruler. None of those could work. If he threw any one of them it would wobble weakly through the air. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a clutch of baseball-size rocks, each with a cap of glittering snow, nestled only inches from his right foot. A rock. Pitched right at the flank of the wheel dog, the rock could send them into chaos. But Jack wasn’t sure of his aim. If he missed…. A shudder passed through him as he pictured the barrel of the nickel-plated gun. He couldn’t miss. He would get one try, one gamble. There would be no second chances.
    Chaz straddled the runners and gripped the handle bow with his left hand. In that split second Jack dipped his knees to grab the closest rock, jerking it hard to pull it out of the snow. His heart began beating so wildly he was afraid his ribs would shatter. At that moment Chaz turned and saw the rock in his hand. Instantly Jack took aim and with every fiber of strength in his body he heaved the rock, hitting the swing dog squarely in its flank. The dog’s high-pitched squeal let him know he’d scored the mark.
    â€œRun!” Jack screamed, to Ashley, to Nicky, to himself. “Run! Run! Run!”
    It seemed as though everything happened at once; the wheel dog shot into the haunches of the team dog in front of him, and then the neck line, tug line, and gang line tangled as the sled surged ahead. Chaz’s hand flew up as he lost his balance; a shot split the sky before the gun sailed end over end like the blades of a pinwheel, and then disappeared into a thicket of shrubs. Cursing, Chaz grabbed the handle bow to steady himself at the precise moment Nicky catapulted out of the basket and onto the ground, racing toward Jack and Ashley.
    â€œWhoa!” Chaz stomped on the claw break and screamed again, “Whoa!”
    â€œHurry!” Jack screamed. He grabbed Ashley’s hand and almost pulled her off her feet.
    A few fist-size balls of snow skittered down the sheer mountain face like beads from a broken string, rolling across the creek bed before disappearing into the other bank. As the dogs barked wildly in a cacophony of sound, Jack realized Chaz barely had control of them. If he left the team to search for the gun, the dogs would streak away. He was caught in his own web. When Jack glanced back, Chaz was looking at him with such cold hate that Jack felt his blood turn to ice. He knew without a doubt that if Chaz had had the gun, he would have shot Jack right then and there.
    Nicky sprinted toward them so fast his feet churned up divots of snow, and then he stopped in his tracks, pivoting to face Chaz. He was panting hard. “Get out of here!” he