Read Online Extraction by Stephanie Diaz - Free Book Online Page B

roars in the background. I count three seconds, and look up as lightning fills the sky. There’s so much acid above the atmospheric shield, the bits of the moon I glimpse through the rain clouds look like they’re on fire.
    I’m always afraid when I look at the shield that I’m going to see some of the acid getting through, because it does sometimes. Scientists built the shield with strong ion particles to deflect the acid, since our ozone layer stopped doing that. But over time, the shield particles weaken and have to be replaced. I’ve heard of cases where some adult died from acid corrosion before the shield was fixed, their skin burned away by small amounts of gas that got through the shield. The adults try to keep it quiet, but word gets around.
    It’s one more reason we all want to escape the Surface.
    I keep pushing forward, toward the road perpendicular to this one, where the crowd isn’t so thick.
    “Clementine!” someone yells.
    I spin around, and Logan’s there, shoving past two people to reach me. I fall into his arms. He’s trembling.
    “You have to go back,” he says. “You have to get on that shuttle.”
    “I can’t yet. I can’t leave you.”
    “You have to.”
    “It’s not safe, though.” Officials are shooting kids over by the security rope. I might end up in the crossfire.
    “Clementine…”
    “Please. We can hide somewhere until the street clears out. The group won’t leave without me,” I say, ignoring how my heartbeat trips over the last sentence. Silently, I plead that I’m right. That they won’t leave me behind.
    Logan sighs, but his body relaxes a little. I’m pretty sure that means he’s giving in.
    I grab his hand. There’s an alleyway nearby. We hurry over to it and slip inside, splashing in puddles in the dirt.
    We wait until we’re far down, around a corner and out of sight of the crowd before we stop. The other end of the alley is just ahead.
    Logan lets go of my hand to lean against the wall and catch his breath. I run my shaky hands over the goose bumps on my arms. I look back in the direction we came from, toward where the Extractions were boarding the hovercraft.
    Please, please, please don’t leave without me. Please notice I’m missing.
    Logan’s eyes lift to meet mine. His face is unreadable; his lips are slightly parted.
    My throat feels tight. It hurts when I swallow. I squeeze my eyes shut, taking a shaky breath. “This isn’t fair.”
    He makes an odd, sad sort of laugh. “No, it’s not.”
    “They should’ve picked you last year.”
    He shakes his head and stares off into the distance. “I’m not Promising enough.”
    I clench my fists in anger. “That’s not true.”
    In my eyes, Logan has always been intelligent, obedient, and strong, all the qualities that go into a person’s Promise and make a child useful to the Developers. But they don’t agree. I bet they think his limp is too much of a weakness, which makes me want to throw things. Logan was born with his limp. He can’t help it.
    “I don’t care what they think.” I wipe rainwater out of my eyes. “You are Promising. They’re idiots for not picking you.”
    “They know what they’re looking for, and it’s not someone like me. It’s you.” He steps forward and brushes his fingertips against mine.
    “Once I’m down there I’ll make them take you,” I say fiercely.
    That’s what I have to do. I’ll work my way to the top of Core society and convince the Developers that Logan is Promising enough, that they need him down there. I’ll force them to make an exception. I won’t let him die.
    “That’s a nice thought,” Logan says, “but don’t get too hung up on it.”
    I stare at him. “You don’t believe me.”
    “I believe you’ll try.”
    “I’ll try and try and keep trying until it happens. I promise.”
    The corner of his mouth twitches, and something soft and sad fills his eyes. He lifts his hand and touches the scar on my jawline. I hold my breath,