Read Online Halo (Blood and Fire Series (A Young Adult Dystopian Series)) by Frankie Rose - Free Book Online

while the storm raged on like the world was ending, and not one person confronted me as I raced through the richer areas, where the river flows. Like everywhere else in the Sanctuary, the salubrious side to the city eventually petered out and gave way to slums. Both of those places are behind me now. Now, there is just the narrow pathway between the fenced-in fields on one side of me, and the river on the other, which is swollen and angry.
    The rain keeps coming and I don’t think it’s planning on stopping any time soon. I wonder if Lowrence has informed the authorities that I’m missing, and if they’ll have any idea of what I’m planning to do. It would be surprising if they did, because I don’t have a clue, myself. Some point soon, I have to find shelter ― somewhere dry where I can rest for a minute and do like Penny said. I need to watch Cai’s holostick to figure out how I’m supposed to get out of here.
    Doing that isn’t going to be easy. The land outside the city is flat for miles and miles in every direction. This highlights two major problems, which are these: First, I know there is nowhere for me to stop because these fields are seemingly endless, and there are no buildings or even any trees in sight. And even if there were, I wouldn’t be able to get to them. Just like yesterday on the dirt track to the processing plant, there are chain link fences, only here not only do they go up remarkably high on either side of the water, but they then curve over to meet directly overhead. I am fenced in.
    Second, it’s a major problem that the land is so flat because that means it’s incredibly easy for the river to burst its banks. And, referring back to problem one, I am fenced in. Right now I’m running on a very narrow pathway next to a raging body of water that’s incrementally getting bigger and bigger, and I have nowhere to go.
    Turning back is impossible. The water has been rising gradually the whole time I’ve been running, and I wouldn’t get a mile before my situation becomes dire. My only option is to push forward as hard as I can and hope against hope that I hit something that can help me get out of this cage. Otherwise I’m going in the water, and I don’t like my chances of surviving that since I’ve never been swimming in my life.
    If my halo were working right now, I’d probably be able to deal with this situation a whole lot better. But, logically, if my halo were working right now, I most definitely wouldn’t be in this situation at all. I ignore these kinds of thoughts while I push myself forward. My back’s been aching for the last eight miles mainly because the stupid satchel Penny gave me wasn’t designed to be worn while running, and it continually slams against my spine.
    My brother’s face keeps flashing into my mind when he told me that everything was going to be okay, and I feel hideous for leaving him. It’s not as though he’s going to be personally offended that I’ve abandoned him, but it still stings. I should have persuaded him to come with me. Forced him to if need be. Not that his presence would help with what’s happening right now. My legs feel heavier with every step I take, and when I stumble and almost slip into the surging grey water, my heart rises up and threatens to burst out of my throat.
    I have to stop here and watch the stick before I don’t get a chance. With shaking hands I take the small plastic square from my back pocket, and fat raindrops instantly begin to bead on its surface. I hunch my body over to shield it and then frown, my finger pressing firmly on the play button. Nothing. Absolutely nothing happens. I form half a word in my mouth before I realise I don’t know a curse word strong enough for this particular moment. Cai, albeit sensibly, given his non-functioning-halo status, has screwed me completely by encoding the holostick. I’m furiously wracking my brain, trying to work out if the four-digit code might be something I know,