Read Online Stolen by Melissa de La Cruz - Free Book Online Page A

the earth and wiped out 99 percent of humanity. Global warming supposedly melted the polar ice caps and caused ocean temperatures to drop dramatically, and the massive earthquakes and tremendous blizzards that followed were similar to the severe cold spell that occurred in the last Ice Age, almost ten thousand years ago. The Big Freeze turned oceans into sheets of glass and buried cities under impenetrable layers of ice.
    And now here they were.
    Wes shook his head. “Yeah, that’s what they say, but it happened so fast, you know? And it’s just a theory. The world ended and that’s what everyone knows; no one cares about the reasons anymore, no one cares how the end of the world began.”
    â€œSo?”
    Wes guessed his friend wasn’t in the mood to ponder the universe, but he kept pressing. “Don’t you wonder? Don’t you want to know?”
    â€œNo. Staying alive and staying warm sort of gets in the way of a lot of ‘wonder.’”
    Wes looked from Shakes to Farouk, who only shrugged. “Don’t look at me, I just drive the car.”
    Wes didn’t respond, knowing Shakes was impossible to talk to when his mood was this bleak, and Farouk couldn’t care less about the world beyond New Vegas.
    â€œRemember what Liannan told us,” Shakes said finally. “She said it was happening in her world, too, everything breaking down. Magic was supposed to return to this world, but something is, I don’t know, blocking it.”
    â€œAnd she unblocked it for you?” Farouk winked into the rearview mirror. Wes glared at him.
    â€œHer people sent her out so she could find the source of the corruption.” Shakes shrugged. “Maybe that’s where she is now.”
    â€œSo she just up and left?” Farouk looked skeptical.
    Wes thought about it. Anything was possible. Maybe Shakes was right. Maybe Liannan had decided it was time to pursue her quest again and had taken off before Shakes could talk her into staying with him.
    But there was no more time to wonder about it anymore, because Farouk whistled from the front seat. “Heads up, kids, we’re here.” Over the rise, a collection of domes looking like bubbles over water glinted in the failing sunlight. Salt Lake was the last liquid lake in North America, as the toxic salt in its depths naturally lowered the freezing temperature of the water, and El Dorado’s developers also kept the lake pumped full of antifreeze to keep it liquid.
    Why fill a poisoned lake with more poison? Wes didn’t get it, but the developers were quite proud of their achievement. Brochures touted its rarity.
Live above the water, away from the snow! Live the old life, pretend the ice never came!
The developers christened it El Dorado, after the mythic lost city of gold, and had given their domes a golden tint, but to the consternation of its wealthy inhabitants, most people called it Soda Pop City, after the lake waters that bubbled and fizzed softly underneath the domes.
    As they approached the bridge that led to the first dome, Farouk shifted in his seat. “We’re on the manifest, right? You guys can’t hide in the trunk this time. They’ll comb this limo with a laser. Dorado security don’t mess around; they’ll fire if we don’t have the creds. This place is locked up tighter than your mama’s ass.”
    â€œLeave my mother out of it,” said Wes, bemused. “Your ride’s legit, what are you worried about, man? It’s no problem, we have it handled—right, Shakes?” He nudged his friend.
    Shakes shrugged. “Don’t know, boss, you took care of the bribes and logs, right?”
    Wes nodded. “Smooth as this limo’s cheap plastic doors. I got our suits in my bag. We’ll be on the manifest. It cost us, but we should have no problem at the checkpoint.” It sounded good, and for a minute, Wes almost believed it himself.
    Farouk