Read Online The Awakening by Michael Carroll - Free Book Online

signatures in there.” He pushed against the door. “Locked! Colin?”
    “What?”
    “Open this door!”
    “If you can’t open it, how am I supposed to?”
    “Just try!”
    Colin reached out, twisted the door handle and pushed. “I can’t.”
    His father roared at him. “Push!”
    Colin took a deep breath and threw his shoulder against the door. There was a loud crack as the lock snapped and the door flew open. Colin tumbled through, landing heavily on his back.
    Warren grabbed Colin’s hand and hauled him to his feet. “Well done. Now, keep going!”
    Colin stared at the ruined lock. “I don’t believe I just did that!” He looked down at his trembling hands. He’d felt the resistance of the lock, but had somehow known that he was capable of exerting much more force than the lock could take. “How did I—?”
    “Worry about it later, Colin,” his mother said, pushing the door closed.
    “There are no lights,” Warren said. “We’ll have to do this the hard way. I’ll take the lead.”
    “There’s light coming from somewhere, ” Colin said, and he started to move forward. “I can see well enough.”
    He felt his father’s hand grip his shoulder. “Lead the way, then.”
    “How did you know about this place, Dad?”
    “The ambulance center got a call a couple of years ago. One of the maintenance workers collapsed down here. Colin, slow down a little. We can’t see where we’re going, but you seem to have enhanced night vision.”
    “How far are we along, Colin?” Caroline asked.
    “About a quarter of the way, I think.”
    “Can you hear anything?”
    “Well, I heard the car crashing, but that’s all. Look, what’s going on here? My hearing, my vision…and the door! How did I do that?”
    “There’s no time to explain, Colin!” his father said, nudging him in the shoulder. “Just keep moving!”
    Colin stood his ground. “No! We’re being chased by a bunch of guys in a helicopter and it’s got something to do with Danny and his dad, and you know what’s going on!”
    He paused, suddenly realizing. “This is because of who Mr. Cooper used to be, isn’t it?”
    His father said, “So you know about Quantum?”
    “Danny told me everything.” Colin frowned. “But how do you know about that? Did Mr. Cooper tell you?”
    “No, but then he didn’t need to. Until ten years ago, your mother used to be Energy.”
    Colin stared at his mother in the half-light. “Is that true ?”
    She nodded.
    Then Warren Wagner said, “And I …I used to be Titan.”
    Colin stared at his parents. “No way !”
    “You’re almost thirteen,” his mother said. “That’s the age when the superhuman abilities usually start to appear.”
    Colin’s mouth had suddenly gone dry and he could hear his heart thumping like crazy. “So…I’m a superhuman? Really?”
    “The powers aren’t always inherited, so we weren’t sure that it would happen to you,” his father said. “Especially not after what happened on Mystery Day. Now look…Just keep going, Colin! I promise that we’ll explain everything the first chance we get!”
    Colin nodded, then realized that in the weak light his parents probably weren’t able to see the movement. “OK…”
    He turned and continued along the tunnel.
    This can’t be happening, he thought. Maybe I am still dreaming!
    “Be careful,” his father said. “The powers come and go at first. You won’t be able to rely on them for a while.”
    Caroline said, “Colin…We wanted to tell you for a long time, but…we weren’t sure. Sometimes the powers are passed on to the next generation, but usually they’re not. Do you understand what I’m saying? The age of superhumans didn’t end ten years ago at Mystery Day. It just…took a vacation.”
    “Watch it. There’s a step down,” Colin said. “So what happened?”
    “Ragnarök had a machine. It was his last weapon, designed to strip our powers, to turn all superhumans back to normal. Ragnarök thought that