Read Online The Twisted Future (Teen Superheroes Book 4) by Darrell Pitt - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Darrell Pitt
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people.’
‘Lucky you,’ Ellen said, dourly. ‘I thought you’d been slated for execution.’ Her eyes shifted to Chad and Brodie. ‘How’d they get you free?’
‘We’ve got some tricks of our own,’ Chad said, producing a ball of fire in one hand and snow in the other. ‘We’re friends.’
‘I’m sure you are,’ Ellen said, looking completely unimpressed. ‘How do we know you’re not Agency spies?’
‘Because we’re not,’ Brodie said. ‘We need to get back to Manhattan. We have people waiting for us.’
Ellen gave a hollow laugh. ‘You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe you.’ She nodded to a space behind them. For the first time, Brodie saw people seated on torn lounge chairs around a table in the gloom. ‘We’ve got to test you.’
‘We’re not looking for trouble,’ Chad said, creating a circle of fire around him and Brodie. ‘We just need your help.’
The people stood up. They were blond, a brother and sister. One side of the girl’s face was terribly scarred; the letter T had been burnt into it. ‘Everyone needs help these days,’ she said. ‘It’s that kind of world.’
‘We don’t want to hurt you,’ Chad said.
‘You won’t,’ the girl replied.
Chad’s circle of fire disappeared. He tried to make it reappear, but nothing happened. ‘How’d you do that?’ he asked. ‘Only a zeno emitter—’
The girl introduced herself as Sharla, and her brother as Drake. ‘You’re not the only one with powers,’ Sharla smiled thinly. ‘Not only am I a human zeno emitter, but I can also get the truth out of people.’
‘We don’t have anything to hide,’ Brodie said, clenching her fists.
‘Good,’ Drake said. ‘Then it’ll be easy.’
The girl raised her hand and Brodie felt her eyes closing. She struggled to keep them open, but she felt as if she had not slept for a year.
When she opened her eyes next, she was floating on a raft on a black ocean. The sky was pitch black except for starlight from constellations unfamiliar to her. It was cool and quiet upon the ocean, but then she felt warmth on her back. Turning, she saw the sun rising on the horizon, except it wasn’t the sun. It was an enormous eye and it could see—
‘Brodie? Can you hear me?’
Brodie awoke. Chad was shaking her shoulder.
‘I hear you,’ she said, sitting up. She was on a lounge in the darkened room. Apart from Chad, only Ellen and Sharla remained. They were speaking quietly together at Ellen’s desk. ‘What happened?’
‘I think Sharla can read minds,’ Chad explained. ‘Whatever they found in ours made them very excited.’
Ellen and Sharla finished their conversation.
‘I apologize for the inconvenience,’ Ellen said to Chad and Brodie.
‘No problem,’ Chad said. ‘Nothing I love better than getting brain probed.’
Sharla smiled without humor. ‘Just be glad I was nice about it,’ she said. ‘Sometimes I’m not.’
‘We understand the importance of your mission,’ Ellen said. ‘Sharla will take you back to Manhattan.’
Chad and Brodie both breathed a sigh of relief.
‘But I should warn you,’ Sharla said, ‘we’ve got to cross the badlands.’
‘And that’s difficult?’ Chad asked.
‘It’ll make everything else you’ve ever been though look like a walk in the park.’
Chapter Seventeen
I woke to the blaring of a siren in my ears and someone shaking my shoulder. ‘Come on!’ a voice growled. ‘We’ve got to keep moving.’
I felt like a bus had landed on my head, but somehow I got to my feet, completely disoriented. Then I remembered. Time Travel. Forty years in the future. Temporal resonator. Ebony—
She climbed over a pile of shattered machinery towards me. The crash had completely destroyed Liber8tor . Gaping holes in the bulk head showed a corridor beyond.
‘Security will be here any minute,’ Old Axel said, dragging me towards the exit.
‘Mr. Brown?’ His motionless body was slumped over the console.
‘Lucky you,’ Ellen said, dourly. ‘I thought you’d been slated for execution.’ Her eyes shifted to Chad and Brodie. ‘How’d they get you free?’
‘We’ve got some tricks of our own,’ Chad said, producing a ball of fire in one hand and snow in the other. ‘We’re friends.’
‘I’m sure you are,’ Ellen said, looking completely unimpressed. ‘How do we know you’re not Agency spies?’
‘Because we’re not,’ Brodie said. ‘We need to get back to Manhattan. We have people waiting for us.’
Ellen gave a hollow laugh. ‘You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe you.’ She nodded to a space behind them. For the first time, Brodie saw people seated on torn lounge chairs around a table in the gloom. ‘We’ve got to test you.’
‘We’re not looking for trouble,’ Chad said, creating a circle of fire around him and Brodie. ‘We just need your help.’
The people stood up. They were blond, a brother and sister. One side of the girl’s face was terribly scarred; the letter T had been burnt into it. ‘Everyone needs help these days,’ she said. ‘It’s that kind of world.’
‘We don’t want to hurt you,’ Chad said.
‘You won’t,’ the girl replied.
Chad’s circle of fire disappeared. He tried to make it reappear, but nothing happened. ‘How’d you do that?’ he asked. ‘Only a zeno emitter—’
The girl introduced herself as Sharla, and her brother as Drake. ‘You’re not the only one with powers,’ Sharla smiled thinly. ‘Not only am I a human zeno emitter, but I can also get the truth out of people.’
‘We don’t have anything to hide,’ Brodie said, clenching her fists.
‘Good,’ Drake said. ‘Then it’ll be easy.’
The girl raised her hand and Brodie felt her eyes closing. She struggled to keep them open, but she felt as if she had not slept for a year.
When she opened her eyes next, she was floating on a raft on a black ocean. The sky was pitch black except for starlight from constellations unfamiliar to her. It was cool and quiet upon the ocean, but then she felt warmth on her back. Turning, she saw the sun rising on the horizon, except it wasn’t the sun. It was an enormous eye and it could see—
‘Brodie? Can you hear me?’
Brodie awoke. Chad was shaking her shoulder.
‘I hear you,’ she said, sitting up. She was on a lounge in the darkened room. Apart from Chad, only Ellen and Sharla remained. They were speaking quietly together at Ellen’s desk. ‘What happened?’
‘I think Sharla can read minds,’ Chad explained. ‘Whatever they found in ours made them very excited.’
Ellen and Sharla finished their conversation.
‘I apologize for the inconvenience,’ Ellen said to Chad and Brodie.
‘No problem,’ Chad said. ‘Nothing I love better than getting brain probed.’
Sharla smiled without humor. ‘Just be glad I was nice about it,’ she said. ‘Sometimes I’m not.’
‘We understand the importance of your mission,’ Ellen said. ‘Sharla will take you back to Manhattan.’
Chad and Brodie both breathed a sigh of relief.
‘But I should warn you,’ Sharla said, ‘we’ve got to cross the badlands.’
‘And that’s difficult?’ Chad asked.
‘It’ll make everything else you’ve ever been though look like a walk in the park.’
Chapter Seventeen
I woke to the blaring of a siren in my ears and someone shaking my shoulder. ‘Come on!’ a voice growled. ‘We’ve got to keep moving.’
I felt like a bus had landed on my head, but somehow I got to my feet, completely disoriented. Then I remembered. Time Travel. Forty years in the future. Temporal resonator. Ebony—
She climbed over a pile of shattered machinery towards me. The crash had completely destroyed Liber8tor . Gaping holes in the bulk head showed a corridor beyond.
‘Security will be here any minute,’ Old Axel said, dragging me towards the exit.
‘Mr. Brown?’ His motionless body was slumped over the console.
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