Awake Read Online Free PDF Page B

Kevin shouted after her, “What do
you mean by that? You’re saying we did this? Whatever’s happening
is our fault?” The queen disappeared into the crack. He screamed,
“Come back here! I’m talking to you!” His teeth clenched, he
groaned in frustration.
    Andrew tugged on the back of Kevin’s shirt.
“Kevin, let’s just go.” He was getting nervous. He was afraid that
Kevin’s outburst might have been an insult to the queen or to the
rats around them.
    “Yeah,” said Kevin, “this was a waste of
time. The Nexus is probably stupid anyway.”
    Kevin turned to leave. When he took his
first step, he felt something squishy beneath the sole of his foot.
He swallowed. Inside, he felt as though his heart sank down into
pit of his stomach and stayed there. Full of anxiety, Kevin
wondered if he should move his foot.
    Worried, Andrew asked, “What’s wrong?”
    Kevin whispered, “I think I’m stepping on a
rat.”
    Andrew didn’t quite hear him. “What? You
think you’re—”
    “Keep your voice down!” Kevin motioned for
Andrew to draw closer. Kevin whispered into Andrew’s ear, “I think
I might be stepping on a rat, but I’m not sure.”
    Andrew said fearfully, “What should we
do?”
    Kevin said, “I don’t know. I feel like I’m
stepping on a landmine and I don’t know if it’s a dud or not.”
    “Then just lift up your foot and kick it out
of the way.”
    “Just like a landmine?”
    A tiny voice squeaked, “Help…”
    The rats quickly surrounded the boys.
“What’s going on here? Where’d that voice come from? Lift up your
foot, kid.”
    “Too late,” said Andrew.
    Kevin lifted his foot up. He winced as he
realized he had been stepping on a little white rat. Hundreds of
high-pitched gasps echoed around them as the rats shouted in
horror.
    “It’s the prince! The prince is dead!”
    “They killed him! Murderers!”
    “They’re assassins sent by the HPC!”
    “Seize them! Don’t let them get away!”
     
    Three dreadfully long hours had passed since
the two boys first entered the sewers. Kevin and Andrew sat inside
a massive broken pipe that had been grated on both ends to keep
them from escaping. Their only source of light was a few candles
around the walkways, but some of the candles were starting to
smolder. They quietly listened to the sound of pitter-patter of
water drops and the sloshing of murky sewage against the
concrete.
    There was an elite squad of guard rats
watching over them. Two rats were posted on each side of the short
pipe and almost a dozen more were in the vicinity. Using marker
caps as helmets, these brown rats marched around in circles, armed
with sharp butter knives.
    Groggier than ever, Kevin sat up and yawned
several times. The effects of the coffee were wearing thin. His
clothes could not save him from the cold. He trembled, keeping his
arms close to his chest. His eyes wandered wearily across the rats,
envying their small fur coats. Smacking his lips, he looked at
Andrew, who appeared to be in worse shape. Andrew was lying down,
curled in the fetal position.
    Kevin asked him, “How are you holding
up?”
    Andrew looked at him briefly, and then
closed his eyes. “I don’t know. I’m tired. I’m also pretty hungry
and uncomfortable. That’ll keep me awake, but I might not last
long.”
    Kevin flicked his wrist and checked his
watch. “It’s past noon. I’ve been awake for over thirty-six hours.
That’s a first for me.” Kevin glanced at the guards. He could tell
that they were starting to get drowsy by the way they rubbed their
eyes.
    “Make the call,” whispered Kevin. “They
might not notice.”
    Andrew nodded. He reached into the pockets
of his slacks, searching for the phone.
    Unfortunately for them, the guards noticed.
“Hey, what do you have there?”
    Kevin whispered, “We’ve got to let Genesis
know we’ve been caught.”
    Andrew started the speed dial.
    Several guards crawled through a hole in the
grate and approached the boys