Ignition Point Read Online Free PDF Page B

reflected his disgust at himself. “They heard me go down. I ran for the door. Marreau came after me. I don’t think he’s actually seen me, but he’s not giving up. It’s like he’s tracking me. I don’t know what they’ll do if he catches me and takes me back.”
    “Yes, you do.” Thom was surprised at how calm his voice was. “They’ll do the same thing to you that they’ll do to me.”
    The door to the auditorium outside boomed closed. Both boys started, and their eyes met.
    “There’s no way out of this room.” Thomas surprised himself. His low voice was calm and clear.
    Alex nodded. “It was a stupid choice. I wasn’t thinking.” He looked at the floor and whispered again, “Can’t ever happen again.”
    Thom felt his lips twist into a smile. “May not have to worry about that, Alex.”
    Alex raised his eyes. Thomas was surprised by the venom and determination in them.
    “Yes, I will. We both will.” Alex looked at the box in his hands, then at the Taser still clutched in Thom’s hand. “That thing work?”
    Thom looked down. “It should. I’m sure it does. You want me to stun him?”
    “No,” Alex said. “I don’t want him to see us.” He ran his teeth over his lip, chewing in thought. “But how else can we use it?”
    Thomas thought back to something he had done once—only once, and not with a Taser—to save his Neo-barb foster brother from a lion attack. The charge from a Taser didn’t amplify in water, they’d been told that when they’d been given the weapons to build. But could Thomas boost it?
    He could.
    He had to.
    It was Thomas’s turn to drag Alex away. He headed for the showers, rushing from tap to tap and turning them on full blast, at their hottest setting.
    “Thom, Tasers don’t—”
    “It will this time. I can make it. I can boost it. I’ve done something similar once. Help me. We need water on the floor and steam so he can’t see us.”
    Alex hurried to help him. Mist was already forming around the sprays of heated water and rising from where it hit the cold tile floor. In minutes, it would be billowing in the shower area.
    Did they have minutes?
    “Good. How can I make it look like one of us is standing in the corner? Not exactly. Just a glimpse through the steam.” Thom spoke rapidly now, the stress and fear hyping him.
    Alex glanced back into the locker area then stepped out to effortlessly lift one of the long wooden benches. He brought it back, setting it on its end and leaning it in the corner of the shower room where it would be clearly visible by anyone searching the locker room outside the wide entrance to the showers.
    Thom nodded with excitement. He leaned over to balance the Taser on a support post. It wouldn’t matter if it fell after he set it off. All he needed was the initial spark of electricity to hit the water, and he could take it from there.
    “Okay.” Thom nodded. “Go hide.”
    “What? I’m not leaving you to—”
    “Alex. I have to be able to see the Taser, and I have to be pretty close. I’m small enough to fit in a locker. You’re not. So go hide.”
    Alex swallowed. He nodded once and turned to disappear into the far end of the locker room and hide behind a row of shelves. Thom moved quickly to a locker facing the showers. He did have to see. He could do some things—overcharging circuits and boosting currents—others couldn’t. But he wasn’t good at a distance. He climbed in, pulling the door closed behind himself and trying to regulate his breathing.
    Thom peered through the slats and realized that the bench was too clearly a bench. He needed Marreau to see the shape but not recognize it. He needed the light, but it had to be dimmer. Thom glanced up at the lights in the ceiling. He focused…
    It was too late. The sound of the door handle releasing and the door opening echoed through the mostly empty room. Footsteps sounded as someone slowly entered.
    Thom couldn’t see him. Not yet. And he needed Marreau to not