Lost Planet 01 - The Lost Planet Read Online Free PDF Page B

the creatures lunged forward, its scaly limbs raking against his skin as it knocked him to the ground. Then it pounced.
    Struggling against a dark tangle of slashing limbs, Chase couldn’t even draw breath to scream. There was no way to escape. At least death didn’t hurt—his body just felt numb.
    Like a shot from a cannon, something slammed into the Zinnjerha, tearing them away from Chase. It was too dark, things moved too quickly to see who his rescuer was. Strong arms swept him up in a tight hug, and they took off through the grass.
    They burst onto the lawn of the Kaplan compound, crashing through the front door a second later. Long hair swept across Chase’s face as his rescuer turned and kicked the door shut behind them. A series of thuds landed against the outside.
    Chase stared in bewilderment as Mina set him on the foyer floor. With swift, determined movements she tore off his shirt and scanned him from head to toe. Her expression slowly changed to puzzlement. Her face and arms were covered in deep cuts, but there was something strange about them. Why wasn’t there any blood?
    More thuds rained against the door, joined by skittering noises on the roof.
    â€œDefense, perimeter breach!” Mina shouted, jumping to her feet.
    A deep, loud hum filled the air, with a resonance that sounded like it was coming from the bottom of the house. Wincing, Chase clapped his hands over his ears as it grew to a deafening pitch. When it finally wound back down again, all the other noises from outside had stopped as well.
    Parker stood in the hallway, pale and wide-eyed. “What on Taras happened?”
    Chase gaped up at him from the floor, too dazed to do anything but stare. The whole event had lasted less than a minute, but reality spun around him as if he were sitting in the eye of a tornado.
    Mina cracked the door open and looked outside. “The teleport failed.”
    â€œWhat?” A sharp note of fear came into Parker’s voice.
    â€œIt placed him outside the compound. I had to temporarily shut down the dome so I could run out and get him.”
    â€œBut the Zinnjerha—”
    Mina closed the door and nodded curtly. “They were out.” She rubbed one of her slashed arms. “This is all ruined.” With a loud rip, she tore the skin right from her forearm and tossed it to the floor.
    Chase shouted in horror and pedaled his feet to push himself away from the flap of skin.
    â€œGood lords, relax!” Parker barked. “She’s an android. A robot. Are you really that dumb?”
    The harsh words stung, but any embarrassment Chase might have felt was eclipsed by the sight of Mina’s arm. Instead of muscle and bone, what lay underneath was a gleaming metal limb. She wasn’t human. Finally, a few things were starting to make sense.
    He looked up at Mina’s pretty face, now disfigured by the savage gashes on her cheeks and forehead. “Your skin…”
    â€œIt’s just bio-molding,” she said with a dismissive flick. “I can fix it.” She crouched down in front of Chase and examined him with a frown. “You were as good as dead out there, and yet you don’t have a single scratch.”
    â€œAre you kidding me?” Parker stepped closer to look at Chase.
    â€œParker, go to your room,” said Mina, but he ignored her and she made no move to make him leave.
    Chase looked at his arms and frowned. She was right—there wasn’t a mark anywhere on him. But there was no way those creatures hadn’t cut him up. He’d felt their sharp claws slashing at his arms when he tried to fend them off. “I don’t understand…,” he mumbled.
    â€œYou must be the luckiest kid alive, Chase.” Parker laughed and held out a hand. Chase returned the grin shakily as he let Parker pull him to his feet.
    A cold metal hand closed on his arm. Chase turned to Mina, his mouth open in surprise. He could tell by her