Lucas Ryan Versus: The Hive (The Lucas Ryan Versus Series) Read Online Free PDF

her face.
    “Can you see my phone? I need my phone,” she said.
    My eyes searched the shadowy floor. “Uh...here...” I reached down and found both our phones lying next to each other. I smiled when I noticed she had the same exact brand of cell phone as me. She must enjoy her gadgets too. I handed it to her with a nervous smile.
    “Sorry again.”
    “Lucas Ryan...right?” she asked, as her eyes searched mine. I nodded yes, but said nothing. She slipped her phone in the waistband of her jeans.
    “The boy with two, first names,” she teased, still wearing her pout.
    “That’s me.”
    “We had Art class together last semester,” she said, as fact.
    “I think so.” I played dumb. She sat three desks from me and loved to draw and sketch. She hated working with paints and always nibbled on the ends of her pencils. She never talked to anyone during class and finished the semester with an A-. Her favorite color was black. She preferred her music loud. She started playing guitar in the 5 th grade. She loved two things in this world and two things only; her music and her younger sister, Sophia. Yeah, it was safe to say...I remembered her.
    “You’re that computer genius kid, huh?”
    “I guess,” I answered, blankly. It could have been worse, she could have used the word nerd . She looked at me hard.
    “You coming to the show tonight?”
    “I wouldn’t miss it.” I sounded way too eager. She looked at me for a long moment. In that moment, a connection was made. It was a thin one, but it was there.
    “You can keep the shirt.” She walked past me quickly and ran up on stage.
    I pulled the black T-shirt from my shoulder and glanced at it for the first time. It had a picture of a little girl with pigtails in her hair, holding a single rose. She looked sad. Below her, in dark red writing was the name of the band... Sister Red . I studied the little girl closely. She looked awfully familiar.
    From the stage the sound of a crashing guitar chord filled the room. It vibrated with a violent crunch that held there for a long moment. A few buzzing seconds later, it began to fade. Olivia stood at the front of the stage with her black and purple guitar slung across her shoulders. She was looking directly at me, almost through me. Her red lips pushed against the microphone in front of her.
    “Nice to meet you...Lucas Ryan,” she sang, deep and haunting. I stood silent with my heart pounding in my chest. Olivia Weaver, the lead singer and founding member of Sister Red, my secret crush since grade school...knew...my...name.
     
    “You too,” I mumbled.

LEVEL 05: Higher Ground
     
     
     
    ~ Pick me up. ~
     
    My eyes began to blur as I spent another long minute staring at the outside of my locker. I had wasted ten minutes just standing here, staring. My brain ignoring the constant messages whispered inside of it. I barely made it through my last few classes of the day. Now, as the school halls emptied, the mystery in my locker seemed to fill my every waking thought.
    “Luc, you coming?” Roland asked, with a smack to my back.
    “What?” I stuttered. Roland continued his stroll toward the school doors.
    “Taylor’s waiting on us. It’s showtime!” he laughed, and scooted through the doors, leaving me in my personal Twilight Zone episode.
    “Football practice,” I nodded. I had almost forgotten. Our little gang never missed a practice. I took a long, deep breath and ripped open my locker door. “Whoa.”
    My secret stone had almost doubled in size. It even looked blacker, if that was even possible. A slight bend had begun to sink into the bottom of my locker. Its weight must have increased immensely.
     
    ~ Pick me up. Pick me up. ~
     
    “That’s unbelievable...” I reached out and placed my hand around it. It was now the size of a box of playing cards and as cold as ice. It sucked my hand to it like a powerful magnet. Its freezing surface stunned me.
     
    ~ Pick me up. ~
     
    My pulse doubled its pace. I