Lucas Ryan Versus: The Return Read Online Free PDF

it in her big sister’s face. “You won’t lose me again. You won’t lose anyone again, because of these!” Sophia made one of the rings spin along her finger. White and blue light sparkled like a firecracker within the ring as it spun and Olivia rolled her eyes in annoyance.
    “Damn it, Lucas, tell her what Ripley said!” Olivia huffed.
    Sophia’s eyes locked onto me. “What did Ripley say?”
    “Just a warning,” I mumbled.
    “What warning?”
    “You’re too young to control the power completely.”
    Sophia’s eyes welled over in tears. “What does that mean then?”
    I inhaled a slow breath and placed my hand on her shoulder. “We take it slow, okay. All of this magical mumbo-jumbo is confusing, even for me. Just promise me you won’t use the rings for anything.”
    “Seriously?” she whined.
    “Just for now, Soph. I’m still new at this too.” She pulled away from me just like her older sister had done moments before. “How about we learn together. Deal?”
    She thought about it for a long minute, and finally said, “Okay. Deal.”
    “Good,” Olivia groaned. Sophia pulled the rings from her fingers and slid them into her pockets. She quickly wrapped her arms around herself as the wind picked up and brought with it a cooling breeze.
    “Do you have somewhere safe you can put them? All of them?” I asked Sophia. Olivia removed her pullover and placed it over her little sister’s shoulders. Sophia smiled at her and nodded my way.
    “Yes.”
    “Good. I trust you with this secret,” I smiled.
    “I trust you too, Lucas,” she whispered.
     
     
    LATER THAT NIGHT…
     
    Back in my bedroom I glanced at the time on the screen of my computer monitor. It flashed thirteen minutes before 1 a.m. With a long yawn I caressed the lines of my tattoo, tucking Ripley in for the night. From the corner of my eye came movement in the far off distance through my opened window. From their second floor balcony, my snooping neighbors, the Anderson’s, watched me with smug smiles. Wrapped in their plaid pajamas they didn’t even make an effort to hide that they were watching me from their house across the street. I placed my arms behind my back as if I was hiding a bad secret from them. They both smiled at me and turned around, slowly fading into the shadows of their balcony. It was like a scene from a horror movie.
    “What the…”
    Had they seen my secret? Had they seen Ripley? The Anderson’s were always watching me, always keeping tabs on the neighborhood. I found them harmless but annoying. With a swift scratch of my fingers through my messed hair, I pulled my blinds closed and made my way to my bed and slept like I hadn’t done so in years.

LEVEL 05
    COOL KIDS
     
     
    My first day back. I expected it to be an unbearable morning full of curious stares and stupid questions. I figured my new infamy would at least change my reputation as the geeky kid who could fix your grades with a swipe of his hands across his computer keyboard, to the mysterious kid that disappeared for the last month. I at least thought that I had earned some cool points with the troublemakers of the school with my runaway story and reported shenanigans, but I was wrong. The cool kids were still bored and beautiful. The smart kids were still attentive and much too serious. The hooligans were still dangerous and half asleep. And the soap opera that I called high school hadn’t changed a bit.
    Walking onto the campus and through the front doors I was greeted with two requests for wiping the memory chips of old cell phones, probably recently stolen. Also, one request for help with an overheating Playstation game system. Yup, nothing had changed in my little world. I was still the kid you came to for a quick fix when your favorite gadget was on the fritz. The nerdy nice guy that everyone loved to use but never wanted to let in their social network. No cool kid here. Just your everyday chump.
    “Chump that saved the world, once…” I