Out of This World Read Online Free PDF Page B

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.”
    “Look, I don’t care what you believe. I don't have time to argue. I'm going after them. Yes, if we run into trouble, I’ll probably be the one who figures a way out. But maybe not every time. Our chances are better if you’re with me. Really.”
    Jenna took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Finally, she nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s do this.”
    “Great,” said Zachary. “Wait here.”
    Before she could respond he bolted off at full speed up the stairs, taking them two at a time. In seconds he returned. He handed her a small sphere, the size and weight of a golf ball.
     Jenna examined it. The outer surface was hard plastic and was transparent. Inside there were a number of what looked like miniature computer chips; tiny black squares with rows of pointy, silver, centipede legs sticking down from their edges. Attached to the silver legs of the computer chips was a complex spaghetti of delicate wires of every color.
    “Put it in your pocket.”
    “What is it?”
    “Haven't you been paying attention? It's the wave-field generator Mom and Dad invented. If you carry it for a day the effect lasts the whole week, so I don't need it.”
    Jenna rolled her eyes.
    “Believe what you want,” he said. “I don't care. But put it in your pocket anyway. As a favor to me.” He pointed toward the portal. “We're headed into dangerous territory and we both have to be at our best to have any hope of finding Mom and Dad and getting back.”
    Jenna was almost starting to believe him. He sure was taking this secret generator nonsense pretty seriously. And he wouldn't waste time scamming her now. Every second counted. “What does it do?” she asked.
    “It broadcasts what Mom and Dad call Omega waves. Mom says these waves interact in some way with the electrical fields generated by our brains. Mom and Dad worked a long time to get the frequency just right. I don't know how, but when the waves hit your brain you can think more clearly, you get more relaxed, and for some reason you can produce adrenaline faster. You know, that's the stuff your body produces that can make you super-strong in emergencies. So it makes you stronger.”
    “And you have no idea how it works?”
    “No. Mom and Dad do, but it's too complicated for me. Something about the field being able to neutralize stray electrical impulses that can confuse your thoughts. Basically, it clears the electrical gunk away from the circuitry in your brain.”
    “Is that the scientific term for it? Gunk?” asked Jenna sarcastically.
    “Give me a break, will you! Whatever it does, it lets your brain operate faster, and helps you think more clearly. All I know is that it works.”
    Frowning, Jenna shoved the ball deep into her front pants pocket and tried hard not to consider the implications of what her brother was saying. How incredible. It sure would explain why Zachary seemed almost superhuman sometimes. Why hadn't her parents told her about this generator? She decided to not waste any energy pondering this development. Far too many things were happening at the same time and she had reached her limit.
    She took her brother’s hand. “I'm ready,” she said thinly as if she were going to her own funeral, which could well turn out to be the truth. “Let's go.”
    They walked to the edge of the portal holding hands. “Let's jump on three,” said Zachary.
    They squeezed their eyes shut and tried to control the butterflies in their stomachs, but without any success. “One. Two. Three,” said Zachary slowly as they jumped into the center of the portal, each holding their breath as though they were jumping into a pool.
    There was no sensation of falling, just of firm ground under their feet. They opened their eyes.
    They were through. They had made it. They were on the world they had seen through the portal, standing on the winding, two-lane road.
    They were alive—and safe.
    Just as they let out the breath