Rush The Game Read Online Free PDF Page B

movies. I don’t even try to figure out how we got here. At this point, I’m just going along for the ride.
    When are we? It’s night, but last thing I remember, it was late afternoon. In Rochester. Which is ahead of Vegas. “We’ve lost . . . like . . . ten hours,” I say to no one in particular.
    “They’ve been banked,” Richelle replies. “We’ll get them back.”
    I almost ask if they’re in Bank of America or Chase, but the way Luka’s mouth compresses in a tight line stops me. A chill crawls up my spine on creepy little centipede legs.
    He catches me watching him and offers a weak imitation of a reassuring smile.
    “Move,” Jackson says, already striding forward. As he passes me, he shoots me a look. At least, I think he’s looking at me. He’s still wearing those shades, even though it’s night, the smooth lenses reflecting all the bright signs in miniature.
    I remember his tone when he told me to stick close enough for him to hear me breathing. I jog a couple of steps to catch up, aware of the others right behind us, forming a tight little group.
    Luka falls into step beside me. “Magic,” he says, and when I glance at him, he explains, “I know you’re wondering how we got here. I said magic . I’m trying to be funny. . . .” He shakes his head. “Never mind.”
    “We got pulled,” Tyrone says from Luka’s far side.
    Jackson picks up the pace, so we all pick up the pace, now more of a slow jog than a walk.
    “Pulled,” I repeat, remembering them using that word back in the clearing. The lobby . Luka and Richelle used it in the context of getting pulled from our real lives.
    “We get pulled through time and space,” Tyrone says, and he must have read the disbelief in my expression, because he laughs and says, “Just go with it.”
    Advice I decide to take, mostly for lack of alternatives. “So we can get pulled anywhere, at any time?”
    “Pretty much.” He shrugs. “When we finish the job, we get pulled back again.”
    His explanation only makes me want to ask about a billion more questions, like who pulls us, and how. Every time they try to clarify something, I end up more confused. Maybe Jackson was right when he told me that explanations wouldn’t cut it, that I’d have to see things for myself.
    “You’re not arguing in disbelief,” Luka observes.
    “Finding myself on a crowded street in Vegas is definitely going a long way toward making me a believer.”
    Tyrone snorts. “You a gamer?” he asks.
    I frown at the non sequitur and shake my head. “I’ve played.” Sometimes. With Carly’s brothers. But I’m no expert.
    “Being a gamer helps with being a believer,” he says. “Anyway, here’s the crash course. You get points for every hit. There’s a bonus for timeliness. It starts out as triple points and decays by increments of point five.”
    “We’ve yet to earn the time bonus,” Richelle says. She nudges Tyrone’s side with her elbow. “Some of us talk too much, which slows everyone down.”
    “That’d be Jackson. He’s all chatty-chat,” Tyrone says, and he and Richelle exchange an amused glance. Then he looks back at me and continues. “Target at least three Drau in less than two seconds and you get multi-hit bonus points. Get them in the head? Bonus points. Get a stealth hit? Bonus points. Penalty points for injuries. Cost points for weapons.” He glances at Luka. “That pretty much covers it, right?”
    “Tyrone’s our resident expert,” Luka says unnecessarily.
    “Yeah. I get that,” I say.
    Richelle laughs. “If you can actually understand what he’s talking about.” She cuts him a sidelong look through her lashes. “He has this idea that someday he’s going to turn all of this into a game and sell it for the big bucks.” The way she says it tells me she doesn’t think that’s such a crazy plan. She sounds proud.
    We keep moving. People flow around us like water, not looking at us, but parting to let us pass.
    I follow