The Final Formula Read Online Free PDF Page B

tripped and fell forward, landing hard on my hands and knees. The force knocked the flashlight from my hand, and it rolled to a stop a foot away. A shower of dust fell through the beam of light.
    “Addie! Move!”
    A deafening pop sounded overhead. I snatched up my flashlight and swung it toward the ceiling. Dust fell from above, and I lifted a hand to shield my eyes. Through my fingers, I watched a wide support beam bow toward me, cracks radiating across the plaster ceiling.
    I tried to regain my feet, but the marble-sized debris beneath my shoes sent me back to the floor. I skidded a few feet on my knees and bumped into James, having almost slid between his spread legs. He grunted and metal screeched overhead. I looked up and forgot to breathe.
    James had caught the beam. He held it suspended over his head, the cords in his neck bulging with the effort.
    Chunks of ceiling fell around us, but all I could do was stare.
    “Go,” he growled—literally growled. The sound rumbled deep in his throat and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I shoved myself to my feet once more and stumbled past him. Somehow I dodged the large chunks of cement falling around me, and reached the door.
    I looked back in time to see James hurl the beam back into the room. He ran for the door and had almost reached me when a hunk of rebar-spiked concrete crashed into his shoulder with a crunch and a splatter of blood.
    “James!” Only a foot away, I reached for him, but he shoved me back with a snarl. The force knocked me out into the hall where I landed hard on my butt and slid halfway to the stairs.
    I swung my flashlight back toward the room. Dust billowed out, shrouding the hallway in a gritty haze, but I could see well enough to know that James hadn’t made it out. I scrambled to my feet, ready to go back for him when he stumbled through the doorway. He staggered a couple of steps before dropping to a knee. His jacket gaped open revealing a crimson stain on his white T-shirt.
    I swallowed, trying to force my heart out of my throat and hurried back to him. “You’re bleeding.” I started to kneel beside him.
    “Stay back!” He snapped the words, and I hesitated. When he raised his head to glare at me, I froze. His eyes glowed like green lamps in the darkness. “Did you get any blood on you?”
    I swallowed. “N-no, just a few bruises.”
    “Not your blood, mine.” The fury in his voice made me take a step back. “Did I get any on you?”
    “I, I don’t think so.”
    “Check. Now.” He started to rise, but caught himself and dropped back to his knee. “You’re not checking.”
    “Your eyes. They’re glowing.”
    He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the glow had dimmed. “Check, Addie. Please hurry.”
    “Why?”
    He rubbed a shaking hand over his face. “I’m cursed. My blood is cursed.”
    I had to strain to hear his soft words. “Cursed?”
    “It’s poisonous.” He looked up. “It’s been long enough. If I’d gotten any on you, you’d be dead.”
    “That fast?” I couldn’t believe that. No poison worked that fast. Not on absorption.
    “Yes, that fast.” He took another breath and it shook. He wasn’t mad; he was scared. “Go upstairs where the light is better and check your clothes. There’s a duffle bag in the car if you need to change. Take what you need and bring me the bag.”
    “You’re still bleeding.”
    “Please go check. I’ll take care of this.”
    “I could probably find some rubber gloves. I’m used to dealing with toxic substances.”
    “No. Please go.”
    He looked so miserable that I gave in and started for the stairs.
     
    Once outside the chain-link, I walked a short distance along the fence and stopped beneath a streetlight to examine my clothes. All clean. Well, not clean, just not blood splattered. Dust and soot covered nearly every inch of me. I leaned over to brush my thigh and caught a glimpse of the back of my hand. Four drops of