The Ones Read Online Free PDF

returned. “Take it easy—this wasn’t from me. I’m down with you gennies. I mean, you people. In fact, you should stay and hang out, have some fun.”
    James caught Cody’s eye and saw her confusion. Neither of them believed Marco, but what could they say?
    Marco continued talking to Cody. “Now you, I know I’ve seen you up here before,” he said with a knowing smirk. Then he turned to James. “But you … this is your first time, right?”
    â€œYeah,” James replied. “So what?”
    â€œWell, if you want to stay at a quarry party, you’ve got to initiate.”
    â€œInitiate?”
    Marco gestured to the edge of the cliff. “Leap of faith, bro, and then you’re cool to stay. We all did it.”
    James heard several people in the crowd give their assent. He looked over to the darkness beyond the cliff. He knew it was just water below—deep, calm, clear water—but he had no interest in confirming that. And even if the water seemed tranquil, he knew it wasn’t. That water had the power to kill, to hurt not just the people who went in it but also people miles away and years removed. Maybe there was a grain of truth in the campfire legends: A boy could disappear into this quarry and end up tormenting the people he left behind.
    James stopped looking at the reservoir and turned to Cody. “Come on, let’s go.” He started walking toward her, but Marco stepped in his way.
    â€œI’m not jumping. We don’t even want to stay,” he said to Marco.
    James tried to walk around him, but Marco cut him off again. He was blocking James from getting to Cody. Then Fitz and a couple of other guys stepped over. They formed a semicircle around James, with his back to the edge of the cliff now. Slowly, they pressed forward.
    â€œWhat’s wrong, James? Aren’t you a One?” Marco asked pointedly. “Ones can do all kinds of cool stuff, right? You guys can probably even fly.”
    Marco and his buddies tightened into a circle. James had no choice but to take a step back. He wasn’t on the edge yet, but there wasn’t much room left. He considered his options: jump on his own, which didn’t sound very appealing, or rush these guys, try to fight them off, and maybe end up falling over regardless. At least he’d bring a few down with him, he thought, grasping for a silver lining. It was hard to think. The music was loud, people around the fire were shouting, and Marco was inching closer. James steadied himself, ready to charge.
    And then, out of nowhere, there was the tremendous sound of glass shattering. It was followed by dead silence. The music had stopped abruptly, and no one spoke.
    Everyone on the cliff looked over to where Marco’s car was parked. Cody stood in front of the hood, having quite obviously just thrown the brick through the car’s windshield. She stared defiantly at Marco.
    â€œNow we’re even.”
    The mayhem that followed lasted only a few seconds, but James felt as if he watched every event unfold in slow motion. First, the pure anger that came across Marco’s face, then the speed at which he charged Cody. Marco yelled something at her, something horrible, then grabbed the burning trash can. James saw that Cody was trying to join him on the edge of the cliff, and if she could make it, he knew that they could get out of there, that the crowd of people penning him in had dispersed enough to let them squeeze through. And finally, as she ran toward him, James saw Marco lift the trash can over his shoulder and hurl it at Cody.
    The burning missile landed directly in front of her, the metal screeching on the rock, sparks and half-burned logs bouncing off the ground. James watched the embers shoot up into Cody’s face, saw the look of panic and searing pain, and saw her balance start to shift. With two more strides, she would have been next to him, and he could have