The Power of Six Read Online Free PDF Page A

news while Six goes invisible to check on the truck. We assume Sam’s mom noticed it missing, which surely means the police are keeping an eye out for it. Earlier in the week Sam stole the front license plate off another truck. It might help us until we get to where we’re going.
    I finish packing and set my bag beside the door. Sam smiles when his picture pops up on the television screen, again on the same news cycle, and I know he’s enjoying his small bit of celebrity even at the risk of being considered a fugitive. Then they show my picture again, which means they also show Henri’s. It rips me apart to see him, even though the sketch looks nothing like him. Now isn’t the time for guilt or misery, but I miss him so much. It’s my fault he’s dead.
    Fifteen minutes later Six walks in carrying a white plastic bag.
    She holds up the bag and shakes it at us. “I bought you guys something.”
    “Yeah, what is it?” I ask.
    She reaches in and pulls out a pair of hair clippers. “I think it’s time for a haircut for you and Sam.”
    “Oh come on, my head’s too small. It’s going to make me look like a turtle,” Sam objects. I laugh and try to picture him without his shaggy hair. He has a long, skinny neck, and I think he might be right.
    “You’ll be incognito,” Six replies.
    “Well, I don’t want to be incognito. I’m Variable x .”
    “Stop being a wuss,” Six says.
    He scowls. I try to be upbeat. “Yeah, Sam,” I say, peeling off my shirt. Six follows me into the bathroom, ripping the packaging away from the clippers as I bend over the tub. Her fingers are a little cold, and goose bumps sprinkle down my spine. I wish it was Sarah who was holding my shoulder steady and giving me a makeover. Sam watches from the doorway, sighing loudly, making his displeasure known.
    Six finishes, and I wipe away the loose hair with a towel, then stand and look in the mirror. My head is whiter than the rest of my face, but only because it’s never seen the sun. I think that a few days in the Florida Keys, where Henri and I lived before coming to Ohio, would fix the problem in no time.
    “See, John looks tough and rugged like that. I’m going to look like a turd,” Sam groans.
    “I am tough and rugged, Sam,” I reply.
    He rolls his eyes while Six cleans the clippers. “Down,” she says.
    Sam obeys, dropping to his knees and bending over the tub. When she’s done, Sam stands and flashes me a pleading look.
    “How bad is it?”
    “You look good, buddy,” I say. “You look like a fugitive.”
    Sam rubs his head a few times and finally looks in the mirror. He cringes. “I look like an alien!” he exclaims in mock disgust, then glances at me over his shoulder. “No offense,” he adds lamely.
    Six collects all the hair from the tub and drops it in the toilet, careful to flush every strand. She coils the cord of the clippers into a neat, tight loop, then slips it back into its bag.
    “No time like the present,” she says.
    We strap our bags across her shoulders and she grabs them both with her hands, then makes herself invisible, causing the bags to disappear as well. She rushes out the door to take them to the truck without being seen. While she’s gone I reach up into the far right corner of the closet, toss aside a few towels, and grab the Loric Chest.
    “You ever going to open that thing or what?” Sam asks. He’s been excited to see what’s inside ever since I told him about it.
    “Yeah, I will,” I say. “As soon as I feel safe.”
    The motel door opens, then closes. Six reappears and glances at the Chest.
    “I won’t be able to make you and Sam disappear and that. Only what I hold in my hands. I’ll run it back to the truck first.”
    “No, that’s okay. Take Sam with you, and I’ll follow behind.”
    “That’s stupid, John. How are you going to follow behind?”
    I pull on my hat and jacket, then zip it and pull the hood over my head so that only my face shows.
    “I’ll be fine. I