The Quest Read Online Free PDF

with short blond hair. He was almost as tall as Terry, and I had a feeling I had seen him before somewhere.
    “Terry!” the boy cried. “Oh God, you gotta help us!”
    Terry asked sharply, “What’s going on?!”
    “We’re over there,” said the boy, pointing to a line of trees in the distance. “Come on! Hurry!”
    We followed him toward the trees, but Terry stopped before we came too close. She put Alia down on the grass and said to me, “Stay here. It could be a trap.”
    Without waiting for a reply, Terry ran into the trees. A moment later, she called out, “It’s okay, Hansel, come on!”
    If the boy was being manipulated by an Angel controller, it was equally possible that Terry was also under psionic control now. I didn’t remember Terry’s security code so I couldn’t ask her to recite it. But I had noticed that she called me Hansel.
    I looked at Alia and shrugged. We ran through the line of trees, coming into a small clearing.
    Alia was hopping up and down, probably having stepped on some sharp twigs or something, but I ignored her, my attention instead on the many pairs of eyes looking at us.
    They were all children.
    About fifteen or so in number, some looked old enough to be in high school, but most were younger, some even smaller than Alia. The youngest ones looked quite terrified, and a few were sobbing quietly. I noticed a boy, a little taller than Alia, holding a bundle of cloth in his arms. It was a baby.
    The boy who had led us here was saying rapidly to Terry, “They left us in the basement parking lot. The Knights. They gathered us there. They said they’d come back, but they didn’t. I don’t know where they are.”
    “You’re all from NH-4?” asked Terry.
    “Yeah,” he replied. “The Angels were coming in from the lobby. We couldn’t stay. There were a lot more of us, but the Angels were waiting outside. They started rounding us up. They were putting everyone onto a bus.”
    A few of the younger ones started crying louder. One of the older girls tried to hush them, and some others helped, but even the baby woke and started screaming.
    “We can’t leave them here, Terry,” I said. “NH-4 is probably lost.”
    “I agree,” said Terry, and then added warningly, “But you better start calling me Rabbit, Hansel. This is no different from being on a mission.”
    I rolled my eyes. I had always considered Guardian call signs a stupid and unnecessary protocol. It’s not like the Angels didn’t know who we were.
    Terry looked around at the crowd and said, “If any of you have psionic combat powers, step forward. Destroyers or controllers, I don’t care.”
    One of the older boys slowly raised his hand, saying, “I’m a pyroid.”
    “Good,” Terry said crisply. “I’m Terry Henderson. Call me Rabbit.”
    “Yeah,” said the boy, “I know who you are. I’m Peter.”
    “Okay, Peter-the-Pyroid, you’re with me,” said Terry. “Gretel, you too. We’re going to go get some help. Hansel, you stay.”
    My strength was gradually returning, but I still felt a bit faint so I didn’t argue.
    Alia said something telepathically to Terry.
    “Oh, right,” said Terry, looking at Alia’s bare feet. “On my back, then. I’ll carry you till we’re back on the street. I’m going to need you with us just in case.”
    As Alia climbed onto Terry’s back, Terry turned to me and said, “Stay put, stay hidden. And see if you can get those damn kids to quiet down. If we’re not back in ten minutes, Hansel, you get them out of New Haven.”
    Peter walked up to Terry and extended his hand, but Terry didn’t shake it.
    “You better be for real, fire boy,” said Terry, poking him in the chest. “Let’s go.”
    The three disappeared beyond the trees. The little kids were still crying, but the older ones were doing the best they could to comfort them, so I left them to it and flopped down on the damp grass.
    I heard two of the older teen girls whispering loudly.
    “Did you see