Lost In Babylon by Peter Lerangis

Author:Peter Lerangis
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-10-29T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

INVISIBLE BARS

“JACK . . .” ALY MOANED. She flopped onto the floor, her eyes fluttering.

“Get out get out get out!” I cried, shaking the invisible bars. They were stuck solid. Not budging.

Inches from me, Cass was trying to cradle Aly’s head, but his hands were twitching. I couldn’t keep my eyes from crossing. My lungs screamed at me. I turned and tried to gulp more fresh air. When I turned back, Leonard was crawling groggily out of Cass’s tunic pocket. In the light from the torch outside the door, I could see the glint of a tiny silver shard caught in the lizard’s claw.

A gum wrapper.

It gave me an idea.

I threaded my arm through the cage’s bars and reached inside. Fumbling in the pocket of Cass’s tunic, I extracted a pack of Wrigley’s spearmint. It took all the concentration I could muster to unwrap one piece and begin to chew it. My mouth was dry, but I worked it, willing the saliva to come. I would need it.

I turned and took another breath of fresh air. Then, against all instincts, I forced myself to hold my breath and walk into the room.

Sshhhish.

This projectile grazed my tunic. I flinched, stepping aside. I was trembling, oxygen-starved.

Move.

I was also standing. But no one was firing at me.

I threw the gum wrapper to my right. Toward the direction I’d come.

Sshhhish.

The wrapper’s presence in the air had drawn a shot. There was a zone—an area where the projectiles would be activated. Outside the zone you were safe.

But the gas was still hissing. Although I couldn’t see it, I could hear it. As I stepped closer to the wall, to the sound, my eyes began to blur.

There.

I blinked. In a seam between stones, I could see a hole. A dime-sized blackness. I dropped to my knees, avoiding the direct path of the gas trail. And I reached into my mouth.

My fingers shook. I couldn’t make my thumb and index finger meet. With my tongue, I thrust the chewed gum to the edge of my teeth.

It fell to the floor.

Steady.

I could see the lump. In fact, I could see two. Three.

My vision was doubling and tripling, and I blinked hard as I reached down. I tried to grab the wet wad but missed, poking it with my index finger.

As I lifted my arm, the gum rose, too, stuck to the pad of my finger.

I fell forward—eyes focused on the hole, finger extended with a feeble burst of energy.

And I went unconscious.

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