Seven Wonders Book 2: Lost in Babylon

Author:Lerangis, Peter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

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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. Now my eyes were 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 torch outside the door, I could see the glint of a tiny silver shard caught in the lizard’s claw.

A gum wrapper.

Hmm. What if . . . ?

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 stick it in my mouth. I could use this. Gum had a great way of . . . gumming things up.

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.

* * *

“Jack!”

Aly’s voice stirred me from a dreamless sleep. “Whaaaa—?”

I felt as if my head had been split open with a cast-iron skillet. I sat up, rubbing my head.

“Get down, Jack—you’ll be shot at!” Cass screamed.

I ducked. I caught my breath.

To my astonishment, I realized I had breath. The tiny, poisonous stream that was closing my windpipe was gone.

Glancing at the wall, I saw the tiny clump of gum, stuck in the hole. And I no longer heard the hissing of gas.

I

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