The Fallout by Glasko Klein

Author:Glasko Klein
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Action, Action & Adventure, Adventure, Alien, Alien Attack, Alien Attacks, Alien Invasion, Aliens, Attack on Earth, Darby Creek, Hi/Lo, High Interest, Hi-Lo, Hi-Lo Fiction, Reluctant Readers, Sci Fi, Science Fiction, Survival, Survival, Apocalypse, Apocalyptic, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Alien, Aliens, Alien Contact, UFO, Action, Action & Adventure, Adventure, Breakup, Breakups, Drama, Glasko Klein, Mall, Malls, Relationship, Relationships, Shopping Mall, Shopping Malls, The Fallout, Trapped
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Published: 2018-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

In their rush to get away from the windows, they almost ran into Jack.

“Hey, wait a second—slow down,” he said. “What happened?”

Nina only slowed enough to grab him by the shoulder and drag him deeper into the mall. “They’re out there, and they’re headed this way!” she shouted. “There was a soldier, but I think . . . he’s gone now.”

She didn’t have to tell Jack twice. The trio barreled on through the darkness, banging shins and kneecaps against benches and planters as they went. The blood was sticky and hot on Nina’s palm, but at least the cut didn’t hurt. She wondered how bad it was, but there was no way to tell without any light. They pressed onward, deeper into the mall until they lost sight of the entryway. Nina’s arm was starting to feel strange—a little lighter than it should and cold and tingly just underneath the skin, like it was falling asleep.

“Hold it!” she called out. The group stopped, loudly catching their breaths. “This isn’t going to work—we need a plan.”

“Hang on,” Jack said. Nina heard Jack’s backpack hit the ground with a heavy thud, followed by a zipper and the sound of him rummaging through the pack. “Okay, everybody stand back to back.”

“Why?” Steve asked.

There was a grunt off to Nina’s left. “Just do it, all right?” Jack said.

After groping in the darkness to find one another, the group assembled back to back, facing outward. There was a loud crack like the striking of a match, and suddenly Nina’s nostrils burned with the rotten egg stench of sulfur. The area around them was illuminated with a flickering light, and she turned around to see that Jack was holding a road flare.

“Ugh, that smells awful,” she said, suppressing a sneeze from the sting in her nose.

“It’s the sulfur in the flare,” Steve said. He turned beside her, the light dancing across his sweat-smeared forehead. “Where did you even get that? Did you have that the whole time?”

Jack grinned. “I dumped my books when I heard about the space ships and got some stuff out of the safety kit I keep in my car,” he explained. “I figure it’s more likely to do me some good than a bunch of homework, given the situation.”

“That’s . . . surprisingly good thinking, Jack. What else do you—” Steve started, but Jack interrupted him with a sharp gasp.

“Nina, what happened to your hand?”

Nina glanced down at her palm. It looked pretty bad. Her whole hand was red and sticky with blood, and it had dripped all over her shirt and pants during their retreat into the mall.

“Whoa, Nina,” Steve stammered. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Nina’s arm was still tingling. She hadn’t realized how bad her injury actually was. She took a deep gulp of air in attempt to push down the panic that was rising up in her chest. “I cut myself on the glass,” she said. “I didn’t think it was that bad.”

“Umm, you’re looking at your hand, right?” Jack said sarcastically.

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