I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Author:Pittacus Lore [Lore, Pittacus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141971209
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2011-01-17T16:00:00+00:00

‘Henri!’

He is squinting from the light, his eyes adjusting. A length of duct tape is across his mouth. His hands are bound behind him, his ankles tied to the legs of the chair in which he is sitting. His hair is tousled, and down the right side of his face is a line of dried blood that looks almost black. The sight of it fills me with rage.

I rush over to him and rip the piece of tape from his mouth. He takes a deep breath.

‘Thank God,’ he says. His voice is weak. ‘You were right, John. It was foolish to come here. I’m sorry. I should have listened.’

‘Shh,’ I say.

I bend down and begin untying his ankles. He smells like urine.

‘I was ambushed.’

‘How many are there?’ I ask.

‘Three.’

‘I’ve tied one of them up upstairs,’ I say.

I free his ankles. He stretches his legs out and sighs with relief.

‘I’ve been in this damn chair all day.’

I begin working his hands free.

‘How in the hell did you get here?’ he asks.

‘Sam and I came together. We drove down.’

‘You’re kidding me?’

‘I had no other way.’

‘What did you drive?’

‘His father’s old truck.’

Henri is silent a minute while he ponders what that means.

‘He doesn’t know anything,’ I say. ‘I told him aliens are a hobby of yours, nothing more.’

He nods. ‘Well, I’m happy you made it. Where is he now?’

‘Trailing one of them. I don’t know where they went.’

The creak of a floorboard comes from above us. I stand, Henri’s hands only halfway untied.

‘Did you hear that?’ I whisper.

We both watch the door with our breaths held. A foot steps onto the top stair, and then a second, and all at once the large man I passed earlier, the one Sam was trailing, comes into view.

‘The party’s over, fellas,’ he says. He is holding a gun aimed at my face. ‘Now, step away.’

I hold my hands up in front of me and take a step back. I think of using my powers to pull the gun away, but what if I somehow cause it to fire by accident? I’m not confident in my abilities just yet. It’s too risky.

‘They told us you might be coming. That you would look like humans. That you were the real enemy,’ the man says.

‘What are you talking about?’ I ask.

‘They’re delusional,’ Henri says. ‘They think we’re the enemy.’

‘Shut up!’ the man screams.

He takes three steps towards me. Then he moves the gun from me and fixes it straight on Henri.

‘One false move by you and he gets it. You understand?’

‘Yes,’ I say.

‘Now, catch this,’ he says. He pulls down a roll of duct tape from the shelf beside him and throws it towards me. As it moves through the air, I stop it, suspended about eight feet off the ground, halfway between us. I start spinning it very quickly. The man stares at it, confused.

‘What the …’

While he’s distracted, I move my arm towards him with a throwing motion. The roll of tape flies back and slams him in the nose.

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