Synthetic: Dark Beginning by Shonna Wright

Author:Shonna Wright [Wright, Shonna]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Published: 2011-10-09T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Kora spotted an object near the edge of the roof that looked like a thin-legged spider climbing over the wall. “Is that it?”

Gus squinted into the sun. “I think so.”

When they got closer, they saw massive spools of chain that looked more suited to the deck of an aircraft carrier than the top of a castle. Kora looked over the edge of the roof to see a ramshackle hut that was little more than an enclosed scaffold dangling two floors down.

“There’s the driveway the limo took when they brought me here,” said Kora. “I’m glad I looked up when I arrived, or we might have spent the rest of the day searching. How are we supposed to get down there?”

Gus grabbed onto the cable. “We slide down.”

“No way.”

“Are you the same girl who just climbed that dome?”

“But we don’t have gloves. It’ll tear up our hands.”

Gus looked Kora up and down. “You don't really have anything, huh?”

“We could rip the bottom of your robe off and I could wind it around my palms.”

“Please never mention ripping my robe again. Don’t you realize I wear this every day?”

Kora wrinkled her nose. “The same one? How do you keep it clean?”

“I hand wash it every week then let it air dry.”

“I have another idea,” said Kora, stripping off her shirt to reveal a white silk bra. “I’ll just put this over my hands.”

“Ivan would love that bra, by the way. Very classy.” Gus lowered himself over the edge and gripped the cable through his robe. He slid down to land on the tin roof with a loud thud. “Your turn,” he called up to Kora.

She zipped down the cable, burning the insides of her thighs, and crashed into the roof with a loud bang. “I knew that was going to hurt,” she said as Gus helped her up.

“I don’t think Humphrey’s here. You just made an entrance like a drunk pterodactyl, and still it sounds quiet.” Gus flipped open a tin hatch, pulled a rope ladder off a hook, then lowered it down into the tiny living room. “Ladies first.”

Kora climbed down the flimsy ladder and stepped onto a floor made of wide, flat boards. Beside the wall stood a pyramid of tin cans, each filled to the brim with rusty nails and screws. Almost every inch of free floor space in the tiny house was stacked with old tools encrusted with grime and barnacles as if salvaged from the ocean floor. Boxes of glimmering rocks and seashells spilled over from every chair except two that sat in front of a small wood stove.

“Quite a place, isn’t it?” said Gus, pushing his way through a narrow path in a massive stack of old High Times magazines.

“He definitely outdoes you,” said Kora, who couldn’t resist tossing some crusty coins back into an old coffee can.

Gus drew up to the kitchen counter where he inspected a half-eaten tray of brownies. He cut one loose and stuffed it into his mouth. “These are delicious,” he said, prying another large square from the dish.

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