Brothers of Chaos (The Unstoppable Titans Book 1) Read Free Page A

precious Hero Saga neglected this week. He couldn’t explain his obsession
with the game—he loved it more than someone should love an inanimate object.
    But,
more than anything, he wanted to get the hell out of there. The atmosphere had
changed drastically.
    He
grabbed his bag of quarters off the pinball machine. “Well, guys, I think I
should get goin ’. Busy day tomorrow.”
    “But
you didn’t play your game,” Curtis said.
    “It
won’t kill me; I play it so much. Plus, I live right down the street, so I can
play it anytime.”
    Curtis
nodded with a smile. Les wasn’t sure if the smile was sincere or sarcastic.
Curtis wasn’t a bad guy; Les knew that. But Les had made a mistake in his
presence that had tarnished their brief friendship severely. If anything,
Curtis was being surprisingly civil about the whole situation. Nevertheless,
Les was uncomfortable being around him. Why did this stranger—this Michael—have
to ruin his schedule? If he hadn’t been there, Les could have been playing Hero Saga when Curtis came in. He would’ve
been too wrapped up in the game to notice, and if Curtis had come over, Les
could’ve used the game as an excuse not to talk.
    But
as the situation was, he was exposed to the elements, so to speak. His only
escape was to leave. With his quarters in hand, he made his way past Curtis and
his friends. That’s when the unexpected happened.
    Michael
said, “Les, is this the guy you said is darker than the night sky?”
    Les
stopped dead in his place. He had never said anything remotely like that. What
was this guy’s problem? He turned around, sure he was going to meet Curtis’s
fist, but he was pleasantly surprised. Instead, Curtis wasn’t even looking at
him. He was looking at Michael.
    “Les
really say that?” Curtis asked.
    Michael
said nothing. Les detected a subtle grin on his face, though. This guy seemed
to like causing trouble.
    Les
preferred to keep his own nose clean. “Curtis, I never said that. I just met
him.”
    Curtis
nodded, keeping his eyes on Michael. “I believe you, Les.” He stepped closer to
Michael. “You guys just met, right?”
    Michael
nodded.
    “So,
you expect me to believe in the short time you two have known each other, I
just happened to come up in your conversation?” Michael didn’t answer. Curtis
backed away. “Les, you might want to pick your friends better.”
    Curtis
and David began to leave. Marco, on the other hand, stayed behind. Curtis
noticed and said, “You comin ’, Marco?”
    “I’m gonna stick around a minute.”
    Curtis
and David stood there for a moment, apparently contemplating whether or not to
get Marco to go with them. He and Michael stared each other down. Neither of
them blinked. Les wasn’t sure what to do next. He felt a fight coming on (Marco
had a reputation for being a bully), and even though Marco was beefier than
Michael, Les had an odd feeling the latter was more than he appeared to be.
    “Seriously,
Marco, we don’t have time for this crap,” Curtis said heatedly. “He’s not worth
it.”
    “I
think he is,” said Marco.
    “If
you get your butt whooped, don’t come crying to me.”
    Marco
looked at Curtis and laughed. “I think I can handle this.”
    “So,
what’s up with you and that chick Alyssa?” Curtis asked David distractedly as
they turned to leave. He slapped Les’s belly with the
back of his hand as he walked past. A friendly pat, perhaps? Les could tell
Curtis was furious with Marco, though.
    “I
don’t know. I haven’t seen her in a while. We’re friends and all, but I’m still
waiting for the day when she finally invites me to her place. I haven’t seen it
yet.”
    Les
followed them out of the arcade. This wasn’t the first time he had heard of
Alyssa, though he’d never met her. He found it curious that David didn’t know
where this Alyssa girl lived, considering they were practically best friends.
Either way, it didn’t involve Les, so he wasn’t going to dwell on