Monster Republic Read Free Page B

his whole body feeling wobbly. He tried to take another, but as he threw his left leg forward, he overbalanced, almost falling. Rora leaped forward to steady him. Cameron stiffened, pushingher away far less gently than he’d intended.
    ‘Give me a minute,’ he snapped.
    With a low growl, Rora backed off. Regaining his balance, Cameron stared at her. Even with his strange, super-clear vision, he couldn’t get a good view of the girl’s face; it was shrouded under a hood, but he could see that her skin was dark. Although she didn’t look hostile, there was something odd about her that he couldn’t quite pin down. For the moment, though, he had bigger things to worry about.
    Like walking.
    Aiming for one of the nearer beds, Cameron took another step. His movements were leaden and awkward, but his legs didn’t feel as if they were about to give out. They felt firm enough, just … different. As if he was learning to walk on a pair of iron stilts. The dizziness didn’t make it any easier.
    ‘Maybe this is what it’s like to be drunk,’ he muttered.
    ‘Get used to it. Quickly. I’m going to check the coast is clear.’
    Rora raced to the door, so light on her feet that Cameron barely heard her footsteps. It made him envious and even more impatient.
    Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward. He was just out of practice, that was all. He’d probably been lying still for too long, and his legs had gone to sleep. Or maybe the doctor had given him a sedative and he just had to wait for the effects to wear off. If he could get the blood pumping, he would be as right as rain. At least as athletic as this Rora girl. Sports Day Champion again.
    Stumbling a bit, but feeling more confident with every stride, Cameron covered the distance – step by step – to the bed. As he arrived, though, a fresh dizzy spell ambushed him. He thrust out an arm to steady himself on the edge of the bed.
    His hand touched something soft through the sheet. Reaching down, Cameron took hold of the sheet and lifted it gingerly aside.
    There, burned and tattered, lay a human arm – with no body attached.
    Cameron let out a yell and staggeredbackwards. He threw out a hand, flailing for something to hold onto, but instead his knuckles crashed into a nearby machine, sending a tray of equipment clattering to the floor.
    But there was no time to worry about what he’d knocked over.
    After a split-second of silence, alarms rang out loud enough to wake the dead.

chapter three
the hunt
    Sirens blared in Cameron’s ears as he ran. It was as if a noise had drilled its way into his head and now it was stuck, screaming for a way out. Rora raced down the corridor just ahead of him. She seemed to know where she was going. All Cameron could do was follow at a sort of stumbling sprint.
    His head reeled. Wherever he was, he was seeing it for the first time – and it was all shooting by in fast-forward: white-tiled floors, coloured numbers on the walls, closed doors with windows offering glimpses into different laboratories. And no time to stop for a look.
    Letters jumped out at him from a sign mounted on the wall: DIVINITY PROJECT – NO UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY.
    What about unauthorized exits?
    Cameron fired a glance over his shoulder, but couldn’t hear any sounds of pursuit. Then again, he couldn’t hear Rora’s footfalls or even his own above the constant din. He barely heard her yell as she skidded to a stop at a corner, nearly crashing into her.
    Two white-suited technicians barred their path, one of them wielding some sort of needle-gun.
    ‘Back up!’ Rora shouted, tugging him in the other direction. Now they were running again, back the way they’d come.
    And something strange was happening. Somehow Cameron knew the alarms were screaming out as loud as ever, but they seemed to be getting quieter. As if his ears were filtering out the blare and tuning in to the more important sounds. Like the rapid beat of footsteps behind them – the technicians giving