Radium Halos Read Free Page B

night!
    We waded
through the muck in a single-file chain. Whenever I slipped, I
grabbed hold of Brent, who walked in front of me, for balance. How
we managed to walk the route in the darkness, without anyone
falling, was beyond me.
    It took only
minutes, but felt like an hour as we inched our way finally
reaching two steel doors.
    Seth grabbed
the large, heavy-looking handle and pulled hard. The old door
groaned when it finally gave way, as if it didn’t want to let us
in. I was right about going for the cars. Could this be another
mistake? I shivered at the crazy thought, but followed the
others inside.
    Just as I
stepped through the doorway, a flash of lightning erupted,
illuminating the room, exposing its brilliant white, round shape.
Huge concrete pads with towering steel poles reached high into the
air. Maybe the poles were once measuring markers or something. Hopefully not for uranium or radium. That stuff’s wicked
radioactive. I’d have asked Heidi, our little photographic
memory gal, but I had no intention of trying to scare her
anymore.
    The fifty-foot
poles stretched from floor to ceiling. The translucent dome arched
like a sun roof above us.
    Another
zigzagged ember flashed, this one lasting longer. A crackle and
boom followed, making me jump inside the circular space. Heidi
cried out and buried her head between her knees. Kieran paced along
the outside of the room, his fingers running along the perimeter.
“The walls have some kind of dust covering them.”
    The room
suddenly went black as tar. A moment later a loud clap sounded
above us. Crack! The poles shook against the angry thunder.
I closed my eyes, wishing I was anywhere in the world but here. In
one of the cars!
    Bang!
    “What was
that?” Heidi screamed.
    I covered my
ears. If possible, I’d have jumped out of my skin.
    “Sorry,” said
Seth. “The door’s heavy. It slipped from my hand.”
    A piercing howl
whistled over our heads. This room was hell on earth.
    “’Tis nothing,
everyone.” Kieran clapped his hands to get the dust off. “Just wind
catching through the dome.”
    We stood back
to back in the middle of the room. Brent grabbed my and Heidi’s
hands, pulling us down to sit beside him. The others dropped as
well. At least the floor’s dry.
    I shoved my
hands deep into the pockets of my black vest. My left hand squeezed
around a familiar, rectangular object. “Guys! I forgot to hand my
phone in when we got to the field.” I pulled it out and flipped it
open. Its light illuminated the wall in front of me into a blue
hue.
    “You had it the
whole time?” Rylee shook her head.
    “It doesn’t
matter. I can’t get any reception here.” I held it above my head
aiming in several different directions. “I’ll try texting my dad
and a couple of people from class. Maybe a message’ll go through as
it roams.” With shaking fingers, I sent the SOS message out to
everyone on my BBM list.
    “It looks like
we’re gonna be here for a while,” Seth said. “Anyone got anything
to say, or any deep dark secrets they want to tell?”
    Rylee coughed.
“Yeah, I’m a serial rapist ’n been living undercover in Elliot
Lake, pretending to be a female high school student. I’m actually a
six-foot male who climbs into this body every day and acts as if
–”
    “Shut up!”
Heidi and I shouted at the same time.
    A gust howled
outside. The metal pillars creaked and groaned in protest. They
were probably holding the sun roof cover in place. I shifted closer
to Brent, who put his arm around my shoulders in a brotherly
fashion. It helped, a little. The wind’s howl switched to a
high-pitched shriek, and lightning flickered, building to constant
streaks above the dome.
    “With how long
the bloody lightening lasts, it’s like someone’s playing with the
light switch.” On my right, Kieran hunched forward, hugging his
knees, his wet shoes and socks beside him on the concrete.
    A massive loud
boom of thunder rumbled above us, shaking the