Seizure Read Free Page B

pictured the Virals in my mind. Hi. Ben. Shelton. Even Coop. Then I forced the images together, into one shape. A single unit. A pack.
    Something twitched inside my brain. A tiny surge, like a breaker flipping. For a brief moment I felt my mind push , find resistance.
    An invisible wall separated my thoughts from others outside my being. Encouraged, I shoved again in a way I can’t describe. The barrier buckled, yielded slightly.
    A low hum filled my head. Then it fragmented into murmurs, like hushed voices in a distant room. Coop’s form appeared in the center of my consciousness, but vague, indistinct.
    As suddenly as it formed, the bond frayed. I heard a thud, like a book slamming shut. The image slipped its tether and dissolved into cerebral darkness.
    SNUP.
    Blink.
    Blink blink blink.
    My eyes opened.
    I was slumped in the sand, flare long gone.
    Hi’s voice broke through. “Cut it out, Tory! You’re going to faint again.”
    Ben and Hi took my arms. Eased me back to my feet. Held on until satisfied I wouldn’t collapse again.
    “Let it go.” The nimbus faded from Ben’s eyes. “The mind talk was a delusion. It’s making you crazy.”
    Before I could disagree, a voice carried down the beach. Our heads whipped as one.
    We were no longer alone.

CHAPTER 3
    “Y ou jokers could leavea note next time!”
    Shelton strolled up the sand, hands in his pockets. Short and skinny with thick horn-rimmed glasses, he wore a blue Comic-Con T-shirt and oversized white gym shorts.
    He also wore a lopsided grin. Shelton knew he’d startled us.
    “Well, well, the caged bird sings,” Hi said. “When did you bust out?”
    “Pardoned this morning.” Shelton wiped sweat from his dark chocolate brow, a gift from his African American father. The high cheekbones and hidden eyelids came straight from his Japanese mother. “I figured you’d be out here. And I can guess what you’re doing.”
    “Tory’s trying to play mind-bender again,” Hi said. “She ended up face-planting on the beach.”
    Shelton’s grin faded. “Can’t we just pretend that never happened? I can’t sleep as it is.” One finger nervously spun a key ring containing his prized lock-pick collection. A hobby of Shelton’s that often came in handy.
    “Pretend it never happened?” I scanned their faces. “We need to understand the changes. We can’t just ignore them. What if we have more reactions?”
    “I know, I know.” Shelton’s palms came up. “I’m just freaked out. I tried flaring a little, when my parents were gone. I still have no control. Then I caught a cold, and for two days I was sure the virus was killing me.”
    Ben nodded. “Even when I can flare, the powers are never the same. Or stable.”
    “We’ll get there.” I sounded more confident than I felt. “We just need practice.”
    “Or lobotomies,” Hi muttered.
    “But we experiment nowhere but here.” Ben’s gaze traveled from Viral to Viral. “Loggerhead is safe, but we have to be careful. It’s too dangerous to use our powers where someone might see. Agreed?”
    Everyone nodded. Our fear of discovery was ever-present. The ramifications of being caught were too horrible to contemplate.
    “We can only trust each other,” Ben finished. “Never forget that.”
    “Enough doom and gloom.” Hi slapped Shelton’s back. “How’d you find us, anyway? Expert tracking skills?”
    “I ran into Kit at LIRI.” Shelton turned to me. “Your dad’s looking for you. He told me to find ya’ll and bring everyone back ASAP. I think something’s up.”
    “Great,” Ben said sarcastically. “What’d we do this time?”
    “They probably heard about your assaults on me and the dog,” Hi said. “You’re looking at hard time, pal. Hope it was worth it.”
    “It was.”
    I whistled. A few beats, then Coop burst from the scrub, circled us twice, and shot down the beach.
    “Well, no point guessing,” I said. “Let’s go find out.”
    Ten minutes later we reached LIRI’s