The Pulse Series (Book 1): Pulse

The Pulse Series (Book 1): Pulse Read Free Page A

Book: The Pulse Series (Book 1): Pulse Read Free
Author: Steven Laidlaw
Tags: Science Fiction | Superheroes
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what was wrong with him, but then I realized what he was doing. I gagged and ran back to my room, slamming the door shut behind me and trying to ignore my mother's laughter. I locked the deadbolt and ran to my bed, throwing myself under the sheet as the tears came to my eyes.
    I looked up to the clock on the wall and saw that it was midnight. I turned and let the tears flow. It wouldn't be the first time I cried myself to sleep.

THREE
    I threw a rock at the poster on the wall. The large block letters read 'Report suspicious activity'. Underneath the letters was an image of the ruins of the Washington monument. I shook my and looked away from the image and back down at the boy sitting next to me.
    Trey held out a brown paper bag. "Happy birthday."
    I frowned at him, then down at the box. After a few seconds my brain kicked in and my eyebrows went up. "It's the eighth?"
    Trey grinned. "Yep."
    I let out a breath. "Wow. I almost didn't notice." I shook my head and took the gift. "Thanks."
    He shook his head. "It's nothing."
    Trey had been my friend ever since the first day of high school, and was the only person I still saw on a regular basis since I dropped out. He was taller than me, but that wasn't hard, and was well built for a teenager. I guess I was too as we had a similar workout schedule of climbing and running, but the biological fact of his testosterone made his frame much thicker than mine. He kept his brown hair clipped close to his head.
    Trey nodded toward the bag. "Open it up."
    I opened the bag and pulled out a medium sized butterfly knife. My eyes lit up at the sight of the thing, and a small squeal might have escaped from my throat. I grinned up at Trey and punched him on the shoulder. "Where did you get this?"
    "Friend of a friend. Don't worry about it."
    I raised an eyebrow at him. "You didn't spend money on this, did you?"
    He snorted. "Please."
    I nodded my thanks and flipped the knife around a few times, careful not to catch my fingers in the blade, before sliding it into the back pocket of my jeans.
    We were standing out the back of an old abandoned warehouse, our usual meeting place. It was messy, and you could still hear the sounds of the city around us, but if you blocked your ears and stared up at the sky it kind of felt like you were out in the country somewhere. Not that I knew what the country was like first hand, mind you, but I had seen TV shows and got the gist of it.
    "You got anything new?"
    Trey's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "Actually, yeah." I reached across my body to grab the passport I had in my pocket, and winced as a spike of pain ran down my side.
    Trey frowned. "What's wrong?"
    I shook my head. "It's nothing. Just took a bit of a fall."
    "Show me."
    I sighed, but relented. Trey was a pain in the ass about this kind of thing, and wouldn't let up until I gave in. I wasn't in the mood for taunting him today, so lifted the side of my shirt to show the bandages underneath.
    Trey sucked in a breath though his teeth. "Shit, Alex. That's bad. You should go to a hospital. Looks like your ribs are broken."
    I shook my head. "No point. Hospital can't do much for ribs."
    "They could give you something for the pain."
    I barked out laughter. "Yeah. That's what I can afford to spend money on. Pain meds."
    He grimaced, but nodded conceding the point. I lowered my shirt and pulled the passport from my pocket, handing it to him.
    He flicked the small book open and raised his eyes. "Australian. Nice. This will get you a couple hundred probably."
    "Can you pass it off to your uncle?"
    Trey nodded and slid the passport into his backpack. I felt a small pang as the prize disappeared from view, but shook it off. I could trust Trey. He was the only person I'd ever met who hadn't tried to take something from me.
    "So, what do you want to do for your sixteenth birthday?"
    I grinned up at him. "Oh you know me. The usual."
    ***
    I set my now heavier backpack down on the ground and sat watching the kids

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