Читать книгу Unbreakable - Elizabeth Norris, Elizabeth Norris - Страница 19

he next morning I’m up early and then gone all day, delivering rations from the base to different neighborhoods. When I get home, Struz is out. Jared launches into a story about his Monday before I even get inside, something about a guy diving out of a skyscraper or something. I know I’m not hearing him right, but all day this terrible feeling has been welling up inside me, the kind that reaches through your veins and down into your bones. My whole body is practically vibrating with it.

Like my body knows something bad is about to happen.

“Dude, if you’re not going to listen to me …”

“Jared, I’m sorry, I spaced out.”

I look at my brother—he’s got Monopoly set up, and he’s playing against himself. He sees me looking and says, “I set it up so you could play with me when you got back, and then I got bored. But we can set it up again.”

“Sure, that works,” I say. I suddenly feel like I’m too old. Not physically, but just that I’m too tired, too stressed, and too anxious. Even though there isn’t any danger of Wave Function Collapse and there’s no Oppenheimer counting down to the end of the world, it’s like I’m waiting for something else to go wrong.

I sit on the floor with him, and he launches into a story about his class field trip to the movie theater down the street from the school. “It was so cool. Mr. Hubley totally broke into the theater and we went in the biggest one, and he had the other teachers all sit with us while he set up a projector and we watched Mission Impossible 4.”

I’m not sure if it’s considered breaking in now that the theater has been abandoned, although I guess it’s still private property. “How was the movie?” I ask, even though I’m sure it was just as bad as the first three.

My eyes burn with that thought, because it’s something I would have said to Alex.

“It was so awesome. There’s this really cool part where Tom Cruise flies down the side of this building. Maybe Cecily can get that for the next movie night?”

“I’ll ask her,” I say truthfully, as we clear the houses off the board.

“What’s for dinner tonight?” Jared asks. “No spaghetti, right?”

We try to have something special on Mondays. I’m not sure if it was Struz’s idea or mine, but we all eat together then too. It’s nice. “I was thinking a feast of macaroni and cheese, and canned peas and chicken.”

“Canned chicken?” Jared makes a face.

“I imagine the canned sardines are worse,” I tell him.

“Why can’t you just lift something better from the commissary?” Jared asks.

I don’t tell him there is nothing better. Instead, I say, “Wow, Jared, I don’t know, maybe because that’s stealing?”

“Whatever, plenty of people steal stuff.” Jared begins listing all of his friends and the amazing things they’ve gotten to eat recently.

There’s a knock at the door.

“I bet Struz forgot his keys,” Jared says, bouncing up from the floor.

“I can assure you if Victor Le says he had filet mignon last night, he either has cattle in his backyard or he’s lying,” I call after him.

I hear my brother say something muffled, and then there’s a slam as someone kicks open the front door.

I have a split second to consider a strategy, but I don’t know what I’m up against, so I jump up and step into the hall.

In my doorway is the outline of a man, standing behind my brother. Based on his height and build, I know it’s not Struz.

It feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room. I have absolutely nothing to defend myself with, and this guy has my brother.

But when he uses his foot to kick the door shut and the light adjusts in the room, I realize it’s Taylor Barclay.

“What’s the matter, Tenner? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he says with a smile.