Core by Teshelle Combs Read Free Book Online Page A

groaned every time it spread a little further.
    “The purple stuff… it’s moving.”
    “Is he perspiring?”
    “Yeah, a lot. And breathing really fast.” Suddenly, Ava wanted Karma to be there right then. No waiting, no ten minutes away. “Karma, what should I do?”
    “Hold the phone to Cale for me,” she said.
    Cale could hardly speak in between his shallow breaths. They exchanged words, Karma’s quick and sharp, Cale’s staggered between winces. Finally, Karma asked Ava to put the phone back to her ear.
    “I won’t make it in time.”
    Ava looked at the phone as if Karma had just burped her alphabet into it. “What does that even mean?”
    “Ava, you’re going to have to help him. You need fire. Like matches or a grill lighter. Quickly.”
    Ava set the phone down, ready to race downstairs to the kitchen, but Cale grabbed her hand.
    “No,” he said between clenched teeth. “Don’t leave me.”
    Ava tried to pry his fingers loose, but he just grabbed onto the hem of her shirt, desperation in his eyes, his breathing even faster, like he was choking on something.
    “Ava, please, don’t leave me,” he said. “You don’t understand.”
    It sounded like he might cry. Still clutching her shirt, he pulled her closer, resting his head back against the floor because he couldn’t bear to lift it anymore, but refusing to loosen his grip.
    “Miriam,” Ava called. “Can you get the grill lighter from the kitchen? As fast as you can.”
    It was clear that Miriam didn’t want to leave the relative safety of the room, but she took a look at Cale and gathered her courage. She scurried down the stairs and Ava listened as she rummaged through the kitchen drawers. She padded back up and into the room in under a minute.
    “Okay, I have the lighter. Now what?” Ava asked Karma.
    “This may sound crazy to you, Ava, but I need you to light the fire and hold it to Cale’s skin. Start as far as you see the poison stretching, then move closer and closer to the wound, as if you’re chasing the poison back to where it started.”
    “You… want  me to light him on fire?”
    “Yes. He won’t ignite and the fire won’t hurt him. But if the poison reaches his core, he’ll die, Ava.”
    Light him on fire.  Ava almost laughed at the ludicrousness of the request. “I can’t do that, Karma.”
    Cale’s grip on her shirt relaxed a bit, but not because he was ready to let her go. Because it was getting harder for him to see, to move, to hold on. His skin paled. Ava reached out and touched his forehead. It was ice cold.
    She hung up the cell phone. “Cale, this sounds crazy insane to me, but I’ve seen some crazy things tonight. If you’re still in your right mind…I guess, I just need to know if this what you want me to do.”
    “ Yes.,” he said, barely squeezing his words out. “If you think you can”
    Insane. These people are insane.  But Ava took a deep breath and pushed her thumb against the lighter so that the tip of it burst into flame. She looked over at Miriam for reassurance, but her foster mother was just as wide-eyed as Ava. Finally, Ava moved the lighter until the flame danced against Cale’s skin. The curling purple ink froze in place, then began to shrink away from the heat.
    Cale bit his lip, trying to keep from shouting. Ava stopped, pulling away instantly.
    “I’m hurting you,” she said in shock. She shook her head. “I can’t do this.”
    Suddenly, it was all too much. The terrifying creatures, the decapitations, the poison, the fire. Tears clouded her vision. “I think I’m losing my mind.”
    Cale forced his eyes to stay open. “I promise I’ll die if you don’t.” His speech was beginning to slur.
    He reached out and put a shaky hand around Ava’s ankle. He did the same to Miriam, forgetting about politeness or boundaries.
    “Cover my mouth,” he said to Miriam.
    She looked at Ava, bewildered. Ava bit her lip, studying the boy on her bedroom floor. If he was right, if he