Divided Worlds Trilogy 01 - Disconnect by Imran Siddiq Read Free Book Online Page B

guy.
    Half an hour later, they regrouped between two ridges. Screws and corded wires of different sizes poured out of Zachary’s pockets. He gestured smudged fingers at the recruit.
    Diego placed, and undid, a weighty damp bag on Zachary’s palm. Small thumb-sized balls rolled into his palm, clunking as they collided. There were three silver ones, four blue ones, and several decorated with squiggled patterns.
    “Oh my days,” said Zachary. He bit onto a hard silver ball. Cold tingles surged over his tongue followed by a light metallic taste. “Marbles. This is the rarest of the rare. Each one must be worth – at least – ten Leos.”
    “One hundred and ten,” gasped Diego. “We’ll share it. You take five –”
    “ Share? ” Zachary’s throat almost ruptured. “You never share your prize.” He thrust the bag forward. “If I were desperate, even then I wouldn’t.”
    Stunned, Diego took the bag. “If I weren’t here, you might have found it.”
    “Stop thinking like that. You’ll get walked over if you act like this with anybody else. Don’t make me hate you.”
    Zachary’s right-side pocket shuddered. What? The Raptor? He turned his body, slapping the vibrating pocket. Who could be contacting him? Rosa? Her parents? Had she notified the authorities? It’d been her idea for him to take the Intercom. Had she tricked him? Zachary bit his lower lip, knowing that he couldn’t claim that he’d found the Intercom. Her bot had seen him. Bots could record things. Walking processors. She’d confirm that he’d been there – below her home.
    The vibrating stopped.
    “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” said Diego.
    Zachary swallowed, keeping his hand over his pocket.
    The Raptor vibrated again.
    He wondered if his effort to unlock the Intercom earlier had sent a signal to alert others. The Intercom stopped vibrating. How long before it started again? Whoever it was, they’d continue their attempt until somebody answered it.
    “I have to go,” muttered Zachary.
    “Go?” Diego stepped forward. “Where?”
    “I forgot … to pass a message on. I have to go.”
    “What?” spluttered Diego. “Is it because of the marbles? I’m sorry.”
    “No – not the marbles. Go back to the mounds and wait for me. I won’t be long.” He dashed away. “I’ll be back.”
    That was enough. Darting without stopping, Zachary ran for a minute. He reached the overhanging bank with the abandoned vehicles.
    As predicted, the Raptor vibrated with blue lights encircling a green and a red circle on the Intercom’s outer shell. Clutching the Intercom close to his face, he gulped. A moment of panic seized him. No need to answer; he could smash it.
    Hand shaking, Zachary tapped the green circle.
    “Hello,” he croaked.

Chapter 7 - Fail
    High-pitched rattling escaped the Raptor Intercom.
    Fearing face-melting shards bursting onto him, Zachary dropped the device, muffling its crackling on the ground.
    “Are you there?” came a masculine voice as Zachary grasped the Raptor.
    His eyes darted over the dusty scratches on the outer shell. There was no name or detail to identify the caller. He didn’t have to respond. Control rested in his hands.
    “Zachary?” said the Intercom. “Can you hear me?”
    Scraping skin off his chapped lips with his teeth, he paused. “Hello.”
    “Thank God,” crackled the device. “I thought you might have sold it already.”
    “Who is this?”
    “It’s me, Rosa,” expressed the Intercom, surprised that he’d dared to raise the question. “Do I really sound that different on these things?”
    Zachary frowned at the Intercom. Had he damaged it whilst moving? It should have been perfect. Why the static damage?
    “You sound like you’re in the middle of a turbine,” he said.
    “Middle of a turbine?” murmured the deep voice. “Oh, I get it. Shake the Raptor. Either the receptors haven’t adjusted to your location, or maybe it doesn’t work down there. Do you