Leapholes (2006) by James Grippando Read Free Book Online Page A

step toward him, but Ryan raised the box over his head once again, threatening to smash the vials to bits. The guard backed away. Ryan opened the remaining vials. "Don't do it!" the doctor shouted.
    Ryan ignored him. One after the other, he emptied a small amount of liquid from each vial and poured it into the cup. When he finished, he had six vaccines. The others looked on, angry and astonished. To Ryan, however, it felt completely right. He looked at the coach and said, "Bring Kaylee here. She should drink first."
    Nobody moved. Ryan and the coach were locked in a stare - down, but the others were watching the cup, the concoction that contained some of the vaccine from each of the five vials. Ryan smelled something strange. He, too, glanced down at the cup.
    "It's bubbling," said the guard.
    "It's about to boil," said the other.
    It was boiling. As it boiled, the yellow liquid inside began to expand. The cup was half full, then two-thirds full. The sixth share that Ryan had created was boiling and growing right before their eyes.
    Then they heard a noise. It was a deep rumbling that sounded like a distant earthquake. It was coming from inside the cup.
    "What is that?" asked Kaylee.
    "I don't know," said Ryan.
    The cup started to rattle. The boiling yellow liquid was bubbling over the sides like a science project gone bad.
    "I think it's going to explode!" said Coach.
    The rumbling grew louder. The rattling spread to the table. The legs were tapping on the floor. Then the floor, itself, began to shake. At first, it was a vibration beneath their feet. Soon, the whole room was in motion. Ryan could barely stay on his feet.
    "Run for it!" the doctor shouted.
    One of the guards flung the door open. Ryan tried to run, but the floor was shaking too violently. He fell to his knees and dropped the box containing their vaccine. He heard the glass vials shatter. He saw the others running. He heard himself screaming as the cup exploded and released a bright flash of light. The colors were more intense than any fireworks display he had ever seen.
    And then there was only darkness.

    Chapter 9
    The bright light of interrogation was shining in Ryan's eyes.
    The blast in the Infectious Disease Control Cente r h ad knocked him out, cold. Apart from that, he was unhurt. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious. Even more disconcerting, he had no idea where he was.
    "You are in a tremendous amount of trouble, young man." The deep voice filled the room, but Ryan's interrogator was a dark silhouette in the shadows, standing behind a bright spotlight. It was like staring into the headlights of an oncoming car in the dead of night and trying to identify the driver. Somehow, however, Ryan could feel the weight of the stranger's stare.
    "Who are you?" asked Ryan.
    "I'm Detective Frank Malone. And 77/ be the one asking the questions from here on out, thank you."
    Ryan couldn't look into that white light another minute. As he averted his eyes, he noticed that he was no longer wearing his jeans and sweatshirt. His basketball jersey was gone, too. Someone had removed his street clothes. He was clad in a jumpsuit. An orange jumpsuit--the same kind of orange jumpsuit that his father wore whenever Ryan visited him at the state penitentiary.
    "Am I in prison?"
    "No more questions," said the detective. "It's time for you to cough up some answers, Mr. Coolidge."
    Coolidge! They knew his name. But how? It must have been the missing person's report that the ER physician had mentioned. His mother had probably filed it, and the police figured out that Ryan LNU was Ryan Coolidge. "Sir, I know what you must be thinking. But I'm not like my father. I didn't do anything wrong."
    "We'll see about that. Right now, I'd venture to say that you're in far more trouble than your father ever got himself into."
    Ryan couldn't imagine why the detective would say such a thing. Then it came to him. They must think I started thatfire. "It wasn't me. I didn't start that