Level 2 (Memory Chronicles) by Lenore Appelhans Read Free Book Online Page A

me.
    I lift myself up on my elbows. Seeing him here overwhelms me. What if he’s the one who took Beckah? He had access to her, after all. “What are you doing here? Do you know where Beckah is?”
    “No time for questions. We need your help.” He offers his hand to help me out of my chamber, but I slap it away and climb out.
    “Why do you think I’d ever want to help you out?” I challenge.
    “Because,” he says with an infuriating grin, “I know where you can find Neil.”

CHAPTER 5
    HE KNOWS WHERE NEIL IS? My desire to see Neil again wells up inside me, a deep ache that breaks through the fog. At this point I’d do almost anything to find him, to find out if he survived, even hang out with Julian. But—
    “Wait. How do you know about Neil? I didn’t even meet him until I moved to Ohio.” Every part of my brain is on alert. “Did you follow me back to the States, hoping you could get me into even more trouble?”
    Julian laughs. “You think I’m a stalker now?”
    “Let’s just say it wouldn’t surprise me.”
    He narrows his eyes. “When I was on the mainframe, I looked up what you have been accessing.”
    “But how—”
    “You’re not the only hacker in the universe, you know. You’ve been viewing lots of memories of Neil. And not so many memories of me.” He clicks his tongue with disapproval. “Should I be jealous?”
    “Ugh, why would I want to revisit the worst parts of my whole life?” I scowl at him. Jerk.
    He grabs my wrist, a little too hard. His touch jolts me, sending shock waves down my spine. How can I be feeling something from someone’s touch? Are the rules changing?
    “Listen. We don’t have much time. If they’ve taken your friend, then they’re onto us. You’re no longer safe here. We need to go. Now.” He pulls me down the stairs and toward the door.
    I pull back. “Since when do you care about my safety?”
    He grimaces but still doesn’t let go of my arm. His touch is starting to make me feel light-headed, drunk, pliable. “I know you’re angry. You have every right to be after what happened.” His voice softens, making him sound almost vulnerable. Almost. “I know I may not have been that trustworthy in the past. But I need you to trust me now. We have to go.”
    A loud blast knocks me to the floor, facedown, taking Julian down with me.
    “Felicia!” Julian swears and immediately goes into action mode, jumping up, flipping me over, hooking his arms under my armpits, and pulling me toward the wall. As he drags me, I am horrified to see that the blast targeted my memory chamber. Its once smooth planes are ragged, flames licking at what was my refuge for so long.
    Julian taps out a series of knocks against the wall with his foot, like Morse code, and a door appears and slides open. As he swings me clear of the door, I see the drones streaming from their chambers and into the common area.
    “Felicia!” It’s Virginia, and she’s sprinting, knocking over any drone that gets in her way. But before she can make the door, it slides closed, and the last thing I see is her anguished face.
    “Virginia!” I choke out a sob, and kick at the door with the side of my leg.
    Julian slaps my face. It stings. “Can you walk?”
    “Open the door back up,” I plead, my face throbbing. “We need to get Virginia! We can’t leave her in there.”
    Julian’s face looms large above mine. His golden hair frames his forehead and cheekbones like a halo, but his expression is anything but angelic. “Can. You. Walk.” He enunciates every word. It’s not a request. It’s an order.
    I’m dumbfounded, but I nod. Julian grunts and hoists me to a standing position. I fall against his chest, and he puts his hands on my arms to steady me. Warmth spreads through my veins, and my skin tingles. It’s the same sensation I get from my chamber, only amplified. It’s so out of place, and yet, I’m euphoric, so dizzy with feeling that I want to cry out. I hate my body for