Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne Read Free Book Online Page A

tape. We’re going to need lots more—”
    I arrived and dumped out the rolls of tape.
    “Excellent,” Niko said. “Open ’em up.”
    I started to tear the plastic wrappers off the rolls when Brayden elbowed me in the ribs.
    “Nice abs, man,” Brayden said. “You work out?”
    He started to laugh. Jake stopped unfolding the sheeting and was on Brayden in about two strides. He shook him. Hard.
    “We’re gonna die from friggin’ NORAD and you’re busting on the booker about his friggin’ physique? What’s wrong with you? Come on, man!” Jake let go and Brayden stumbled backward.
    I struggled to untie the stupid knots from my shirt.
    Now I knew what Jake thought of me. The booker. Okay. Whatever that meant.
    Meanwhile, we had sheeting to put up.
    “This is going to be much faster,” came my brother’s voice. He came sliding over to us on the linoleum, holding two staple guns and a box of industrial-size staples.
    Jake and Niko manned the staple guns. Me, Brayden, and Alex held the sheeting taut.
    Two layers of shower curtains. One layer of wool blankets (Alex’s idea). Then three layers of plastic drop cloths. The whole thing sealed along the edge with multiple layers of duct tape.
    Astrid came striding over, trailing little kids. They swarmed past the bus and looked at our makeshift wall.
    “Not bad,” Astrid said.
    “It’ll do the trick,” Jake said.
    He grabbed Astrid and got her head under his arm.
    “Hey, kids,” he said. “Free tickles!”
    The kids chirped and crowed, trying to tickle her.
    “Let me go, you jerk!” she said, but with a laugh.
    She pulled away from Jake, pushing the kids away.
    “Get off me, you little monsters!” she shouted good-naturedly.
    Her shirt rode up during the scuffle and I caught sight of her lower back. Tan, muscled, gorgeous.
    She was in better shape than me. By far.
    “Let’s get more blankets,” Niko said. “And do another layer. Then I want to see if there’s some plywood and make it more sturdy.”
    I wiped the sweat off my head and the air felt nice and cool on my forehead. It made me realize something and the something hit me like a fist in my gut.
    “The AC,” I whispered. Then I shouted, “The AC!”
    The AC was on. The huge industrial AC unit was sucking in the air from outside. It was why we all felt so nice and cool after working so hard.
    “Son of a bitch,” Niko said.

 
    CHAPTER FIVE
    INK
    “Where’s the main controls?” Niko asked Astrid. “Do you know from when you worked here?”
    “There’s some kind of security office in the back,” she stammered. “In the storeroom.”
    The little kids clung to Astrid so she stayed behind while the rest of us raced with Niko toward the back of the store.
    We headed through two giant metal double doors into the storeroom.
    It was dark back there. Most of the storeroom was filled with crashed-over boxes and toppled shelving units. Lots of smells mixed together: fruit juice, ammonia, electricity, dog food.
    Set into the back wall were two giant loading bays, each with two huge metal doors.
    I hadn’t even considered that there would be loading bays but of course there would be. Safety gates had come down over the huge doors, just like up front.
    To one side of the big, cavernous space was a booth with the words Operations Center on the door. It had had glass walls before the earthquake, but now it just had glass debris scattered everywhere.
    “Bingo,” said Brayden, king of stating the obvious.
    The door to the Operations Center was locked but since the glass in the door had been smashed to pieces, Niko just ducked through the jagged-edged door.
    There was a row of security cameras, seeing into every corner of the store, though most looked focused on the Media Department.
    “This is awesome,” Brayden murmured. He pointed. “Look, you can see into the women’s changing rooms!”
    “Focus, Brayden,” said Jake. “We need the controls for the AC.”
    Alex pointed. There were four