Mutation by Chris Morphew Read Free Book Online Page A

–’ Mike grunted, shoving a hand up into Peter’s face. Peter turned his head, teeth clenched, still grasping for Mike’s pocket. ‘Tank! You want to do something about this?’
    Tank reached out and tore Peter off Mike.
    â€˜Oi! Let go!’ Peter kicked and shook, but he didn’t have a chance. Tank was easily twice as big as him.
    Peter had left Mike half-sitting in the locker. His shirt pocket was hanging by a thread. Cathryn hauled him back out. It took some manoeuvring, bending down to reach him and keeping her too-short skirt in place at the same time.
    â€˜Thanks,’ said Mike, picking up his sunglasses, knocked to the floor in the scuffle. He was angry, obviously, but for some reason he seemed to be trying to hide it.
    I looked down into the open locker. The panel of metal on the floor had come loose, bending downwards. It took me a second to figure out why the sight was so weird to me.
    Then it clicked.
    The locker floor was sinking down way further than it should have. Down into the ground.
    I brushed past Cathryn and Mike and stuck one leg into the locker, testing the floor with my foot. It bent up and down under my shoe, still attached to the walls on two sides.
    â€˜Hey, get out of there!’ Tank ordered, still not letting go of Peter.
    I lifted my foot up off the locker floor.
    â€˜Yeah, come on, Jordan,’ said Mike. ‘Just back off and –’
    I stomped back down again. The dislodged panel came away completely, sending a clang of metal echoing through the corridor. It tumbled downwards, through the floor, into a dark, narrow tunnel.
    It was a good five seconds before we heard the muffled sound of the panel hitting the bottom.
    Peter twisted under Tank’s grip. ‘What the crap?’
    I felt Luke behind me, stretching up to see over my shoulder, and I knew his mind was flashing with exactly the same images as mine was: the tunnels under Phoenix. The ones Shackleton and his people used to get around the town undetected. This had to be part of the same –
    SLAM!
    Tank shoved me aside and banged the locker shut, finally letting go of Peter.
    Cathryn looked terrified. Whatever all this was, it clearly wasn’t meant to be public knowledge.
    â€˜You’re dead,’ said Tank, raising his fists. ‘All three of you. Come anywhere near us again, and I’ll –’
    â€˜Tank, wait a sec,’ said Mike. ‘Let’s not do anything stupid.’
    â€˜Think about who you’re talking to, mate,’ said Peter.
    Mike grinned at him, and it looked at least halfway genuine. ‘You want to come hang out with us this arvo?’
    â€˜What?’ said Peter and Cathryn at the same time.
    â€˜No way,’ said Tank, whipping around. ‘He can’t! You know what they told us.’
    â€˜Tank, shut up!’ Cathryn hissed.
    â€˜Yeah,’ said Mike. ‘I know what they said. Things change, though, don’t they? Specially around here.’ He shrugged. ‘Up to you, Pete. You ready to give a mate a second chance?’
    â€˜So the tunnels mean they’re working for Shackleton, right?’ I said, my voice low as we crossed the busy food court at the mall that afternoon, keeping an eye out for Peter and the others. Mike’s sudden offer of friendship hadn’t included Luke and me, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t listen in. ‘Question is why? What are they doing for him that couldn’t be done by one of his other thugs?’
    Luke shrugged. ‘Here’s what I don’t get. If they are working for Shackleton, then why did Cat freak out so much when she caught us watching that DVD Bill left us? I mean, if she already knew what Tabitha was –’
    â€˜Who says they knew about Tabitha?’ I asked. ‘Look at Peter’s dad. He had no idea what he was really involved in.’
    â€˜Shh!’ Luke warned.
    Officer Barnett, the guard from Reeve’s