Quarantine #2: The Saints by Lex Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

like she was disgusted with each detail of it.
    “Jesus Christ, you’re not great, all right? You’re shit. You got lucky. Don’t start thinking you’re something. But you kept your head screwed on when everybody started to die. And that’s good.”
    “Do you have a point?” Lucy said.
    Lucy swore she heard Violent growl softly.
    “I already made it. Your gang’s going away,” Violent said.
    “You’re going to have to pick another team soon. Now, you can go play games with the Geeks, or hide inside books with the Nerds, you could go to any of them. But, you go Sluts? It won’t be fun. I’ll make you work, girl. It’s gonna hurt. But I promise you this. When I’m done with you, there’s nothing in this school that’ll scare you anymore.”
    Lucy felt chills pebbling the skin up and down her body. She didn’t know what to say.
    “I’ve got one open slot. There’s this Freak, she used to be a sprinter, track and field. She’s fast. Could use a girl like that.” Violent frowned. “If I don’t hear from you by tomorrow night, I’m giving your spot to the Freak.”

7
    SAM GLIDED THROUGH THE POOL WITH phenomenal speed. He was alone. A shark in a tank. Full of power. All muscle. All instinct. Fueled by a fresh feeding. He loved this pool. It was his place to escape, his place to sort out the problems. There were always problems.
    There was going to be a food drop today. It was Varsity’s only real shot at taking control again. The last drop had come out of nowhere, and his gang hadn’t been prepared. They’d looked like chumps. He’d spent half of the drop having to yell at his guys two or three times to listen to him. They acted like they didn’t know who was in charge. And then there was the whole bullshit with them not backing him in front of that Saint.
    Things had gotten so messed up somehow. No, not somehow. It was that epileptic chihuahua, Will Thorpe. One lucky kick and that uppity Scrap knocked down everything Sam had built. It took a year to make Varsity that strong, that tight,that obedient. It took a year to pile up that much food. And in the end, all Sam could do was watch as the entire school stole from him, and filled their pockets with his food, right in front of his face. Buzzards. They plucked those bleachers clean.
    Something plunked into the water in front of Sam and bumped into his head. It was a basketball.
    Somebody threw a ball at him?! Chlorine stung his eyes, making him more agitated. He looked up, in search of the dead man that hucked a Rawlings at his head. Instead, he found a hundred of them.
    All of Varsity stood at the pool’s edge, lining the entire perimeter. Sam tensed up. He didn’t like this.
    “Free swim’s not for another half hour,” he said, keeping his tone restrained. “Get the hell out.”
    No one moved. He took slow-motion steps through the water, toward the stairs at the shallow end. The cloudy water rippled around him, and the little splashes echoed off the high ceiling.
    “This water’s filthy,” Sam said. “I want it cleaned today.”
    Sam wasn’t an idiot. He knew Varsity was grumbling. He knew they had grievances. He knew this was them flexing their muscles. But he wasn’t about to let them complain. He told them how things were, not the other way around.
    He rose out of the water, striding up the steps toward the wall of Varsity in front of him. They didn’t part for him. Sam locked eyes with Anthony.
    “Get me a towel,” Sam said.
    Anthony stayed still.
    “Get your own towel, Sam,” someone said. Sam knew the voice instantly. Terry Sharpe.
    Sam turned around and looked from face to face until he found Terry. He was a tall bastard, but proportionate. Not skinny tall. He had caramel skin and gray eyes. A real pretty boy. Terry had been captain of the basketball team and one of the baseball team’s most powerful sluggers. He’d been the key to assembling Varsity early on and keeping it intact. There was an unspoken agreement that