Storm of Lightning by Richard Paul Evans Read Free Book Online

night.”
    â€œNight.”
    It seemed like just a few seconds after I’d shut my eyes that I woke to the room’s phone ringing. The wet, bloodstained washcloth was lying on the other side of the bed, soaking and staining the sheets.
    Ostin grabbed the phone. “All right,” he said groggily. He hung up. “It’s Scott. He says to meet downstairs in fifteen minutes.”
    We all arrived at the van about the same time. Scott was holding open a large pink box of Mexican pastries—where he’d found an open bakery at four in the morning was beyond me. As I walked toward him, he stared at my bandaged jaw. “What happened?”
    â€œSome guys tried to mug him,” Taylor said, walking up behind me. “They hit him with a bottle.”
    Scott looked at me nervously. “What did you do to them?”
    â€œInvited them up for churros,” I said angrily. “What do you think I did to them?”
    â€œMexican barbecue,” Zeus said. “Wish I had been there.”
    â€œMe too,” Jack said. “I would have loved to help out.”
    â€œTrust me, he didn’t need any help,” Taylor said.
    Jack grinned. “Still would have been fun to watch.”
    Suddenly Abigail gasped. “Michael, what happened to your arms?”
    Everyone looked at me.
    â€œThey’re lightning burns,” Ostin said.
    â€œLichtenberg figures,” Zeus said.
    â€œHow did you know that?” Ostin asked. I’m sure he was disappointed that someone besides him knew what they were called.
    â€œBecause I’ve given them to people,” Zeus said. “It’s like my calling card.”
    â€œWhat people?” Taylor asked.
    Zeus frowned. “GPs—Hatch’s guinea pigs—mostly.”
    â€œSorry I asked,” Taylor said.
    â€œIt’s my past,” Zeus said. “It is what it is.”
    â€œI don’t get it,” Jack said, still staring at my arm. “What are they?”
    â€œThey’re scars made by the diffusion of electricity through his skin,” Ostin said. “Lichtenberg figures were discovered in 1777 by a German scientist named Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. He built a machine to generate high-voltage static electricity, then recorded the resulting patterns it made by sprinkling powder onto a nonconducting surface. Afterward, he pressed blank sheets of paper onto these patterns. It’s how he discovered the basic principle of xerography and today’s laser printers.”
    â€œYou asked,” Tessa said to Jack.
    â€œDo they hurt?” Abigail asked.
    â€œNo. I didn’t even feel it happen.”
    â€œIt looks cool,” Nichelle said. “Really cool. Maybe I’ll tattoo myself like that when we get back to civilization.”
    â€œIt’s like a battle marking,” Jack said. “Like the way Maori warriors tattooed themselves before going to war. I think I’ll do it too.”
    Everyone kept staring at me until I finally said, “All right, quit looking at me. Let’s go.”
    â€œYou heard him,” Scott said. “Everyone into the van. Grab a pastry if you want one.”
    I passed on the food. We all piled into the vehicle. Taylor, McKenna, Ostin, and I crowded into the backseat. I must have been ticking a lot, because Taylor put her hand on my face. “Michael, you can lie against me if you want. You need sleep.”
    I lay my head on Taylor’s shoulder, and she ran her fingers through my hair until I fell asleep. I didn’t wake until about two hours later when we pulled off the freeway onto a dirt road.
    â€œWhere are we?” I asked, lifting my head.
    â€œStill Mexico,” Ostin said.
    â€œWe’re about a half hour from the ranch,” Taylor said.
    â€œIan, keep your eyes open,” Scott said. “Let me know if you see anyone. And keep your eyes open for land mines.”
    â€œI can blow them,” I said. “If