Stranded (A stand-alone SF thriller) (The Prometheus Project Book 3) by Douglas E. Richards Read Free Book Online Page A

emphatically. “Why wouldn’t we?”
    Ryan considered. At first, harboring important secrets like the Prometheus Project and their telepathy had been fun, but this had quickly become a burden they were very tired of carrying. “I can think of a reason,” he said finally, not looking at all happy about it. “If we told him what happened, we’d also have to tell him about the Teacher—about the Qwervy monitoring the team. We promised the Teacher we wouldn’t do that.” Ryan didn’t know what would happen if they broke this promise, but he didn’t want to risk finding out. He wouldn’t be surprised if the Qwervy changed their mind and refused to allow them to explore the abandoned city any further.
    “We wouldn’t have to tell him about the Teacher and the Qwervy,” said Regan.
    “Yes we would. In the end we would. Dad’s not stupid. He would know the timing couldn’t be a coincidence. What are the odds of us turning into ghosts the exact instant the truck was about to hit us? Dad would figure out we’re being monitored pretty fast—it’s the only conclusion that makes any sense.”
    “We could lie and tell him it just happened out of the blue.”
    Ryan thought about this. He wondered if his father would even believe them. Solid objects just didn’t become non-solid. That was even more impossible than the other impossible stuff they had seen. Heck, he almost didn’t believe it, and it had happened to him . But this wasn’t even the issue. “I don’t think we should risk it, Regan,” he replied at last. “Whatever the Teacher did to save our lives, it probably shouldn’t have. It may have used an ability the Qwervy don’t want humans to know about. I think we should keep this to ourselves.”
    Regan’s eyes glistened as if she was holding back tears and severe disappointment was written all over her face. After having looked certain death in the eye her emotions were running high. Ryan knew exactly how she felt.
    “I’m really sorry, Regan,” he said softly, putting his hand on her shoulder. “I hate the idea of keeping this secret as much as you do.”
    They sat in silence for several minutes, each reflecting on their traumatic experience and trying to get their nerves back under control.
    Mrs. Resnick emerged from the building and walked over to them, wondering why they had decided to plop themselves on the ground at this particular spot. Her eyebrows came together quizzically. “Having a picnic?”she said. She looked more closely at them. “Are you two okay? You look pale.”
    After staring death in the face, Regan didn’t doubt it. “We’re fine, Mom,” she said, barely managing to fake a smile. “Must just be the lighting.”
    Ryan rose unsteadily from the ground and gestured toward the cart. “What are we waiting for?” he said, although with more weariness than enthusiasm. “Let’s go see the Enigma Cube.”
    Five minutes later they parked the cart near a cylinder-shaped building with a surface as reflective as the finest mirrors on Earth. They watched themselves approach. The curved wall of the building distorted their reflections like a funhouse mirror. As they neared an opening appeared in the seamless structure and then disappeared once they were inside.
    The floor was made from a smooth, polished material, pure white in color, that was one of several dozen building materials the Qwervy seemed to favor. It was similar in many ways to marble, only much harder. There were concentric rings etched into the floor spreading out from the center of the building, which had about as much space inside as a large gymnasium. The far wall was totally transparent, providing a massive window onto the sprawling city. Three foot by three foot cubes were sprinkled throughout the room and holographic projections, often used by the aliens as controls, appearedat different locations. The cubes were alien chairs, and would instantly reform themselves around any body type to provide unmatched