THE 4400® WELCOME TO PROMISE CITY by Greg Cox Read Free Book Online Page A

feel a peculiar tingling at the back of his brain, like a sleeping limb waking up after being inactive too long? His bleary eyes spotted the torn halves of the photo on the floor, and he tried to lift them with his mind. Once again, nothing happened, but the prickling sensation grew stronger. Bending over, he rescued the pieces with his fingers.

    He was still trying to figure out where his rescuers had come from. “How … ? What was that with the tooth?”

    Sanchez gestured toward one of the men. “Adams here can fold space in ingenious ways, enough to fit four people into something way too small to hold them. Like a phony tooth maybe.” He massaged his bruised jaw. “Think of it as a Trojan molar.”

    Was that possible?
Richard had trouble wrapping his head around the idea that the entire strike team had been hiding inside Sanchez’s tooth. Then again, when youthought about it, how more far-fetched was some of the other stuff he had witnessed over the last few years? Like Isabelle growing from a toddler to an adult overnight? Or Jordan Collier returning from the dead?

    “Remind me not to do that again,” the woman groused. “I’ll never complain about my tiny apartment again!”

    “That’s enough chatter,” Sanchez said, taking charge. He dragged Richard out of the cell. “We need to get you out of here, pronto.”

    By now, the entire cell block was in an uproar. A blaring siren assaulted Richard’s ears. All the lights came back on. Roused by the disturbance, the other inmates rushed to the doors of their cells, pleading to be released as well. They reached through the bars, desperate to get the intruders’ attention. “Please!” Orson Bailey called out. The middle-aged businessman was one of the first 4400 to be detained against his will. “Take me with you!”

    The frantic cries tugged at Richard’s heart. “What about them?”

    Sanchez shook his head. “Another time. We’re just here for you today. You’re not safe here … obviously.”

    Richard couldn’t dispute that. His throbbing head and ribs attested to the truth of Sanchez’s words. Steeling himself against the piteous entreaties of his fellow inmates, he fell in behind the strike team as they sprinted down the corridor. Adrenaline fueled his legs, despite his recent beating. A heavy steel door, with an unbreakable glass window embedded in its frame, blocked their path. Sanchez tried Keech’s keycard, but the door didn’t budge.

    “Damn,” he cursed. “The override’s kicked in.” Helooked at Adams, who appeared to have recovered from his earlier exertions. “You up to this, man?”

    “I can give it a go,” the other freedom fighter volunteered. He stepped forward and laid his palms against the steel door. A grunt escaped his lips as he focused his ability on the unyielding barrier, which instantly took on that same photo-negative effect. Solid steel seemed to turn inside out, tearing free from its hinges, as the entire door compacted into a luminous black marble, leaving the doorway open before them. Adams scooped up the marble. He was breathing hard. “Open sesame,” he gasped.

    They weren’t out of the woods yet, though. An entire squadron of guards came rushing toward them, clutching automatic rifles. “Freeze!” a uniformed officer commanded. “Get down on the ground with your hands on your head!”

    “Don’t shoot!” Billy shouted over the alarms. He rushed to the front of the team. “I’m just a kid!”

    The guards hesitated, reluctant to fire upon a child, which was all the time Billy needed. His jaws opened wide and a high-pitched shriek issued from his mouth. The guards staggered backward clutching their ears. Rifles slipped from their fingers. The sonic assault drowned out their screams, but Richard could see how the inhuman wail was affecting them. They flailed about in agony. Even standing behind Billy, with the punishing sound waves directed away from him, Richard got a taste of what the