The Hidden Beast by Christopher Pike Read Free Book Online Page B

keep from stumbling.
    They were still a ways from the stairs when Watch realized they were not going to make it. The creature was seconds from reaching them, from crushing them as it clearly intended to do. But the dark pool was only a few feet up ahead and Watch pointed to it as they ran.
    â€œWe have to jump in there!” he yelled over the roar.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œIn there! We have to jump!”
    â€œNo! We’ll die!”
    â€œWe’re going to die before we reach the steps!” Watch tightened his hold on Cindy’s hand. “We’re jumping!”
    â€œNo!” Cindy screamed.
    But they were already in the air, flying toward the water.
    And it was a good thing.
    Because from behind them a red wall of flame flashed forward. It was like the arm of an atomic bomb, and just as deadly. The fireball flew toward them with blinding speed. Just the heat of its approach was scalding. Watch and Cindy actually felt their skin begin to singe the instantbefore they hit the water. Then they were sinking into the cold blackness.
    Yet that didn’t last.
    The red flame blasted over the surface of the pool, turning it into a nightmarish pot of human stew. Through the glare of the fire they could see each other floating beneath the bubbling surface as they heard the explosion of steam when the top few inches above the pool ruptured into gas. The steam, shot through with the fire, looked like a cloud from hell. The buoyancy of their bodies began to pull them to the surface but Watch reached over and yanked Cindy back down. In the blistering red light, he frantically shook his head no.
    His meaning was clear.
    If we surface we get cooked.
    The wall of flame began to dissipate but then another came and once more the surface exploded with steam. This time the blast from the superheated water began to reach them, and they had to swim deeper to keep from being scalded. But now they were each desperate for a breath. Watch pointed to the side and shook his arm.Once more his meaning was clear. They had to swim away from the boiling water before they could surface. Cindy shook her head frantically.
    She wanted to go up.
    Even though it meant she would be burned.
    She just wanted to breathe.
    But Watch wouldn’t let her go up. He knew if they could just get a little ways from the fireball, the water would be a safe temperature. He shook his head firmly and continued to pull on Cindy’s arm. But this struggle cost them both energy—and oxygen—and even Watch began to despair of getting to cooler water. His chest was a furnace in itself. He needed to breathe!
    A third fire ball did not come.
    The red light overhead began to diminish.
    Suddenly they encountered cool water.
    Cindy jerked to go up.
    Watch jerked her back down. He flashed five fingers at her.
    Let’s move over five more feet.
    He knew it could mean the difference between having the skin melted from their limbs and coming up in nice cool water. But he practically had to drag Cindy with him. But then, finally,they did surface, in warm water. As they gasped for air—and it had never felt so good to breathe—he put his hand half over her mouth.
    â€œBreathe quietly,” he whispered. “She’s still close.”
    Cindy nodded as she tread water. Nearby the clouds of steam continued to glow a gruesome red, but the light was fading fast. If they could elude the beast a few more seconds, they might fool it into thinking they had perished.
    But for all they knew the creature could see in the dark.
    â€œDo you know where she is?” Cindy whispered when she had caught her breath.
    Watch gestured back the way they had come. “Over there. She seems to be moving away.”
    â€œShe’s growling.”
    â€œShe’s mad,” Watch said. “Her home has been broken into and her things disturbed.”
    Cindy pointed to the steps that ran through the center of the pool.
    â€œMaybe we should make a run for