The Neo-Spartans: Altered World by Raly Radouloff, Terence Winkless Read Free Book Online Page A

somehow managed it. Like a phantom, she made her way to the two boys who were shouting excitedly at the edge of the building. Judging by the noise level, it was a close race and Gabriel and the others were about to emerge over the rooftop.
                  “Hi there.” Quinn’s sweetened voice made the boys spin around. The element of surprise and the cute girl factor addled their brains for a few seconds, giving Quinn enough time to flatten them and make sure they were not going to interfere with her marshalling duties. Gabriel appeared over the edge of the roof in his final upward vault. He landed with a tumble and was about to stand up when Quinn’s foot pinned him to the ground. He didn’t know what got him, but when she yanked him up and he saw her angry face, the enthusiasm of victory quickly evaporated. Gabriel groaned.
    Quinn pulled him closer and hissed in his face, “I swear, you pull this crap again and I’m going to throw you off a building next time.”
                  “You’d enjoy that, wouldn’t you?”
                  “Why wouldn’t I? Where are you supposed to be right now, Gabriel?”
                  He wanted to curse and yell, but he knew she was right, and there was nothing he could say. It burned him that his buddies were having way too much fun at his expense.
                  “Let’s just go,” he hissed back and they left the roof top.
    Gabriel followed her obediently but after a few steps he back-flipped three times with such lightning speed that by the time his surprised sister turned around he was already going over the edge of the roof, which made Quinn gasp. She could never get used to Gabriel’s daredevil stunts. She made it to the edge of the roof in total panic and looked over, expecting the worst. Instead, she found her brother hanging like wet laundry a few floors down, his jacket caught on a metal rod that had once been part of the support for a balcony. Gabriel had hoped his backflip would position him in the right spot to grab onto a railing, but he had not foreseen the metal rod that had hooked his jacket. The silly image made Quinn’s tension dissipate and a burst of laughter escaped her tight chest—this was classic! Gabriel looked up and saw his sister enjoying his predicament way too much.
                  “I hate to spoil your fun, but will you help me down before my jacket rips, or would you rather scrape my remains off the pavement?”
                  Quinn shook her head and dashed to the door that led to the stairwell. When she got down to the floor where Gabriel was, she pushed her way out of the stairwell window and onto the metal rod to which Gabriel was attached by only his jacket. She shimmied out onto the rod and swung down like a trapeze artist holding on with her knees. Hanging like a lemur, she made it to the end of the rod where Gabriel was hanging off his jacket. She stretched one arm out toward Gabriel. He reached up and got hold of her hand. They both pulled up till Gabriel was level with the rod and able to grab onto it. He yanked free from the jacket and now grabbed the rod with both hands. He looked down at the balcony below but Quinn read his mind and clamped her hand over his arm.
                  “You do that and all your buddies are going to hear about today’s Gabriel bail-out.”
                  She had him this time. He looked down one more time and suddenly he tensed. “Shoot. Cop cruisers!”
    Quinn looked in the direction he was focused on and spotted two Social Defense Force vehicles cruising the area. Working in unison, brother and sister quickly moved along the rod, and shot inside the building. Once inside, Quinn smacked Gabriel on the back of his head.
                  “Ouch! What was that for?”
                  Instead of answering she grabbed his sleeve and they dashed out of the building.