The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore Read Free Book Online Page B

hoarse. ‘Like we already lost and no one’s got around to telling us.’
    I walk up next to him and put my hand on his shoulder. Our backs to the neon lights of Trapper’s, I can’t really see Nine’s face, but I’m pretty sure his eyes are wet with tears.
    ‘Bullshit,’ I reply. ‘We don’t lose.’
    ‘Tell that to Eight.’
    ‘Nine, come on –’
    Nine shoves both his hands through his tangled black hair, almost like he’s going to pull some out. Then, he brings his hands down over his face, rubbing it. When he drops them back to his sides, I can tell he’s trying to be stoic.
    ‘It was my fault, too,’ he continues. ‘I got him killed.’
    ‘That’s not true.’
    ‘It is. Five kicked my ass and I couldn’t help myself. Had to keep talking, had to show him. It should’ve been me. You know it; I know it; Marina damn sure knows it.’
    I take my hand off Nine’s shoulder and punch him in the jaw.
    ‘Ow! Damn it!’ he yelps, staggering away from me and nearly losing his footing in the gravel. ‘What the hell?’
    ‘Is that what you want?’ I ask, stepping towards him, fists clenched and ready. ‘Want me to kick your ass a little bit? Punish you for what happened to Eight?’
    Nine holds up his hands. ‘Cut it out, Six.’
    ‘It wasn’t your fault,’ I tell him evenly, unclenching my fists and then jabbing him hard in the chest with my fingers. ‘Five killed Eight, not you. And the Mogadorians are to blame. Got it?’
    ‘Yeah, I got it,’ Nine replies, although I can’t be sure if I’ve actually gotten through to him or if he just wants me to stop assaulting him.
    ‘Good. Enough with this mopey crap. We need to figure out what we’re doing next.’
    ‘I’ve already figured that out,’ Marina chimes in.
    I was so intent on beating some sense into Nine that I didn’t hear her approaching. Neither did Nine, and I can tell by the embarrassed look on his face that he’s wondering how much Marina overheard.At the moment, Marina doesn’t seem concerned with Nine’s meltdown. She’s too busy dragging along the scrawny guy from the bar, Dale, the one who wanted to trade me his awesome story for a beer. Marina leads him across the parking lot towards us, holding his ear like a cruel teacher escorting a delinquent to the principal’s office. I notice the slightest coating of frost forming on the side of Dale’s face.
    ‘Marina, let him go,’ I say.
    She complies, yanking Dale ahead of her so that he stumbles into the gravel, ending up on his knees right in front of me. I give her a look – I understand where the violent streak comes from, but I don’t like it. Marina ignores me.
    ‘Tell them what you told me,’ Marina orders Dale. ‘Your
amazing
story.’
    Dale looks at the three of us, eager to please yet obviously terrified, probably thinking we’re going to kill him if he doesn’t listen.
    ‘There’s an old NASA base out in the swamp. Got decommissioned in the eighties when the swamp started rising,’ Dale begins haltingly, rubbing the side of his face to warm it up. ‘I go out there sometimes, looking for stuff I can sell. Normally, it’s deserted. But last night, man, I swear I saw UFOs floating around out there. Creepy guys who didn’t look right with guns like I ain’t never seen guarding the place. You ain’t with them, are you?’
    ‘No,’ I answer. ‘We most definitely are not.’
    ‘Dale’s volunteered to show us the way,’ Marina says, nudging Dale with the toe of her sneaker. He swallows hard and then nods enthusiastically.
    ‘It’s not far,’ he says. ‘Couple hours through the swamp.’
    ‘We just spent two days hiking out of that swamp,’ Nine says. ‘Now you want to go back in?’
    ‘They
have
him,’ Marina hisses, pointing into the dark. ‘You heard Malcolm’s story about what they did to Number One. They stole her Legacies.’
    I give Marina a sharp look. Even if most of it doesn’t make any sense to him, Dale’s still listening