The Terminals by Royce Scott Buckingham Read Free Book Online Page A

Nobodies
    â€œDude, it’s like … aww, forget it.”
    Cam fell to his knees on the beach five yards short of the condo, gasping for air and clawing at his throat. The cord was wrapped ferociously tight, and he couldn’t breathe. Nor could he speak to ask for help. As he drifted toward unconsciousness, he was vaguely aware that the girl was standing over him triumphantly. It was Ari who bent to loosen the bolo, although when Cam’s flailing hands interfered with Ari’s progress, she did help by slapping them away. Finally, a breath rushed into his lungs.
    â€œHere comes Ward,” Cam heard Ari say as he blinked and sucked in air. “He’ll be asking you what you learned and have a silly catchphrase for it.”
    â€œLike ‘the hardest part of every journey is the first step,’” Cam wheezed.
    Ari laughed. “Bingo. Especially when that step is out the door of a helicopter.” He extended a hand in greeting and to help Cam up. “I’m Ari.”
    Cam couldn’t lift his arm. “Sorry, my arm’s messed up,” he said. “I got stuck with something.”
    â€œA dart,” Ari said. “If it’s just your arm, it wasn’t even half a dose. You’ll recover.”
    â€œYou guys poisoned me?”
    Ari grabbed Cam’s left arm and pulled him to his feet. “Relax. It takes two full doses to kill ya.”
    Cam wasn’t reassured, but he found Ari easy to like, perhaps even trust. The skinny guy was friendly and somehow genuine, not like an instructor with catchphrases. Cam turned to greet his beautiful assailant.
    â€œHi, I’m Cam,” he said stupidly. He added a conciliatory grin.
    â€œYou’re dead,” the woman replied without cracking a smile. “The dead don’t talk.”
    Ari handed her bolos back to her. “Cam, I’d like you to meet your assassin, Zara.”
    Cam waited for her to extend her hand. She didn’t.
    Just then, Ward arrived, followed by a small mob of other young adults, all between the ages of eighteen and twenty from the look of them. My teammates , Cam thought.
    The big fast guy was there. Tough to miss. The red-haired hang glider was limping, but grinning ear to ear. Camouflage Donnie of the padded pole strode up in the back, his narrow eyes assessing Cam. A smaller guy stood at his shoulder like an imp, and Cam decided he must be the dart man. Cam couldn’t imagine either of the soft-skinned girls he saw behind Ward sticking him with a needle. One had lips, freckles, and eyebrows so pale they blended with her skin as though someone had smudged them all together with a photo editing program. The other had eyes too big for her nose and a chin too small for her mouth. She looked like a cartoon drawing by a carnival artist who exaggerated his subjects’ features so much that they were embarrassed to ever show their friends the picture. Finally, there was a girl with glasses. She didn’t look very aggressive either, although her lips were puckered so tight she reminded Cam of his fussy Aunt Eunstice. He recalled that Aunt Eunstice could be a real bitch.
    â€œZara gets the tag,” Ward said. She nodded proudly. “But it wasn’t perfect. You had him on his back and mishandled your weapon. Imagine he had a gun. Hesitate and you graduate.”
    Cam didn’t quite understand, but Zara didn’t seem too pleased about her potential graduation.
    â€œThat was some bullshit he pulled with me,” Donnie said.
    â€œDonnie, you also had a chance to take him out immediately,” Ward said. “But you chose to hurt him first. Bad choice. Cruelty inspires your opponent, and gloating like a supervillain just gives him a chance to escape. Instead of showing Cam who’s boss, he showed you that you’re not.”
    Donnie scowled. “I only clocked him once. I was giving him a chance to tap out, but then…”
    â€œBut then he