The Water Queens (Keeper of the Water) by Kevin George Read Free Book Online Page A

instinctively know which direction she went. I wish there were another way to travel but there’s not.
    “We have to run,” I say.
    Amelia and John don’t look pleased but know there’s no other choice. I begin to run and they follow. I push myself harder and harder, run faster and faster. I try to ignore exhaustion that’s threatening me with collapse. I move faster than the world’s fastest human but still can’t come close to matching the slowest Amazon. The other two struggle to keep up but neither complains – neither has the strength to.
    They follow me closely so I feel the need to keep pushing myself, even as the corners of my vision turn to blackness. It’s becoming harder to take a deep breath, harder to stay balanced on my feet. Finally, I can’t go any further and slow to a stop, bending over and putting my hands on my knees, sucking wind. Amelia and John collapse to the ground next to me, both on the verge of passing out. We somehow manage to muster the energy to scramble to the side of the road and hide behind some trees as the wail of more police sirens approach.
    “They must’ve discovered the bodies,” Amelia says breathlessly.
    Once half a dozen police cars speed down the long dirt road – finally wiping away the swamp buggy’s trail – I stand and stumble back onto the road, ready to start running though I barely have the strength to stand. Amelia dutifully follows her mentor and it’s a good thing; she helps catch me as my legs give out. I’m totally spent.
    “This is going to take way too long,” I say as John rushes – or at least tries to rush – to my side. “We’re never going to reach the Amazon before Cassie.”
    “Well… maybe not…” John says between deep breaths. He slowly reaches into his pocket. “I was going to… save this… for the right time…”
    I see the bright sparkle of blue before my brain registers he’s holding a vial. Needless to say, I’m utterly shocked; this water clearly isn’t from the former water source we just left. This water sparkles and it’s brighter; there’s no doubt in my mind it’s the water of life in its purest form. Amelia is first to find her voice.
    “How did you…”
    I suddenly look from the water to John and I’m snapped from my trance. I’m less inquisitive than Amelia and more upset. In fact, I snap before letting my recruit finish her question or giving John a chance to explain himself.
    “You had our water all along and didn’t let me give it to my mother?” I yell, my words burning with rage.
    John shakes his head. “I didn’t – ”
    “I helped you first – I saved your life first – and this is how you repay me? If it wasn’t for you, both my parents would still be alive and who knows if Cassie would’ve remembered her past,” I scream. My dam of unspoken thoughts is broken and John just stands there and takes it, his jaw clenched. His lack of response only spurs me to yell more. “And after all that – all the times you’ve stomped on my heart – you let my mother die without giving her your backup supply of water?”
    My hands shake and I feel the urge to hit him. Luckily, I have a little self-control left.
    “Anything else you’ve been waiting to say?” he asks, his voice calm. Still, he can’t hide the anger in his eyes.
    I shake my head but speak anyway. “I can’t believe you, I can’t believe I ever fell for you. At least you’re not denying how selfish you were to keep the water for yourself.”
    “Can I speak now?” he asks.
    “I don’t want to hear it,” I say. “Do you want Cassie to get to the water first? Do you want the plans you made together to work?”
    I turn away before giving him the chance to respond to my accusations; the sight of his face sickens me at the moment. My mind tells me that John couldn’t possibly want to help Cassie but my heart is never so sure of his true intentions. Though still exhausted, I begin to walk away and Amelia hurries next to me