Shimmer Page 14

  * * *

  Alex woke to the sound of thumps from above.

  Someone was in the house. No, strike that. More than just one someone—many someones.

  Alex couldn’t stay where he was. Maybe they hadn’t had a chance to search the whole house yet, but they would, and when they did they’d find the lab. It wasn’t hidden well enough for them not to. How stupid that he’d allowed himself to fall asleep!

  He needed to lead them away. Maybe if they saw him run, they’d forget about the house and go after him.

  He should have known this was the first place they would look. He should have destroyed everything, just as his father had asked. Now he was trapped.

  Slowly, quietly, Alex crept out of the lab and tiptoed through the storage room, peeking out into the main room of the basement. As far as he could tell, no one else was downstairs. He was shocked to see sunlight streaming in through the sliding door. Had he really slept that long?

  Carefully, he padded to the sliding door and unlocked it. He pulled it open slowly, only far enough for him to fit through sideways, and let himself out.

  Creeping across the back lawn, keeping close to the side of the house, he turned the corner to the front yard and came face-to-face with Silas.

  “Are you freaking kidding me?” Alex shouted in frustration.

  The man calmly stared at him, as if he’d known Alex would come around the corner at that precise moment.

  Alex bolted, dashing for the street.

  Behind him, he could hear Silas issuing terse commands. Tires squealed as cars pulled out of the driveway to give chase.

  There was no way he could outrun them. He had to use the suit.

  Raising his arm as he ran, he activated the laser. Alex looked ahead and, as if fate had intervened, he saw a shimmer on the road in the distance.

  He pointed into the center of it and closed his fist.