Joshua Dread Read Online Free

right up.”
    “Okay.” Leaning forward, I tilted the jug. All of a sudden, Micus wrapped a branch around my wrist. I tried to pull back, but Micus was surprisingly strong for a houseplant.
    “No, Micus!” Mom yelled. “Let go of Joshua at once!”
    Instead, the tree pulled my wrist down. Water gushed out of the jug, landing in the pot and spilling over the edges.
    “Okay, I’ll give you what you want!” I screamed. “Just don’t hurt me!”
    I couldn’t believe it had come to this—bargaining for my life with a potted tree. Micus yanked harder, and the rest of the water came splashing out of the jug. Finally Mom raised her hand, palm out. She stared hard at the tree, a concentrated expression that always showed up on her face when she used her power. I felt the plant’s grip loosening. As soon as I was free, I leaped around to the other end of the dining room table to catch my breath.
    Maybe I wasn’t in the mood for breakfast after all.

    When I got to school, everyone was talking about the fight between Captain Justice and my parents. A You-Tube video of my dad getting caught in the Net of Truth had gone viral overnight. Things only got worse on my way to third period. I was rounding a corner near the main stairway when a harsh voice called out to me.
    “Hey, Dorkface! Where ya going?”
    My stomach did a somersault. The voice belonged to Joey Birch. As for “Dorkface”—well, I guess that was another of the names I went by.
    Joey was wiry and tall, with red hair and pale, sharp features. He roamed the hallways of Sheepsdale Middle School threatening, stealing, bribing, cheating—followed everywhere by Brick Gristol.
    Nobody knew how Brick had gotten his nickname. Maybe it had something to do with his level of intelligence. Or maybe it was because his head was as flat and hard as a brick. There were rumors that he’d been held back three times. This would have explained why he was the only kid in the sixth grade who had a five o’clock shadow and a learner’s permit.
    Brick grinned down at me, showing off a mouthful of crooked teeth. He was wearing a T-shirt that read:
    This Shirt Is Made from
100%
Recycled Puppies
    “Listen up, Dorkface,” Joey said, taking a step in my direction. “We’re trying to settle a little bet. Brick says that we could stuff you into a locker and shut the door. But I say we’d have to break your legs before you’d fit. Whaddaya think?”
    Neither option sounded all that good to me, but I had a feeling that they weren’t really asking for my advice. Besides, every time I tried to speak, the enormous knot in my throat got in the way, and I ended up making a sound that was something between a squeak and a gurgle.
    “Here’s what we’ll do,” Joey said. “Just break
one
of your legs and stuff you inside. If you don’t fit, we’ll break the other one.”
    Brick grabbed my arm with one hairy-knuckled hand. With his other hand, he reached out and yanked the knob of a nearby locker. The door swung open with a clang.
    I could tell there was no way I was going to fit inside the locker. Not even close. I’d admit that I was kind of small for my age, but I was not nearly as bendable as I looked. I tried to mention this to Joey and Brick, but when I opened my mouth, I sounded like a suffocating hamster.
    I glanced down at Brick’s hand. It looked about the size of a catcher’s mitt against my scrawny arm.
    Brick pulled me closer to the locker.
    “I hope you’re flexible,” Joey said. “ ’Cause it’s gonna be a tight squeeze.”
    I can’t really explain what happened next because I didn’t understand it myself. But a weird feeling came over me. It started as a tingling in my fingertips and spread down my arms and across my pounding chest. Then a surge of energy pulsed through me, a rush of intense power bursting through my veins.
    All of a sudden, Brick flew backward like he’d just been hit by an invisible eighteen-wheeler. A crash echoed through the hallway