Lost Planet 01 - The Lost Planet Read Online Free Page B

rings. She slid one on her finger and held the other out to him. “Put this on.”
    â€œNo!” Parker rushed into the room and snatched the ring from her palm. “You can’t take him away! I won’t let you.”
    â€œHe’s becoming a threat. I’m removing him from the house.”
    â€œI wasn’t doing anything!” insisted Chase.
    â€œYou were spying on our network and interfering with our communications.” Mina took another ring from the cabinet. “Put this on and come with me.”
    Parker grabbed her wrist. “Stand down, Mina. Stand down, you stupid—”
    â€œWhere are you taking me?” Chase interrupted.
    â€œTo Dr. Silvestri.”
    Chase paused as a spark of hope ignited inside him. While he still didn’t know how much he trusted Dr. Silvestri, he did have Chase’s microchip, and possibly more answers for him by now. “Okay,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’ll go with you.”
    â€œI’m coming too,” said Parker, slipping the ring he’d taken onto his finger.
    â€œYou’re staying here.” Mina’s tone was flat and final.
    â€œNo!” Parker shoved her shoulder as she turned to the terminal on the desk, but she barely moved. “You can’t leave me out of this.”
    â€œIt’s safer if you stay here.” She entered something on the terminal, and then glanced at him. “Do I need to lock you in your room?”
    Two bright red spots had risen in Parker’s cheeks. “I hate you,” he spat.
    Mina kept her eyes on the monitors. “Let’s go, Chase. Stand on one of those.” She indicated a trio of metal disks stamped into the floor.
    Stepping onto the nearest circle, Chase avoided looking at Parker, embarrassed by his outburst. He still didn’t understand how Mina could act like his guardian but not be his sister. Was she some kind of teenage bodyguard? But he was too excited about the prospect of seeing Dr. Silvestri to waste any time asking about her. “How are we getting there?”
    â€œJust stand still,” said Mina. She entered something onto a panel on the wall and held her hand against it for a moment.
    â€œWhat’s—” Chase began to ask, and then the entire room faded out.
    A horrible, icy sensation rushed over Chase, as if every nerve in his body had gone dead. He would have shouted had he not been utterly paralyzed. A moment later, the numb feeling passed and he buckled to one knee with a cry. A pinging sound came from the ground below him. He opened his eyes to see that his ring had slipped off and fallen to the asphalt.
    They were standing on a city street, in what looked like an abandoned warehouse district. Mina looked down at him. “Are you okay?”
    â€œThat felt awful! What was that?” He picked up the ring and rubbed his arms, his skin still crawling.
    Mina arched an eyebrow as she helped him to his feet. “Teleportation. It’s not supposed to feel like anything.”
    â€œYou didn’t feel it?”
    â€œOf course not.”
    As Chase looked around, adjusting to the new location, he realized that this must have been how he’d appeared so suddenly on Parker’s lawn—he’d teleported. Tall, dilapidated buildings surrounded them, and there were no other people or vehicles anywhere in sight. The sky overhead had faded to a grayish violet color, the white disk of one sun lingering near the horizon.
    â€œWhere are we? I thought you said we were going to the doctor’s,” he said, trying to hand the teleport ring back to Mina.
    â€œNo, keep the ring on, we might need to leave quickly.” Mina glanced around. “The doctor has an anti-inport device installed at his home. No one leaves their home open for anybody to teleport into without a return ring. It’s the same as leaving your doors unlocked.”
    â€œHe lives around here?” The desolate