Rage Within Read Online Free Page A

shouted that everything was fine.
    “What the hell were you thinking?” Tom finally said. “Are you really that stupid? You could have gotten us all killed.”
    “I’m sorry, man,” Kurt said. “I didn’t think he’d freak out like that.” He turned to Scotty, who was on his knees, leaning against the railing and still trying to catch his breath. “I’m sorry. You know I was joking, right? I’d never have actually pushed you. Don’t take everything so seriously.”
    Scotty glared at him for a long time before finally nodding.
    “Let’s get out of here,” Mason said.
    No one disagreed.
    Tom went first, climbing along the railings and back toward the shore. Mason went second. He’d traveled only about ten feet before he heard the splash. Turning around, he saw only Scotty. He stared straight at Mason, dark eyes glowing in hatred.
    “Who’s joking now?” Scotty said.
    “What the hell did you do?”
    He didn’t wait for an answer. Crisscrossing the metal beams, he moved underneath the bridge and to the other side. He scanned the water below for Kurt but he couldn’t see anything. The current was moving unbelievably fast. He tried to calculate how far Kurt might have already traveled. Searching the water out in front of him, he finally saw something moving just below the surface.
    He didn’t stop to think. No voices whispered in his head. He jumped.
    The water was just as cold as he expected. The shock made him gasp, forcing a good pint down his throat and into his lungs. Kicking hard, he propelled himself upward until his head broke the surface. Treading water, he coughed liquid and scanned the area for Kurt. He spotted him, thirty feet away and moving fast, his head bobbing up and under the water.
    He couldn’t tell if Kurt was unconscious or not. All he knew was that his friend wasn’t trying to swim for shore.
    Ignoring the numbness in his arms, Mason immediately headed in the direction the current was taking his friend. Pumping his muscles hard, he tried not to think about what might happen if he didn’t reach Kurt in time. He concentrated on putting one arm in front of the other.
    Come on, Dowell! Move it.
    He could hear people shouting from the shoreline but he didn’t take his eyes off Kurt. Tom and Scotty were way behind them now, probably just reaching the ground where Staci and Britney waited. There was nothing any of them could do.
    He pumped harder.
    The next time Kurt bobbed to the surface, Mason was closer. It made him kick his legs that much harder.
    He almost cried out in relief when his hand brushed against Kurt’s back. Reaching around his friend’s neck,he managed to pull Kurt’s head up and out of the water. Ignoring the moment of panic when he saw Kurt didn’t seem to be breathing, he concentrated instead on working his way to shore.
    Tom was waiting for him. He’d taken the quick route, running along the edge instead of climbing back up the riverbank. He jumped into the water as they drew closer, wading up to his waist, where he was able to take Kurt from Mason’s exhausted arms. Together they dragged the unconscious teen back to land, where Tom shoved Mason aside and began to do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on him.
    After a few impossibly long minutes, Kurt coughed water. Eyelids fluttered and eventually opened.
    “What the hell happened?” he spluttered.
    Mason glanced back at the train bridge, where he could see the rest of his friends slowly moving along the shoreline. The girls were in the lead. Scotty was at the back, barely trying at all to keep up.
    “I’m not sure,” Mason answered.
    “I wasn’t doing anything,” Kurt said. “He just turned around and clocked me.” Bringing his fingers up to his face, he winced as he touched the flesh. “I think he broke my nose.”
    “Scotty punched you?” Tom asked incredulously. “That’s impossible. He’s never hit anything in his life. Dude’s a wimp. He can’t even kick dirt without a guilt trip.”
    “Well,