SYLO (THE SYLO CHRONICLES) Read Online Free Page B

that and got dumped like a dead battery. If it could happen to him, a guy who does nothing but the right thing, it could happen to anybody.
    It makes me wonder what the point of it all is. Why work so hard to try to get ahead if the rug can be pulled out without warning? Or you drop dead during a football game? Maybe that’s why I don’t try all that hard in school. I figure that whatever comes my way I’ll deal, but I won’t bother sweating about it until then. That way I’ll never have to feel as though I got burned.
    Quinn doesn’t agree with that. He’s all about piling on the AP courses and building his resume to get into some great school and set himself up to do something important…whatever that might be. It’s pretty much the only thing we don’t agree on. But that’s okay. Whatever happens, we’ll always have each other’s back.
    As I sat in the cruiser watching the helicopter make passes over the ocean, another vehicle drove up. The headlights were right in my face so I couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it looked to be a pickup. It stopped about thirty yards away. The driver got out as Sheriff Laska came over to greet him. He was an older guy wearing a plaid shirt and jeans. Because he was backlit by his own headlights I didn’trecognize him, but he looked to be tall and solid—your basic islander. He spoke to Laska and they shook hands as Deputy Donald joined them. Laska introduced them and started back toward me. As he walked, he motioned for Quinn and our parents to join us. We all converged at his Jeep.
    “Who was that?” I asked, pointing to the guy in the plaid shirt.
    “Another witness,” Laska replied. “Guess he was the fella you two saw riding his horse on the bluff. Deputy Donald’s taking his statement now.”
    “So he’s okay?” I asked. “We thought he got hurt by the explosion.”
    “Seems fine,” Laska said. “And his story matches yours.”
    “Of course it does,” Quinn exclaimed. “Why would we make this up?’
    “Quinlan!” Quinn’s mom scolded.
    “Aw, c’mon,” Quinn protested. “We’ve been getting grilled like we’re trying to pull off some kind of prank. Is that what happens to people who do their civic duty?”
    “Enough,” Quinn’s dad snapped.
    “It’s okay, Doctor Carr,” Laska said. “We
have
been putting them through the ringer.”
    “See?” Quinn exclaimed. “Whose side are you on, Dad?”
    Doctor Carr rolled his eyes. He was used to Quinn being argumentative.
    Quinn gave me a quick wink. I knew what he was doing. He was putting everybody else on the defensive so we didn’t have to be. There was no way we were going to get in trouble for lying about being in bed and riding our bikes out there.
    “Look,” Laska said with patience. “You have to admit it’s a wild story. You can’t expect us to buy it just like that. We have to do our job.”
    “I understand,” Quinn said. “Continue.”
    I had to keep from smiling. Laska may have been the law but Quinn was calling the shots.
    “The Coast Guard’s leading the inquiry,” Laska said. “It’s their jurisdiction. So far they haven’t had any reports of a boat or a plane missing.”
    “I don’t think it was either,” Quinn said.
    “And what exactly do you think it was?” Doctor Carr asked.
    “A UFO,” Quinn stated bluntly.
    That got nothing but surprised gasps from our parents, and from me. Quinn hadn’t mentioned that before.
    “What?” Quinn said defensively. “I’m not saying it was from Mars. But it was flying, and we couldn’t tell what it was. It didn’t look like any kind of plane I’d ever seen. Isn’t that pretty much the definition of a UFO?”
    It was hard to argue with his logic.
    “Whatever it was,” Laska said, “we believe you saw something. So does the Coast Guard and they’re going to figure out exactly what it was. So why don’t you all go on home and we’ll let you know if anything turns up.”
    “What about the truck?” I