riven by maggie morris (best summer reads of all time TXT) 📖

but still very modern. Five of the computers displayed a nine by five array of the front view of cameras. Over ten were just static, showing a screen of fuzzy blackness.

After hacking past the top-notch security system, I opened a new window and downloaded the app that I would use to broadcast the video. I then unwired one of the security cameras from down the hall, took off the virus that the government had put on it, and set it on the counter, facing me.

I already had known that security cameras could work just like a real camera, just there are special programs on them that block you from using it the right way. I positioned myself in front of the lens and pressed the record button.

“Hello. I am Green Girl, and I can fix your problem. Whoever broke your cars, shame on them. But I am a highly intelligent, undercover scientist, and I know what I’m doing. Which is exactly why I have come up with a solution for you.”

The gears were turning in my head. Instead of sticking with the walking idea, a new plan was forming in my head.

“I have invented what I like to call a ‘Bio Bus’. This is a biodegradable bus that runs on pollution. It takes the dirtied air from the sky and runs it through it’s engine. It does not clean the air, but it doesn’t pollute it further. If you follow me, we can save the Earth and everyone in it. Meet me on the front steps of the White House if you want my shelter and help.”

I ended the video and uploaded it on to a computer. I opened the broadcasting app and inserted the video. I’d done the work Grandpa had asked me to, but now I needed to build the Bio Bus.

In my mind, sketches were drawn and measurements were taken. My ability to do this, to think of the bigger picture, was part of why I was so smart.

I set off to collect my supplies.

 

* * * * *

 

The gleaming metal of my new contraption showed me my reflection. Currently, I looked horrible. I would have to get fixed up before I showed up on the White House steps.

It had been an hour since I had made the video, and I could hear car alarms going off in the city around me. I was sitting on the roof waiting for Grandpa and Adam to finish the dirty work. The video was set up and I could broadcast it with the press of a button. That button was sitting next to me.

Silence settled over the town. The sun-or what was left of it-slowly sank lower in the sky. Finally, at long last, someone came out of their house. And the shouting began.

The first person started yelling, causing others to come out and do the same. Soon the whole city was in chaos and panic. The streets were filled with little kids and elderly people and adults. I saw my cue.

I pressed my button, and for a split second, the crackling sound of static filled my ears. It went away, and then there was silence. I stared hard at a billboard, and suddenly my face was there.

I looked pretty good in my outfit, and I had the town’s attention. My message to everyone was playing through the air, and I could just picture Adam looking smug in some dark alley. I could imagine how far his jaw would drop when he heard about my invention.

And just like that, the video was over. The screens went black and the muttering of the citizens was so loud that I could hear it from my perch.

The mob started to move. Towards me. I had done it. I had the city in my hands, and soon that would be the country, and soon the world, and-

“Nice job,” a voice sneered from behind me. I know that voice! That was- “It’s Ben. And you are going to come with me, or I’ll shoot.” I spun around to see that the muzzle of a gun was aimed at my head.

“What? Why are you here, Ben?” This made no sense.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Move.” He stepped closer to me and bumped me in the arm. My nostrils flared, and my stubbornness kicked in.

“No!” A searing pain shot up my jaw. I gasped and realized that Ben had hit me with his gun. I had never thought of him as a violent person, but as blood spilled into my mouth, I knew I had thought wrong. “Fine. I’ll come.”

Ben shoved me roughly in front of him and I caught a glimpse of how shaky his arm was.

“Answer my question. Why are you here? And why are you doing this?”

“I don’t take orders from you!” He sneered.

“Then who do you take orders from? Who’s making you do this?”

“No one! I work by myself,” Ben shouted, a little too quickly. He seemed to realize it, too, because a clouded look passed over his face. It was easy to see that he was lying.

I smiled. I had some leverage. “You can either tell me who it is, or I won’t move. You can kill me if you want, but I won’t move.” I stopped walking.

“What?!” Ben’s jaw clenched, and he raised his arm.

“They want me alive. Just put down the gun, Ben, and I can help you escape them. They won’t be able to hurt you. Let me go,” I coaxed.

“No! I won’t let my family die for you!” He spat.

“That’s it, then! They have your family hostage! Just tell me who they are and what they want me for, and I will go with you. I’ll make sure they don’t find out.” My last effort worked. Ben visibly relaxed, and the gun slipped from his fingers.

“They’re called the N.E.W.S., which stands for Next End Wave Scientists. They’re collecting the smartest people in the world, and forcing them to create ‘battery bombs’, which are causing the sun to be blocked out.

They hold the scientists hostage and won’t let them leave. They stay there ‘till the end of the world making the battery bombs. N.E.W.S. came and tried to take me, and I wouldn’t go. So, they took my family instead. They said that if I don’t want to go with them, I have to find someone to go in their place. They’ll kill my family if I don’t do this, Alice.”

Then it hit me. Ben didn’t know I was super smart. Why would he be taking me? Unless…

“Get out of Ben!” I shouted.

“What?” Ben-or should I say the imposter-growled. “I am Ben. How can I get out of him?”

“I know what you are! I know you are lying!” I shove my finger in his face. “Get. Out. Of. BEN!”

“If I’m not Ben, then what am I? An imposter?” He smirked.

“Yes. But you are also a-” I repeated the top-secret series of numbers and letters. Imposter Ben’s eyes widened, then narrowed.

“How did you know that?”

“I am the daughter of the person who created them. And that means that I know they are illegal.”

“Fine,” he spat. “If you know, then I’ll go. But this won’t be the last of N.E.W.S. They will find you, and they will capture you.” With that, the life faded out of Ben’s eyes and he slumped to the ground.

“Ben?” I dropped to the floor and slapped his face, trying to wake him up. His eyes fluttered and I knew he was alive.

I turned around, and, with a shock, realized that we had never made it down the ladder. We were still on the roof, and very close to the edge. I leaned over to look below.

Suddenly, something slid off my neck.

“NO!” I yelled, trying to wrap my hand around it as it fell through the air. My skin brushed cold metal, but the item slipped through my fingers. It was gone. My foster mother’s necklace. The one that she had given to me so we could feel more like mother and daughter.

A sudden groan behind me caused me to spin around, quickly masking my grief.

“Alice?” Ben moaned, slowly sitting up. “Is that you? Where am I?”

“Yes, it’s me. And you’re in Washington D.C.” He blinked.

“I’m dreaming, right?”

“Um, no. Ben, you’re in for a long explanation, but right now, I have a city to meet. You can stay here or come with,” I told him. Ben gave me one of the most believable, completely innocent, confused looks I had ever seen. “I’m sorry, but there really is no time to explain.”

“I trust you. Just please, tell me what happened when you’re done.” He patted me affectionately on the shoulder. I smiled gratefully and ran over to the Bio Bus. I had no way to get down the ladder. I guess I would have to bring the citizens to it, instead of the other way around.

I threw Ben one last look that I hoped read ‘thank you’. My sight of him disappeared as I climbed down the ladder.

I could hear angry shouts coming from beneath me, letting me know that my audience was getting impatient. I broke into a sprint, stumbling down the heavily carpeted steps of the White House. My padded feet against the carpet reminded me of the day this all started, the day I was supposed to meet Claire at her house. The day I got mugged. And that night, in the hospital, watching the evening news. It made me realize that just a month ago, I was a normal girl. But most of all, it made me realize that this might be my last day on Earth.

            That man on the news had said we had maybe a month, and already, that short time had almost passed. I didn't have time to save these pedestrians. I needed to get me and my family members back to Inaceia, and then I could start over one last time with a new dimension. I would get there in time to save them from their destruction. I would get there before N.E.W.S. was made, and then the world would never end. Unless...N.E.W.S. was originally from Inaceia. What if the founder of the evil organization was born in Inaceia, and survived the first apocalypse?

            A sudden pounding on the glass door woke me from my thoughts. I quickly smoothed my hair down and eased the door open. A mob of terrified D.C. citizens surged through, physically pushing me backwards. My eyes widened and I tripped around, trying not to get trampled. A wave of calmness passed over me as I broke free from the crowd.

“Everyone, just calm down!” I shouted, trying to be heard over noise. Voices became hushed, and a sea of heads turned towards me. I gulped. Well, here goes nothing. “Um, I’d like to thank you all for coming.” I tugged at my bodysuit, aware of how tight it was. There was a moment of silence, and I swear an old man in the front shot me a rude look.

“We all know of the issue at stake, but as you have seen, I have a solution for it. If you’d all kindly follow me to the roof, I will show you the Bio Bus.” Excitement rippled through the crowd, and people began pushing and shoving to come up the stairs. One particularly rude woman shoved into me from behind, and I tripped over a stair.

Feet pounded past me, and I heard bones crunch as a fat kid stepped on my hand. I let out a scream of agony. Nobody stopped as I pulled my injured hand to my chest and laid down on the ground, legs and feet bruising my body.

I’d heard of people dying in large rampages, but I never had really thought that anyone could die. Suddenly, I was staring into the face of a handsome young man.

“Are you alright, Miss?” He asked worriedly. He put up his arms as a sort of shield, and the constant pain slowed down, though my hand still throbbed.

“Not really,”