Regina shrieks and covers her head with her arms, and the Detector runs over to shield her from the flakes of ceiling crashing down. A sprinkle of white dust settles over them and makes them cough, but I'm too far away to be affected.
I lower my arm, waiting for Regina to dust her pants clean before I repeat my threat. Again. She opens her mouth to speak, but her eyes dart wide open at something next to me.
"Stop," she yells, and I turn to see Malcolm dart toward me.
He rips the gun from my hand before I have a chance to react.
With a trembling arm, he aims at my head. Tears fill his eyes.
"I'm sorry," he whispers.
"No, wait," I say and stumble backward. "We have to warn Phantom first!"
He hesitates, and that's all it takes.
On the other side of the room, Regina steals the Detector's gun. She cocks it, causing both me and Malcolm to turn toward the sudden click.
The deafening sound of a fired bullet rips through the room, and Malcolm falls to the floor. The thud of his lifeless body hitting the tiles is something I'll never forget.
His eyes roll back into his head.
The gun falls out of his hand.
And I jump.
YOU ARE READING
Project HALO
Mystery / ThrillerPROJECT HALO is a YA sci-fi thriller taking place in near-future Norway. It has speculative elements and will appeal to fans of dystopian works such as DIVERGENT, THE MAZE RUNNER, LEGEND, and BLACK MIRROR. All seventeen-year-old Charlie Walker wants...
