The Pyramid Chronicles: Tyche Point (#1)

Chapter Thirty-Four: Ready or Not

Veronica checked her phone. "Nope. But they all had to run home." She looked up. "Should we look again?"

"I guess," Sam said. "Weird that she wasn't already waiting when we got out."

Sam drove them to the school, where they circled the parking lot a few times. Still no sign of Raveena.

"Maybe she realized it'd be better if she didn't come," Veronica said quietly.

"Maybe." Sam felt bad, but they didn't have all day to search for her. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed for Summer's house. When he and Veronica arrived, Summer was waiting outside, talking animatedly to two people who must have been her parents. A girl who looked about six ran across the yard, swinging a stick around.

"Oh, they're here!" Summer walked backward toward the van, waving to her parents. "I'll be back in a few hours! Bye, love you!"

She yanked open the rear door and slid into the back. "You guys ready?" she asked, her voice chipper as she buckled her seat belt.

"Uh, yes," Sam said. "You seem...pumped."

"I had three energy drinks."

"Cool." Sam hit the gas and headed for the Ackermans' house. Before long, they would be headed for the lab. No turning back. His hands tightened around the wheel.

They were nearly to Eric and Adam's when Veronica broke the silence. "We're going to fight the government in a crumbling building to try to get some ancient artifact that an organization with a superpowered child army also happens to be after," she said slowly.

Sam frowned. "Yeah?" That was the plan, right?

"Veronica, are you okay?" Summer's cheerful demeanor dropped. Her gaze held genuine concern.

"Okay? I'm terrified. We're probably going to die!" Veronica's voice jumped in pitch.

Sam risked a glance at his sister before returning his attention to the road. "Veronica—" he started, not sure what he could possibly say to reassure her. Once again, her anxiety was sending his own heart into a frenzy. There was a very real possibility that this would end badly for them. If not death, then serious injury. Or maybe getting arrested.

"We're not going to die," Summer said. "We have powers, and—"

"I don't know how to fight. You can shock people and Sam can throw them and Eric can set stuff on fire." Veronica shook her head. "And I was getting better in training, but we weren't in danger then. I don't think I'm actually going to be able to control—"

Summer leaned forward and rested a hand on Veronica's arm. "First of all, I believe in you. Second of all, I believe in us. But you don't have to come if you don't want to." Seeing Veronica's mouth open, she quickly added. "And I know. You're going to come anyway, because we're going."

Veronica pressed her lips into a thin line.

"But," Summer continued. "I saw you in the fight with Scorpion the other day. Maybe your powers aren't quite like ours. But remember when you made that Scorpion girl fall to the ground by increasing gravity? And she couldn't fight us for a minute?"

Veronica nodded.

"You can do that again. You can stop anyone from getting close if you need to." Summer offered her a reassuring smile. "And I have an idea. That fragment's supposed to be stuck, right? Maybe you're the one who can get it out."

"You think?" Veronica didn't look too confident.

"I don't know, but it's worth a shot, right? Manipulating gravity around the fragment?"

"I guess so." Veronica lowered her gaze. After a moment, she added a quiet, "Thanks."

Summer leaned back into her seat.

A few moments later, Sam pulled the car along the curb in front of the Ackermans' and looked at Veronica. "You sure you're okay?"

"Not one hundred percent sure," Veronica admitted. "But I am coming. I guess things will be a lot worse for us if Scorpion gets that fragment."

The front door opened, and Eric stepped out of the house. "Bye Mom, love you!" he called. Adam followed behind, also shouting goodbye before pulling the door closed.

When the two reached the van, Eric was the first to climb in. "Who else do we have to pick up?" he asked as he sat down next to Summer.

"Just Willow," Sam told him. "We couldn't find Raveena anywhere."

"Hm." Eric frowned as Adam moved into the back row behind him and Summer.

Summer's brow furrowed with concern. "You don't think she's in danger, do you?"

"What, like Scorpion got her?" Veronica asked.

Sam hesitated. "I guess that's possible." He'd assumed she'd decided not to show up. It hadn't occurred to him something might have happened to her.

"Maybe she tried to sneak back into the arcade to spy on them again," Eric suggested.

Veronica shook her head. "We can't go up against Scorpion. Not yet."

"Let's focus on getting the fragment right now," Sam said, feeling a twinge of guilt. "We can look for Raveena after."

They made their last stop at Willow's house. She emerged with her phone in hand, intently reading off the screen as she walked.

She took a seat in the back next to Adam. "Do you guys all have your phones on you?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," Adam told her.

Sam's gaze flickered to Willow in his rear-view mirror as the others nodded. "Why do ask?"

"Just curious." Willow turned her attention back to her screen and started typing. "I thought I'd give you all a heads up that they're not going to get a signal underground."

"Oh," Eric said. "Right."

Sam felt unsettled as he took the team toward their final destination, and it wasn't entirely fear of the upcoming fight. Summer had made a pretty good point. Ordinary agents, government or not, would be easy to beat with their powers.

But they were working with limited information. And there was always a chance something could go wrong.

They sat in nervous silence for about a minute before Summer spoke up. "So uh, does someone wanna play music?" she asked. "Because I have a playlist."