Shelby and Shauna Kitt and the Dimensional Holes. P. H. C. Marchesi

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СКАЧАТЬ for a moment, and Shelby and Shauna could swear they heard a low growl coming from her.

      “Step aside,” she said, “or I will kill you.”

      “I do not believe so,” Lendox said, calmly. “Marina is still in there somewhere, and from what I know of her, you will not be able to force her to do anything against her will.”

      “I will kill you,” she said, her hand shaking now.

      It was then that Shauna noticed Lendox glancing at Marina’s laptop, which was still lying on her seat. Shauna immediately understood: the laptop was, somehow, responsible for Marina’s behavior.

      “Shelby!” she whispered. “It’s the laptop! We have to get rid of it!”

      Shelby could never explain, afterwards, exactly what had gone through his mind – all he knew was that he somehow grabbed the laptop and quickly threw it on the floor as strongly as he could. Marina collapsed, as if she had short-circuited, but Lendox caught her before she hit the ground.

      “Thank you, Shelby and Shauna,” he said, as he carried Marina to her seat. “Remarkable teamwork.”

      The flight attendant, who had been humming in the kitchen all this time, now came out carrying a tray of drinks, and nearly dropped them all at seeing the soldiers on the floor.

      “Please assist them,” Lendox said. “I have to take care of her.”

      The pale attendant put the tray aside, and rushed to get a first-aid kit.

      “What took you guys so long?” complained Marina, her eyes returning to their usual grey. “I thought I was going crazy! One minute I’m talking about Mr. Bubbles, the next I’m hearing orders to shoot you!”

      “I am very glad you did not,” replied Lendox.

      “How did they get to me like that?” she asked. “Can they just get inside anyone’s head?”

      “They sent a virus through your computer.”

      Marina finally saw her broken laptop lying on the floor.

      “Sorry,” said Shelby. “I was just trying to –”

      “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’d much rather have my sanity than my laptop. Besides, it doesn’t look too bad – I’m sure I can get it to work again.”

      “It could have been worse,” Lendox said. “At least you are back with us, and the plane is still flying.”

      “Now that you mention it,” she said, looking considerably worried, “either there’s a lot of turbulence, or the klodians sent another virus to the cockpit.”

      Lendox ran to the cockpit, with Shelby, Shauna, and Marina right behind him.

      “Do not touch anything!” he warned, as Shelby rushed in. “The instruments are infected.”

      Shelby finally saw the pilots lying on the floor, with dark blotches all over their fingers and hands.

      “Are they dead?” he asked.

      “I am afraid so,” said Lendox. “Marina, can you fly this plane?”

      “Yes, but you just said the controls were infected!”

      “Not for long,” he said, going up to the controls and placing his left hand firmly on a gauge. “No matter what happens, do not interfere.”

      Lendox closed his eyes, and they watched, horrified, as his hand began to darken, like a sponge absorbing ink. Beads of sweat ran down his temples, and he winced in pain as he kept a firm grip on the gauge.

      “Lendox, are you ok?” cried Marina, impulsively taking a step forward, then stopping herself.

      Lendox finally yanked his hand away, and collapsed on his knees.

      “I have absorbed the virus,” he said, weakly leaning on his right hand. “Fly this soulless contraption, please.”

      Marina scrambled to one of the pilot’s seats, and attempted to steady the plane.

      “I need someone to help me,” she cried, grunting with effort.

      Shelby and Shauna looked at Lendox – Marina must have meant him, right?

      “One of you must do it,” he urged.

      Shelby jumped up and rushed to the seat next to Marina. Shauna knelt next to Lendox, and took his hand in hers. She wasn’t sure why she did it – she had never simply reached for someone’s hand before – but she felt that she had to help Lendox somehow.

      “Shauna, no!” he said, yanking his hand away from hers.

      Shauna did not have time to be shocked at Lendox’s reaction, for an unbearable pain on her fingertips suddenly demanded her attention.

      “Ew!” she gasped, seeing that her fingertips had turned blue. “What is this stuff?”

      “Do not panic – it will go away soon,” said Lendox, hoarsely. “You have absorbed some of the poison. It is my fault – I should have warned you about that particular instinct.”

      “What instinct?” she asked, wishing that she could stick her burning fingers into a bucket of ice.

      “You are naturally drawn to help a victim of poison,” explained Lendox. “All healers are, but young healers are not always ready to absorb it.”

      “My fingers aren’t gonna fall off one by one, are they?” asked Shauna.

      “Neither one by one, nor all at the same time,” said Lendox, giving her a weak chuckle. “If you look closely, you will see that you are already neutralizing the poison. In a moment, there will be nothing left.”

      Shauna stared at her fingers, realizing that the fingertips were slowly returning to their normal appearance. She glanced at Lendox’s hand, and saw that it was quickly improving as well.

      “Aren’t you guys going to thank us for steadying a plane headed for destruction?” asked Marina, turning around from her seat. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice!”

      “We did not, regrettably,” said Lendox. “You must forgive us.”

      “I do, but I don’t know about Shelby,” said Marina. “It was his flying debut, you know.”

      “And I totally aced it,” said Shelby, triumphantly. “I rock!”

      “Why didn’t you tell me you knew how to fly, Shelby?” asked Marina.

      “I don’t,” said Shelby. “This is my first time on a plane.”

      “It can’t be,” she cried. “You had it all figured out in just a few seconds – you must have flown before!”

      “Nope,” said Shelby. “Sorry.”

      “Well, СКАЧАТЬ