Sundial
Page 31
I sat on a wooden stool and Helga released the valve of the hanging bag of tepid decontamination water over my body. She gave me shampoo for my hair and then rinsed me off again. I wrung out my hair and got as dry as I could with the chamois towel she gave me.
Next, she put several drops of saline in my eyes and swabbed my nose to be certain I had not inhaled anything. Then I had to gargle with hydrogen peroxide and rinse out my mouth. Helga used a Q-tip to clean my ears. Then she ran a handheld dosimeter over me to check for radiation.
It did not spike at all. Helga put the towels into a radioactive bag and sealed it. I thought we were done but we repeated this entire process again.
The second time, the tepid water was making me cold since my body temperature had cooled down from the rubber suit. I was rinsed, shampooed, and dried again. My hair squeaked it was so clean. My eyes and mouth were flushed once more and Helga rescanned me with the dosimeter. At last, she was satisfied and she let me pass into the changing chamber. There was a set of black silk long johns to put on and a clean pair of wool socks.
I heard Reid protest as she walked into his chamber with Mr. Parks but she wanted to make sure with her own eyes that he was radiation-free. I smiled as I climbed through the final lead door into the truck and thought about how I needed to call Blair as I put on my Soviet uniform for the ride back to Vienna. I wanted to hear her voice and return to my normal life.
Our contaminated suits and towels were left in sealed radioactive waste bags outside the gate. The wooden stools were tossed into the woods and everything else was collapsed and put under the truck. At some point, the drunk and passed out guard would find the bags and wonder what had happened.
We passed easily through the checkpoints. All the guards were enjoying the vodka and remembered Helga, who was driving, like an old comrade. Mr. Parks pretended to be asleep in the front seat but it didn’t matter. They waved us through with sloppy, intoxicated grins.
I sighed with relief as we left the exclusion zone and the truck shook with speed. We were leaving the wasteland behind, and Carson Noir’s proof was dissolving into the atmosphere.
My thoughts turned toward home. Even though I was exhausted, I was thinking about Friday’s hockey game and catching up on homework. I wondered what was going on with my friends. Had Blair had found a way to spend more time with Patrick that did not involve code names and the FBI car? I felt my head lean against Reid’s chest and dozed off.
“Helga! It’s Whitney’s skin—it’s glowing!” Reid’s concerned voice woke me up. He was holding my hand and pulling up my sleeve. I looked down at my arm and saw he was right. It was like my skin was lit with a light bulb from within. This could not be good.
“Move away from me, Reid,” I ordered. Instead, he pulled up my other sleeve. “Let go of me—I’m probably radioactive!”
“Impossible,” Helga huffed. Mr. Parks took the wheel and she climbed back into the truck with her portable dosimeter. She turned up the volume to hear any small click as she ran it over me. There was no noise and no pulse of light to indicate any positive reading. I was clean of radiation but it did not explain why I looked like I was under a beam of light from the sun.
“How do you feel? Do you feel all right?” Reid asked, worried. He had not let go of my hand. I had not closed my mind and that was when I realized he was trying to figure out what was going on through physical contact. He wouldn’t let go of me—he was reading me.
I nodded. I felt fine. In fact, I felt good. Like I had just had a boost of energy. Reid was synced into the sensation and he looked at me with amazement.
“It feels like you are somehow getting stronger. How is this strength inside your body?” Reid asked me. All my fatigue was disappearing and my muscles felt well rested. I felt so much better…I felt reborn.
My eyes widened as I saw a road sign and realized we were over fifty miles away from reactor four. The pure energy gas would have started to release into the atmosphere. This was not radiation…this was pure energy. Once again, the release of a massive natural power had unexpected results.
“If Carson Noir didn’t want to kill me before, she really will now. I think the pure energy being released from the vial that is dissolving in reactor four is filtering through my body. Somehow, it is drawn to me. I can feel it healing me,” I answered. I got chills as I said the words. It was if I was speaking a forgotten truth. This was what it meant to be the Sundial. I could absorb pure energy.
“Reid. It’s my eyes. I can’t see anything…” I stammered as my entire world faded to black.
What has happened to Whitney? What is Reid hiding about Karen? Does Blair connect with Patrick? What do Carson and Vlad have in store for Sunrise? For a sneak peek of the first chapter of the next book log on to http://sundialbook.com.
Text copyright © 2011 by C.F. Fruzzetti and M.I. Pearsall
No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from C.F. Fruzzetti and M.I. Pearsall.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters and events are either products of the authors’ imaginations or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved.
Pure Energy Books
Richmond, Virginia
http://pureenergybooks.com
Cover copyright © 2011 by Sara Hill
eBook design and layout copyright © 2011 by Rob Siders
Summary: Teenager Whitney Forbes thought her biggest problem was surviving high school and determining if there was more to handsome Reid Wallace than just his looks and popularity. She was wrong; her problems were about to get a lot more complicated.
http://sundialbook.com
First Edition: July 2011
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Reflection
Chapter Two: Turning Point
Chapter Three: Launch
Chapter Four: Decision
Chapter Five: The Plunge
Chapter Six: Advantage
Chapter Seven: Cachet
Chapter Eight: Fireworks
Chapter Nine: Dr. West
Chapter Ten: All That Glitters
Chapter Eleven: Homework
Chapter Twelve: Proof
Chapter Thirteen: Still Standing
Chapter Fourteen: Sunrise
Chapter Fifteen: Not Alone
Chapter Sixteen: The Anchor
Chapter Seventeen: Undeterred
Chapter Eighteen: The Hunt
Chapter Nineteen: The Answers
Chapter Twenty: 24 Hours
Chapter Twenty One: The Heart of a Crane
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