riven by maggie morris (best novels to read for students TXT) 📕

need to devise a plan for how we’re going to purchase the tickets.”

I groaned. “What have you figured out?” Suddenly, an idea hit me. “What if I created a portal to Virginia? Then we wouldn’t need any money and it would be a lot faster.”

“Great idea! Now, please explain to me how you’re going to get the supplies,” Adam said sarcastically.

“Well, I hadn’t really thought about that, but I bet I could make a portal out of that dentist chair, some duct tape, tweezers, a blowtorch, and a microscope.”

“Go for it.”

 

* * * * *

 

Three hours later, we were standing on the roof of Grandpa’s building with the dentist portal, as I liked to call it. I had accepted (and successfully completed) Adam’s challenge of using limited supplies.

While the portal was different, it still was functional. Basically, you sat down on the chair and pressed a button on the right arm, and within three seconds you would be in D.C. As soon as you pressed the button, another replica of the chair would end up someplace in Virginia or Maryland, and that would be where you stopped.

Now, we were about to leave for Washington D.C. Grandpa had packed us bags with almost all of the office building’s resources, and we were ready to go.

“Who first?” Grandpa asked. Adam and I must not have looked very voluntarily, because then Gramps said, “Fine, wimps,” he said in a grandfatherly way, “I’ll go first. I fully trust my granddaughter’s contraption.” Even as he said those words, he still looked reluctant to cross through my portal.

But, without another word, he sat down and pressed the button. Instantaneously, he disappeared. Adam went next. With a heavy sigh, he plopped into the chair, and with a press of the button, vanished.

Now it was my turn. I didn’t fully trust my make-shift transportation device either, but I had to get to Washington D.C. somehow. I completed the same process that my relatives had done, and then I was there. Just like that.

D.C. looked exactly like a city in chaos should. Litter blew around in the high winds, people lay sleeping on the ground, and cars were spewing fumes into the air. We needed to get to the Capitol immediately.

I searched for Grandpa and Adam with my eyes and immediately spied them sitting together on a park bench, laughing at a homeless person pushing a shopping cart down the street. I looked closer and saw that it was the president-or should I say, former president.

I joined in their mocking silently, then walked over to greet them.

“Yep, good job, baby sis’!” Adam high-fived me. “Truthfully, I’m surprised ya’ didn’t get us killed.”

“Great job, Alice!” Grandpa beamed.

“You’ll address me now as President Forgie!” I snapped. Grandpa looked taken aback; until I smiled. Then he grinned warily.

“Aw, you don’t get it!” Adam teased. Then he turned to me, laughing. “He don’t get it!”

“Adam, you don’t live in Alabama. You can cut the accent,” I said tiredly.

“You can’t tell me what ta’ do, little girl!” Adam exclaimed. “I like me just the way I am.” He stressed his country slang words just to get on my nerves.

“Let’s just work on the plan,” I sighed, giving up. “How are we going to do this?” Grandpa and Adam exchanged devious looks.

“You see…” Adam started. “For them to trust you, sis’, you need to be there to end a problem when it starts. But ya’ can’t end Doomsday yet, so you need something bigger, something solvable. Gramps?” Grandpa cleared his throat.

“Well, Adam used his noggin’ and came up with a good problem. We’ll steal all the cars in the city, and people will freak out. Then, you’ll be there with a solution-they can walk. You can also bring up the fact that this will save the environment. You will calm them down, and they will look up to you.”

“But I’m just a teenager!” I protested. “Nobody will look up to me!” Adam snapped his fingers and pointed at me.

“Exactly. So, we have a wonderful disguise.” My twin waggled his eyebrows and raised up a skin-tight bodysuit with a tree logo on it. “Introducing...Green Gal! The mysterious, super-human-”

“Wait, wait, wait. I’m going to be a superhero? Like they’re going to believe that!” I scoffed. Adam looked hurt.

“I would believe it. But besides, they’re gullible, stupid, average humans. They’ll believe anything if they know it will save them. Plus, you’re smart. Really smart. And you can play the part.” I noticed Adam’s “accent” was fading. He was cutting out his slang, too.

“And if I say no?”

“That ain’t an option.” There it was again. “Ready to put the plan into action?”

“I guess,” I say, with a heavy shrug of my shoulders. Grandpa stood up and patted his stomach.

He took a sniff of the air and said, “Wow, that greasy food doesn’t leave you feelin’ too great, now, does it?”

I grinned. “You get used to it. But, if you want, next time we could go to a Taco Bell. Their food is way healthier. Plus, they make a mean cheesy bean and rice burrito.”

It was then that I noticed that Adam was gone. Left without us, I assumed. But, as I investigated my surroundings again, I saw that the grass had no imprints to symbolize that he had walked away.

Grandpa seemed to be noticing the same thing. I slowly turned around, looking for any details that I had missed. And, there, behind the bench, was a shopping cart.

An image flashed in my mind, and I knew where Adam was.

“Grandpa! Run!” As fast as he could at his age, Grandpa Melkins ran after me. I dodged steaming cars and broken pavement chunks. Finally, I skidded to a stop in front of a grocery store. Checking the name with the one in my memory, I pushed through the doors.

Inside was not a pretty sight. A few ceiling lights flickered, but the others were out. Cans and premade food lay strewn in the aisles, and the place stunk of rotted meat. And just like I had predicted, shouts were coming from the back.

Sprinting down aisle five, I leapt over a fallen shopping cart. When I reached the back of the store, I saw him-the president. But he wasn’t alone. In his rags of clothes, the former president was holding a knife to my twin’s neck.

Something must’ve driven him crazy. He wouldn’t be acting like this if he was still sane. How was I going to take him down?

When I saw the hole in the roof above, I knew exactly what to do. Adam hadn’t seen me yet, so his facial expressions would not give me away. Perfect.

I ran back up the messy aisle. Grandpa stood at the entrance of the store, not knowing what to do, and I gave him a reassuring wink to let him know I had it under control. Quickly, I spotted a molding ceiling tile. Jumping from a check-out counter and into the air, I grabbed at it.

Just like I had predicted, my hand slid right through. I groped around for something to grab onto before I fell. When my hand landed on a metal pipe, I latched my hand to it and began to pull myself up.

This was crazy. I couldn’t believe that this stupid (but genius) plan was actually working. My body started to slice through the tile, but when it reached my lower back, the rest of it just crumbled. The pipe supported my weight, and in seconds, I was in the ceiling. I gently climbed across the non-moldy parts. I was having deja vu of this afternoon. My escape felt like a decade ago.

When I saw a faint light shining up, I knew where I was headed. Cobwebs brushed my face as I positioned myself over the hole. With one last deep breath, I dropped through.

The president went down.

VII

The knife flew through the air. I was sitting on top of the president with plaster surrounding us. Adam was still pressed against the wall, his face pale. And Grandpa was behind me. I could feel him breathing on my back.

“Well done, Ali’.” Grandpa rested his huge hand on my shoulder. “Well done.”

“Get off of me, you assasin!” The president hissed.

“Wow. That ain’t a way to speak to the president,” Adam scolded. He had gotten his voice back.

“P-president?” The president-I’m just gonna’ call him Jim-whimpered. “But I’m the president!” Jim looked confused.

“You really think that after resigning from the office, living like a homeless person, and almost killing my brother, you really still hold the title?” This guy was crazy. The people voted for him in the first place were nutjobs.

“But you aren’t the president!” He jammed his finger into my chest, and I gasped.

“Not yet, but I will be! So why don’t you and your sorry shopping cart go take a long walk off a short pier!” I face heated up.

“Alice. That’s not very nice.” Grandpa’s deep voice calmed me down. “You and Adam meet me at the White House. Adam knows the way. Meanwhile, I’ll deal with this brute.” Grandpa cracked his knuckles, and even I got a little scared.

I stood up and brushed plaster off my sweatpants, ‘accidently’ stepping on Jim’s hand in the process.

“Sucks to be you,” I smirked. I made it a point to sashay my hips as I left the store. I’d forgotten about my brother until he patted me on the back.

“Dude, good job! Ya’ saved my life. You were all like ‘ninja’ and then ‘super-top-secret-agent’!” Amazing!” He grinned. “Guess we better get to the House, huh?”

“Yeah.” Adam’s enthusiasm put me into a good mood. As we walked to the White House, I put a little skip in my step.

We walked up the steps and tried the door. Unlocked. Typical. I was surprised to find Grandpa waiting at the front desk in the entrance.

“Where’s Jim?” I asked.

“Who?”

“The president,” I sighed, exasperated.

“Oh. Let’s just say that he won’t be bothering us again,” Gramps responded with a wink.

Just then, Adam pushed something into my hands. I looked down and saw the outfit that he had made for me.

“Go get changed!” He ordered.

“Do I have to?” I pleaded.

“Yup!”

I groaned and walked down a hall, searching for the bathroom. At last, I spotted a door with the women’s logo on it, right next to a portrait of George Washington.

I pushed the door open and headed into one of the many elegant stalls. Within a minute, I was changed.

As I headed back out into the main area of the bathroom, I heard a quiet whimper. I froze, all except for my left hand, which was searching for a weapon.

I grabbed a bottle of soap and approached the place where the sound was coming from. I opened the stall...and dropped the soap bottle.

Standing in front of me was the world’s most tiniest, cutest puppy ever. Now, I will tell you, I’m not a dog person. But this dog was so vulnerable and fragile.

The worst part about it was that the puppy was missing one of it’s legs. All that was left was a bleeding, scabby stump. My heart contracted and I picked the poor thing up. It’s fur was missing in places and it’s whole body was shaking.

“Oh, you poor, poor thing! I’ve got you now. You’re okay,” I