Rise of the Elgen by Richard Paul Evans

arm. “The thing looks . . . smaller than it was, kind of wrinkled, like it’s melted.”
    “Perfect,” Ostin said.
    Wade stepped forward. “Guess it’s my turn.” He pulled the foil back from his arm.
    Ian had to look a little longer for his. “What’s up with this? You’ve got a bunch of metal in there.”
    Wade looked stumped for a moment, then said, “Oh. It’s probably buckshot. I got in the way of a shotgun when I was little.”
    “His dad was drunk and took him duck hunting,” Jack said.
    “There it is.” Ian marked the place with the pen.
    Abigail put her hand on Wade’s shoulder.
    “You don’t have to do this,” Jack said to her.
    “I know.”
    This time I didn’t hesitate. I put my finger on the spot and immediately pulsed. The shock wasn’t as strong as the first one, but it was strong enough. Abigail cried out as she pulled away, shaking her hand in pain. Tears were rolling down her face. McKenna and Taylor both put their arms around her to comfort her.
    “I’m so sorry,” I said.
    “It’s not your fault,” she replied.
    Ian examined Wade’s arm. “It looks shriveled too.”
    Jack wadded up a piece of foil from Wade’s arm and threw it at Mitchell. Then he grabbed Wade by the hand and pulled him up. “You’re the man.”
    “That wasn’t so bad,” he said.
    “Yeah, because Abi took it,” Taylor said. “How about a thank-you.”
    “Sorry,” Wade said. “Thanks.”
    “That’s okay,” Abigail said.
    “Now that that’s done,” Ostin said, “how about some pizza?”
    “I could go for that action myself,” Zeus said.
    “Looks like there’s a little of everything,” Grace said, opening the boxes.
    “Pineapple and Canadian bacon,” Ostin said. “Score.”
    I took a couple of pieces of sausage and pepperoni pizza for Taylor and me, then we sat on the floor in the corner of the room. After we’d taken a few bites she asked, “Now what do we do?”
    “We get the information out of Grace.” I looked over at Mitchell. “Hey, Mitchell. Do you have a computer?”
    “Like six of them,” he said, his mouth full.
    “We need your most powerful one. We’ve got to upload Grace.”
    “What’s grace?”
    Grace was sitting on the arm of the couch next to him. “I’m Grace,” she said.
    Mitchell looked at her. “I don’t get it.”
    “They’re uploading me,” she said.
    “I’m so confused,” Mitchell said. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”
    “I’ll tell you,” I said. “Remember when I shocked you?”
    “Yeah, like I’d forget that.”
    “There are other kids like me with electric powers. Thirteen of them. The people who made us this way, the Elgen, are trying to get us back. That’s why they kidnapped my mother and Taylor.”
    “You?” Mitchell said, looking at Taylor.
    Taylor nodded.
    “She’s electric too,” I said.
    “You can shock too?” Mitchell asked.
    “Kind of,” she said. “Just your brain.”
    “Might be hard with Mitch,” Jack said. “Small target.”
    Mitchell made a face.
    I continued. “Jack and Wade drove Ostin and me to California to rescue my mother and Taylor.”
    “Where we were captured and put in cells and tortured,” Wade said. “Still wish you had come?”
    Mitchell looked at Jack. “The Elgen dudes captured you?”
    Jack nodded. “They put these electric collars on us that would shock you if you even talked. But Michael escaped and freed us.”
    “And the Elgen dudes are the ones looking for you now,” Mitchell said.
    I nodded. “Yes.”
    Jack said, “We came back to Idaho to regroup. But the Elgen were waiting for us. They burned down my house.”
    “Then they recaptured us,” Wade said. “But we got away.”
    “That’s where you come in,” I said. “The truck you saw us climb out of, that was what they were holding us in.”
    “You’re really not making this up?”
    Jack scowled. “Don’t be an idiot. You saw the truck, dude. You saw the bullet holes.”
    “So what are you