Free Blindsided by Natalie Whipple

the vial, looking oddly childish in his anticipation. I use the opportunity to tiptoe even closer to the pile of papers resting at the edge of the table. I only notice I’m holding my breath when my lungs start to burn, but out of habit I let the air out slowly and silently. With how bright the lights are, it’s easy to see the bold lettering at the top of the first page.
    TOP SECRET: Undisclosed Formula and Production Methods for Radiasure.
    I only get a few lines in before the words make no sense. Chemistry is almost as horrible as math for me. Seth might be able to make sense of all this gibberish if I can get it out of here.
    The blond girl lets out a long sigh. “It doesn’t look good, sir. This isn’t it.”
    Major Norton nods. “If it was this easy, someone would have been able to reproduce it years ago. It’s not over yet.”
    “I know.” The girl grabs the papers, and I bite back a curse. “It’s just hard not to want it right now when I’ve been searching for so long. This has been my whole life.”
    He puts his hand on her shoulder in a fatherly way. “That’s why we asked you to help the Army with this mission.”
    I stare at the girl, wondering what her seemingly perfect façade hides. She doesn’t look like she has an evil bone in her body, but I know better than most that appearances can be deceiving. What would make someone like her so bent on producing Radiasure again?
    Static crackles over the comm unit at Major Norton’s side. “Sir, we have intruders at the factory. Awaiting your orders.”
    I cover my mouth to stifle a gasp, knowing exactly who’s there.
    Major Norton grabs the unit and puts it to his mouth. “Do you have a visual?”
    “No, sir. An alarm was tripped on the east side.”
    The Major swears. “Scour the area. Detain anyone you find. We’re on our way.” He turns to the scientist. “I’m sorry, but our work here will have to be cut short.”
    She nods. “It’s a wash, anyway.”
    Major Norton yells commands like a veteran, his voice so loud I’m sure Seth can hear it up on the cliff. The soldiers gather around the large Army vehicles parked on the other side of the pond, while the scientist works to clean up her stuff. I chew my lip as I stare between her and the formula pages.
    One elbow to her head…
    No. I take a few steps back, horrified with my own thoughts. Since we left Dad, I’ve told myself over and over that I never would have done what I did on my own, and yet here I am on the verge of attacking someone. And I still kind of want to, because I need that formula. I have to know if the pools really are what they want. If not, then we wouldn’t have to worry anymore.
    The scientist slips the formula into a folder, and my heart sinks. Chances are getting slimmer. My ideas to stop her increase in violence.
    A soldier comes up to her. His knuckles are sharp bone, and spikes jut out from his forearms almost like depictions of dinosaurs. “Ma’am?”
    “Yes?” She turns, and I know this is the only moment I’ll get. So I slip my fingers into the folder, hoping the spiked soldier doesn’t notice. I get the papers out and drop under the table. My heart pounds as I wait to discover if they caught me or not.
    “I’ll be your personal guard on the way back,” the soldier says.
    “Okay. Just one moment. Let me clean this up.” The scientist stands inches away from me as I try to fold the papers as quietly as possible. I have to get it small enough to stuff in my mouth, which isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. The stack of pages grows thicker at every fold, but it’s still too long to cover. “Are we leaving the table?”
    “No, let me fold it up,” the soldier replies.
    I cram the paper in my mouth. It stretches out my cheeks, and I have to pinch my lips closed. The table flies up—I curl into a ball and pray they don’t walk into me. There’s no way they wouldn’t put me in prison if I got caught.
    Their footsteps scrape at the ground as