Free The Guard by Pittacus Lore Page A

Sarah asks. She stands a few feet away from me, and I can see the concern in her eyes, not just for Mark’s condition, but for the fact that someone she doesn’t know is treating it.
    “He’ll be fine,” I say. “The antibiotics will do most of the work. He should be back to normal in a few days.”
    “But I’ve got a big game tomorrow, Coach,” Mark says flatly.
    “I’m confused,” Sarah says. She turns to Mark. “You didn’t know she was a woman? Or Loric ?”
    “I just thought that since GUARD was so good with computers . . . ,” Mark starts.
    She narrows her eyes a little.
    “What?” Mark asks. “Okay, yes, I just assumed shewas a dude. My bad. I guess ‘GUARD’ is technically gender neutral.”
    “You’re from Lorien.” Sarah says this more than asks.
    I nod.
    “And being older . . . you must have been there when the planet was attacked.”
    I nod again, slower this time. Sarah’s face seems to soften.
    “I was on a different ship than the chosen Garde,” I say. “There were only a few of us.”
    “Ella . . . ,” she murmurs, and the name stops my heart.
    “What do you know about her?” I ask, taking two long steps until I’m towering over Sarah. “Have you met her? Is she with Number Four?”
    She shakes her head.
    “The Mogs took her,” she says slowly.
    I swallow hard. “And Crayton? Did they take him too?”
    “Crayton,” Sarah whispers. It takes a few seconds for her to place the name. “No. I’m sorry. . . . He was killed a while ago. In Spain, right before Ella joined the others.”
    The shock of all this must register on my face, because suddenly Sarah isn’t looking at me like she’s afraid I’m going pull a blaster on her. Instead, she’s gota hand on my back and a chair under me before I even realize that I’m sitting down.
    “Of course,” she says. “I should’ve realized you didn’t know. You were on the other ship with them. Oh God, I’m sorry.”
    My hands shake. I wonder how Crayton died—protecting Ella, no doubt. Where could she be now? What might they be doing to her? My hands shake as I try to figure out what to do next.
    The Chimæra they call Bernie Kosar rubs against my legs in the form of a dog, staring up at me with a long tongue hanging out. His tail drums against the floor.
    “I think he likes you,” Sarah says.
    I crouch down, looking into his dark eyes.
    “I knew many of your kind once,” I say, thinking back to those days that seem so long ago, when Zophie and Crayton and tiny baby Ella and I were all cooped up in our ship with a dozen Chimærae. “I hope to see more of you again one day.”
    He lets out a little whine and licks a salty tear from the side of my face.
    “Uh, if it’s any consolation,” Mark says, “it sounds like Ella turned out to be a total badass? Like, apparently she was at Dulce and caused some damage.”
    She was at Dulce. When? How close was I to her?
    I wipe my cheek with my sleeve and look over at Mark. He’s shifting on his feet, his forehead wrinkledwith concern. I think he’s trying to make me feel better.
    “Yeah, so, anyway,” he continues, nodding to the back of the hangar. “Maybe you could show us the inside of this thing? I’ve never been in a spaceship before.”
    I smile a little. “Keep your eyes open, Jolly Roger, and maybe you’ll fly it one day.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    “HOLY SHIT,” MARK SAYS AS WE STEP UP THE metal ramp and into the ship. “I mean . . . holy shit. ”
    “Wait until you see her at top speed,” I say. “If I can get her to run on Earth fuels.”
    “Fingers crossed,” Sarah murmurs. Her eyes are wide as she looks around.
    “Superstition won’t get this beauty up and running. I was just putting the finishing touches on the new fuel line when you two arrived. Let’s see if I was successful.”
    “You mean we’re going to take off right now?” Mark asks.
    “No. I’m just going to start up the engines, with any luck.”
    He looks a little nervous.
    I tap on