Free Against All Odds by Natale Ghent Page A

“Yes, I hear it. It has the same cadence as a positronic generator.” He produced a pencil and notebook from his messenger bag and began scribbling eagerly.
    The boys listened for a moment longer, the strange hum throbbing softly around them. Boney pointed through the bushes to where a diffuse blue light seemed to be hovering over the ground. “I think it’s coming from over there.”
    Squeak finished his calculation, then stuffed hisnotebook and pencil into his bag. The two boys inched toward the light, the humming growing louder.
    Boney took cover behind a tall bush, easing the branches to one side. “Holy smokes!” he gasped.

C HAPTER T EN
A T ERRIFYING D ISCOVERY
    B oney and Squeak peered through the bushes at a long, low grey building tucked into the trees. A strange blue light glowed from a single row of small, triangular windows running the length of the structure.
    Squeak grabbed his telescope from his bag and began scouring for clues. “It looks like some kind of warehouse.”
    “I guarantee this wasn’t here before,” Boney said. “How did it get here? And what’s it used for?”
    Squeak continued to study the building. “It’s definitely not made of concrete—that much I can tell.”
    Boney glanced from side to side. “There doesn’t seem to be anyone around. I think we should take a closer look.”
    Squeak lowered his telescope. “Do you honestly think that’s a good idea?”
    “We’ve come all this way. We have to find out what’s going on.”
    Squeak collapsed his telescope. “Fine. But if things seem even the slightest bit odd or illogical, we’re getting out of here.”
    Boney gave him a thumbs-up. Squeak clucked his tongue, placing his telescope back in his messenger bag. They were just about to stand when a set of small, firm hands clamped them on the shoulders, pushing them back down. The boys shouted in terror.
    “What are you doing here?” an angry voice demanded.
    Boney and Squeak spun around to find Samantha Moss staring back at them, hands on her hips, head held disdainfully to one side. “You’re going to ruin everything with your noise.”
    Boney jumped to his feet. “You! How did you get behind us?”
    “Keep your voice down,” Samantha ordered.
    Boney’s jaw dropped. “What are you doing running around out here?”
    Samantha flicked her hair over her shoulder. “I should ask you the same thing.”
    “We were following you.”
    Samantha narrowed her hazel eyes. “Looks like you found me.”
    “Correction,” Squeak piped up. “You found us.” “It wasn’t difficult with all the commotion you’re making.”
    Boney winced with embarrassment. “We wanted to know what you were doing in our clubhouse.”
    Samantha’s tone changed immediately. “Oh … I was … uh … just checking on something …”
    “What exactly?” Boney asked.
    “Well … it’s kind of hard to explain …”
    Boney folded his arms and looked at the girl. “Try me.”
    “It’s okay, it doesn’t matter,” Squeak said, jumping to Samantha’s rescue.
    “Yes, it does,” Boney insisted.
    “No, it doesn’t,” Squeak countered. He leaned toward Boney. “You’re being so rude.” He smiled politely at Samantha. “I was really impressed with your performance at the flying competition.”
    Samantha smiled brightly back. “Thank you.”
    “I’d love to know the composition of your jet fuel formula—if you don’t mind sharing,” Squeak continued, as though they were exchanging cookie recipes.
    Samantha tossed her hair. “Of course. I can write it out for you, if you like.”
    “That would be great.” Squeak dug in his messenger bag for his notebook and pencil.
    Boney barged between them in frustration. “All right, already! We’ve had enough show and tell for one day.” He turned to Samantha. “Can you at least tell us what’s going on here?”
    Samantha stuck her nose in the air. “That’s what I was trying to ascertain until you two showed up.”
    “It’s like