E.R.I.C. (The Almost Series Book 2) by Christina Leigh Pritchard Page A

force. He flailed his arms, resisting the magnetic field. It was no use. He followed the others, getting trapped with them. I held the anti-gravity pen in my hand, allowing me and Darla to exit without getting sucked. I glanced back, watching my three-point explosion repair itself. That process included keeping the others inside, together, away from us.
    I grabbed the three-inch emergency raft cube, exposing it to water. It filled, lifting us up towards the surface. Darla gasped for air. She didn’t have her oxygen in. I gave her some of mine.
    Amie pointed towards the surface, then motioned in the direction of Miami’s closest border. She smiled and somersaulted before us. “You’ve escaped! What cleverness!”
    I shook my head. “Not yet,” I said. “I never finished working on step three.”
    Darla and I gasped for air as our heads surfaced. The raft bounced up and I tipped it over, emptying the remaining water from inside. She was heavy and barely able to hold onto the sides.
    Amie shook her head. “What was step three?”
    “Clean up,” I said, shoving Darla in her behind. She dropped into the raft. “Dr. Cole never let me finish working on it, so eventually repair mode reverts back to explosion.”
    “Hurry! Stop daydreaming, Shay!” Darla grabbed an oar and I hit the expanding motor. It seized, water flooding it.
    “Why is it taking so long?”
    “It’s my original prototype; it takes three minutes to complete building.”
    “How much time do we have before that horrible invention you have explodes?”
    “Two minutes maybe?”
    “This is the worst plan you’ve ever had!” Darla started rowing before I could even grab my paddle. “This isn’t very thought out.”
    “That’s because you didn’t follow the original plan. I had to make something up! This is your fault!”
    “Yelling at the frightened O.H.P. will not help save her. Row, Shay, Row.” Amie pressed her nose to my cheek. “You’re both frightened. She doesn’t mean what she’s saying.”
    A rumble came from below. “We gotta hurry.”
    Waves capsized us.
    Darla gagged, grabbing at the sides of the raft. I held onto the other side, balancing it out.
    “Hold on tight,” I told her.
    “They’re coming!”
    “Calm down and hold on! It’s the only way we can stay together. The explosion is going to go everywhere and if you let go I’ll never find you.”
    Waves and water spouts breeched the surface.
    I braced myself.
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
     
    Unlikely Hero
     
    Waves toppled us, sending the raft under. We struggled to hold on, our limbs burning and stretching in ways I didn’t know they could. Half my bed burst from the waters splashing us further towards Miami’s shoreline. Darla screamed, losing her grip. I submersed myself, flipping the raft upside down, tugging her underneath. Our heads barely above water, breathing the shallow air underneath the raft, we held the handles this time, letting the waves jerk us about.
    I saw my things float up inside the upturned raft; my unmentionables, prototypes I didn’t pack, books I read with my Pop…
    “We need to get moving.”
    Darla nodded, kicking her feet. “This way,” she said.
    Amie sighed. “She’s not very good with navigational directions, is she? How will she train my S.H.A.Y.?”
    “Really, Mom?” I shouted.
    Darla turned. “Are you talking to me or your imaginary friend?”
    “My imaginary friend,” I said.
    Darla’s eyes widened.
    “I’m your mother—not your friend.” Amie floated between Darla and me. “I can be both your friend and your parent, right?”
    “Darla is loving and kind,” I said. “She isn’t always so stressed. I know she’ll be a good mom to your last S.H.A.Y.”
    Amie smiled. “She did a fantastic job with you.”
    Tears stung my eyes.
    “What did your fake friend say?” Darla asked.
    “She said you were a great mother to me.”
    “Are you connected to your A.M.I.E.?”
    I