The Seven by Sean Patrick Little Page A

project.
    If she tried to stop the project...
    If she tried to stop his research...
    If anyone tried to stop his research...
    Cormair knew that he would have to stop her if she tried anything to jeopardize the project. He would kill if he must.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Kenny's palms were sweating. He knew he could do it, of course. He could open the doors. He could rewire the passkeys. He could make it so no door to this lab ever opened again. He knew he could do it...but he had never tried it with someone else watching. Now, as he stood in front of the door to the labs, it was all he could do not to feel their eyes boring into his back as he flexed his fingers in preparation to make contact with the security system.
    "C'mon, Kenny!" Indigo hissed. "It's almost dawn. Cormair and Sebbins have to sleep some time. This is the best chance we've got to rescue her."
    Kenny wasn't a hero. He was a computer nerd and he accepted that long ago. He was going to leave the Home and blend into the ether, using his computer skills to make a great living and have a real, human existence for the first time in his life. He'd even met a friend online, a girl, and they were going to get an apartment together in Seattle. Kenny didn't love her or anything; that would be stupid to fall in love with someone you'd never seen or spoken to, but she was a kindred spirit, someone who wanted to hang out with Kenny because she liked talking to him, not because they were forced into some horrible, B-movie science experiment together.
    He touched the keypad of the door and the data flow hit his brain like a tornado. Rewiring a basic firewall security program through a computer wasn't overly difficult, slightly taxing at best. However, getting into an actual security protocol, a door on a vault or a computerized gate, was a different matter. The data streams weren't like they were in a computer, like wooden building blocks to be pried apart and restacked. The stream in a heavy-duty electronic lock was more like an old brick-and-mortar wall. Kenny had to break through the security streams and hack away the individual locks with his mind. He had to force, not finesse. It was physically draining. He wasn't actually moving, but the toll on his body was immense. He knew he was sweating. He could feel sweat trails sliding down his back, soaking his shirt, and making it cling to his skin. He could feel the tickle of sweat beads crawling down his forehead and clinging to his eyelashes. His chest began to hurt as his heartbeat increased. The wall was falling, but it was taking too much time. Kenny didn't know if he would be able to stand at the lock long enough to do it. His face flared red with the stress and his eyes rolled back into his head. It was all he could do to cling to consciousness...and suddenly the wall fell. Kenny collapsed in a heap, weak as a newborn, sweating, straining for breath, dizzy and sick.
    Holly knelt down and felt his forehead. "He's burning up!"
    "I'll be...okay," Kenny whispered. His throat was dry; his tongue felt swollen.
    "Did you get through the door?" asked Indigo.
    "Indigo! Be sensitive! Kenny's hurt," Sarah hissed. Indigo glared at Sarah.
    "Be...okay," Kenny reiterated. His head felt as if it was being crushed by waves of pain. He had to grit his teeth and seethe in order to keep from passing out. His stomach churned and he became sick.
    "Gross!" Sarah's face screwed up as if she were going to throw up, too.
    "Does that always happen, Kenny?" asked John.
    Kenny nodded. "It's the trade-off." The pain began to lessen. "I've never had it that bad, before. But, I've never tried anything that difficult before. I usually just stick to the computer...it's less---" he wretched again, "---physical. Leave me here for a while. I need to rest. I'm not...strong enough...to walk."
    "We're not leaving you behind," said Holly. "I'll stay."
    "Andy, can you carry him?" asked Sarah.
    "Sure. No problem." His thick arms