Tron Legacy by Alice Alfonsi Page B

was true. The disc’s gleaming edge was about to kill Sam when—
    KEL-LACK!
    Another disc expertly deflected the first. Then it bounced off the DJ booth and smoothly returned to its owner.
    It was Quorra! With graceful ease, she caught her disc, then strode into the center of the room. Immediately, she deflected another shot. With a perfectly aimed ricochet, she derezzed the Black Guard who’d almost killed Sam.
    Zuse danced along the top of the bar, grooving on the DJ’s sound. Quorra shot him an accusing look. Zuse responded with a mad laugh.
    Joining Quorra, Sam deflected a disc aimed at her back. He wanted to thank her, but there was no time.
    Quorra plowed through the guards, taking them out one by one. Her moves were graceful and elegant. Quorra used her baton defensively and derezzed opponents only if forced to. She clearly had experience with this sort of thing.
    Sam’s style of fighting was much rawer. Using his disc, he eliminated any guard that got in his way. But his anger made him reckless—a weakness in battle. Fortunately, the exit was now in sight.
    Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a guard lunged for him. The guard raised his disc like a battle-ax. At the last moment, Quorra jumped between Sam and the descending disc. The razor-sharp edge cut through her upraised arm. In a burst of blue energy, her arm was severed.
    No! Sam derezzed the guard with a quick slash of his disc. Then he lifted Quorra. Her eyes were fluttering. A strange glow suffused the stump of her arm.
    Behind Sam, a disc bounced off the wall. He looked up. A half-dozen Black Guardsmen were closing in on him! Behind them, Zuse kept up his crazy dancing.
    Sam waited for the end.
    But the end didn’t come…
    Blue lightning did.
    Like an airborne power surge, the electricity crackled through the club. Programs screamed as sparks exploded from the walls and floor. Then, eerily, the lightning collected itself, forming a whirling plasma cloud. With a flash of raw power, it shorted out all the purple lights—and knocked out every last Black Guardsman. Their armor clattered as the dark, hulking programs hit the floor.
    A familiar hand touched Sam’s shoulder.
    “Stay with me,” his father said.
    When the surviving programs saw the face of Sam’s dad, they began to murmur. Every last one of them recognized their creator. They cleared a path for Kevin, allowing him to pass.
    Sam followed his father out of the club, carrying Quorra in his arms. His dad held open the doors of the glass elevator and Sam moved inside quickly.
    But back in the club, several of the Black Guard were already recovering. One stumbled to his feet. As Kevin stepped into the elevator, the guard fired a grappling hook. With a clank, the hook snagged the disc on Kevin’s back!
    A split second before the elevator doors shut, the guard yanked the cord. Kevin’s disc flew into the guard’s hands.
    Unaware of what had just happened, Sam hit the button and the elevator began to descend. It was only then that Kevin reached back and realized his disc was gone. The loss sent him staggering into the corner, speechless.
    Back in the club, another guard fired a grenade at the elevator. The explosion blew the doors off and cut the cable. The elevator began to drop! Sam punched every button in sight, but the car only picked up speed!
    “Hello!” Sam yelled. “A little help here!”
    The sound of his son’s cry brought Kevin back to life. With one lift of his hand, a control panel appeared in the glass wall of the car. Kevin’s fingers flew across a crystalline keypad.
    Sam looked down at Quorra in his arms. She was unconscious. Her arm stump continued to bleed energy.
    Flynn’s actions weren’t helping. If anything, the elevator was plunging faster, despite the man’s frantic efforts.
    Holding Quorra close, Sam braced for impact.

SAM REFUSED TO CLOSE HIS EYES . In just a few more seconds, the elevator would slam into the street.
    Suddenly Kevin whooped in triumph. At the last