Revenge by Gabrielle Lord Page B

that, Sligo held a syringe to Cal’s neck, pressing it hard against his skin.
    â€˜Don’t hurt him!’ cried Winter.
    â€˜Then don’t do anything stupid,’ Sligo warned. ‘Or come any closer. I will kill him.’
    Winter, Ryan and I backed up. I held my hands out, trying to calm Sligo.
    â€˜We won’t,’ I said. ‘I swear. We won’t do anything you don’t want us to do. Just don’t hurt Cal.’
    â€˜Cal?’ Winter whispered fearfully. ‘Talk to me! Say something!’ Winter moved closer. Sligo thrust the needle harder against Cal’s skin.
    â€˜OK, OK,’ Winter fell back, defeated.
    â€˜Cal!’ I shouted. I needed to see him move, hear him speak.
    The sight of my friend like this made me sick. I couldn’t think.
    Cal moaned. He was still alive!
    Sligo adjusted his grip on Cal and scowled at us. Sweat dripped down his reddened cheeksand fell to the floor. ‘You’ll wish you’d never come here!’
    â€˜No, Sligo, please!’ Winter cried.
    Sligo thrust the syringe towards Cal again, skimming his skin. ‘You want me to use this? Finish it right here and now?’
    â€˜Stop!’ Winter pleaded. ‘Leave him alone! Let him go!’
    â€˜Why should I?’ mocked Sligo. ‘I gave you very simple orders and you have not obeyed them. What use is he to me any more?’
    Cal looked grey. My mind was whirling but I couldn’t think what to do.
    The syringe’s point began piercing Cal’s skin.
    â€˜No!’ Winter screamed, kicking herself free from Ryan, and charging, screaming, like a soldier going into battle. She hurled herself onto Sligo, knocking him off balance, and the two of them crashed to the ground.
    Cal fell limply to the side.
    â€˜Cal! Winter!’ I shouted, as Sligo rolled on top of Winter. ‘No!’
    I couldn’t lose my two best friends!
    Where was the damn syringe?
    Then both of them were suddenly, ominously, still.
    Filled with dread, I helped Ryan grab Winter and lift her up, terrified at what we would find.
    Her body was trembling and cold.
    She was staring at Sligo, eyes wide with shock. Her breath was coming in short sharp bursts. The syringe! Had Sligo stuck Winter with the lethal toxin?
    I looked in her eyes. They were bloodshot and smudged with black. I desperately checked over her body, but couldn’t find anything.
    I turned to grab Sligo, then froze at what I saw.
    The depressed syringe was sticking out of his chest!
    He tried to pull himself up, but his knees gave way and his body slowly slid down the wall. His legs kicked out in front of him and he slumped to one side, eyes glassy, his movements heavy.
    I shuffled Winter away from him as Ryan ran to Cal.
    Sligo looked down at the syringe and up at Winter. He moaned. His eye bulged, streaming tears as it darted around the room haphazardly.
    â€˜It’s OK,’ I whispered in her ear calmly. ‘It’s OK.’
    The eye fixed on Winter. ‘We could have been an unstoppable team, you and me,’ Sligo gasped.
    â€˜Never,’ she panted. ‘I am nothing like you.’
    â€˜I wanted it to be you,’ he said, grimacing with pain, ‘by my side. But you forced me to find someone else. My new … protégé … young,ambitious. He shows promise, just like you once did, Little Bird. The boy—’
    The effort to speak was taking everything Sligo had. His body convulsed, then slumped like a severed puppet. I had to strain to hear his words.
    â€˜He’s so fiendishly talented,’ Sligo whispered. ‘He knows so much … about botany, about electronics , about … payback . Perhaps he’s even more wicked than I am.’
    â€˜Who’s he talking about?’ Ryan asked, cradling Cal’s head.
    â€˜I never planned on being stuck with you … after the accident ,’ said Sligo, his whisper barely audible. ‘But you grew on me. You