Chapter 7

The teenagers stared at each other in shock, and Jessie’s face slowly bled into scarlet as she burst out heaving. The boys quickly scrambled higher up the shaky ladder as she threw up on the metal covering of the vent. Vince sighed at the ruthful sight of his friend hunched over, spewing her guts out, and climbed down to gently pat her back.

The smell of her nearly digested breakfast permeated the claustrophobic space, and Nero gagged as he brought his hands to pinch his nostrils together.

“You’re okay, it’s okay,” Vince consoled as he caressed Jessie’s middle back. If they were in a much better, less life-threatening situation, he would have been ecstatic about touching her and comforting her like this.

“We need to get a move on,” Artemis said, barely managing to keep the wrinkle out of her face. She gazed blankly at Jessie and wondered what it felt like to be severely winded by the heart-stopping chase they’d just experienced. For the second time today, she was g