“Shut up and stand back, kid,” I hear the boy say. There’s a grittiness to his voice, something that makes me uneasy, and I immediately pull Sam to the side. The boy grips the bottom of the door and rips it from the wall, tossing it into the corridor like a Frisbee. The ceiling cracks and boulders fall, and I use telekinesis to shield Sam and me from being crushed. Before I can say a word, the boy emerges clapping the dust off his hands. He’s taller than I am, shirtless and muscular.

Sam steps forward, and to my surprise he aims his gun at the boy’s head. “Just tell me! Do you know my dad? Malcolm Goode? Please!”

The boy looks past Sam and his weapon, focusing on the Chests under my arms. That’s when I notice the three scars on his leg. They’re just like mine. He’s one of us.

I drop the other Chest to the ground in shock. “What number are you? I’m Four.”

He squints at me and then offers his hand. “I’m Nine. Good job staying alive, Number Four.”

He reaches for the Chest I’ve dropped. Sam lowers his gun, retreating down the corridor, stopping every few seconds to look inside a cell. Nine places his hand on the Chest’s lock and it instantly shakes and snaps open. A yellow glow lights up his face when he opens the lid.

“Hell, yeah.” He laughs, placing a hand inside. Nine pulls out a tiny red rock and shows it to me. “You have one of these?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” I’m embarrassed by how little I understand the items in my own Chest.

Nine places the rock between his knuckles and aims his fist at the nearest wall. A white cone of light appears, and instantly we can see through the wall and into an empty jail cell.

Sam runs in our direction. “Wait! You have X-ray vision?”

“What number is the nerd?” Nine asks me, digging around in his Chest again.

“That’s Sam. He’s not Loric, but he’s our ally. He’s looking for his dad.”

He tosses Sam the red rock. “This will make shit go faster, Sammy. Just aim and squeeze.”

“He’s human, dude,” I say. “He can’t use this stuff.”

Nine places his thumb on Sam’s forehead. Sam’s hair blows upward and I can smell electricity in the air.

Sam stumbles backwards. “Whoa.”

Nine ducks his hands back into his Chest. “You’ve got about ten minutes. Get to it.”