Cosmo Prison - Book 1: The Edge of Earth

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

*Jack Frost*

“We have to go after Courtney and Nidhi,” I snap. “Don’t you care about them?”

Alex, Gene, Sophia, and I are sitting at a circular table we’d found in the abandoned Town Hall, discussing possible plans of action. So far, we’re going nowhere.

“I do care about them, of course I do!” Alex says. “But we have to go carefully... otherwise, we won’t stand a chance. You saw what our enemy is capable of doing.”

Timidly, Sophia opens her mouth to speak. “I have to admit, I agree with Alex. We can’t just go charging into battle with all guns blazing. Heck, we don’t even know where they were taken. We’ve got to act, I agree, but we have to be careful how we do it.”

“Humph.” I sit back in my chair, still dissatisfied.

Gene chooses this moment to speak up for the first time. “Well, now that we’ve agreed on something, we can’t just sit here twiddling our thumbs. If we want to get information, then so be it, but whatever we do, we have to start as soon as humanly possible.”

“Amen to that,” I mutter under my breath.

Sophia frowns. “But the problem is, we don’t actually have a plan.”

“I believe I can help you all with that,” a new voice says from behind us.

We all turn to stare at the newcomer.

He’s a tall, thin, athletic-looking Indian boy with glasses and an air of authority in every movement he makes. Confident, borderline cocky.

“Who are you?” Alex questions.

“I’m Suchet. Suchet Taori.” the boy says, smirking and holding out his hand.

Alex just looks at it without taking it. “And how exactly do you think you can help us?” he says, a note of a challenge in his voice.

“Well,” Suchet says matter-of-factly, “I can make the plans for you. And I have the information you need, because unlike you, my friends and I have actually been doing things.”

Alex narrows his eyes. “Who are your friends? I’’d like to meet them.”

Suchet shrugs. “Whatever floats your boat.” Then, he turns around and calls, “Hey, guys, you can come out now!”

All around us, people -- teenagers -- surge out of various places: corners, tables, plants... it seems as if his friends can turn anything into a hiding spot. They must’ve been hiding and listening in on us for an hour, yet I’d never even noticed them.

Next to me, Alex jumps out of his chair, his jaw slack. “You... you guys are the gang kids!”

I gawk at him. The gang kids? I’ve heard stories about them, and I do not want to get caught up with them. They are a notorious, vicious gang.

Suchet grins. “You got that one right.”

I observe the teenagers. There are about twelve of them, all looking to be around my age, thirteen or fourteen. I recognize three of them -- Sophie Koh, Ramya Joshi, and Dean Zhang -- from school, but the others are completely new faces.

“You need more people, strength in numbers,” Suchet continues, “and so do we. I say we set aside our rivalries and work together, just for this.”

I can see the wheels spinning in Alex’s head, weighing possible benefits against possible harms. Finally, he sighs. “We don’t really have a choice. Very well, then, I accept your offer.”