Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 129676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
I choked, coughing on my saliva.
He was going to kill me. I wasn’t even surprised. Somehow, I always knew I’d never live to see a good day. My mysterious adoptive dad was a standard deviation. An isolated error.
“Don’t worry, Boy. It’s not your brain I’m going to blow off. Get up.” He balled the collar of my shirt, wrenching me to my desk.
I landed on the edge of my wooden chair and got a good hit in the nuts but was too stunned to register the pain.
“Grab a pencil. I have an equation for you to solve.” Andrin rummaged through the front pocket of his slacks, his other hand digging the barrel of the gun into my right temple. My heart nearly tore out of my chest it beat so hard.
Guns were for pussies, I decided then and there. If I ever had the privilege of killing the bastard, I would do it with my bare hands.
“There we are.” He produced a small, folded note, unfurling and planting it in front of me on the desk.
Cold sweat dripped into my eyes. It was a not an equation, per se. It was…
“Fermat’s last theorem,” Andrin finished the thought for me. “There are three positive integers, a, b, c, that satisfy. Get going.”
I stared at the problem, pulse throbbing against my eyelids. My palms were slick with sweat. The metal mouth of the gun burrowed harder into my flesh.
“How long do I have?” I cleared my throat.
“Ten minutes.”
“And if I don’t find the solution?”
His hand that held the gun sailed from my head to the window. I craned my neck, and then I saw it.
Apollo.
He was tied to a tree not too far from my room, running in circles, yanking at the chain, staring at my window. He heard when Andrin tapped the gun on the window. He flinched and blinked to express his terror at being chained. Begged me to come help him. My heart dropped.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Picked him up last night. He thought he was being adopted.” Andrin laughed, like an old pet’s hope was amusing. “Rabbits are such stupid creatures.”
“He can have a heart attack and die.” My voice was so shaky and fragile I wanted to punch my own face.
“Hmm.” Andrin stroked his chin. “Better get on with your task before he does then.”
Anger swirled inside me. I was sick with it. It grew and festered within me like wildfire. I thought I might combust. But I bit my tongue. For Apollo.
“Your time starts now.” Andrin smacked the clock on my desk, and it started ticking down the seconds.
I grabbed the pencil and started working.
The clock ticked in an uneven rhythm, I noticed.
Two, six, two.
Two, six, two.
Two, six, two.
It was broken. It was slightly late. That afforded me, I calculated, forty extra seconds. Almost an entire minute.
I threw everything into the problem. This was the last fucking time. That was why he came here. To get his pound of flesh before I was gone. To encourage myself, I tapped the side of my leg, reminding myself I had all the time in the world to get things right.
Two, six, two.
Two, six, two.
Two, six, two.
And then I got it. I got the answer.
“Here.” I looked up and handed him the paper. The clock said I had thirty seconds left. Which meant the broken clock had saved me. Saved Apollo. “Integers a, b, and c can’t exist for n greater than two. Anyone who understands elliptic curves and modular forms can crack this,” I said excitedly. My new father was due to be here in a couple hours, and I really wanted to see him for the first time while not going through a massive meltdown. “Now let Apollo go.”
Andrin picked up the paper, his pupils running over the solved problem. His lips rubbed together agitatedly. “Where was that brain of yours when I paraded you through math competitions?” He slammed the paper on my desk, causing me to flinch.
I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to anger him. Not because of me—I was used to the pain. Because of Apollo.
“Speak, Boy.” He banged his fist over my desk.
I didn’t move.
He was screaming. Not being careful. This was a first.
“You can hit me. You can drag me through the woods. You can…I don’t know, do whatever you want with the rest of the time I have here,” I said quietly. “But let me take Apollo back to the shelter first.”
“No.” He used the hand that held his gun to wipe his forehead.
“Andrin, I—”
He angled himself fully to the window, raised his arm, and released a bullet. Apollo’s anguished running and yanking ceased at once. He collapsed backward, his pristine white fur painted red.
My vision went white. My ears rang.
No, no, no, no.
I leapt from my seat, jumping out the broken window and falling flat on my face. I didn’t care.