Read Online Extraordinary Losers 3 by Jessica Alejandro - Free Book Online

be labelled paranoid.
    The gates of the house were chained loosely, which was very odd. All of us crept under the chains and entered the premises effortlessly, even Janice. Clandestino first, Adam second, followed by Janice and me. I was pretending to be a gentleman by practising “ladies first”, but in reality, I was a frozen statue. It shouldn’t be this easy to rescue Mundi, should it? It’s a trap! my subconscious mind screamed at me again.
    Tall lalang grass flanked the mouldy walkway. Buckets of stagnant water were placed everywhere like booby traps. Cords of blue electrical wires snaked around the house like they were intentionally placed there to trip trespassers. We came to an old wooden door that housed tiny termites.
    â€œEeeew!” Janice remarked.
    â€œAh choo!” Clandestino sniffed. “No wonder this house needs renovation. It’s so dusty and old.” His nose was turning redder and red rash bumps were appearing on his skin. He rapped loudly on the wooden door with his knuckles, bruising them. Clandestino’s knees and elbows were, as always, bruised pink too.
    â€œThat’s strange. No one is here,” he said, scratching his neck after knocking twice.
    â€œOkay, let’s get out! Let’s just wait for our teachers to come with the police,” I suggested.
    Janice blinked, a mocking look on her face. “I can’t believe you, Darryl. Are you being a scaredy cat?” she said. “Mundi’s life is in danger and all you can think about is….”
    Before she could finish, the door creaked open. Clandestino had used one of his pens to pick the lock.
    â€œWoah, cool, bro!” Adam laughed.

    â€œSssh! And don’t call me bro!” Clandestino replied. We entered the house gingerly.
    â€œYou must conquer your fear, Darryl,” nagged Janice, turning back to me. I thought she had finished her lecture but I was wrong. “Let me show you how you can do it.”
    â€œOkay! Okay!” I snapped.
    It was a ghastly sight. Dust obscured every surface like ash. Old plates and dishes sat on an antique table thickly encrusted with dried mould. The stale air left a sickening taste in our mouths. The crumbling tiles on the floor made every step a dangerous one. The only thing breaking the evil darkness in the room was the light that was streaming in through the gaps in the heavy velvet curtains.
    â€œGuys? Guys? I can actually hear someone snoring,” I said.
    â€œYou do?” Adam asked. “How come I can’t hear anything?”
    I caught a glimpse of Clandestino smiling at Janice. We couldn’t divulge our secret powers to Adam yet. He had to prove himself first. As we inched our way through the house, Clandestino kept scratching himself. I thought he was going to have a severe rash breakout anytime.
    â€œThat way.” I pointed to a room beside the kitchen. “The snoring is coming from there.”
    The four of us crept slowly to the room. The snoring was getting louder and louder in my ears. All of a sudden there was a loud “HEY! HOW DID YOU GET IN?” A Chinese man appeared out of nowhere. According to my superhuman ears, he sounded exactly like the Chinese man that had spoken to Mrs Sakdipa on the phone. A black woollen hoodie covered most of his face. His grey overalls were peppered with white specks of plaster and paint. His brown narrow slit eyes met mine and I could see his pupils dilating like a provoked cat about to pounce.
    â€œWHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THIS HOUSE?”
    A masked man always spells danger. He was wearing socks so I hadn’t made out his footsteps. How come I hadn’t heard his breathing either? Maybe his hoodie had silenced his breathing?
    He moved towards the kitchen.
    â€œWe were just… just… just…” I said.
    â€œWe aren’t scared of you!” Adam interrupted.
    I elbowed Adam. That was easy for him to say.
    â€œWHAT!?” the worker