by Caryn Lix
Reed laughed shortly. “Kenz, I’m not sure the word ‘impossible’ is in my vocabulary anymore. Aliens, shifting powers, livable planets we’ve never heard of. Sure. Why not?” He laughed again, but without humor, his fists clamped at his sides and his arms ramrod straight.
I shook my head, my senses returning, and as they did, I took in something I’d missed before. Cage, and Rune, and Imani, and Reed . . . “Where’s everyone else?” I demanded.
Reed and Imani stared at their feet. Cage and Rune met my eyes, their faces hesitantly sympathetic, and that was somehow worse. “Where are they?” I repeated hoarsely. I stumbled a few feet toward the city, spinning frantically in place, searching for them in the vast open desert. “Cage, where are they?”
“We don’t know,” he replied, very gently, taking me in his arms and running his hands over my shoulders. “We landed here, the five of us.”
I yanked free, stumbling and landing in the sand. Puffs of dust flew around me. “Are you telling me I somehow lost everyone else?”
“We don’t know that. They might be nearby . . .”
“Nearby where?” I gestured frantically. “They’re nowhere, Cage! Either I left them behind, or I lost them along the way.”
“We don’t know that,” he insisted sharply, but I shook my head, dropping my face to my hands.
A moment later, Rune crouched beside me. “Kenz,” she said softly. “I don’t think that happened. You know why? Because you’re you. You would have fought tooth and nail to hold on to all of us, whether you were aware of it or not.”
“She’s right,” said Reed unexpectedly. He flashed me a quick smile. “You saved us on Sanctuary. You got us off the ship. And now you want me to believe you accidentally lost your friends on something as minor as a magical journey through space? Nah.”
“Here’s what happened,” said Rune with more confidence than I thought was justified. “You pulled all of us through, but when we came out the other side, you lost your grip. We scattered. They can’t be far.”
As if timed by her statement, a flash lit up the sky toward the city. My head flew up, dried tears staining my cheeks as hope surged in my heart. “Was that a laser?”
“Just might be,” agreed Cage. His tone was light, but I read the relief under his voice. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s Mia signaling us.”
“Why Mia?”
“Because she’s the one who’d be angriest about being dumped on some barren patch of alien desert.” He flashed me a quick smile. “And because in spite of what you think of her, she’s the one who’d be the most worried about getting everyone together.”
What did I think of Mia? After everything, I cared about her, trusted her, and I wanted her to trust me. And maybe the first step to gaining her trust was telling her that, telling her the truth. I really hoped I’d get the chance to see her again and work it out. “All right,” I said, letting Cage help me to my feet. We squared off, the five of us, facing the strange city outlined in the distance. “Let’s say you’re right. Let’s say our friends are over there. What next?”
Rune slid her arm through mine. “We go find them, of course.”
The simplicity of her answer made me smile, nearly laugh. I was pretty sure I’d trapped us on some sort of alien planet and damn near killed myself in the process. I’d split us from our friends, and I had no idea where we were or if I could get us home. But to Rune, the answer was obvious. Fall down forty-nine times, get up fifty. One problem at a time. We were separated; now to get back together. “Then what are we waiting for?” I asked as Cage’s fingers threaded through my free hand. Reed and Imani drew together beside us, and we stood a moment silhouetted against the red-tinged sun, staring into the distance.
The alien landscape seemed to open up and swallow me whole. In such a short time, my life had flipped upside down. I’d lost everything: my family, my corporation, my future. I’d lost my faith in my mother when she pushed the button that she thought would kill me, and then I’d lost the chance to ever reconcile with her when she died. I’d found my father again, and then I’d lost him, too. The same grief swelled in my heart. Dad. He’d never been the most hands-on parent, always toed the company line. But with him far more than Mom, I had memories that weren’t Omnistellar-related. Basketball games and ice cream and breaking the rules when Mom went away.
He’d listened to me at the end. I knew he had. And I couldn’t blame him for what he’d done under Omnistellar’s influence, not really. They’d controlled me for enough of my life. Dad had been willing to open his eyes. But now he’d never get that chance. Guilt twisted my stomach. I should have done more. Should have protected him. I had all these powers, and I couldn’t even save my own father.
“Kenz,” said Reed softly.
I glanced at him and realized the others were waiting on me. I took in their expressions, their trust, their quiet courage and strength, Cage’s hand firm against mine. The guilt inside me twisted into something new: resolve, purpose. My parents might be gone, but I still had family. And I would not let anything happen to them.
“All right,” I said. “Let’s get going.” We started forward together, shoulder to shoulder, a force of determination against the dangers ahead. Maybe we’d find our friends over this hill. Or maybe we’d find nothing but blood and death and destruction. But whatever awaited us, we’d deal with it. Because whatever it was, well, we’d been there before.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ARE AMAZING. THEY’RE A great way to make sure you offend a lot of people who helped you along your journey and then slipped your mind when it came to the all-important public part of saying thank you.
But that said, there are so many people who affect an author’s book. Containment would not exist without them, and I would be remiss not to thank them.
First of all, to everyone who read and reviewed Sanctuary: Containment exists because of you. Thank you for your kind words, for your support, for your enthusiasm. Young adult readers are the best community in the world, and it’s an amazing privilege and joy to be part of it. I would particularly like to thank the members of reading groups such as TBR and Beyond, as well as the amazing bookstagrammers whose beautiful photos of Sanctuary filled my heart with joy.
As always, my family plays a critical role in supporting me: my husband, Dan, who let me drag him to Tokyo for a year just because; my parents, Audrey and Lanny; my siblings, Chris and Kim; and my nephew, Emmett. I’m also blessed with an amazing family by marriage: Liz, Brian, and Erin, you are incredible people.
And my cousin Sarah. She gets grouchy when she’s not included.
On the writing side of things, my agent, Caitie Flum, is one of the best people I know, and has been beyond supportive no matter what problems we encounter. Liza Dawson and all of the people at Liza Dawson Associates deserve a share of the praise as well! My editor at Simon Pulse, Sarah McCabe, is not only a fantastic editor but an incredible human being. And there are so many others who bring a book to life: Tricia Lin (special thanks for your editorial input and help with the Mandarin!), Mara Anastas, Chriscynethia Floyd, Rebecca Vitkus, Sara Berko, Sarah Creech, Caitlin Sweeny, Alissa Nigro, Anna Jarzab, Lauren Hoffman, Nicole Russo, Samantha Benson, and Christina Pecorale and her sales team.
I was also so lucky to have phenomenal support from other authors: the Class of 2K18, Timanda Wertz, Danika Stone, and all of #TeamCaitie. The team at Simon & Schuster Canada was similarly wonderful in supporting Sanctuary, especially my Canadian publicist, Mackenzie Croft, who put up with A LOT of questions. The University of Lethbridge and Chapters Indigo, the staff and students of both St. Patrick Fine Arts in Lethbridge and the Canadian International School in Tokyo—all of you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
As always, I’ve almost certainly missed some people. Does it help if I say that I thank you most of all? You may have slipped my mind, but you are never far from my heart.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author ph
otograph by Tanya Plonka
CARYN LIX is a sixth-grade teacher with a master’s degree in English literature, specializing in children’s literature and fantasy. She and her husband are proud Canadian nerds and live with their annoying (but lovable) dogs.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Simon Pulse hardcover edition August 2019
Text copyright © 2019 by Caryn Lix
Front cover art copyright © 2019 by Jacey
Jacket art on spine, back cover, and flaps copyright © 2019 by Thinkstock
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Lix, Caryn, author.
Title: Containment / by Caryn Lix.
Description: First Simon Pulse hardcover edition. | New York : Simon Pulse, 2019. | Summary: Kenzie and her friends learn that more aliens are headed to Earth, and it is up to them to stop the invastion at all costs.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018035878 (print) | LCCN 2018042137 (eBook) | ISBN 9781534405387 (eBook) | ISBN 9781534405363 (hc)
Subjects: | CYAC: Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | Extraterrestrial beings—Fiction. | Supervillains—Fiction. | Science fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.L5853 (eBook) | LCC PZ7.1.L5853 Con 2019 (print) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018035878
