Host

by H. J. Lawson

  HOST

  The Sanction Series: Book 3

  by HJLawson

  ~~~

  Ebook Edition 1

  Copyright © 2016 by HJLawson. All rights reserved.

  Ebook Edition, License Notes

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  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Author's Note

  CHAPTER ONE

  “Skylier?” Madison yells through the group of girls standing by the entrance of the girls’ compound. It takes me a second to realize these girls are my old friends from Cueva. Instead of their usual brown, their hair is now bleached pure white, the same color as my natural hair. The cloning has begun.

  “Move, move,” Madison mutters as the crowd parts.

  She flings her arms around me. Tears fill my eyes and drip onto my cheek from the pain and relief at seeing her.

  “Ouch,” escapes my lips as her grip tightens. Madison instantly recoils. She releases her grip, her warm blue eyes filled with concern. They even changed her eye color from brown; I can see a sliver of brown as the blue contact lens moves a fraction.

  “What happened, why are you here? Don’t get me wrong, I’m so happy you are. I’ve missed you,” Madison says.

  “I’ve missed you too.” Each day away from her felt like a lifetime.

  “Why are you here?” Madison repeats her question. The other girls from the Cueva that decided to become Hosts hover around us, eagerly waiting for my reply. All of their faces are ghost-white, not from their surprise at seeing me, but from makeup.

  What will I tell them? That Xander, my older brother, wants me to be the surrogate Host for his baby? Or that Dax, the Chancellor’s son, is my twin brother? Or the worst thing out of all this, that Lowell is on trial for my crimes?

  I brush the tears off my cheek as I try to compose myself, and reply, “I changed my mind.”

  I long to go back in time and change my decision of going with Dax on Selection Day. Madam Enid is dead because of me. My eyes sting as tears fill them. The heaviness of guilt rides through my veins, making me want to curl up in a dark corner in Cueva to hide away from the truth. There is no darkness in this room, only the clinical brightness of Purenet.

  “Hey, it’s not that bad here,” Madison says, placing her arm around me gently. I try to sniff away the sadness.

  “It’s like back in Cueva, where all the girls share a room. Well, except we leave when we get pregnant…” Madison’s voice drifts off at the end. She doesn’t want to get pregnant, either. “Then we move into the prenatal compound. You missed the tour yesterday. I’m sure they will show you.”

  The room looks and feels nothing like our old room back in Cueva. Bright lights hang from the ceiling, making the white floor shimmer like a mirror. The red, dusty floors of our old communal room—which I never thought I would miss, but I do—are gone.

  There are rows of single beds filling the room, with a window high above them. There is a bright, fresh, unmarred blue sky, like a painting of another world, beaming through it.

  Without thinking, I climb up onto one of the beds.

  “Skylier, I just made the bed,” Tessa says in protest.

  “Sorry,” I say as I peer through the window. The glass cools my hand as I press on it. I crave the freedom I once had.

  My shoulders slump down. The view is obstructed by another building.

  “What’s that building?” I ask.

  Madison smiles. Some of the other girls share her reaction. “Why don’t you ask your Rian?”

  “What?”

  “It’s the boys’ compound, with those selected for the Games,” Madison replies.

  My eyes widen in response.

  “Be quick, Skylier. They are getting ready for training,” Tessa says. Her brother had also been selected.

  Even before she can finish speaking, I open my mind to connect with Rian.

  Rian... Rian, can you hear me? my mind calls out as I peer through the window.

  I see a head bob up in the other compound’s window as Rian’s head swerves around.

  Skylier, is that you? Rian asks telepathically.

  I let out a sigh of relief.

  Yes, it’s me.

  Where are you, Skylier?

  His head looks toward our compound. He places his hand on the window, just like mine. I want to touch his hand, for him to cradle me in his arms, for him to forgive me.

  What are you doing here?

  My mind speeds away from me, filling him in on what has happened, leaving out Madam Enid’s murder. The image of her lifeless body is imprinted on my mind—a dirty secret I can’t bear to reveal.

  Rian’s mind falls silent, as if the mind dump is too much for him to handle.

  Rian, are you still there? I ask.

  His head nods, but his mind is blank.

  What are we going to do? Rian breaks the silence.

  I lower my head into my hand as the heaviness of my thoughts weighs down on me.

  The only thing we can do. I will be a Host and you will be in the Games, my mind replies, grateful that I don’t have to say the words out loud.

  What? Are you crazy? I’m not staying here after what you just said. I’m getting mother and Callie out of here.

  Rian, we can’t. They will kill all of us.

  They can’t, his mind replies.

  Trust me, they can and they will.

  Rian’s head turns away from my direction. Frigging hell, I’ve got to go, his mind says as he glances over to me then disappears out of sight.

  Promise me you will not do anything.

  I can’t promise.

  Rian, please. For me. I can’t bear to lose you.

  I will do nothing for now. I will message you when I return.

  I love you…

  With my hand still on the glass, I wait for a reply, but I know he’s gone.

  The girls mutter around the room. The newness of my entrance has lost their interest, which I’m glad of.

  “Quick,” Madison says. She and the other girls smooth their soft bed sheets down, folding the corners like a hospital bed. I wonder what’s happened to the lifeless girl Dax and I saw as we were leaving Purenet. How many others are hidden away from the world as the Chancellor conducts his inhuman tests?

  “Earth to Skylier,” Madison says.

  Earth... Was what mother said true, that there are other people watching us from space who aren’t from earth? Am I one of them because I’m an Untouchable?

  I shake my head, snapping my mind from drifting. My mind can’t take any more thoughts. I have to stay focused.

  “What’s going on?” I ask. I follow the actions of the other girls, sweeping my hands over the smooth sheets and folding the corners. These are nothing like the ones in Cueva, I think.

  Madison had insisted that I take the bed next to her just as we did back in Cueva, much to Layal’s dislike, as she had already claimed this bed as her own.
I do feel bad for Layal, but the thought of seeing Madison lying next to me each morning brings me a little comfort.

  “It’s time for class,” Madison informs me.

  “Class? I thought we were all done with school now?” I ask, confused.

  “Out of everyone, I would think you would like the idea of going back to school,” Madison says, screwing up her nose. “It’s not really like school. They teach us about caring for ourselves when we are pregnant, and how to behave in the presence of the Chancellor.” Madison smiles.

  “Oh, so they teach us how to be Purenet pets. Great. Thought you said it was like Cueva,” I say bitterly.

  Madison looks at me, puzzled, for a moment. “What’s going on with you?” Madison asks.

  “Nothing.” I shake my head, not wanting Madison to know any more. She stares at me. We have known each other our whole lives, so she can tell I’m lying.

  “Stand at the end of your bed,” Madison says as she follows the others. I follow them, then stare at Madison blankly. “Skylier, it’s not that bad,” she tells me.

  I look around at the other girls and they don’t look tense, they look happy. More like they are back in Cueva. Just take one step at a time, I think to myself.

  There is a heavy thud of boots landing on the tiled corridor, the sound familiar. Surely it can’t be. Please, no.

  Eva stands across from me at the foot of her bed. Her relaxed face turns stern, frozen with firmness at what is walking down the corridor toward our room.

  “Madison.” I lean on Madison’s bed toward her. “That sounds like…” My mouth gapes open before I can finish speaking. It’s Madam Uri.

  “Stand up straight, girl,” Madam Uri’s voice bounces off the wall, making everyone in the room stand at attention.

  I pause, not wanting to look up. I can’t bear to look at her.

  “Now,” she yells, and I jump.

  My eyes connect with hers, the pit of darkness in her eyes drawing me into a reminder of everything I’ve done—a black hole of my guilt.

  “You!” she snaps.

  All the girls’ eyes burn into mine, as if they can see my dirty secrets.

  The veins along Madam Uri’s forehead throb as she marches toward me. “What are you doing here?”

  “I was just about to ask you the same,” I spit.

  Her eyes bulge as red blood vessels in her eyeballs become more pronounced. “What did you say?” she asks, stepping in front of me, her face gleaming with sweat and grease.

  “You heard me.” A quiver of nerves enters my voice. What the frigging hell am I doing? In the corner of my eye I can see Madison shaking her head warily at me.

  Madam Uri grips the front of my dress, lifting me up from my feet. She opens her mouth, and a bitter trail of stale bio meat drifts from her mouth. “Who do you think you are?” I feel weak, as if her touch drained my new confidence from me.

  There is a gasp from the girls in the room that I can only just hear over my pounding heart.

  “Madam Uri, set the Sanction's property down,” says Frances, the nurse that helped clean me up and bandaged my wounds a few hours ago.

  A growl comes from Madam Uri’s lips, like she’s a wild animal not wanting to be controlled. Madam Uri scowls at Frances as her hand loosens, dropping me down to the floor.

  Frances carries on speaking as if the altercation between Madam Uri and me hadn’t happened. There is a joyous tone to her voice, a stark contrast to Madam Uri’s thunderous face as she towers next to her with her arms firmly crossed. Frances is as round as she is tall. Her white uniform dress looks like it’s fighting its own battle. She has neat, perfect pink blush circles on her cheeks.

  “Ladies, tonight is a very special night in Purenet. The Chancellor and dignitaries of Purenet will be having a wonderful event where they get to select their Hosts.” She smiles, rubbing her hands together.

  The smile drips off her face, like a painting melting, as she says, “Ladies, let’s try to appear excited.” A fresh smile is plastered onto her face.

  We all smile back; none of us have forgotten our Cueva manners.

  Frances rubs her hands together. “That’s better. Adohnes and his team will have you all looking radiant for the Chancellor. Follow me, ladies, and let the fun begin...”

  CHAPTER TWO

  The girl looking back at me in the mirrored wall looks like me, except the makeup Adohnes layered on my face is white like my hair. It’s meant to make me look pure, all elements of color drained away from me. I feel like a ghost, a lost spirit trapped inside a body I no longer own. The Sanction owns me now.

  Adohnes has been delicate and kind to me since the first time I met him, when the guards brought me to the compound. He had whispered that everyone was nice here, and as long as I followed the rules, I had nothing to worry about. I wish it were that simple. I can feel Madam Uri’s eyes burning into me. I would give up all my powers for the chance to change everything that has happened.

  A soft hand touches my shoulder before resting on it, startling me from my daydream. “You are ready,” Adohnes says. That is far from the truth. I will never be ready.

  I glance around the preparations room. Mirrors line the walls as if we are already on display.

  Adohnes and his team have been working on the girls for the last few hours, getting us ready to be selected by the parents we will be Hosts for. The other girls don’t have the same pale skin as me; they are naturally tan. But with Adohnes and his team’s work, no one would ever guess their skin tone isn't natural. Their skin now matches their hair, just like mine.

  Adohnes taught us how to walk. He told us to glide to the platform in the middle of the viewing room. Once on the platform, we are to delicately turn, giving the buyers full view of the goods they will be buying: us.

  We will not be able to see them; they are sitting behind two-way mirrors. Then once our bodies are ready, we will be injected and the Hosting will begin.

  The feel of an icy finger trails down my spine and creeps into my flesh, gripping me tightly and making me gasp. Madam Uri’s eyes of darkness burn into me through her reflections in the mirrors. Everywhere I look I can see her.

  “I can’t do this,” the words pour from my mouth before I can stop them.

  No one questions my words. I look at the mirror in front of me and can see why. Madam Uri’s attention is now focused on the doorway. The Bazis have entered the room. They are a stark contrast to our pure, innocent, untouched look with their naked, oily flesh shimmering in the lights, making you want to touch them. White satin strips cling over the females’ breasts, revealing the full shapes. The males’ chests are naked and smooth. Another piece of satin covers their genital areas, but only just. There is a gold chain at the hip connecting the front and back pieces of satin; they may as well be naked. I can feel my cheeks prickle with warmth as I watch them parade their bodies with pride and grace.

  There is nowhere else to look; their bodies reflect in the mirrors. In the mirrors it looks as if there is a magical dusk all around us, in contrast to their shimmering bodies.

  There is a jingle as they walk into the room and their golden jewels click together. They ooze confidence as they demand the attention of the room, and radiate a warm glow when we give it.

  The Bazis look older than us. They smile smugly, clicking their gold goblets together before downing the contents.

  My fellow Hosts blush at the sight of them, even though it’s only been a couple days since the decisions to become Hosts were made. It’s as if this has really been our path since birth: the shy girls choose to become Hosts and the outgoing become Bazis. Makes sense, really.

  As the Bazis fill the once-silent room with their bodies and excited voices, a second, way less confident group follows—our old classmates.

  Their look is very different from the older group. There is a glazed, numb look in their eyes. Like the girl in the Chancellor’s labs, except they are able to move. They still don’t look willing in their movement,
more as if they have been programmed.

  “Adohnes,” an older male says bitterly, as if the name is repulsive in his mouth.

  “A pleasure to see you, Luther, as always,” Adohnes says gracefully. Luther is all muscle and oil. He shimmers like the other Bazis, but his skin is pulled tightly across his face so that not a single wrinkle appears, as if he has a permanent mask on his face that’s hiding his true emotions, his true self; unlike Frances’s face, which is full of character and emotions. Adohnes looks upon the Bazis with sadness, and none of the infectious pride and joy he has when he looks at us.

  Luther reaches out his golden goblet. “Sloft,” he yells, and a boy comes running over to him, instantly filling it with a rich red wine.

  All of the Bazis are drunk or high on drugs. Part of me wants to take some of the wine, remembering the warmth and ease it brought me when Dax gave me some to taste. Unfortunately, I don’t think that would be a good idea; I need to keep a clear mind. Also, it’s not an option. None of the Hosts have been offered any of the wine. I guess the potent liquid doesn’t classify as pure.

  “New cattle,” Luther says, looking at us.

  Adohnes laughs. “New cattle? I would have thought after sixteen years you would have found a new name for the saviors of Purenet.”

  “Ha, the saviors of Purenet! Is that what you tell them?” he mocks.

  Adohnes steps forward toward Luther. They are both the same height, but Adohnes has a presence about him that demands respect. “I tell them the truth, and do not feed them lies,” he says, looking down at the alcohol-filled goblet.

  A whisper comes from the corner of the room, distracting Luther. It’s a sobbing girl. Luther looks furiously at the boy he called “Sloft.”

  “Sloft, you have one job,” he spits as he walks toward the distressed girl.

  Luther places his hand under the sobbing girl’s head, bringing her to his eye level. Her eyes are filled with fear. She’s one of the older girls, with a beautiful golden tattoo around her arm that shimmers in the light.